Behavioral engineering: control of posture by informational feedback

The effects of informational feedback on a socially undesirable behavior were studied. The feedback was a mild vibrotactile stimulus and the response was slouching. When subjects slouched, a behavioral engineering apparatus provided vibrotactile stimulation to the shoulder. All subjects slouched less when stimulation was provided. A procedural control revealed that slouching will decrease because of the informational aspect of the stimulus consequence and not because of its aversive properties. When the subjects were instructed to slouch, the effects of feedback were reversed: feedback increased, rather than decreased, slouching. These results indicate that the effect of feedback for a response depends on the subject's motivation to perform that response. It is suggested that informational feedback could be used more widely as a therapeutic procedure to modify human behaviors, but only those behaviors that a patient is strongly motivated to change.