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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1978 Nov;30(3):243–253. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1978.30-243

Reinforcement and substitution in humans: a multiple-response analysis1

Daniel J Bernstein, Ebbe B Ebbesen
PMCID: PMC1332769  PMID: 16812105

Abstract

Three adult human subjects engaged in activities such as reading, sewing, artwork, and candlemaking while living alone in a laboratory apartment 24 hours per day for several weeks. After a baseline period in which the activities were fully available, access to a particular activity (contingent response) was made dependent on engaging in another less-preferred activity (instrumental response). The contingencies produced substantial increases in instrumental responding, and responding decreased toward baseline levels when the dependency was removed. Under the contingent conditions, time earned for the concurrent activity was always less than the baseline level. To determine the contribution of this reduction to the instrumental increase, access to the contingent activity was restricted in the absence of any dependency. The results indicated that increases among responses that filled the newly available time could be selective, e.g., artwork increased when reading was restricted but candlemaking did not. It was concluded that the reductions in the contingent response that accompany contingencies usually do not exclusively determine instrumental increases, but selective increases can contribute to the increase in time devoted to the instrumental response.

Keywords: reinforcement, substitution, contingency, restriction, multiple-response, humans

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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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