When discrete localizable stimuli are used during appetitive Pavlovian conditioning, "sign-tracking" and "goal-tracking" responses emerge. Sign-tracking is observed when conditioned responding is directed toward the CS, whereas goal-tracking manifests as responding directed to the site of expected reward delivery. These…

The present comments concern Michael's concept of motivative variables, and the implications of that concept for our understanding of the nature of reinforcement as well as the extinction of responses maintained through positive and negative reinforcement. We note that both extinction and altering motivative variables decrease responding, but…

"In the late 1950's, Jack Michael, a bright but irritating young psychology instructor, moved from the Universities of Kansas to Houston to Arizona State. Along the way he befriended two nontraditional students, protected them through their Ph.D. programs, and turned them loose on the world: Teodoro Ayllon…and Montrose Wolf…" (Risley,…

Impulsive behavior has been investigated through choice between a smaller/immediate reinforcer and a larger/delayed reinforcer, or through performance on a differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) schedule. In the present study, we investigated a methodological divergence between these two procedures: in the former procedure, delay is a…

Three experiments examined the effect of motivational variables on timing in the peak procedure. In Experiment 1, rats received a 60-s peak procedure that was coupled with long-term, between-phase changes in reinforcer magnitude. Increases in reinforcer magnitude produced a leftward shift in the peak that persisted for 20 sessions of training. In…

Amid the novel terms and original analyses in Skinner's "Verbal Behavior", the importance of his discussion of multiple control is easily missed, but multiple control of verbal responses is the rule rather than the exception. In this paper we summarize and illustrate Skinner's analysis of multiple control and introduce the terms "convergent…

The present study investigated the impact of reinforcement valence and magnitude on response timing in children with ADHD. Children were required to estimate a 1-s interval, and both the median response time (response tendency) and the intrasubject-variability (response stability) were investigated. In addition, heart rate and skin conductance…

The effects of manipulations of task variables on inaccurate responding and disruption were investigated with 3 children who engaged in noncompliance. With 2 children in an outpatient clinic, task directives were first manipulated to identify directives that guided accurate responding; then, additional dimensions of the task were manipulated to…

This book explores some of the basic principles of behavior which have been derived from the study of operant conditioning and considers the phenomenon of sport in society in the light of these principles. First, some of the terms used in Skinnerian behavioral analysis are defined and explained. The second section examines the reinforcements…

In this book, the principles of behavior modification are presented as a set of guidelines for identifying recurrent behavior patterns and are then applied as techniques to change various undesirable behaviors. Progressively more complex steps toward behavior modification and its social influence are cited and illustrated in chapters which deal…

Few studies have made use of B. F. Skinner's (1957) behavioral analysis of language and precise taxonomy of verbal behavior when describing the controlling variables for the mand relation. Consequently, the motivating operation (MO) has not typically been identified as an independent variable and the nature of a spontaneous mand has been…

The relative effectiveness of praise and group competition as motivating incentives affecting task persistence in young children was investigated. As predicted, competition was relatively more effective with 2nd graders than with kindergarten children, with boys than with girls, and with boring tasks than with more ego-involving tasks. However,…

It was concluded from the date that satiation plays a determining role in the continued utilization of an acquired response while distraction is a primary determinant of acquisition rate. (Authors)

Results clearly demonstrated that the children in this investigation made significantly more and faster responses when the reinforcer presentation was varied as opposed to constant. (Author/DB)