@article{ref1,
title="Reaction times in discriminations of varying difficulty: decision modulated by arousal",
journal="Behavioural processes",
year="2007",
author="Blough, Donald S.",
volume="74",
number="2",
pages="234-243",
abstract="Pigeons discriminated the hue of a spot of light that appeared in discrete trials. A green spot always signaled food (&quot;green S+&quot;) and so did a red spot of constant hue (&quot;red S+&quot;), but on most trials a different red hue appeared and no food was given for pecks (&quot;red S-&quot;). The hue of red S- stayed the same during blocks of up to twelve sessions, but it changed from block to block. During a final group of sessions red S- was omitted and the percent reinforcement to the two S+ stimuli was varied. Major findings were that (1) percent response (Pct(R)) to S- varied with S+/S- similarity, describing a typical ogival psychometric function; (2) Reaction times (RTs) to both red and green S+s were minimal when the red discrimination was impossible (that is, when red S+ and S- were identical); (3) RTs to red S+ were greatest during discriminations of intermediate difficulty; (4) as Pct(R) declined during the learning of a difficult discrimination, RTs increased to red S+ as well as red S-. Most aspects of the data were reproduced by simulations with a quantitative model that incorporated reinforcement-based decision and arousal processes.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0376-6357",
doi="10.1016/j.beproc.2006.10.006",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2006.10.006"
}