Preliminary Analysis of Rule Explicitness on Instructional Control in Immediate and Delayed Contingencies

Rules can enable individuals to effectively bypass some of the unavoidable outcomes associated with delayed reinforcers. This exploratory study analyzes how varying levels of rule explicitness affect instructional control under immediate and delayed contingencies. Through four studies, the impact of rule explicitness on verbal antecedent control over responses was explored. The initial study established a baseline of behavior controlled by immediate contingencies for all participants. The second study introduced an implicit rule, which did not modify the behavioral patterns found in the previous study. Conversely, in the third study, an explicit rule substantially influenced behavior toward long-term contingencies for most participants. The fourth study confirmed these findings. Results show that explicit rules more effectively influence behavior, although this effect was not consistent across all participants. These preliminary results should be seen as an early step toward a deeper analysis of immediate and delayed contingencies in rule-governed behavior.