Conformity to experimenter-determined,payoff enforced criterion levels in the method of random staircases

Results obtained from Ss paid to meet arbitrary criteria are compared with ordinary determinations of limens for increments of white noise in a constant background of white noise. Multiple random, yes-no staircases are used. It is demonstrated that a S can reliably exhibit a variety of arbitrarily determined “thresholds” when appropriate pay-off contingencies are introduced.