EFFECTS OF RESPONSE-COST MAGNITUDE AND ARRANGED CONSEQUENCES ON FI PERFORMANCE AFTER AN FR HISTORY

Abstract

The goal of this study was to assess the effects of response-cost magnitude and the arranged consequences on FI performance after history of FR. The response was pressing the mouse button on a rectangle which was displayed in a computer monitor. If the requirements of the contingencies were met, a smile appeared and a single response in a second button (consummatory response) produced 100 points in a counter. Ten undergraduate students served as participants and were assigned to two groups. For participants in Group 1 the arranged consequences were points that could be exchanged by money. Participants in Group 2 were paid a fixed amount independent of the points earned. Participants of both groups were exposed to three 15-minute sessions in each condition, in the following order: FR 60, FI 15s-cost 1 (1 point-loss per response emitted within the interval), FR 60 and FI 15s-cost 10 (10 point-loss per response emitted within the interval). When exposed to the FI conditions, independent of response cost, response rates decreased relative to the FR conditions. In the FI-cost 10, response rates decreased faster relative to the FI-cost 1. This relation (response-cost magnitude and degree of change in response rate) was clearer in Group 1 than in Group 2.Keywords: schedules of reinforcement, response-cost magnitude, arranged consequences, humans.