Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1986 May;45(3):257–267. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1986.45-257

Human concurrent performances: The effects of experience, instructions, and schedule-correlated stimuli

Masaharu Takahashi, Takashige Iwamoto
PMCID: PMC1348237  PMID: 16812449

Abstract

In order to investigate the effects of separate exposures to single schedules, of unique schedule-correlated stimuli, and of independency-informing instructions upon choice under concurrent variable-interval schedules, 28 human subjects were divided into eight groups. Each subject was exposed to a baseline procedure, an experimental procedure, and a return to the baseline procedure. Different combinations of these three manipulations were applied to the different groups only during the experimental phase (except for the independency-informing instructions, which were given to half of the groups at the start of training). For the group of subjects exposed to the combination of all three manipulations, the logarithms of the ratios of response frequencies tended to be linearly related to the logarithms of the ratios of reinforcement frequencies during the experimental phase. These orderly effects were not obtained with subjects in the other groups. The results suggest that human choice was well described by the generalized matching law when the three manipulations were simultaneously in effect, and that unreported differences in the use of these three procedural variables might partly account for contradictions between results in previous studies of human concurrent performance.

Keywords: matching law, concurrent variable-interval schedules, instruction, discriminative stimulus, lever pressing, humans

Full text

PDF
257

Selected References

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

  1. Baum W. M. Matching, undermatching, and overmatching in studies of choice. J Exp Anal Behav. 1979 Sep;32(2):269–281. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1979.32-269. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baum W. M. On two types of deviation from the matching law: bias and undermatching. J Exp Anal Behav. 1974 Jul;22(1):231–242. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1974.22-231. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Baum W. M. Time allocation in human vigilance. J Exp Anal Behav. 1975 Jan;23(1):45–53. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1975.23-45. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bentall R. P., Lowe C. F., Beasty A. The role of verbal behavior in human learning: II. Developmental differences. J Exp Anal Behav. 1985 Mar;43(2):165–181. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1985.43-165. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bradshaw C. M., Szabadi E., Bevan P. Behavior of humans in variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1976 Sep;26(2):135–141. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1976.26-135. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bradshaw C. M., Szabadi E., Bevan P., Ruddle H. V. The effect of signaled reinforcement availability on concurrent performances in humans. J Exp Anal Behav. 1979 Jul;32(1):65–74. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1979.32-65. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bradshaw C. M., Szabadi E., Bevan P. The effect of punishment on free-operant choice behavior in humans. J Exp Anal Behav. 1979 Jan;31(1):71–81. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1979.31-71. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Brownstein A. J., Pliskoff S. S. Some effects of relative reinforcement rate and changeover delay in response-independent concurrent schedules of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1968 Nov;11(6):683–688. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1968.11-683. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Catania A. C., Reynolds G. S. A quantitative analysis of the responding maintained by interval schedules of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1968 May;11(3 Suppl):327–383. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1968.11-s327. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Cliffe M. J., Parry S. J. Matching to reinforcer value: human concurrent variable-interval performance. Q J Exp Psychol. 1980 Nov;32(4):557–570. doi: 10.1080/14640748008401845. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Galizio M. Contingency-shaped and rule-governed behavior: instructional control of human loss avoidance. J Exp Anal Behav. 1979 Jan;31(1):53–70. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1979.31-53. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. HERRNSTEIN R. J. Relative and absolute strength of response as a function of frequency of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1961 Jul;4:267–272. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1961.4-267. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. HOLLAND J. G. Human vigilance: the rate of observing an instrument is controlled by the schedule of signal detections. Science. 1958 Jul 11;128(3315):61–67. doi: 10.1126/science.128.3315.61. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Matthews B. A., Shimoff E., Catania A. C., Sagvolden T. Uninstructed human responding: sensitivity to ratio and interval contingencies. J Exp Anal Behav. 1977 May;27(3):453–467. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1977.27-453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Myers D. L., Myers L. E. Undermatching: a reappraisal of performance on concurrent variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1977 Jan;27(1):203–214. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1977.27-203. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Oscar-Berman M., Heyman G. M., Bonner R. T., Ryder J. Human neuropsychology: some differences between Korsakoff and normal operant performance. Psychol Res. 1980;41(2-3):235–247. doi: 10.1007/BF00308659. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ruddle H. V., Bradshaw C. M., Szabadi E., Foster T. M. Performance of humans in concurrent avoidance/positive-reinforcement schedules. J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 Jul;38(1):51–61. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.38-51. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Schmitt D. R. Effects of reinforcement rate and reinforcer magnitude on choice behavior of humans. J Exp Anal Behav. 1974 May;21(3):409–419. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1974.21-409. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schroeder S. R., Holland J. G. Reinforcement of eye movement with concurrent schedules. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 Nov;12(6):897–903. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-897. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Stubbs D. A., Pliskoff S. S. Concurrent responding with fixed relative rate of reinforcement. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 Nov;12(6):887–895. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1969.12-887. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Todorov J. C., de Oliveira Castro J. M., Hanna E. S., Bittencourt de Sa M. C., Barreto M. Q. Choice, experience, and the generalized matching law. J Exp Anal Behav. 1983 Sep;40(2):99–111. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1983.40-99. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wearden J. H., Burgess I. S. Matching since Baum (1979). J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 Nov;38(3):339–348. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.38-339. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior are provided here courtesy of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

RESOURCES