| Abstract: | To examine extended control over local choice, the present study investigated preference in transition as food‐rate ratio provided by two levers changed across seven components within daily sessions, and food‐amount ratio changed across phases. Phase 1 arranged a food‐amount ratio of 4:1 (i.e., the left lever delivered four pellets and the right lever one pellet); Phase 2 reversed the food‐amount ratio to 1:4, and in Phase 3 the food‐amount ratio was 3:2. At a relatively extended time scale, preference was described well by a linear relation between log response ratio and log rate ratio (the generalized matching law). A small amount of carryover occurred from one rate ratio to the next but disappeared after four food deliveries. Estimates of sensitivity to food‐amount ratio were around 1.0 and were independent of rate ratio. Analysis across food deliveries within rate‐ratio components showed that the effect of a small amount was diminished by the presence of a large amount—that is, when a larger amount was present in the situation (three or four pellets), the value of a small amount (one or two pellets) became paltry. More local analysis of visits to the levers between food deliveries showed that postfood visits following a large amount were disproportionately longer than following a small amount. Continuing food deliveries from the same source tended to make visits less dependent on relative amount, but a discontinuation (i.e., food from the other lever) reinstated dependence on relative amount. Analysis at a still smaller time scale revealed preference pulses following food deliveries that confirmed the tendency toward dependence on absolute amount with continuing deliveries, and toward dependence on relative amount following discontinuations. A mathematical model based on a linear‐operator equation accounts for many of the results. The larger and longer preference following a switch to a larger amount is consistent with the idea that local preference depends on relatively extended variables even on short time scales. |
