Interference of Sentence and Picture Contexts on Learning Prepositions

The effects of extra stimulus cues, such as pictures and sentences, on learning of preposition words were examined in two experiments. A one-way repeated-measures design was applied in the study. The results show that both sentences and pictures interfered with and blocked the learning of these context-dependent words in the simultaneous presentations. The superiority of feedback presentations over simultaneous presentations indicate that feedback techniques neutralize the blocking effect. More interestingly, however, the prepositions were learned more quickly in the absence of any context cues and this suggested that it is better to teach basic preposition words either by the presentation of them alone or if extra stimulus cues are to be used they should be presented as feedback.     

Corrective Feedback in Oral Reading

We examined 24 studies to determine the effects on word recognition and reading comprehension of correcting errors during oral reading. Corrective feedback improved students' word reading accuracy on words in lists, and accuracy in reading words in passages. Some correction procedures had greater benefits than others. Successful error correction procedures share common characteristics, leading to recommendations about instruction: Teachers should (a) correct errors immediately; (b) require students to repeat the correct response; and (c) match correction procedure to the instructional situation and the learner. Several research recommendations are outlined.     

Effects of reward distribution and performance feedback on competitive responding

To implement competitive contingencies, one must select a distribution of unequal rewards and a schedule of feedback for competitors regarding one another's performance. This study investigated three bases for distributing rewards and two performance feedback conditions. Pairs of college students competed over a series of 2-min contests in which the competitive response was a knob pull. A sum of money was divided using a proportional distribution or one of two fixed reward distributions. In the proportional distribution, a subject's proportion of the sum was his or her proportion of the total number of responses. The two fixed distributions were divisions of 100%/0% or 67%/33%. Also, in every contest either subject could make a response that would end the contest prematurely and give both subjects the same amount—a sum equal to 33% of the competitive total. In the two feedback conditions, cumulative responses by each subject were either shown to both subjects during the contest or were not shown. The proportional distribution was clearly superior to either of the fixed distributions in number of responses produced across contests. The proportional distribution with feedback produced the largest number of competitive responses, and the 100%/0% distribution without feedback produced the smallest number. Differences among distributions typically emerged only during later blocks of contests. Fixed distributions of rewards often produced decelerating rates of responding, with losing competitors ending the contests before they were completed. Response-rate decreases were greatest for pairs in which the 2 subjects differed most in their response rates and proportion of wins. The presence of feedback had a small effect, increasing responding for some pairs in the 100%/0% distribution. Performance patterns were interpreted in terms of the consequences arranged for the individual participants by the reward distributions and differences in performance between competitors.     

In search of the feedback function for variable-interval schedules

Finding a theoretically sound feedback function for variable-interval schedules remains an important unsolved problem. It is important because interval schedules model a significant feature of the world: the dependence of reinforcement on factors beyond the organism's control. The problem remains unsolved because no feedback function yet proposed satisfies all the theoretical and empirical requirements. Previous suggestions that succeed in fitting data fail theoretically because they violate a newly recognized theoretical requirement: The slope of the function must approach or equal 1.0 at the origin. A function is presented that satisfies all requirements but lacks any theoretical justification. This function and two suggested by Prelec and Herrnstein (1978) and Nevin and Baum (1980) are evaluated against several sets of data. All three fitted the data well. The success of the two theoretically incorrect functions raises an empirical puzzle: Low rates of reinforcement are coupled with response rates that seem anomalously high. It remains to be discovered what this reflects about the temporal patterning of operant behavior at low reinforcement rates. A theoretically and empirically correct function derived from basic assumptions about operant behavior also remains to be discovered.     

EFFECTS OF ACTIVE STUDENT RESPONSE DURING ERROR CORRECTION ON THE ACQUISITION,MAINTENANCE, AND GENERALIZATION OF SIGHT WORDS BY STUDENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

We used an alternating treatments design to compare the effects of active student response error correction and no-response error correction during sight word instruction. Six students with developmental disabilities were provided one-to-one daily sight word instruction on eight sets of 20 unknown words. Each set of 20 words was divided randomly into two equal groups. Student errors during instruction on one group of words were immediately followed by the teacher modeling the word and the student repeating it (active student response instruction). Errors on the other group of words were immediately followed by the teacher modeling the word while the student attended to the word card (no-response instruction). For all 6 students, the active student response error-correction procedure resulted in more words read correctly during instruction, same-day tests, next-day tests, 2-week maintenance tests, and generality tests (words read in sentences).     

Performances on ratio and interval schedules of reinforcement: Data and theory

Two differences between ratio and interval performance are well known: (a) Higher rates occur on ratio schedules, and (b) ratio schedules are unable to maintain responding at low rates of reinforcement (ratio “strain”). A third phenomenon, a downturn in response rate at the highest rates of reinforcement, is well documented for ratio schedules and is predicted for interval schedules. Pigeons were exposed to multiple variable-ratio variable-interval schedules in which the intervals generated in the variable-ratio component were programmed in the variable-interval component, thereby “yoking” or approximately matching reinforcement in the two components. The full range of ratio performances was studied, from strained to continuous reinforcement. In addition to the expected phenomena, a new phenomenon was observed: an upturn in variable-interval response rate in the midrange of rates of reinforcement that brought response rates on the two schedules to equality before the downturn at the highest rates of reinforcement. When the average response rate was corrected by eliminating pausing after reinforcement, the downturn in response rate vanished, leaving a strictly monotonic performance curve. This apparent functional independence of the postreinforcement pause and the qualitative shift in response implied by the upturn in variable-interval response rate suggest that theoretical accounts will require thinking of behavior as partitioned among at least three categories, and probably four: postreinforcement activity, other unprogrammed activity, ratio-typical operant behavior, and interval-typical operant behavior.     

Effects of public posting on driving speed in Icelandic traffic

We replicated a study by Van Houten, Nau, and Marini (1980) that had revealed reductions in vehicle speeding following the posting of percentages of drivers not speeding on a sign at roadside. Our subjects were drivers entering a residential area where the speed limit changed from 90 km/hr (55.9 mph) to 60 km/hr (37.3 mph). A total of 4,409 vehicle speeds were taken from two observation sessions per day for 20 consecutive weekdays. The intervention consisted of a single posting condition, in which a hypothetical daily percentage of drivers not speeding was posted on a feedback sign, followed by a double posting condition, in which a sign posting a best result was erected beyond the feedback sign. Results revealed a significant speed reduction from an average of 69.0 km/hr (42.9 mph) during baseline to 63.4 km/hr (39.4 mph) during single posting. Average speed during double posting was 62.9 km/hr (39.1 mph). The percentage of drivers exceeding 70 km/hr (43.5 mph) dropped from 41.0 during baseline to 20.5 during single posting. The significant speed reductions add to the generality of findings of similar studies in Canada and Israel and offer possible explanations for the failure of feedback posting to reduce speed in the U.S.     

Molar And Molecular Control In Variable-interval And Variable-ratio Schedules

Response rates are typically higher under variable-ratio than under variable-interval schedules of reinforcement, perhaps because of differences in the dependence of reinforcement rate on response rate or because of differences in the reinforcement of long interresponse times. A variable-interval-with-added-linear-feedback schedule is a variable-interval schedule that provides a response rate/reinforcement rate correlation by permitting the minimum interfood interval to decrease with rapid responding. Four rats were exposed to variable-ratio 15, 30, and 60 food reinforcement schedules, variable-interval 15-, 30-, and 60-s food reinforcement schedules, and two versions of variable-interval-with-added-linear-feedback 15-, 30-, and 60-s food reinforcement schedules. Response rates on the variable-interval-with-added-linear-feedback schedule were similar to those on the variable-interval schedule; all three schedules led to lower response rates than those on the variable-ratio schedules, especially when the schedule values were 30. Also, reinforced interresponse times on the variable-interval-with-added-linear-feedback schedule were similar to those on variable interval and much longer than those produced by variable ratio. The results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that response rates on variable-interval schedules in rats are lower than those on comparable variable-ratio schedules, primarily because the former schedules reinforce long interresponse times.     

汉语词汇产生中语义、语音层次之间的交互作用

采用3种方法考察汉语词汇产生中语义激活（词条选择）和音位编码这两个阶段之间的关系。实验一、二分别采用图片命名法和干扰字命名法,发现目标图片（“牛”）的语义相关词（“羊”）的语音信息得到了激活,说明汉语词汇产生中存在多重语音激活,音位编码在词条选择完成之前既已开始。实验三采用语义范畴判断法,考察语音信息的激活是否会向上反馈到词条和语义层次,发现目标图片（“羊”）的同音字（“阳”）不会促进对图片的语义判断。研究表明,多重语音激活与语音激活向词条和语义层次反馈是两个独立的,可以分割的问题。虽然实验一和二的结果符合相互作用理论,实验三的结果符合模块化观点,但就总体而言,本研究更加支持词汇产生中的模块化观点