Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

The Effects Of Vocal Instructions And Sequence Of Conditions On The Acquisition And Maintenance Of Behavioral Chains, Charles L. Lowe

Dissertations

Five children, ages 5 to 6 1/2 years, were trained to learn and relearn four-link behavioral chains using conditioned reinforcement. Subjects were presented with a horizontal array of 12 chips in four equal groups. During Control Learning (CL) sessions, a new sequence of responses was learned through contingency shaping. The same sequence was presented later that day during a Control Relearning (CRL) session. Instruction on correct responses was provided during Instruction Learning (IL) sessions. The same sequence was presented without instruction during an Instruction Relearning (IRL) session later that day. Thus, new behavioral chains were acquired during CL and IL …

The Effects Of Reward And Reinforcement On Intrinsic Interest, Alyce Muzette Dickinson

Dissertations

Under certain circumstances, rewarding individuals for performing a task that they enjoy may decrease their subsequent interest in that activity when rewards are no longer available. Decreased task interest is not, however, an inevitable outcome of reward and the subsequent termination of reward. This study investigated one variable that may influence whether task interest will increase or decrease following reward termination: the degree to which the reward is reinforcing. The study also examined how long post-reward performance changes persisted when they occurred.

A multiple-trial, within-subject comparison design was employed in which three reward phases were alternated with post-reward phases. Two …

Computer-Assisted Consultation: Problem-Identification, David B. Lennox

Dissertations

Three experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Consultation (CAC)--a computer-based problem identification interviewing system for use in conducting school-based behavioral consultation. The specific goals of problem identification are to establish behavioral objectives and initial assessment characteristics. Experiment I functioned as a pilot which: (1) validated the need for problem identification, (2) demonstrated the general utility of CAC, and (3) provide a basis for program improvement. Experiment II provided a more rigorous analysis of CAC by comparing it with an actual problem identification interview. Two groups of three consultees each were exposed to one of two counter-balanced sequences …

The Delay-Reduction Hypothesis Of Evocative Effectiveness And Latency, James Bryant Nuzzo

Dissertations

Prior studies found that separations between latencies correlated with differential stimuli in a multiple discrete trial procedure were attenuated with increased intertrial interval durations. In this study six pigeons served as subjects in two groups. The procedure for one group was a multiple DRO-FR chain schedule (Ratio Delay group) while in the other group a multiple DRO - response-initiated delay interval chain schedule (Time Delay group) was used. Results of this study are consistent with the Delay-reduction hypothesis of evocative effectiveness which predicts that with increasing initial link durations relative terminal link evocative effectiveness would decrease. Specifically, relative terminal link …

Stimulus-Reinforcer And Response-Reinforcer Relationships In The Determination Of Response Latency, Bruce Edward Hesse

Dissertations

Response latency is measured from the onset of a stimulus to the onset of a response and is relevant to both respondent and operant control procedures. Previous research has shown response latency to be a sensitive operant dependent variable but the contribution of respondent influences was not known. The present experiment used pigeons, a two-key procedure and a two component FR schedule to study the respondent (stimulus-reinforcer) contributions to the determination of an ostensibly operant response latency. Stimuli associated with each FR component were displayed on one key (stimulus key) while responding for reinforcement was required on a second key …

Effects Of Tripelennamine And Pentazocine Alone And In Combination On Schedule-Controlled Performance, Deborah Lou Grossett

Dissertations

The effects of tripelennamine (3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 mg/kg) and pentazocine (5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg), given alone and in selected combinations, were determined in rats performing under fixed-ratio 30 and interresponse-time-greater-than-15-second schedules of food delivery. When given alone, tripelennamine and pentazocine produced statistically significant decreases in responding under the fixed-ratio 30 schedule, but did not significantly affect responding under the interresponse-time-greater-than-15-second schedule. Each drug alone significantly decreased the number of reinforcers (food pellets) earned relative to control values under both schedules. The effects of the two drugs in combination were supra-additive. That is, the effects …

Effects Of Anticonvulsant Drugs On Learning And Memory, Mitchell Jon Picker

Dissertations

The effects of phenobarbital, clonazepam, valproic acid, phenytoin, and ethosuximide were examined in pigeons performing under repeated acquisition of response chains and delayed matching-to-sample procedures. In experiment I, clonazepam, valproic acid, ethosuximide, and phenytoin produced generally dose-dependent increases in rate of responding, while phenobarbital had little consistent effect on response rate across the dose range studied. Phenobarbital and clonazepam produced dose-dependent increases in error rates (i.e., learning impairment). Although valproic acid and phenytoin generally increased error rates relative to control values, this effect was not directly dose-dependent or consistent across subjects. In contrast to the other anticonvulsants examined, ethosuximide had …

The Effects Of Pentazocine And Tripelennamine On Analgesia And Locomotion, James Philip Cleary

Dissertations

The effects of pentazocine and tripelennamine, alone and in combination, were assessed on measures of analgesia (hot plate test) and locomotion (open field) in rats and mice. In Experiment 1, the combination of pentazocine and tripelennamine was found to produce analgesia at doses which were not analgesic when the drugs were given alone. This combination also reestablished analgesia in subjects made tolerant to pentazocine's effects. In Experiment 2, development of tolerance to the analgesic effects of pentazocine was delayed by addition of tripelennamine. In Experiment 3, locomotion was decreased by pentazocine at the highest dose. A similar reduction was produced …

The Behavioral And Resource Needs Assessment Of The Hispanic Community In Kalamazoo County, Roberto Flachier

Dissertations

This research was set out to assess in depth the behavioral and resource needs of the Hispanic Community in order to create a data base from which tactics of action could be developed and responsive and necessary services could be planned and initiated. Following are four of the basic assumptions that guided this research. One, Behavioral Health (BH) is directly related to the behavioral and resource base in areas necessary for living. Two, in order to plan responsive and necessary services, it is necessary to know the target community's behavioral and resource base and needs; e.g., in economics, employment, education, …

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 …

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 …

Effects Of Electromagnetic Fields On The Visually Evoked Response In The Visual Cortex, Arni Holm

Dissertations

Problem. This study sought to determine if electromagnetic fields affect the visually evoked response of the visual cortex. From the fact that nerve impulses are propagated by the motions of electrically charged ions, the question arose whether the presence of an external electromagnetic field might affect either the propagation of nerve impulses traveling through the optical nerve pathway or the functioning of the visual cortex itself.

Method. Evoked responses were produced in the visual cortex of cats by visual stimulation (light flashes). Surface electrodes, located at the visual cortex (and connected to a preamplifier and an oscilloscope) detectedthe evoked responses …

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; …

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.

Cardiac Change To An Auditory Signal And Exploratory Behavior In Normal And Developmentally Delayed Infants, Sharon Bradley Johnson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Albert Bandura And Ellen G. White: A Comparative Study Of Their Concepts Of Behavior Modification Through Modeling, Miriam S. Tumangday

Dissertations

Problem. One of the major concerns in education today is the improvement of behavior. Over the years various strategies have been proposed to modify human conduct. A careful review of these theories shows many similarities and divergences. Albert Bandura and Ellen G. White, two proponents from different eras and with widely disparate cultural and intellectual heritage, have strongly recommended modeling or example as the major factor in shaping human behavior. The present study sought to determine what, if any, similarities or differences exist in their modeling concepts.

Procedure. This investigation is a descriptive analytical study concerned with concepts …

Effect Of Descriptive Information On Accuracy Of Interpersonal Perception, Sung Soo Park

Dissertations

No abstract provided.