I came across this question and I was just looking for some clarification about Pigeon B:
Pigeon A is placed in a Skinner box and rewarded with food for pecking a key. On average, the reward appears every 6th peck, but the number of pecks between rewards varies. Pigeon B is yoked to Pigeon A such that whenever Pigeon A gets rewarded, Pigeon B gets rewarded, regardless of Pigeon B’s behavior. What reinforcement schedule is being utilized for Pigeon A and Pigeon B, respectively?
I do not have the answer to this question so I have been unable to verify what is correct.
I am under the assumption that Pigeon A is variable ratio because the reward depends on the number of times the pigeon pecks the key, but the delivery of the reward varies. However, I initially thought that Pigeon B was on a variable interval schedule because the delivery of food only relies on reward delivery to Pigeon A. I made the assumption that the timing at which Pigeon A would be rewarded may vary depending on its behavior? Is that an appropriate assumption to make?
Thanks in advance!