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Group Modification of Affective Verbalizations: Resistance to Extinction and Generalization Effects
Author(s) -
FROMME DONALD K.,
STOMMEL JOSEPH A.,
DUVALL RONALD D.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
british journal of social and clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0007-1293
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1976.tb00051.x
Subject(s) - generalization , psychology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , reinforcement , affect (linguistics) , empathy , developmental psychology , social psychology , communication , mathematics , mathematical analysis , paleontology , biology
An operant group procedure significantly increased the frequency of here‐and‐now affect, feedback, and empathy statements made by two groups of four subjects during ten one‐hour sessions, divided into base line, acquisition, extinction, reacquisition and generalization periods. The continuously reinforced group showed resistance to extinction, attributed in part to reinforcement by other group members when a subject made reinforceable statements. Failure of the variably reinforced group to replicate this finding was attributed in part to a less adequate conceptual grasp of the reinforcement categories resulting from the reduced feedback associated with a variable ratio schedule. Both groups showed strong generalization effects when subjects were distributed among eight new groups and the new subjects' performance was also significantly higher than typical base levels.