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A laboratory comparison of two variations of differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate procedures
Author(s) -
Jessel Joshua,
Borrero John C.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.114
Subject(s) - reinforcement , psychology , differential reinforcement , differential (mechanical device) , developmental psychology , social psychology , engineering , aerospace engineering
We compared 2 variations of differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate (DRL) procedures: spaced‐responding DRL, in which a reinforcer was delivered contingent on each response if a specified interval had passed since the last response, and full‐session DRL, in which a reinforcer was presented at the end of an interval if the response rate was below criterion within the specified interval. We used a human‐operant procedure and analyzed within‐session responding to assess any similarities or differences between procedures. Data revealed a positive contingency between responding and reinforcement under the spaced‐responding DRL schedule and a negative contingency under the full‐session DRL schedule. Furthermore, 60% of the participants discontinued responding by the last full‐session DRL session. Implications for the appropriate procedural and taxonomical usage of both DRL schedules are discussed.