COMPARING COORDINATED RESPONDING IN PAIRS OF RATS WHEN BOTH OPERANTS AND AGGREGATE PRODUCTS ARE SELECTED BY INTERMITTENT TEMPORAL CONSEQUENCES

Main Article Content

João Claudio Todorov
Lucas Couto de Carvalho
Deisy das Graças de Souza

Abstract

Three pairs of rats worked in two adjacent operant chambers separated by a Plexiglas wall. In some experimental conditions, lever-presses were independent operants maintained by either a fixed-interval (FI) or variable interval (VI) schedule. In other conditions, each rat lever-press was part of two interlocked behavior contingencies as part of a metacontingency: its aggregate product, a brief flash of light, was maintained either by a FI or a VI schedule of mutual water presentation. The results clearly show that the interlocking of behavioral contingencies in the design of an experimental metacontingency established a pattern of cooperation between the rats.

Article Details

How to Cite
Todorov, J. C., Couto de Carvalho, L., & das Graças de Souza, D. (2020). COMPARING COORDINATED RESPONDING IN PAIRS OF RATS WHEN BOTH OPERANTS AND AGGREGATE PRODUCTS ARE SELECTED BY INTERMITTENT TEMPORAL CONSEQUENCES. Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis, 46(2). https://doi.org/10.5514/rmac.v46.i2.77881