The two paradigms of persistence

Persistence refers to the extent to which an individual pursues reinforcement that is no longer available. The most common generalization regarding persistence is the partial reinforcement extinction effect, which states that partial, rather than continuous, reinforcement creates the greatest level of persistence. Although the partial reinforcement effect is the most common effect in humans, exceptions exist, namely the generalized and the reversed partial reinforcement effect. Since the 1930s, psychologists have used 2 general paradigms for studying persistence in humans: the experimental paradigm and the cognitive/individual differences paradigm. For the experimental paradigm, the primary independent variable is the schedule of reinforcement used to establish the behavior prior to the removal of reinforcement. Explanations of persistence from the experimental perspective depend on associative principles derived from various theories of learning. By contrast, the cognitive/individual differences paradigm treats persistence as a function of trait variables, including locus of control and self-esteem, or general cognitive processes, such as cognitive dissonance or social cognition. In this article, the author reviews the status of the current literature on persistence and recommends directions for future research.