J Exp Anal Behav. 1980 Mar;33(2):221-41. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1980.33-221.
Responding in multiple periodic and aperiodic schedules of equal mean reinforcement rate was examined during extinction, satiation, and in the presence of various free-food schedules. In Experiments I and II, pigeons were trained on multiple variable-interval-fixed-interval schedules. Decreases in the rate of responding due to extinction, satiation, or food schedules were approximately equal regardless of the temporal pattern of reinforcer presentation. In Experiment III, pigeons responded on a two-component multiple schedule in which each component was a two-member homogeneous response chain terminating in a fixed-interval schedule during one component and in a variable-interval schedule during the other. The length of both terminal links was varied over a series of conditions. Initial-link responding in the fixed-interval component was reduced more by increasing terminal-link length than was initial-link responding in the variable-interval component. However, no differences in resistance to satiation and extinction were obtained across the fixed and variable components. If the relative decrease in responding produced by satiation and extinction is used as an index of the "value" of the conditions maintaining responding, then these data suggest that fixed and variable schedules of equal mean length are equally valued. This conclusion, however, is not consistent with findings of preference for variable over fixed schedules obtained in studies using concurrent-chain procedures.
在消退、饱食和不同自由食物方案存在的情况下，考察了在相同平均强化率的多个周期性和非周期性方案中的反应。在实验 1 和 2 中，鸽子接受了多个可变间隔-固定间隔方案的训练。由于消退、饱食或食物方案的反应率下降，无论强化物呈现的时间模式如何，都大致相等。在实验 3 中，鸽子在一个双成分的多方案中反应，其中每个成分都是一个由两个成员组成的同质反应链，在一个成分中终止于固定间隔方案，在另一个成分中终止于可变间隔方案。在一系列条件下，两个终端链接的长度都发生了变化。与可变间隔组件中的初始链接响应相比，增加终端链接长度会导致固定间隔组件中的初始链接响应减少更多。然而，在固定和可变组件之间并没有获得对饱食和消退的抵抗力的差异。如果将饱食和消退引起的反应相对减少作为维持反应的条件的“价值”的指标，则这些数据表明，具有相同平均长度的固定和可变方案具有相同的价值。然而，这个结论与使用并行链程序获得的对可变方案优于固定方案的偏好研究结果不一致。
