REINFORCEMENT DELAY: SOME EFFECTS ON BEHAVIORAL CONTRAST1
- 1 May 1972
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
- Vol. 17 (3), 381-394
- https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1972.17-381
Abstract
Thirty five White Carneaux pigeons first received 20 sessions of non-delayed reinforcement according to a multiple variable-interval 1-min variable-interval 1-min schedule. For the remaining 15 sessions, subjects were assigned to one of five groups, with seven subjects per group. Four of these groups involved reinforcement according to the same multiple schedule as before, but reinforcement during one of the components was delayed for either 2.5, 5, 10, or 120 sec. The schedule for the fifth group was changed to multiple variable-interval 1-min extinction schedule of reinforcement. While some subjects in all groups showed behavioral contrast, it occurred more consistently in the groups involving extinction or the longer delays of reinforcement. Groups involving the various durations of delayed reinforcement or even extinction during the altered component did not, however, show a statistically significant difference in the amount of behavioral contrast. It was suggested that neither a reduction in reinforcement frequency nor response rate during the altered component is necessary to the production of behavioral contrast.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- INHIBITION AND THE STIMULUS CONTROL OF OPERANT BEHAVIOR1Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1970
- Behavioral contrast under multiple delays of reinforcementPsychonomic Science, 1970
- Contrasted conditions of reinforcement: A selective critique.Psychological Bulletin, 1968
- BEHAVIORAL CONTRAST AND RELATIVE REINFORCEMENT FREQUENCY IN TWO MULTIPLE SCHEDULES1Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1967
- A FACILITATIVE EFFECT OF PUNISHMENT ON UNPUNISHED BEHAVIOR1Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1962
- Generalization gradients around stimuli associated with different reinforcement schedules.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1959
- INTERACTION AMONG COMPONENTS OF A MULTIPLE SCHEDULE1Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1958
- The role of frustrative nonreward in noncontinuous reward situations.Psychological Bulletin, 1958
- Response strength as a function of delay of reward in a runway.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1957
- Emotions conceptualized as intervening variables—with suggestions toward a theory of frustration.Psychological Bulletin, 1951