The mechanics of reinforcement

Mathematical principles of reinforcement were developed in order to (1) account for the interaction of target responding and other behavior; (2) provide a simple graphical representation; (3) deal with measurement artifacts; and (4) permit a coherent transition from a statics to a dynamics of behavior. Rats and pigeons were trained to make a target response while general activity was measured with a stabilimeter. The course of behavioral change was represented as a trajectory through a two-dimensional behavior space. The trajectories rotated toward or away from the target dimension as the coupling between the target response and the incentive was varied. Higher rates of reinforcement expanded the trajectories; satiation and extinction contracted them. Concavity in some trajectories provided data for a dynamic generalization of the model.     

Cynthia Willet,Maternal Ethics and Other Slave Moralities

Continental Philosophy Review -     

Accuracy in perceptions of interpersonal interactions: effects of dysphoria, friendship, and similarity.

Conflicting views of depressives' interpersonal accuracy were addressed in an investigation of the accuracy of mild depressives (dysphorics) across differing social contexts. Women who were either friends or strangers and who were either similar or dissimilar in level of dysphoria conversed about 3 topics: a neutral topic, their own disclosure of a personal problem, and their partner's disclosure. Dysphorics were not more accurate in general than nondysphorics. After self-disclosure, all women more accurately detected sympathy from a similar stranger. After the partner's disclosure, women also better detected the mood of a similar partner. When interacting with nondysphoric strangers, however, dysphorics underestimated their partner's sympathy toward them. Implications for cognitive and interpersonal theories of depression and for depressives' relationships are discussed.     

TRAINING PREDELINQUENT YOUTHS AND THEIR PARENTS TO NEGOTIATE CONFLICT SITUATIONS1

In response to parental requests for assistance in dealing with adolescent problem children, three parent-child pairs were taught negotiation responses to hypothetical conflict situations using behavior rehearsal and social reinforcement. The negotiation process was separated into component behaviors that were practised during simulations by each youth and his parent under the direction of trainers. Results indicated that (a) the procedures were successful in training youths and their parents in negotiation behaviors that produced agreements to conflict situations, and (b) these behaviors generalized to actual conflict situations in subjects' homes.     

Some effects of discriminative training with equated frequency of reinforcement

Pigeons were exposed to a multiple schedule which provided equally frequent reinforcement in the presence of two stimuli but which produced markedly different rates of key-pecking. Generalization gradients were displaced away from the stimulus associated with the lower rate of key-pecking. Another group of pigeons had similar training, except that a low rate of key-pecking was established in a stimulus with a much higher frequency of food reinforcement. In this case, the generalization gradients were not affected by the training on the schedule producing a low response rate.     

Preference for signalled reinforcement

Key pecking was reinforced on a two-component multiple schedule. A variable-interval schedule controlled reinforcement in both components. During one component, access to reinforcement was preceded by a tone; in the other component, a standard unsignalled schedule was in effect. After performance stabilized, subjects were given a choice between the signalled and unsignalled schedules. They were placed in the chamber with the unsignalled schedule in effect on the right key. A single response on the left, or changeover, key produced the signalled schedule for 1 min. Both pigeons in Experiment I pecked the changeover key at a rate sufficient to remain under the signalled schedule for over 90% of the session. Removing and reintroducing the tone demonstrated that the changeover-key responses were due to the occurrence of the tone. In Experiment II, when pecking the changeover key produced the unsignalled schedule, pecking the changeover key declined. The results may be explained either in terms of Hendry's information hypothesis or as escape from an intermittent positive reinforcement schedule.