Abstract
Additive summation is observed when more responses are emitted to the simultaneous presentation (tone-plus-light) of independently conditioned stimuli (tone and light) than to either stimulus presented alone. The current experiment sought to determine if this increased rate during tone-plus-light was a function of a new modal interresponse time (IRT) or a differential mixing of pauses with a modal IRT characteristic of the responding in tone and light alone. Three rats were trained on a three-component multiple schedule where tone and light were each associated with a variable-interval 30-sec schedule while a variable-interval 100-sec operated in the simultaneous absence of these stimuli, tone-off and light-out. Baseline response rates were 2–4 times as high in tone or light as in their absence. In testing, more responses were emitted to tone-plus-light than to tone or light by all animals, but the modal IRT was in the 0.2–0.4-sec IRT bin for all test conditions. Tone-plus-light controlled fewer long IRT values and more responses in the short modal category than tone or light alone. These results support the response mixing hypothesis of stimulus control; i.e., no “new” behavior was observed during the novel combination of stimulus elements, only a mixture of previously reinforced behavior patterns in different proportions.
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This experiment was supported by Grant MH-16853 to the second author from the National Institute of Mental Health, United States Public Health Service. It was presented at the 1976 Eastern Psychological Association Convention in New York.
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Bushnell, M.C., Weiss, S.J. Microanalysis of variable-interval performance during stimulus compounding. Animal Learning & Behavior 6, 66–71 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212004
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212004