Response acquisition by Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) with delayed visual reinforcement
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 61 (1):
35--44 (January 1994)DOI: 10.1901/jeab.1994.61-35
Abstract
Male Siamese fighting fish swam through a ring in an aquarium, breaking a photocell beam and initiating an unsignaled, resetting delay interval. Following delays of 0, 10, or 25 sec, a 15-sec mirror presentation released an aggressive display by the fish. Swimming through the ring increased in the absence of either a period of acclimatization to the reinforcer (analogous to magazine training when appetitive reinforcers are used) or explicit training of the response by the experimenters. Response rates were a decreasing function of delay duration. Other fish exposed to a schedule of response-independent mirror presentations failed to acquire and maintain the response. Results demonstrate the robustness and generality of the phenomenon of response acquisition with delayed reinforcement, and further qualify earlier observations about behavioral mechanisms involved.