A self-reinforcement questionnaire

The hypothesis that the tendency to engage in self-reinforcement behavior is measurable by a 30-item true-false questionnaire is supported using self-monitoring as the validity criterion. The use of the self-reinforcement questionnaire has been supported previously by correlating questionnaire scores with frequency of self-reinforcement during simple experimental tasks. In the present study, 53 undergraduates monitored self-reinforcement behavior for 28 days and frequency of self-reinforcement correlated significantly with questionnaire scores as well as experimenter ratings of the tendency to engage in self-reinforcement. The results suggest that the questionnaire is a promising tool for the measurement of self-reinforcement in meaningful settings. The need for further validational evidence is noted and the potential usefulness of the questionnaire in testing hypotheses regarding the relation between self-reinforcement and depression is discussed.