Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Observing behavior in a computer game.

D A Case1, B O Ploog, E Fantino

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0109.

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|November 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Small molecule hydration energy and entropy from 3D-RISM.

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal·2016
Same author

Visual stimulus compounding with pigeons.

Behavioural processes·2014
Same author

Humans' responses to novel stimulus compounds and the effects of training.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2013
Same author

Revised AMBER parameters for bioorganic phosphates.

Journal of chemical theory and computation·2012
Same author

Establishing operations and the discriminative stimulus.

The Behavior analyst·2012
Same author

Judgment and decision making: Behavioral approaches.

The Behavior analyst·2012
Same journal

The Genoeconomics of Impulsive Intertemporal Choice: A Critical Review.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Shaping the extinction burst: Increasing its probability and preventing its emergence across topographies.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Evaluating the combined effects of effort and probability on monetary discounting.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

An improved translational approach to studying persistence-strengthening effects of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Interactions between the effects of food and water motivating operations on concurrent food- and water-reinforced responding in mice.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
Same journal

Odor-visual and visual-visual matching to sample with dogs.

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior·2026
See all related articles

This study found that information about potential rewards, like destroying Klingon invaders in a game, acts as a conditioned reinforcer for observing behavior. This suggests that learning to anticipate positive outcomes, not just reducing uncertainty, drives this behavior.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Observing behavior, crucial for learning and decision-making, is often studied using animal models.
  • Previous research suggests observing responses are maintained by either reducing uncertainty or by conditioned reinforcement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of conditioned reinforcement versus uncertainty reduction in maintaining observing behavior.
  • To examine how information about potential reinforcers influences observing responses in a naturalistic setting.

Main Methods:

  • College students played a modified version of the computer game "Star Trek."
  • Reinforcement (destroying Klingons) was delivered on a mixed variable-time schedule, independent of player responses.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Observing responses produced stimuli correlated or uncorrelated with reinforcement availability.

    • Main Results:

    • Information about potential positive outcomes (S+) was more reinforcing than information about negative outcomes (S-).
    • Observing responses were maintained when the information provided could be used to optimize other reinforcement opportunities.
    • Observing behavior was better maintained by "bad news" (S-) when it offered strategic advantages.

    Conclusions:

    • Findings support the conditioned reinforcement hypothesis over the uncertainty-reduction hypothesis for observing behavior.
    • This research extends the study of observing behavior to a more naturalistic, game-based environment.
    • The study highlights the importance of intrinsic value and strategic information in reinforcement learning.