Choice with multiple alternatives: The barrier choice paradigm

Abstract

Three experiments assessed the generality of the matching law in situations that differed in the number of avaliable alternatives. in different conditions reinforcement rate varied across levers according to concurren schedules with random-interval components. Barriers (70cm high) separated two, four, or eight levers. Rats traveled from one lever to the others by climbing over the barriers. With 2 and 4 alternatives, experiments 1 and 2 found overmatching )preferences exceeding matching) for responses and time allocation. Experiment 3, with 8 alternatives, found overmatching in one rat for response and time allocation , but another rat showed strong overmatching only for time allocation. THese results extend the generality of the matching law to choice situations with multiple alternatives. Overall , our data support the conclusion that costly locomotion leads to overamatching.