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Stimulus specificity and dishabituation of operant responding in humans
Author(s) -
Kenzer Amy L.,
Ghezzi Patrick M.,
Fuller Timothy
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1002/jeab.29
Subject(s) - habituation , reinforcement , operant conditioning , psychology , stimulus (psychology) , stimulus control , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , neuroscience , social psychology , nicotine
Habituation has recently been addressed within the operant conditioning paradigm. While the literature on this topic is growing, the examination of dishabituation, a fundamental characteristic of habituation, remains limited. This study expanded research on habituation of operant responding in non‐human animals to research involving humans. Specifically, dishabituation and stimulus specificity were examined under a variety of conditions involving changes in the reinforcer type, reinforcement schedule, reinforcer amount, and selected properties of the antecedent stimuli for a computerized task with 46 undergraduate students. An additional 3 participants were exposed to a control condition. Evaluation of within session patterns of responding indicates that the introduction of stimulus changes into the operant context reliably produced dishabituation of operant responding in humans.