RATS' BEHAVIORAL ADJUSTMENT TO MUTUAL REINFORCEMENT CONTINGENCIES

Abstract

We study social and individual behaviors as a continuum between different levels of dependence/interdependence of responses/reinforcers. Twenty-four rats were trained to roll a stainless steel ball continuously from end to end of a gutter, a response that can be performed either individually or coordinately. Each pair of rats chose between two concurrent response options. In one option, access to consequences depended exclusively on individual behavior. In another option, both subjects had to coordinate their actions in time and space on the same object -the ball- for access to reinforcers, according to three conditions that differed in the ratio of pellets obtained by each individual of the pair (4:4 - 4:0 - 1:4). All subjects showed a preference for the individual option. The choice of the mutual option did not seem to be controlled only for the reinforcer ratios, the difficulty -probability- to meet the coordination criterion seems to discounts the reinforcer’s value. The study represents a promising approach to analyze the effect of the interaction between the amount and probability of the reinforcer on choice behavior in social settings.