Hursh S R, Raslear T G, Shurtleff D, Bauman R, Simmons L
Division of Neuropsychiatry, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307-5100.
J Exp Anal Behav. 1988 Nov;50(3):419-40. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1988.50-419.
Laboratory studies of consumer demand theory require assumptions regarding the definition of price in the absence of a medium of exchange (money). In this study we test the proposition that the fundamental dimension of price is a cost-benefit ratio expressed as the effort expended per unit of food value consumed. Using rats as subjects, we tested the generality of this "unit price" concept by varying four dimensions of price: fixed-ratio schedule, number of food pellets per fixed-ratio completion, probability of reinforcement, and response lever weight or effort. Two levels of the last three factors were combined in a 2 x 2 x 2 design giving eight groups. Each group was studied under a series of six FR schedules. Using the nominal values of all factors to determine unit price, we found that grams of food consumed plotted as a function of unit price followed a single demand curve. Similarly, total work output (responses x effort) conformed to a single function when plotted in terms of unit price. These observations provided a template for interpreting the effects of biological factors, such as brain lesions or drugs, that might alter the cost-benefit ratio.
对消费者需求理论的实验室研究需要对不存在交换媒介（货币）时价格的定义做出假设。在本研究中，我们检验了这样一个命题：价格的基本维度是一种成本效益比，表现为每消耗一单位食物价值所付出的努力。以大鼠为实验对象，我们通过改变价格的四个维度来检验这一“单价”概念的普遍性：固定比率时间表、每次完成固定比率时的食物颗粒数量、强化概率以及反应杠杆重量或努力程度。后三个因素的两个水平以2×2×2设计组合，形成八组。每组在一系列六个固定比率时间表下进行研究。利用所有因素的名义值来确定单价，我们发现，以单价为函数绘制的食物消耗克数遵循单一需求曲线。同样，当以单价来绘制时，总工作量（反应次数×努力程度）符合单一函数。这些观察结果为解释可能改变成本效益比的生物因素（如脑损伤或药物）的影响提供了一个模板。
