When experimenters require their subjects to perform some readily recorded response to gain access to discriminative stimuli but do not permit this behavior to alter the schedule of reinforcement, the response is classified, by analogy, as an “observing” response Observing responses have been used not only to analyze discrimination learning but also to substantiate the concept of conditioned reinforcement and to measure the reinforcing effect of stimuli serving other behavioral functions A controversy, however, centers around the puzzling question of how observing can be sustained when the resulting stimuli are not associated with any increase in the frequency of primary reinforcement Two possible answers have been advanced: (a) that differential preparatory responses to these stimuli as conditional stimuli make both the receipt and the nonreceipt of unconditional stimuli more reinforcing; and (b) that information concerning biologically significant events is inherently reinforcing It appears, however, that the stimulus associated with the less desirable outcome is not reinforcing The maintenance of observing can be reconciled with the traditional theory that the acquisition of reinforcing properties proceeds according to the same rules as those for Pavlovian conditioning if it is recognized that the subject is selective in what it observes and procures a greater than proportionate exposure to the stimulus associated with the more desirable outcome As a result of this selection, the overall frequency of primary reinforcement increases in the presence of the observed stimuli and declines in the presence of the nondifferential stimuli that prevail when the subject is not observing

Observing and conditioned reinforcement

Summary The concept of transfer-appropriate processing posits that the value of any particular acquisition or practice condition can only be evaluated when considered in the context of the particular transfer test used to evaluate learning Further, learning appears to be 'optimized' when the processing activities promoted by the practice conditions are similar to the processing activities that are required by the transfer test The concept is discussed with relevance to recent findings in the motor learning literature Limitations and future directions regarding research with particular relevance to the constraints of transferappropriate processing are also discussed

Chapter 7 Transfer-Appropriate Processing: A Framework for Conceptualizing Practice Effects in Motor Learning

Repeated writing, or rehearsal by writing, is a common memory strategy for the Japanese, especially when learning new logographic characters The to-be-remembered items are written down not as external prompts, as with reminder notes, but to be memorized in the course of writing them down over and over again In this study, we investigated whether the strategy was effective, and if so, in which condition Experiment 1 showed that repeated writing improved memory for graphic designs but not for Chinese characters, words, or syllables Experiment 2 showed that the effect occurred for both Japanese and American subjects, suggesting that it was not the result of a cultural background associated with a logographic language Instead, the effect seemed to be accounted for by the encoding specificity of visual-motor information, because repeated writing improved free recall— that included writing—but did not improve recognition (Experiment 3) In Experiment 4, the strategy was applied to learning the Arabic alphabet Finally, similarities between repeated writing and

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03197222.pdf

The effect of repeated writing on memory.

Where was my arm again? Memory-based matching of proprioceptive targets is enhanced by increased target presentation time

Wyckoff's observing response: Pigeons learn to observe stimuli for free food but not stimuli for extinction

Pigeons were trained on a Wyckoff observing response procedure in which key responses were reinforced on a mixed schedule consisting of fixed-interval and extinction components. In Experiment 1, stepping on a pedal (a) converted the mixed schedule to a multiple schedule, (b) replaced the mixed-schedule stimulus with an unlit key (or, in different phases, a blackout), or (c) had no consequence. In Experiment 2, pedal standing removed the mixed-schedule stimulus that was physically similar to the multiple-schedule stimuli or one that was less similar. In Experiment 3, Wyckoff's differential and nondifferential discrimination procedure was repeated. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 showed that the Wyckoff pedal response was controlled by neither the removal of the mixed-schedule stimulus nor the production of discriminative stimuli. The results indicated a correlation between key-response rates and pedal-standing time. Experiment 3 showed that high response rates to mixed-schedule stimuli were correlated with little pedal-standing time while high key-response rates to multiple-schedule stimuli were correlated with considerable pedal standing time. The correlation between key-response rates and pedal-standing time was related to the physical arrangement between the key and pedal operanda.

The wyckoff observing response—a reappraisal1

The hypothesis was tested that, when the mode of presentation matches the mode of reproduction in memory for movement extent, there is less error in reproduction than when the modes are not matched. Female undergraduates (n = 24) were tested under active and passive criterion movements presented either under preselected or constrained conditions. All subjects underwent 36 trials involving the combination of three retention conditions (immediate, 20-sec unfilled, and 20-sec filled) and two reproduction conditions (active and passive). Results for absolute error showed that for constrained presentations, when the mode of presentation and the mode of reproduction were the same, accuracy was greater than when the modes of presentation and reproduction were different.

Encoding specificity principle in motor short-term memory for movement extent.

Pigeons were trained under an observing response procedure in which pecks on one key (food key) were reinforced under a mixed fixed-interval 30-sec extinction schedule. A response on a second (observing) key replaced the mixed-schedule stimulus with either of two multiple-schedule stimuli (red and green keylights) for 5 sec. Observing response rates were positively correlated with food-key response rates in the presence of multiple-schedule stimuli and inversely related to food-key response rates in the presence of mixed-schedule stimuli. These results suggest that observing response output is controlled not only by the stimuli produced by observing responses but also by the stimuli in the presence of which observing responses occur. The possibility that observing responses alter the probability of reinforcement is advanced.

/pdf/the-relationship-between-observing-behavior-and-food-key-1evgrqk0f8.pdf

The relationship between observing behavior and food-key response rates under mixed and multiple schedules of reinforcement.

/pdf/an-improved-method-of-housing-pigeons-41wtp9sby3.pdf

An improved method of housing pigeons.

Two groups of pigeons received differential discrimination training on the presence vs absence of a vertical line on a white surround. The line was green for one group and black for a second group. Generalization tests along the angularity dimension showed that both green and black lines produced equally steep gradients. The results suggested that the addition of chroma to the line does not increase attention to the line.

/pdf/does-chroma-on-the-line-increase-attention-to-the-line-in-4d5624h1tx.pdf

Does chroma on the line increase attention to the line in pigeons

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