The effects of magnitude and schedule of reinforcement on instruction-following in human subjects with verbal and nonverbal instructions.
Item
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Title
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The effects of magnitude and schedule of reinforcement on instruction-following in human subjects with verbal and nonverbal instructions.
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Identifier
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AAI9707134
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identifier
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9707134
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Creator
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Newman, Bobby.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Nancy S. Hemmes
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Date
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1996
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Experimental | Psychology, Cognitive
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Abstract
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Three experiments are reported that analyze instruction-following in human subjects. In Experiment 1, two individuals with autism served as subjects. Magnitude of reinforcement and accuracy of instructions were manipulated across phases, and both subjects showed sensitivity to the changing contingencies for instruction-following and illuminating a red or green light. In Experiment 2, college students served as subjects. In this experiment, the schedule of reinforcement was varied across subjects, and the accuracy of instructions was varied across phases. Subjects who were exposed to continuous reinforcement (CRF) were sensitive to the changing contingencies for instruction-following, but subjects who were exposed to leaner schedules (Fixed Ratio 2 and Fixed Ratio 3) were not. In Experiment 3, groups of college students were exposed to one of the three conditions of Experiment 2, but were given either verbal instructions or nonverbal instructions (white or black cards). While all subjects were sensitive under CRF, subjects in the nonverbal instruction conditions showed more sensitivity than the subjects in the verbal conditions under the two leaner schedules of reinforcement. Implications of the findings for the rule-governed behavior literature are discussed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
