Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

The Effects Of Fading And Rule-Stating On The Instructed Reacquisition Of A Five-Link Behavioral Chain, Okechukwu S. Ozuzu

Dissertations

Although instructions tend to generate rapid and near errorless responding during acquisition, this efficiency in performance is not necessarily maintained in reacquisition. The present study addressed this issue of performance maintenance by utilizing procedures designed to strengthen the control function of instruction stimuli.

Five 6 to 10 year-old children, two females and three males, were trained in the repeated acquisition of a behavioral chain using monetary reinforcement. The operanda for the five-component behavioral chain consisted of fifteen plastic discs displayed on an intelligence pad. For each session the subjects’ task was to leam or relearn a new sequential order by …

Matching-To-Sample In The Pigeon: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Correction And Noncorrection Procedures, Deborah Lou Grossett

Masters Theses

Contradictory results concerning the effect that presence or absence of a correction procedure has on matching-to-sample were obtained by past studies (Carter and Werner, 1978; Thomas, 1979). Carter and Werner (1978) reported that exposure to a correction procedure resulted in an increase in accuracy, while Thomas (1979) found no difference between the noncorrection and correction procedures. The present study showed that exposure to a correction procedure resulted in an increase in accuracy in comparison to a noncorrection procedure during acquisition, but not during maintenance.

Past studies (Holt and Shafer, 1973; Thomas, 1979), using a correction procedure, showed that presence of …

A Comparison Of Reading And Listening Performances Of Braille And Print Readers, Betty P. Zook

Masters Theses

Blind and sighted subjects were tested on their capability to retain information after both reading and listening to specially prepared printed and taped materials. The sample consisted of graduate students and professional individuals. It was found that, on the average, subjects retained more after reading than listening. This effect was more pronounced in the braille reading subjects. As the level of complexity of the material increased, the difference in the points earned between the two modalities, reading and listening, increased significantly. A behavioral analysis suggested some reasons for this difference. It was suggested that further research into reading and listening …

The Perceived Utility Of The Job Model As A Planning Document For Faculty Members, Victoria Kai-Cacho

Masters Theses

A job model for faculty activity plans was developed based on an interview and a questionnaire response from 14 Western Michigan University professors. Perceived accuracy and usefulness of the job model were measured by a questionnaire designed by the investigator. Responses were analyzed by computing the mean ratings of each item included in the questionnaire. The job model was perceived as an accurate and useful instrument for faculty activity plans, self-development and faculty evaluation. However, methodological limitations suggest that further empirical research with a large sample and participation of administrative officers and students, in addition to faculty members, will be …

Choice As A Dependent Measure In Autoshaping: Sensitivity To Frequency And Duration Of Food Presentation, Mitchell Jon Picker

Masters Theses

Previous investigations have shown that rate, latency, and percentage of trials with at least one response are somewhat insensitive measures of the strength of autoshaped responding. In two experiments, nine pigeons were exposed to an autoshaping procedure in which the successive presentation of three stimuli were followed by food on either 100%, 50%, or 0% of the trials. Choice testing involved the simultaneous presentation of the three stimuli. In Experiment I, all pigeons consistently directed their initial choice responses and the majority of subsequent responses to the stimulus always followed by food. In Experiment II, rate, latency, and percentage of …

Response Latency: A Function Of Within-Session Differences In Intertrial Interval, Training History, Cue Condition, And Ratio Requirement, James Bryant Nuzzo

Masters Theses

Skinner has suggested that latency does not vary in an orderly manner and short latencies result from the development of effective waiting behavior not specified by the experimental contingencies. Recent experimentation has found latency to vary as a function of a within-session difference in parameters of reinforcement correlated with two components of a discrete-trial multiple schedule. Also found was the attenuation of within-session differences in latencies with the change in intertrial interval (ITI) from 5 seconds to 20 seconds. This suggests that the ITI may be variable which controls latency. This study investigated the effect on latency of within-session differences …

Response Rate, Latency, And Resistance To Change, Stephen Joseph Fath

Dissertations

Response rate has been criticized as an adequate measure of response strength on the basis that rate reflects the adventitious reinforcement of interresponse times. Nevin (1974, 1979) proposed relative resistance to change as an alternative measure. Nevin (1974) employed multiple-pacing schedules in which either high- or low-rate requirements were placed in tandem with either VI 1 min or VI 3 min schedules of reinforcement. The results suggested that low-rate responding may be more resistant to change when schedules are equated for reinforcement frequency. Fath and Malott (1979) replicated Nevin's experiment, but found no evidence that contingencies on response rate affect …

