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Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis logoLink to Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
. 1990 Summer;23(2):197–205. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-197

A collateral effect of reward predicted by matching theory.

F C Mace 1, B McCurdy 1, E A Quigley 1
PMCID: PMC1286225  PMID: 2373655

Abstract

Matching theory describes a process by which organisms distribute their behavior between two or more concurrent schedules of reinforcement (Herrnstein, 1961). In an attempt to determine the generality of matching theory to applied settings, 2 students receiving special education were provided with academic response alternatives. Using a combined simultaneous treatments design and reversal design, unequal ratio schedules of reinforcement were varied across two academic responses. Findings indicated that both subjects allocated higher rates of responses to the richer schedule of reinforcement, although only one responded exclusively to the richer schedule. The present results lend support to a postulation that positive reinforcement may have undesirable collateral effects that are predicted by matching theory (Balsam & Bondy, 1983).

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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