FORAGING AND REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES IN THE PIGEON - OPTIMAL AND NON-OPTIMAL ASPECTS OF CHOICE

Pigeons were trained in a Skinner box on a reinforcement schedule that simulated a foraging situation. Pecks on a central key occasionally illuminated a side key which, if pecked, led to food reward after a delay that varied with the side key colour. Reward durations, post-reward detention intervals, the probability of occurrence of the two side-key colours, and the time between side-key illuminations were all varied between conditions. The schedule allowed the pigeons to accept or reject any reward: they always accepted the side-key colour associated with less pre-reward delay, but accepted the other colour with a probability that varied between conditions. These variations were qualitatively but not quantitatively consistent with predictions from optimal foraging theory. © 1979.