A CLASSIFICATION SCHEME OF SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF REINFORCEMENT WITHIN GROUP OPERANT SYSTEMS1

Many different reinforcement contingencies are found in group operant systems, such as token economies and point systems. Some systems use group contingencies in which the reinforcement of any one participant may depend on the behavior of some other group member. Other programs are individual, in that participants earn reinforcers dependent only on their own behavior. The various possible arrangements of people and their response requirements are labelled “social conditions of reinforcement” in this paper. Previous attempts at classification have failed to categorize the variety of social conditions of reinforcement. In addition, some conditions that may produce behaviorally different effects have not been separated. The present paper classifies the social conditions of reinforcement found in applied programs in a three-dimensional scheme. The efficacy of the three major dimensions—reinforcing agent, recipient response requirement, and group response requirement—is supported by clinical and research data. The reinforcing agent dimension refers to the person(s) who dispenses reinforcers to group members. This major dimension is further subdivided: one or several agents may be either designated or nondesignated. Recipients are the group members who receive reinforcement. This dimension is also subdivided: one or several recipients in a social condition of reinforcement may obtain reinforcers either contingently or noncontingently. The group response requirement is a criterion that must be satisfied before any group participant is eligible for reinforcement. Some systems have no group requirement, and others have a group requirement that must be met by some designated or nondesignated participant(s). Supportive references and examples are given in the explanation of each dimension and subdimension. The behavioral impact of the various categories is emphasized. For all major dimensions, applied implications and research suggestions are discussed. Concluding remarks center on the utility of the present scheme, the classification of operant procedures other than positive reinforcement, and both theoretical and applied issues requiring further study (e.g., the long-term effects of participation in group contingencies).     

TEACHING LEISURE SKILLS TO SEVERELY HANDICAPPED ADULTS: AN AGE-APPROPRIATE DARTS GAME

This study demonstrates the acquisition and generalization of dart skills by three severely multihandicapped adults. The program took place in a community adult development center. By identifying the motor responses required to play darts, a 7-step task analysis was generated to facilitate instruction. Systematic training procedures using applied behavior analysis were implemented. A combination multiple baseline across subjects and changing criterion design was used. The results indicated that not only could this supposedly difficult skill be acquired by severely multihandicapped individuals, but that they could also generalize to other appropriate environments. Acquisition of this skill could help optimize their use of free time for leisure pursuits in a variety of settings.     

Early and late introduction of probes and stimulus control acquisition in fading

College students learned to name Braille patterns presented visually using a fading procedure in which Braille patterns were superimposed on letter names after which letter names were attenuated. Measurement of acquisition was accomplished by presenting probes—consisting of the Braille stimuli only—throughout fading. Effects of probes upon acquisition were assessed by introducing probes early or late in fading. Fewer fading levels were needed for Braille elements to acquire control when probes were introduced early rather than late. When probes were introduced late, all subjects learned to name the Braille elements as the letters were being faded out. When probes were introduced early, however, most subjects learned to name the Braille elements as they were being faded in. Since virtually no errors occurred during compound-stimulus presentations, the probe procedure did not induce errors during acquisition. Quantitative analysis of probe data suggested that inclusion of probes enhanced the control acquired by the Braille elements during compound-stimulus presentations. The reported effects may have been due to differences in the relative frequency of reinforcement presented during compounds and probes.     

THE MODIFICATION OF LEISURE BEHAVIOR IN A HALF-WAY HOUSE FOR RETARDED WOMEN1

A multi-element baseline design combined with a multiple-baseline design, was used to investigate the effect of availability of materials, prizes for participation, and instruction on the leisure behavior of 14 mentally retarded women in a half-way house. A leisure program was conducted on weekday evenings, during which residents could choose to participate in any of six activities offered: puzzles, card games, clay, painting, weaving, and rug making. It was found that instruction in weaving and rug making significantly increased the percentage of residents participating in these activities, and that following instruction, prizes were not necessary to maintain high levels of participation. In contrast, prizes were more effective than mere availability of materials in maintaining participation in the other activities.     

Transfer of oddity-from-sample performance in pigeons

Four pigeons were trained on a modified three-key oddity-from-sample task in which an observing response to the sample (center-key) stimulus lighted a single comparison (side-key) stimulus. If the comparison stimulus was different from the sample stimulus, a single peck to the lighted comparison was reinforced. If the comparison and sample stimuli were identical, the pigeons had to refrain from pecking the comparison for 4.6 seconds to terminate the matching comparison and to produce immediately a nonmatching comparison on the remaining side key. Each peck to the matching comparison reset the 4.6-second delay interval. Three hues were used during acquisition. During tests for transfer of the oddity performance, two novel hues were substituted either individually or together for one or two of the original training hues. For three birds, latencies to novel nonmatching hues were identical to baseline nonmatching latencies. Latencies to novel matching hues were shorter than baseline matching latencies but were consistently longer than novel nonmatching latencies. These transfer data demonstrate that the pigeons learned the oddity concept.     

