Fixed-ratio behaviour of lake sturgeons (Acipenser fulvescens): darkness as a reinforcer

dc.contributor.authorCook, Brittany
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeDocker, Margaret (Biological Sciences)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeMartin, Toby (Psychology)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorPear, Joseph (Psychology)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-18T13:55:40Z
dc.date.available2019-09-18T13:55:40Z
dc.date.issued2019-08-19en_US
dc.date.submitted2019-08-19T17:34:19Zen
dc.date.submitted2019-09-14T15:25:56Zen
dc.date.submitted2019-09-17T01:11:46Zen
dc.date.submitted2019-09-18T01:30:24Zen
dc.degree.disciplinePsychologyen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts (M.A.)en_US
dc.description.abstractIn an experimental tank (ET), three experimentally naïve lake sturgeons (Acipenser fulvescens) were operantly conditioned to enter one of four target areas where they received an auditory response-feedback stimulus (RFS) in the form of a click sound and – according to the prevailing FR schedule – 10 seconds of darkness. A multiple-baseline-across-subjects design was used. Visual observation and a video-tracking system (VTS) monitored the number of responses emitted on each of the four target areas. The target areas were in the corners of the ET and had to be entered by the subject to constitute a response. The experiment generally consisted of the following phases: (1) no-feedback baseline (NFB) phase; (2) discriminative stimulus baseline (DSB) phase; (3) response-feedback baseline (RFSB) phase; and (4) fixed-ratio phase (FR n). The data indicated a preference for the target area that produced darkness, which suggests that darkness is a reinforcer for this species. This preference was indicated by a greater number of target area responses for the target area whose entry into it produced darkness, and greater activity in and around that area relative to baseline phases. Furthermore, when the ratio of the FR n phase was increased the subject’s rate of responding also increased.en_US
dc.description.noteOctober 2019en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/34290
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectOperant conditioningen_US
dc.subjectAcipenser fulvescensen_US
dc.subjectLake sturgeonsen_US
dc.subjectDarknessen_US
dc.subjectReinforcementen_US
dc.subjectFixed-ratio (FR)en_US
dc.titleFixed-ratio behaviour of lake sturgeons (Acipenser fulvescens): darkness as a reinforceren_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
local.subject.manitobayesen_US
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