Effects of Intermittent Reinforcement Upon Fixed-Ratio Discrimination

Four pigeons had discrimination training that required the choice of a left side-key following completion of a fixed-ratio 10 an the center key, and a right side-key response after fixed-ratio 20. Correct choices were reinforced on various fixed-interval, fixed-ratio, random-interval, and random-ratio schedules. When accuracy was examined across quarters of intervals (fixed-interval schedules) or quarters of median interreinforcerrent intervals (fixed-ratio schedules), accuracy was usually laver in the second quarter than in the first, third, or fourth quarters. When accuracy was examined across quarters of ratios (fixed-ratio schedules) or quarters of median number of correct interreinforcement trials (fixed-interval schedules), accuracy increased across quarters. These accuracy patterns did not occur m random-interval or random-ratio schedules. The results indicate that, when choice patterns differed on fixed-interval and fixed-ratio schedules, these differences were due to the methods of data analyses