Monkey See Computer Do: Simulation of Dynamic Behavior via the Evolutionary Theory of Behavior Dynamics Open Access

Abstract

The Evolutionary Theory of Behavioral Dynamics (ETBD) is a computational instantiation of selection by consequences that allows the generation of simulated behavioral output in environments with known reinforcement schedules. This study extends the theory to examine its predictions within a dynamic concurrent random interval environment with unsignaled transitions between 33 unique pairs of reinforcement schedules. The results were compared with behavioral data from rhesus monkeys (n=2) that were placed in a similar environment over three different levels of analysis. At the macro-level, the generalized matching law (GLM; Baum, 1974) fit the data from the virtual organisms animated by the ETBD well and returned parameters comparable to those from GML fits to the rhesus monkeys’ data. At the transition level, virtual organisms adapted more quickly at the unsignaled transitions between schedules than the rhesus monkeys. At the local level, the dynamic responses of virtual organism behavior to changes in reinforcement were comparable to that of rhesus monkeys.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1

Evolutionary Theory of Behavioral Dynamics ........................................................................... 2

The Virtual Organism. ............................................................................................................ 3

The Rules of the ETBD........................................................................................................... 4

Evidence Supporting the Theory. ........................................................................................... 6

Dynamic Behavior..................................................................................................................... 10

Monkey Experimental Paradigm............................................................................................... 11

Present Study............................................................................................................................. 12

II. Methods.................................................................................................................................... 13

Subjects ..................................................................................................................................... 13

Simulated Environment............................................................................................................. 14

ETBD Adaptations to fit the Experimental Paradigm............................................................... 15

Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 17

Macro-level analysis. ............................................................................................................ 17

Transition-level analysis ....................................................................................................... 18

Local-level analysis. ............................................................................................................. 22

III. Results..................................................................................................................................... 23

IV. Discussion............................................................................................................................... 26

Limitations, Strengths, and Future Directions .......................................................................... 30

V. Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................... 33

References..................................................................................................................................... 34

Figure 1. The Virtual Organism’s Behavioral Repertoire and Target Classes ............................. 38

Figure 2. Evolutionary Theory of Behavioral Dynamics - Flowchart .......................................... 39

Figure 3 Transition Analysis Schematic ....................................................................................... 40

Figure 4. Macro Level – Power Function Matching Law Fit ....................................................... 41

Figure 5. Transition Level – Virtual Organism Average and Individual Plots............................. 42

Figure 6 Transition Level – Behavior Comparisons..................................................................... 44

Figure 7. Transition Level – Average Virtual Organism and Monkey Comparison .................... 46

Figure 8. Local Level - Histograms of Block Correlation VO and Monkey Comparison............ 48

Figure 9. Local Level – Virtual Organism Individual Plots ......................................................... 49

Figure 10. Local Level – Virtual Organism Averaged Plots ........................................................ 51

Figure 11. Local Level – Virtual Organism and Monkey Comparison ........................................ 53

Table 1: Table of schedule ratios used in the study...................................................................... 55

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Clinical Psychology
Degree	M.A.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Behavioral
Keyword	Computational Simulation Evolutionary Theory of Behavior Dynamics
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Jack J. McDowell, Emory University
Committee Members	Elaine Walker, Emory University Darryl Neill, Emory University

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