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SELF‐CONTROL AND THE PREFERENCE FOR DELAYED REINFORCEMENT: AN EXAMPLE IN BRAIN INJURY
Author(s) -
Dixon Mark R.,
Horner Mollie J.,
Guercio John
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1901/jaba.2003.36-371
Subject(s) - psychology , reinforcement , preference , self control , control (management) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , clinical psychology , neuroscience , social psychology , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics , microeconomics
We investigated the effects of a concurrent physical therapy activity (keeping the hand open) during delays to reinforcement in an adult man with acquired brain injuries. Once a relatively stable level of hand‐open behavior was obtained, the participant was asked to choose between a small immediate reinforcer and a larger delayed reinforcer contingent on keeping the hand open at greater‐than‐baseline duration. Afterwards, the participant was asked to select between a larger delayed reinforcer with no hand‐open requirement and the identical larger delayed reinforcer with a progressively increasing hand‐open requirement. Results suggest a shift in preference to larger delayed reinforcers and an eventual preference for the hand‐open requirement option.