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Concurrent activities and instructed human fixed-interval performance

D Barnes1, M Keenan

  • 1Department of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Ireland.

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|May 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary
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Concurrent activities like television viewing can alter human fixed-interval performance, shifting behavior from regulated patterns to less controlled ones. This suggests environmental factors significantly influence operant conditioning.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Operant Conditioning
  • Human Performance Studies

Background:

  • Human performance on fixed-interval schedules is sensitive to concurrent activities.
  • Verbal regulation is often employed to maintain performance under fixed-interval schedules.
  • The influence of different concurrent stimuli on human operant behavior requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of concurrent activities (reading material vs. television) on human fixed-interval performance.
  • To examine the role of verbal regulation in modulating performance under fixed-interval schedules with concurrent activities.
  • To identify the specific contingencies controlling human behavior in fixed-interval schedules when concurrent stimuli are present or absent.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Two experiments were conducted with adult subjects (N=8).
  • Subjects performed on fixed-interval schedules (60s, 300s, 600s) with access to either reading material or a television.
  • Behavioral patterns (e.g., scalloping, low-rate) and self-reported verbal regulation were recorded.

Main Results:

  • Access to reading material sometimes led to "scalloped" patterns and no verbal regulation, while withdrawal prompted low-rate patterns and verbal regulation.
  • Conversely, some subjects showed low-rate patterns with verbal regulation during reading but shifted to scalloped patterns without verbal regulation when watching television.
  • Experimentally naive subjects consistently displayed scalloped patterns without verbal regulation when watching television, reverting to verbal regulation and low-rate patterns when television access was removed.

Conclusions:

  • Concurrent stimuli, particularly television, can suppress verbal regulation and alter fixed-interval performance patterns in humans.
  • The presence or absence of specific concurrent activities significantly impacts the behavioral control mechanisms at play.
  • Environmental contingencies play a crucial role in shaping human operant behavior on fixed-interval schedules.