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Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats
Published on: February 15, 2015
Modification of perseverative responding that increased earnings but impeded skill acquisition in a job-skills
Anthony DeFulio1, Carina Iati, Mick Needham
1Center for Learning and Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5200 Eastern Avenue, Suite 142 West, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. adefuli1@jhmi.edu
Abstract:
Adults in a therapeutic workplace working on a computerized keyboarding training program earned vouchers for typing correct characters. Typing technique was evaluated on review steps. Participants could pass the review and earn a bonus, or skip the review and proceed with no bonus. Alternatively, participants could continue practicing on the same step. Participants persistently repeated the same step, which halted progress through the program but allowed them to increase their rate of responding and, as a result, their earnings. Blocking the initiation of practice on review steps and removing payment for practice initiated after prompts (extinction) both produced rapid progress through the program. These results underscore the importance of careful arrangement of the contingencies in adult education programs.
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