SCHEDULE‐INDUCED MIRROR RESPONDING IN THE PIGEON1

Abstract

Two pigeons that were previously exposed to a multiple schedule of reinforcement in the presence of a stuffed and a live pigeon, and two of three naive pigeons, responded on a mirror during exposure to multiple fixed‐ratio, fixed‐ratio schedules of reinforcement for key pecking. Both the topography and temporal pattern of mirror responding were comparable to schedule‐induced “attack” on live and stuffed targets. Rate of target responding was reduced when either the mirror was covered with paper or when the multiple schedule was removed. A reversal in the relationship between reinforcement schedules and discriminative stimuli demonstrated that mirror responding was controlled by the stimulus correlated with the higher fixed‐ratio schedule. With one component of the multiple schedule held constant at fixed ratio 25 and the ratio requirement of the other component varying from 25 to 150, there was an inverted U‐shaped relationship between rate of mirror responding and fixed‐ratio schedule in the varied component. As in Flory's study (1969b) there was an inverted U‐shaped relationship between target responding and inter‐food intervals. The combined results of these studies suggest that the relationship between rate of target responding and reinforcement schedules is controlled primarily by the inter‐food intervals resulting from the schedules.