Resistance to change within heterogeneous response sequences.

Three experiments investigated how instrumental and Pavlovian contingencies contribute to resistance to change (RTC) in different ordinal response positions within heterogeneous response sequences in pigeons. RTC in the initial and terminal response positions of a three-response sequence were compared in Experiment 1, which presented three colored key lights in succession in each trial; and in Experiment 2, which severely degraded Pavlovian contingencies by presenting the lights simultaneously at each ordinal position. Experiment 3 eliminated the instrumental contingency in a high-order sign-tracking procedure. When the instrumental contingency was in effect, RTC of the initial position was greater than the terminal position (Initial RTC > Terminal RTC) when the Pavlovian contingencies were strong and when they were degraded. When the instrumental contingency was eliminated, RTC patterns reversed, producing a graded pattern of RTC (Initial < Middle < Terminal). Current theoretical approaches (e.g., behavioral momentum theory, conditioned reinforcement, and motivational control of instrumental conditioning) cannot account for these results. An alternative approach (a gradient model) shows that obtained measures of RTC in heterogeneous sequences may reflect a combination of three dissociable processes.