Auditory Localization of Infants as a Function of Reinforcement Conditions

Abstract

The influence of four reinforcement conditions on the auditory localization behavior of normal infants was studied. Forty-eight infants 12 to 18 months of age were assigned to one of four groups of 12 subjects each. All received 30 presentations of complex noise at suprathreshold level. After each response to the stimulus, Group 1 received no reinforcement, Group 2 received social reinforcement, Group 3 received “simple” visual reinforcement (a blinking light) , and Group 4 received “complex” visual reinforcement (an animated toy animal). The two visual reinforcement conditions produced the most localization responses, followed in order by the social reinforcement and no reinforcement conditions. These results indicate that auditory localization behavior of infants is influenced by reinforcement and that the extent of this effect is related to the type of reinforcement employed.