Attempts to examine the effects of variations in relative conditioned reinforcement rate on choice have been confounded by changes in rates of primary reinforcement or changes in the value of the conditioned reinforcer. To avoid these problems, this experiment used concurrent observing responses to examine sensitivity of choice to relative…

We tested the effect of a Rotated Protocol Immersion package on the emergence of observing responses as prerequisites for more complex verbal developmental capabilities. Three elementary aged students between the ages of 6 and 7 participated. They were diagnosed with autism spectrum disabilities. The treatment condition consisted of total…

Three separate laboratory studies were conducted to determine the conditions under which a person reciprocates a past favor and retaliates a past harm. The first study utilized the framework of equity theory (Adams, 1965) and predicted that when faced with inequity due to the generosity or stinginess of another, one means of reducing the inequity…

Investigates the role of instructions in operant conditioning research with children. Subjects are verbally instructed to make an unreinforced response while an incompatible response is monetarily rewarded. Examines the effects of experimenter presence and characteristics of the adult giving the instructions. (DP)

Daily administration of cocaine often results in the development of tolerance to its effects on responding maintained by fixed-ratio schedules. Such effects have been observed to be greater when the ratio value is small, whereas less or no tolerance has been observed at large ratio values. Similar schedule-parameter-dependent tolerance, however,…

Behavioral contrast can be defined as an inverse relationship between the conditions of reinforcement in one setting and the rate of responding in another setting. Behavioral contrast is a phenomenon that is reliably demonstrated in pigeons and rats and in the context of multiple experimental preparations with these animals. However, little…

The author argues that the field of behavior intervention has two subject matters that are distinct in several ways. Each is derived from, and contributes to, the foundation science and epistemology associated with behavior selection. The differences that the author wants to describe occurred to him as he sought to identify which of two Spanish…

Using verbal material, this study explored the effect of the temporal interval of feedback as it interacted with two other variables: (1) method of presenting learning material (inductive or deductive), and (2) activity of the learner during the delay interval (activity relevant or irrelevant to the material). The major objective was to compare…

Following Walter Nord (1969), the present article contains a predictive model of individual behavior based on both operant conditioning and management literatures. The behavior of an organizational member is seen as a function of the reinforcement contingencies applied by various groups in his environment and of his cognitive assessment of such…

Recent studies have demonstrated that external rewards can affect intrinsic motivation to perform an activity. Money tends to decrease intrinsic motivation, whereas positive verbal reinforcements tend to increase intrinsic motivation. This paper presents evidence that negative feedback and threats of punishment also decrease intrinsic motivation.…