Some effects of response cost upon human operant behavior

Three experiments are reported which investigated the effects of cost (point loss per response) upon human-observer responses maintained by VI and FI schedules of reinforcement (acquisition of points via critical-signal detections). (I) Cost attenuated VI response rates without substantially disturbing the constancy of responding, regardless of the presentation sequence of the no-cost and cost conditions. (II) FI scalloping appeared only under cost conditions. Under no cost, a constant rate of responding (similar to VI performance) characterized inter-reinforcement intervals. Exposure to cost did not prevent the recovery of previously established no-cost baselines. (III) FI irregularities, analogous to those commonly observed under FI reinforcement schedules, may be produced by different temporal presentations of the no-cost and cost conditions.

The results of all three experiments emphasize the importance of cost as a factor in the maintenance of human behavior on schedules of positive reinforcement.

     

An estimation of true scores in the case of items scored on a continuous scale

For the tests in which the score on an item is not restricted to 0 and 1, but is any number on a continuous scale, a procedure for estimating an examinee's true score is given. For the case of 0, 1 item scoring this problem was considered by Lord [1959]. Following Lord, the least squares estimation procedure is used and the regression coefficient is obtained, which is compared with the generalized KR(20) and KR(21) formulas. Also, results are discussed using analysis of variance models.Now at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.     

The method of minimum variation for the combination of criteria

The problem of weighting separate criterion variates is solved by minimizing the differences among the standard scores of the individual upon the various measures. The method is compared with Horst's procedure of maximizing the inter-individual differences. An application is made to personnel data.This technique was developed in connection with a study of the prediction of success of salespersons, which is being carried on by the Occupational Research Program of the United States Employment Service.