The Effects Of Total Darkness On Stimulus Control, Richard E. Schulman

Masters Theses

This experiment examined auditory stimulus control in a totally darkened as opposed to an illuminated chamber. All subjects (pigeons) were trained to keypeck in the presence of only a dimly lit green keylight, which was faded until responding was reliably occurring in a totally darkened chamber. When behavior stabilized under a Variable Interval (VI) 30 second schedule of reinforcement in a darkened chamber, subjects were divided into two groups for discriminating training. A Multiple VI 30 second Extinction (EXT) schedule was in effect, with 1-minute components separated by 5-second time-outs. The discriminative stimulus correlated with the VI component was a …

The Effect Of Operant Conditioning Of Heart Rate On Ambient Skin Conductance And Cognitive Interpretation, Steven Scott Ehlert

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Fixed-Interval And Random-Interval Escape Paradigms On Presession And Postsession Levels Of Corticosterone In The Rat, Duane Dregits

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of A Lottery On Completion Of Medical Records By Physicians, Richard William Beers

Masters Theses

Completion of hospital medical records by physicians is a frequent problem to hospital administrations. A performance based lottery was used to evaluate its effectiveness in reducing the number of medical records which were unfinished and considered delinquent. Thirty-three male physicians were included in this study. Physicians earned or lost lottery chances in weekly drawings for a dinner at a restaurant or gift certificate to a local store. Results show an immediate increase in rate of record completion which declines over the course of the eight week experimental condition. Age of records were inversely correlated to the rate of completion. The …

A Study Of The Effects Of Changes In Response Requirement On Lever Preference In A Discrete-Trial Choice Procedure, Charles L. Lowe

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Chlorpromazine On Behavior Maintained By An Escape Contingency And Fixed-Time Delivery Of Shock, James P. Cleary

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Contracting And The Level Of Academic Achievement Of High School Students, John Philip Kirkpatrick

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Teaching Telephone Skills To Developmentally Disabled Persons Using Positive Reinforcement And Corrective Feedback, Lou Ann Mayhew

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Generalization Of Behavior Modification Skills Acquired Through Observation Training Procedures, Thomas E. Mccarthy

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Behavioral System For Supervising Undergraduate Research, Gary D. Gant

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of The Opportunity To Engage In Self-Stimulatory Behavior On Task Responding In Retarded Children, Paula Shilton

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Pharmacological Effects On Aggression And Manual Responding Generated By Tail Shock In The Squirrel Monkey, Grace S. Emley

Dissertations

The response-independent, fixed-time delivery of electric tail shock in the squirrel monkey generated bites on a rubber hose immediately following shock delivery and manual responses on a lever immediately preceding shock. The procedure generated two temporally and topographically different responses in the single organism in a single experimental session. All responses were measured objectively via response manipulanda and recorded on cumulative recorders and counters. Nine pharmacological compounds were administered to the squirrel monkey after a stable baseline of bite and lever press responding had been established. Three stimulant compounds - d-amphetamine, caffeine, cocaine; three tranquilizer compounds - nicotine, chlordiazepoxide, chlorpromazine; …

Conditioned Reinforcement: An Attempt To Replicate The Thomas Procedure With Children, Michael B. Oberlin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Role Of Reinforcement Density In The Transfer Of Stimulus Control In A Receptive Discrimination Task, Jane Stewart Howard

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Negative Behavioral Contrast As A Function Of Response Effort, Nile Elliott Warner

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Choice Procedures: Negative Reinforcement, Raul Rene De La Garza Cano

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Differential Temporal Onset Of Auditory And Visual Conditional Stimuli Upon Consummatory Licking Behavior Of Rats In A Discriminative Punishment Situation, Nelia Masiques

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Prior Learning And Direct Reinforcement In Observational Learning And Vicarious Reinforcement, Larry D. Olsen

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Some Effects Of Variable Duration Conditioned Stimuli In A Conditioned Suppression Procedure, Harvey E. Jacobs

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Conditioned Reinforcement: An Attempt To Use Zimmerman Technique With Children, Priscila R. Derdyk

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Overcorrection Movements: Topographic Relation And Re-Educative Function, Pamela Roberts

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Training And Generalization Of Restauranting Skills: Programming Primary Reinforcement For Community Travel, Richard Aart Van Den Pol

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Stimulus Control Functions Following Discrimination Training Using A Drl Schedule Of Reinforcement, Kathleen M. Krafft

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.