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Computer program to generate operant schedules.

Allen H Wolach1, Maureen A McHale

  • 1Institute of Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616-3793, USA. wolach@iit.edu

Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers : a Journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc
|July 12, 2002
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a computer program allowing students to explore reinforcement schedules, mirroring those used with animals. Human performance on these schedules closely matched nonhuman subject data.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Computer Science in Education

Background:

  • Schedules of reinforcement are fundamental in behavioral psychology, typically studied with nonhuman subjects.
  • Bridging the gap between animal and human learning research requires accessible experimental tools.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a novel computer program for programming and demonstrating schedules of reinforcement.
  • To enable human subjects to experience operant conditioning schedules commonly used with animals.
  • To compare human and nonhuman subject performance across various reinforcement schedules.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a user-friendly computer program for creating fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval schedules.
  • Implementation of cumulative recording of subject responses, with options for screen display and printer output.

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  • Testing the program with human participants exposed to programmed schedules of reinforcement.

    • Main Results:

    • Human subjects demonstrated response patterns consistent with established findings for nonhuman subjects on identical schedules.
    • The computer program successfully simulated and displayed the effects of different reinforcement schedules.
    • Cumulative recordings provided clear visual data on response rates and patterns.

    Conclusions:

    • The developed computer program effectively simulates schedules of reinforcement for human participants.
    • Findings suggest that fundamental principles of operant conditioning apply similarly across human and nonhuman subjects.
    • This tool offers a valuable resource for teaching and research in behavioral psychology.