Abstract
Compliance with shaped guesses about response rate on reinforcement schedules was studied as a function of schedule randomness and monitoring. Twenty college students were exposed to a random-interval (RI) schedule, 20 to a fixed-interval (FI) schedule with a videotaped performance, and 20 to an FI schedule alone. In comparison to the FI schedule alone, compliance with rate guesses was more likely on the FI schedule when compliance was videotaped, and on the RI schedule alone. No difference was found between the RI and videotape groups. Findings of schedule insensitivity, like those explored here, are discussed in the context of a traditional signal-detection framework.
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This material is based upon work supported under a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship. I wish to give special thanks to Phil Hineline for his suggestions and support and to Julie Schweitzer for her editorial comments.
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Cerutti, D.T. Compliance with Instructions: Effects of Randomness in Scheduling and Monitoring. Psychol Rec 44, 259–269 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395133
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395133