A Critical Review of the Support for Variability as an Operant Dimension.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Animal behavior
• Reinforcement learning

Background:

• The direct reinforcement of behavioral variability is widely accepted.
• Identifying mechanisms for stochastic-like variability in variability contingencies is intricate.
• Reinforcement typically produces repetitive responding, posing challenges for variability reinforcement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the mechanisms behind increased behavioral variability under reinforcement.
• To discuss challenges in characterizing variability as directly reinforced.
• To propose alternative hypotheses for variability contingencies.

Main Methods:

• Discussion of challenging findings in variability experiments.
• Examination of alternative hypotheses for variability contingencies.
• Analysis of the interaction between reinforcement and extinction.

Main Results:

• Direct reinforcement of variability presents challenges due to traditional findings of repetitive responding.
• Variability contingencies do not always relate to independent variables like repetitive responding.
• A dynamic interaction of reinforcement and extinction is proposed as an alternative explanation.

Conclusions:

• The increase in behavioral variability under reinforcement may not be directly reinforced.
• A dynamic interplay of reinforcement and extinction on specific responses offers a more comprehensive explanation.
• This interaction provides a nuanced understanding of variability contingencies in behavior.