On the law of effect.

Experiments on single, multiple, and concurrent schedules of reinforcement find various correlations between the rate of responding and the rate or magnitude of reinforcement. For concurrent schedules (i.e., simultaneous choice procedures), there is matching between the relative frequencies of responding and reinforcement; for multiple schedules (i.e., successive discrimination procedures), there are contrast effects between responding in each component and reinforcement in the others; and for single schedules, there are a host of increasing monotonic relations between the rate of responding and the rate of reinforcement. All these results, plus several others, can be accounted for by a coherent system of equations, the most general of which states that the absolute rate of any response is proportional to its associated relative reinforcement.

[1]  E. Thorndike “Animal Intelligence” , 1898, Nature.

[2]  E. Tolman The determiners of behavior at a choice point. , 1938 .

[3]  B. Skinner,et al.  Principles of Behavior , 1944 .

[4]  C. L. Hull Principles of Behavior , 1945 .

[5]  E. Guthrie,et al.  Cats in a puzzle box. , 1947 .

[6]  E. Tolman Cognitive maps in rats and men. , 1948, Psychological review.

[7]  B. Skinner,et al.  Science and human behavior , 1953 .

[8]  E. Brunswik Representative design and probabilistic theory in a functional psychology. , 1955, Psychological review.

[9]  Frederick Mosteller,et al.  Stochastic Models for Learning , 1956 .

[10]  C. B. Ferster,et al.  Schedules of reinforcement , 1957 .

[11]  W. H. Morse,et al.  A conjunctive schedule of reinforcement. , 1958, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[12]  J D Findley,et al.  Preference and Switching under Concurrent Scheduling. , 1958, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[13]  R. Herrnstein SECTION OF PSYCHOLOGY: SOME FACTORS INFLUENCING BEHAVIOR IN A TWO‐RESPONSE SITUATION* , 1958 .

[14]  Richard J. Herrnstein,et al.  A CONJUNCTIVE SCHEDULE OF REINFORCEMENT1 , 1958 .

[15]  G S Reynolds,et al.  An analysis of interactions in a multiple schedule. , 1961, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[16]  R J HERRNSTEIN,et al.  Relative and absolute strength of response as a function of frequency of reinforcement. , 1961, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[17]  G. S. Reynolds Behavioral contrast. , 1961, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[18]  G S REYNOLDS,et al.  Relativity of response rate and reinforcement frequency in a multiple schedule. , 1961, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[19]  Dale M. Brethower,et al.  A facilitative effect of punishment on unpunished behavior. , 1962, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[20]  C. A. Boneau,et al.  Work decrement and reminiscence in pigeon operant responding. , 1962, Journal of experimental psychology.

[21]  G. S. Reynolds On some determinants of choice in pigeons. , 1963, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[22]  S. Pliskoff RATE-CHANGE EFFECTS WITH EQUAL POTENTIAL REINFORCEMENTS DURING THE "WARNING" STIMULUS. , 1963, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[23]  A C CATANIA,et al.  Concurrent performances: a baseline for the study of reinforcement magnitude. , 1963, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[24]  A. Catania,et al.  Concurrent performances: reinforcement interaction and response independence. , 1963, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[25]  G S REYNOLDS,et al.  Some limitations on behavioral contrast and induction during successive discrimination. , 1963, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[26]  R. Herrnstein SECONDARY REINFORCEMENT AND RATE OF PRIMARY REINFORCEMENT. , 1964, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[27]  M. Bitterman PHYLETIC DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING. , 1965, The American psychologist.

[28]  David R. Williams Negative induction in instrumental behavior reinforced by central stimulation , 1965 .

[29]  H. Terrace,et al.  Behavioral contrast and the peak shift: effects of extended discrimination training. , 1966, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[30]  John C. Hancock,et al.  Signal Detection Theory , 1966 .

[31]  C. Shimp Probabilistically reinforced choice behavior in pigeons. , 1966, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[32]  M. Norman An approach to free-responding on schedules that prescribe reinforcement probability as a function of interresponse time , 1966 .

[33]  W. K. Honig Operant behavior : areas of research and application , 1966 .

[34]  B. Skinner What is the experimental analysis of behavior? , 1966, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[35]  J A Nevin,et al.  An analysis of contrast effects in multiple schedules. , 1966, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[36]  A J Neuringer,et al.  Effects of reinforcement magnitude on choice and rate of responding. , 1967, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[37]  R. Shull,et al.  Changeover delay and concurrent schedules: some effects on relative performance measures. , 1967, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[38]  R. Herrnstein,et al.  Choice and delay of reinforcement. , 1967, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[39]  T. Bloomfield Some temporal properties of behavioral contrast. , 1967, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[40]  T. Bloomfield Behavioral contrast and relative reinforcement frequency in two multiple schedules. , 1967, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[41]  D. R. Williams,et al.  Time-dependent contrast effects in a multiple schedule of food reinforcement. , 1967, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[42]  W. Holz,et al.  Punishment and rate of positive reinforcement. , 1968, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[43]  R. J. Irwin,et al.  Multiple schedules: effects of the distribution of reinforcements between component on the distribution of responses between conponents. , 1968, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[44]  J. Nevin Differential reinforcement and stimulus control of not responding. , 1968, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[45]  G. S. Reynolds,et al.  A quantitative analysis of the responding maintained by interval schedules of reinforcement. , 1968, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[46]  A. Brownstein,et al.  Some effects of relative reinforcement rate and changeover delay in response-independent concurrent schedules of reinforcement. , 1968, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[47]  John A. Nevin,et al.  SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY AND OPERANT BEHAVIOR: A Review of David M. Green and John A. Swets' Signal Detection Theory and Psychophysics.1 , 1969 .

[48]  H. Rachlin,et al.  Response rate as a function of amount of reinforcement for a signalled concurrent response. , 1969, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[49]  W M Baum,et al.  Choice as time allocation. , 1969, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[50]  A. Natapoff How symmetry restricts symmetric choice , 1970 .