Behavioral adaptation to fixed-interval and fixed-time food delivery in golden hamsters

Food-deprived golden hamsters in a large enclosure received food every 30 sec contingent on lever pressing, or free while their behavior was continuously recorded in terms of an exhaustive classification of motor patterns. As with other species in other situations, behavior became organized into two main classes. One (terminal behaviors) increased in probability throughout interfood intervals; the other (interim behaviors) peaked earlier in interfood intervals. Which class an activity belonged to was independent of whether food was contingent on lever pressing. When food was omitted on some of the intervals (thwarting), the terminal activities began sooner in the next interval, and different interim activities changed in different ways. The interim activities did not appear to be schedule-induced in the usual sense. Rather, the hamsters left the area of the feeder when food was not due and engaged in activities they would normally perform in the experimental environment.     

The transfer of specific and general consequential functions through simple and conditional equivalence relations

The purpose of this study was to examine the transfer of consequential (reinforcement and punishment) functions through equivalence relations. In Experiment 1, 9 subjects acquired three three-member equivalence classes through matching-to-sample training using arbitrary visual forms. Comparison stimuli were then given conditioned reinforcement or punishment functions by pairing them with verbal feedback during a sorting task. For 8 of the 9 subjects, trained consequential functions transferred through their respective equivalence classes without additional training. In Experiment 2, transfer of function was initially tested before equivalence testing per se. Three of 4 subjects showed the transfer without a formal equivalence test. In Experiment 3, 3 subjects were given training that gave rise to six new three-member conditional equivalence classes. For 2 of the subjects, the same stimulus could have either a reinforcement or punishment function on the basis of contextual cues that defined its class membership. Experiment 4 assessed whether equivalence training had established general or specific consequential functions primarily by adding novel stimuli in the transfer test. Subjects treated even novel feedback stimuli in the transfer test as consequences, but the direction of consequential effects depended upon the transfer of specific consequential functions through equivalence relations.     

Response specificity in animal timing.

The stimuli that control responding in the peak procedure were investigated by training rats, in separate sessions, to make two different responses for food reinforcement. During one type of session, lever pressing was normally reinforced 32 s after the onset of a light. During the other type of session, chain pulling was normally reinforced either 8 s after the onset of one auditory cue or 128 s after the onset of a different auditory cue. For both types of sessions, only the appropriate manipulandum was available, and 20% of the trials lasted 240 s and involved no response-contingent consequences. Rats were then tested with the auditory cues in the presence of the lever and the light in the presence of the chain. If the time of reinforcement associated with each stimulus was learned, response rates should peak at these times during transfer testing. However, if a specific response pattern was learned for each stimulus, little transfer should occur. The results did not clearly support either prediction, leading to the conclusion that both a representation of the time of reinforcement and the rat's own behavior may control responding in this situation.     

Transdisciplinarity,neuro-techno-philosophy,and the future of philosophy

Philosophy and science have always striven to make sense of the world, continuously influencing each other in the process. Their interplay paved the way for neurophilosophy, which harnesses neuroscientific insights to address traditionally philosophical questions. Given the rapid neuroscientific and technological advances in recent years, this paper argues that philosophers who wish to tackle intractable philosophical problems and influence public discourse and policies should engage in neuro-techno-philosophy. This novel type of inquiry describes the transdisciplinary endeavor of philosophers, (neuro)scientists, and others to anticipate the societal implications of the impending transformations of subjects and theorizers. While human enhancement is likely to irreversibly change what it means to be human, disruptive technologies might lead to the emergence of artificial intelligent agents and human-machine hybrids. The paper predicts that neuro-techno-philosophy will be indispensable to understanding and engaging with these game-changing innovations and thus play a pivotal role in the future of philosophy.     

规则变型推理对远迁移问题解决的促进

为了避免多重变异样例学习和采用题海战术,并能促进规则样例学习的远迁移问题解决,开创出原样例学习后对原型规则做出变型推理的学习方法,以算术应用题的解题样例为原样例学习材料进行了4项实验研究。结果显示：四年级小学生运用该方法可有效促进远迁移问题的解决;其变型推理能力存在数学成绩等级差异;提供问题情境和推理提示能提高部分学生规则变型推理成绩和远迁移测验成绩。实验结果证明,规则变型推理是促进远迁移问题解决的有效方法之一。