The operant conditioning of response variability: Free-operant versus discrete-response procedures

The operant conditioning of response variability under free-operant and discrete-response procedures was investigated. Two pigeons received food only if their pattern of four pecks on two response keys differed from the patterns emitted on the two immediately preceding trials. Under the free-operant procedure, the keys remained illuminated and operative throughout each trial. There was little variability in the response patterns that resulted, and the pigeons received fewer than one third of the available reinforcers. Under the discrete-response procedure, a brief timeout period followed each response. Variability increased under this procedure, and the pigeons obtained three fourths of the available reinforcers. Previous successes and failures to produce response variability may have been due to the use or failure to use, respectively, a discrete-response procedure. Respondent effects inherent in the free-operant procedure may encourage the development of response stereotypy and, in turn, prevent the development of response variability.     

Naturalistic treatment of an autistic child

The present research experimentally evaluated a "naturalistic" treatment program for an autistic child administered by the parents over a 2-yr period. Operant reinforcement techniques previously developed and tested in laboratory settings were initially assessed in a clinic and eventually in the family's home. Experimental manipulations were performed in both settings on rituals, crying and whining, compliance, non-verbal imitation, and verbal imitation. The results clearly indicated that parents can effectively treat autistic behaviors provided that they receive adequate training and supervision in operant reinforcement therapy, and provided that sufficiently potent reinforcers are available to maintain behavior.     

Application of delayed reinforcement procedures to the behavior of an elementary school child

Delayed reinforcement techniques were applied, in a multiple baseline experimental design, to modify the behavior of a mildly maladjusted sixth-grade child. The following behaviors were chosen for modification: face-touching, posture, and voice-loudness. Videotape recordings were made of the subject's behavior during mathematics and spelling periods each day. The recordings from the mathematics period was shown to her after school, and consequences for behavior exhibited during mathematics were dispensed during the after-school viewing. This delayed reinforcement procedure produced the desired behavior changes during the mathematics period. Tapes from the spelling period, which were taken without the child's knowledge, indicated that the behavior changes generalized to portions of the day other than the mathematics period.     

The ecological assessment of an autistic child

The behavior of an autistic child was observed in his natural environment. Observations were made in three settings, over approximately 6 months. Sixteen behaviors of the child and six behaviors of adults and peers were recorded. A cluster analysis was performed to identify response classes within the behavioral structure of the child and to see if correlations existed between response and stimulus events. To examine intra- and intersetting changes, Spearman rank correlations and ttests were also computed. This autistic child exhibited a diversity of behavior over time in a given setting and across settings. He persistently ignored other nonautistic children, although he was responsive to adults. Response classes reflected an inverse correlation between the child's selfstimulatory behaviors and his attentiveness to the environment. Elevated levels of adult attention were consistently related to reduced levels in most self-stimulatory behaviors. Two response classes showed inverse relationships between self-stimulatory behaviors. Reducing the frequency of some self-stimulatory behaviors might cause increases in others.This study is based on a dissertation submitted by the first author to The University of Tennessee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. The research was conducted under the chairmanship of the second author. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr. Edward E. Cureton for his help with the statistical analyses.     

The operant conditioning of conversation

Human conversation is a natural place to begin the study of social responses. In a conversation, a number of individuals use one another's responses as cues for their own behavior. So long as a conversation is being held, the speakers must talk in some order. Four experiments were conducted to test whether differentially reinforcing a group of speakers can bring the order of speakers under experimental control. The results are all consistent with the hypothesis. The paper also devises and evaluates different procedures for studying conversational sequences and examines associated statistical problems.     

The dynamics of operant conditioning

Existing models of operant learning are relatively insensitive to historical properties of behavior and applicable to only limited data sets. This article proposes a minimal set of principles based on short-term and long-term memory mechanisms that can explain the major static and dynamic properties of operant behavior in both single-choice and multiresponse situations. The critical features of the theory are as follows: (a) The key property of conditioning is assessment of the degree of association between responses and reinforcement and between stimuli and reinforcement; (b) the contingent reinforcement is represented by learning expectancy, which is the combined prediction of response-reinforcement and stimulus-reinforcement associations; (c) the operant response is controlled by the interplay between facilitatory and suppressive variables that integrate differences between expected (long-term) and experienced (short-term) events; and (d) very-long-term effects are encoded by a consolidated memory that is sensitive to the entire reinforcement history. The model predicts the major qualitative features of operant phenomena and then suggests an experimental test of theoretical predictions about the joint effects of reinforcement probability and amount of training on operant choice. We hypothesize that the set of elementary principles that we propose may help resolve the long-standing debate about the fundamental variables controlling operant conditioning.     

The testability of psychiatric patients in an operant conditioning situation

The Psychological Record -     

Procedure for operant conditioning of the dog

Most reports arising from operant conditioning procedures have little or no emphasis on the actual behavior shaping or acquisition phase of the responses which are the cumulative frequency of the well-practiced act. There is a need for more detail for beginners or those desiring a clearer understanding of procedures leading to the finally reported data. The procedure reported here is typically used to compare animal subjects or conditions, such as drugs, both in the acquisition and final phases of behavior. Beginning with an unconditional response (e.g. feeding) a bridging stimulus is paired in classical conditioning fashion. From that point on the bridging stimulus and UCS (feeding—or shock) are used immediately as reward or reinforcement only for responses “in the direction of the final desired behavior. The number of timed standardized behavior shaping sessions to criterion is the best index of acquisition phase performance and the total number bar presses or the rate of bar pressing (slope) is the usual index of operant responding. With timid animals it is often necessary to administer tranquilizers.     

Effects of operant conditioning on the GSR

Each of nine Ss was run for 11 daily sessions. Except for the first (operant level) and last two (extinction) sessions, 500-ohm drops in skin resistance were followed by reinforcement (light). These reinforcement periods lasted 20 min and were preceded by 10-min control periods during which no reinforcement was administered. Although the results showed no evidence for operant conditioning of the GSR, they did indicate that increased emission of GSR's occurred during the reinforcement period. This effect was shown to hold for Ss with low operant levels of GSR's but not for Ss with high operant levels.     

Zebrafish excel in number discrimination under an operant conditioning paradigm

Animal Cognition - Numerical discrimination is widespread in vertebrates, but this capacity varies enormously between the different species examined. The guppy (Poecilia reticulata), the only...     

An economical system incorporating obsolete computers in an operant conditioning laboratory

A variety of obsolete computers were used with a commercial interface device (Alpha Bus) to control animal (rat) operant chambers. Original 28VDC electromechanical equipment was also used in conjunction with the interface to reduce initial equipment costs and maintain broad compatibility. Effective response counting and event control in three separate operant chambers was achieved through the use of secondary processing available on the current interface device. Advantages of the present systems include low initial and maintenance costs, expandability, and adaptability to different computers and applications.