AUTO-SHAPING IN BOBWHITE QUAIL

Bobwhite quail were given extended auto‐shaping, a procedure in which response‐key illumination or color change is paired with response‐independent food presentations. Continuation of the auto‐shaping procedure yielded increased responding across sessions, although responses were never instrumental in producing food. The quail were shifted directly from the auto‐shaping procedure to a variable‐interval 60‐sec schedule of reinforcement. All three birds were approaching stable response rates by the fifth session on the variable‐interval schedule. 1969 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior