VARIABILITY OF RESPONSE LOCATION FOR PIGEONS RESPONDING UNDER CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT AND EXTINCTION

The effect of several reinforcement schedules on the variability in topography of a pigeon's key‐peck response was determined. The measure of topography was the location of a key peck within a 10‐in. wide by 0.75‐in. high response key. Food reinforcement was presented from a magazine located below the center of the response key. Variability in response locus decreased to a low value during training in which each response produced reinforcement. Variability increased when fixed intervals, variable intervals, random intervals, or extinction were scheduled. 1969 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior