Reinforcement and punishment effects in concurrent schedules: A test of two models

The joint effects of punishment and reinforcement on the pigeon's key-peck response were examined in three choice experiments conducted to compare predictions of Farley and Fantino's (1978) subtractive model with those made by Deluty's (1976) and Deluty and Church's (1978) model of punishment. In Experiment 1, the addition of equal punishment schedules to both alternatives of a concurrent reinforcement schedule enhanced the preference exhibited for the more frequent reinforcement alternative. Experiment 2 demonstrated decreases in the absolute response rate for each member of a concurrent reinforcement schedule when increasing frequencies of punishment were added to each alternative. Experiment 3 found that preference for the denser of two reinforcement schedules diminished when the absolute frequencies of reinforcement were increased by a constant factor and conditions of punishment for both alternatives were held constant. Diminished preferences were obtained regardless of whether the frequency of punishment associated with the denser reinforcement schedule was greater or less than that associated with the lean reinforcement alternative. The results from all three experiments uniquely supported Farley and Fantino's (1978) subtractive model of punishment and reinforcement.     

Toward a quantitative theory of punishment

In two experiments, pigeons' key pecking for food on concurrent variable-interval schedules was punished with electric shock according to concurrent variable-interval punishment schedules. With unequal frequencies of food but equal rates of punishment associated with the two keys and at several intensities of shock, the response and time allocation of all six pigeons overmatched the obtained relative frequency of food. The overmatching was predicted by a subtractive model of the interaction between punishment and positive reinforcement but not by two alternative models. Increases in the k and r_e parameters of the generalized matching law could not account for the observed shifts in preference.     

The symmetrical law of effect and the matching relation in choice behavior

In a concurrent-chains procedure, pigeons chose between outcomes that differed in the rate of response-independent delivery of food and electric shocks. The application of functional measurement techniques confirmed the matching relation—between choice and rate of reinforcement value—for two of three pigeons. Scale values of the outcomes were extracted for the two birds that conformed to matching, and the value of a single occurrence of shock per minute—in terms of negative food units—was estimated. A second experiment with concurrent chains provided a test of these parameter estimates. The close correspondence between predicted and obtained choice behavior found in Experiment II indicated that the estimates of outcome value were indeed reliable. Both experiments together support the contention that the effects on choice behavior of positive and aversive stimuli appear to be equal, though opposite in sign.     

Punishment of autoshaped key-peck responses of pigeons

The effects of different voltages of response-dependent and response-independent electric shock on the frequency of key-peck responses engendered by an autoshaping procedure were studied. In Experiments I and II, each response produced a brief electric shock, and response frequency generally decreased more with higher-voltage shock. Preshock frequencies of responding were generally recovered across successive sessions of relatively low-voltage shock delivery but not at higher shock voltages. The effects of response-dependent and response-independent shock were compared in Experiment III by using a yoked-control procedure in which each pigeon received each type of shock delivery at different times. Response-dependent shock generally produced greater decreases in response frequency. In the final experiment, one response-independent shock per autoshaping trial was scheduled. The number of autoshaped responses per trial was related to shock voltages. These results suggest that response-dependent and response-independent electric shock effectively decrease frequency of autoshaped responses.     

SOME DETERMINANTS OF THE REINFORCING AND PUNISHING EFFECTS OF TIMEOUT1

Some determinants of the reinforcing and punishing properties of timeout were investigated in two experiments. Experiment I began as an attempt to reduce the frequency of tantrums in a 6-yr-old autistic girl by using timeout. Unexpectedly, the result was a substantial increase in the frequency of tantrums. Using a reversal design, subsequent manipulations showed that the opportunity to engage in self-stimulatory behavior during the timeout period was largely responsible for the increase in tantrums. Experiment II was initiated following the failure of timeout to reduce the spitting and self-injurious behavior of a 16-yr-old retarded boy. Using a multiple-baseline design, the nature of the timein environment was shown to be an important determinant of the effects of timeout. When the timein environment was “enriched”, timeout was effective as a punisher. A conception of timeout in terms of the relative reinforcing properties of timein and timeout and their clinical implications are discussed.     

