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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
07:05
Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
Published on: September 10, 2018
Local temporal pattering of operant behavior in humans
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|November 1, 1985
Summary
College students learned to control response timing through intermittent reinforcement schedules. Accurate understanding of the behavioral contingencies correlated with improved response accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral psychology
- Operant conditioning
- Human-computer interaction
Background:
- Understanding how individuals learn complex response patterns is crucial in behavioral psychology.
- Intermittent reinforcement schedules are known to influence response rates and patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of paced random-interval schedules on button-pressing behavior in college students.
- To examine the relationship between accurate understanding of contingencies and behavioral performance.
Main Methods:
- Forty-four college students participated in button-pressing tasks under various paced random-interval schedules.
- Feedback (points, "GOOD", "POOR") was provided intermittently based on response timing.
- Instructions regarding contingency aspects and experimenter prompting were varied.
Main Results:
- Behavioral patterning consistent with the schedule contingencies was observed in some subjects within 30 minutes.
- Subjects who accurately described the contingencies in a post-experiment questionnaire demonstrated superior response accuracy.
Conclusions:
- Paced random-interval schedules can effectively shape specific response patterns in humans.
- Accurate cognitive representation of reinforcement contingencies is linked to improved behavioral control.
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