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Jackpot Reinforcers And The Operant Behavior Of Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens), Jackson Carter Fox

Capstones and Honors Theses

Jackpot reinforcers are an intriguing yet seldom studied area of operant conditioning with many potential applications in the scope of behavioral research. In this study, two Siamese fighting fish (Betta s.) were presented with the visual stimulus of a mirror upon completion of a target response, providing the opportunity to display an agonistic behavior towards their own mirror image. This opportunity for agonistic display to the mirror served as the primary reinforcer of the target response, which was simply swimming in a particular direction over a bar suspended in the center of the tank. This over-the-bar swimming was …