Document Type

Dissertation

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

PhD in Behavior Analysis

Dissertation Defense Date

2022

First Committee Member

Bourret, Jason C.

Second Committee Member

Palmer, David C.

Third Committee Member

Henley, Amy J.

Additional Committee Member(s)

Pinkston, Jonathan W.

Abstract

"Brief and continuous conditioned reinforcers have been shown to have differential effects under some circumstances. A reinforcement effect has been demonstrated when brief conditioned reinforcers are delivered contingent on responding under second-order schedules of reinforcement. Alternatively, continuously present conditioned reinforcers that are associated with the initial components of fixed-ratio (FR) second-order token or extended-chained schedules of reinforcement have been shown to result in response suppression under high ratio requirements. Although both of these types of reinforcers are used extensively in applied settings, there has been limited research on the differential effects these stimuli may have on the behavior of humans in clinical and educational applications. The purpose of the present study was to assess the relative effects these types of conditioned reinforcers have in sustaining responding in humans under progressive-ratio schedules, concurrent schedules, and in the absence of primary reinforcement. Our results showed progressive-ratio (PR) schedules of continuously present conditioned reinforcement maintained higher response counts relative to those obtained under brief conditioned reinforcement and tandem schedules in three of four participants."

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