Abstract
Variants of the differential reinforcement paradigm were investigated as a function of both present schedule of reinforcement and past reinforcement history. Results suggest that such differential reinforcement procedures are effective in both increasing new responses and decreasing old responses. Reinforcement history was found not to be a significant variable. Rather, present schedule of reinforcement was found to be crucial in the control of lever-press behavior, with children reinforced on a VR schedule responding at a higher rate than those on a VI schedule of reinforcement.
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This work was supported in part by Project 917, Division of Maternal and Child Health Services, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, awarded to the John F. Kennedy Institute, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, and in part by Project 405, Division of Maternal and Child Health Services, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, awarded to the C. Louis Meyer Children’s Rehabilitation Institute, The University of Nebraska Medical Center.
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Leibowitz, J.M. Differential Reinforcement Effectiveness as a Function of Schedule of Reinforcement and Reinforcement History. Psychol Rec 25, 343–354 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394326
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394326