TIME LIMITS FOR COMPLETING FIXED RATIOS .4. COMPONENTS OF RATIO

Pigeons received food after completing a fixed ratio if the temporal properties of responding exceeded minimum duration requirements. In 1 set of conditions, a minimum time had to elapse before the 1st response of the ratio (the initial pause). In another set the minimum duration was the time between the 1st and last response of the ratio. Obtained times increased as a power function of required times in both conditions. The power function resembled that occurring in experiments involving temporal differentiation of individual responses, interresponse times, latencies and entire fixed-ratio sequences. In all of these experiments individual performances could be described as a function of the base duration (the duration occurring in the absence of temporal requirements) and the specific time requirement. Control conditions indicated that the effects resulted from temporal requirements and not from reinforcer intermittency.