The effect of punishment on free-operant choice behavior in humans

During Phase I, three female human subjects pressed a button for monetary reinforcement in five variable-interval schedules specifying different frequencies of reinforcement. On alternate days, responding was also punished (by subtracting money) according to a variable-ratio 34 schedule. In the absence of punishment, response rates conformed to Herrnstein's equation for single variable-interval schedules. Punishment suppressed responding at all frequencies of reinforcement. This was reflected in a change in the values of both constants in Herrnstein's equation: the value of the theoretical maximum response-rate parameter was reduced, and the parameter describing the reinforcement frequency corresponding to the half-maximal response rate was elevated. During Phase II, the same five schedules (A) were in operation (without punishment), but in addition, a concurrent variable-interval schedule (B) of standard reinforcement frequency was introduced. On alternate days, responding in Component B was punished according to a variable-ratio 34 schedule. In the absence of punishment, absolute response rates conformed to equations proposed by Herrnstein to describe performance in concurrent schedules; the ratios of the response rates in the two components and the ratios of the times spent in the two components conformed to the Matching Law. When responding in Component B was punished, response rates in Component B were reduced and those in Component A were elevated, these changes being reflected in distortions of the matching relationship.     

EFFECTS OF REINFORCEMENT FOR ALTERNATIVE BEHAVIOR DURING PUNISHMENT OF SELF-INJURY

A number of variables influence the effectiveness of punishment and may determine the extent to which less intrusive forms of punishment may be used as alternatives to more intrusive interventions. For example, it has been suggested that response suppression during punishment may be facilitated if reinforcement is concurrently available for an alternative response. However, results of basic research demonstrating this finding have not been replicated with interventions more commonly prescribed as treatments for problem behavior. We evaluated the effects of relatively benign punishment procedures (reprimands or brief manual restraint) on the self-injurious behavior of 4 individuals who had been diagnosed with mental retardation, when access to reinforcement for alternative behavior (manipulation of leisure materials) was and was not available. In all cases, punishment produced greater response suppression when reinforcement for an alternative response was available.     

Maintaining Accurate Math Responses In Elementary School Students: The Effects Of Delayed Intermittent Reinforcement And Programming Common Stimuli.

This study examined the effect of delayed reinforcement on digits completed by elementary school children and the effect of programming stimuli common to reinforcement conditions on the maintenance of their performance. Participants exhibited similar levels of responding during intermittent and continuous reinforcement. Responding continued for a number of sessions at similar levels during a maintenance phase that included stimuli present during delayed reinforcement.     

The puzzle of responding maintained by response-contingent shock.

Four squirrel monkeys were first exposed to a sequence of procedures that reliably generate responding maintained by brief response-contingent electric shocks arranged according to a fixed-interval schedule. After responding had become stable on the fixed-interval schedule, additional contingencies were added in tandem, whereby after completion of the interval, the spacing of responses affected shock delivery. In one procedure, responses had to be spaced more widely than their previous median value if shock were to be delivered. In the other procedure, responses had to be spaced more closely to produce shock. On the first of these procedures, decreased but stable responses rates would indicate that shock functioned as a positive reinforcer; on the second, increased response rates would indicate the positively reinforcing function. Instead, response rates accelerated on the procedure that targeted more widely spaced responses for shock delivery, and decelerated or ceased on the procedure that arranged for shocks to be produced by more closely spaced responses. Consistent with other recent findings, these results question the interpretation of performances maintained by response-contingent shock as engendered by positive reinforcement and are consistent with aversive-control interpretations. The details of that aversive control are not entirely clear, however, and these same procedures would be informative if applied to shock-maintained behavior that is generated in other ways.     

奖惩对行为抑制及程序阶段中自主生理反应的影响

采用停止信号任务探讨奖惩条件对行为抑制和程序阶段中自主生理反应的影响。结果显示：(1)奖惩组的反应时显著高于控制组, 抑制失败率则显著低于控制组; (2)奖励组与其它两组相比表现出心率显著增加和皮肤电活动显著降低; (3)各生理指标在准备、工作和奖惩阶段中的奖惩差异性显著(4)奖惩条件下皮肤电活动呈现出一致性程序阶段变化。结果表明：奖惩条件均对行为具有抑制作用, 但在自主生理反应上则有显著差异; 各生理指标在准备、工作和奖惩阶段的情绪效价显著; 皮肤电活动的程序阶段变化显著, 但其奖惩效价较为稳定, 很少接受程序阶段变化的影响。