Revealed preference between reinforcers used to examine hypotheses about behavioral consistencies

New techniques for measuring preference between reinforcers have emerged in a field known as behavioral economics. Preference is assessed from the relative shapes of reinforcer demand functions, shown in graphs in which rate of reinforcement is plotted against schedule requirement. In economic terminology, a schedule requirement sets the price of a reinforcer as it sets the numbers of responses needed to obtain a reinforcer. Relative shapes of demand functions for alternative reinforcers are interpreted using the principle of revealed preference, as the shape of a demand function reflects the numbers of responses emitted to obtain reinforcers at each schedule requirement. Individual preferences between reinforcers are measured from differences in shapes of demand functions. Demand functions from two single subject experiments are examined to assess the hypothesis that individuals may generate differently shaped demand functions for the same reinforcers. It is hypothesized that individual differences in reinforcer preference may be related to consistent differences in behavior such as those observed in personality traits.