Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior最新文献

Learning to discriminate between physically similar stimuli as members of different classes can be relevant in certain situations. This study investigated effective methods of displaying two pairs of quasi-identical stimuli, as samples and/or comparisons, during the training of baseline conditional discriminations. The goal was to enable participants to form three 3-member equivalence classes and discriminate similar stimuli as members of distinct equivalence classes. Eighteen adults underwent arbitrary relations (AB/AC) training. A multiple-probe design assessed maintenance and emergence of stimulus relations. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six training conditions across three experiments. Conditions 1, 2, and 5 presented quasi-identical stimuli successively as samples during training. Condition 3 presented quasi-identical stimuli successively as comparisons, whereas Condition 4 presented quasi-identical stimuli simultaneously as comparisons. Condition 6 presented each pair of quasi-identical stimuli simultaneously as a sample and a comparison. Condition 4 uniquely resulted in successful equivalence class formation for all participants. Conditions 3 and 6 failed to form equivalence classes, whereas Conditions 1, 2, and 5 did not yield baseline learning. These findings highlight the relevance of presenting quasi-identical stimuli as simultaneous comparisons (Condition 4) to foster equivalence class formation. Understanding optimal training conditions has implications for discussions on the acquisition of simple discriminations required in training simultaneous conditional discriminations.

Four experiments assessed the effects of simultaneous point gains and losses on human responding on a moving response button. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects of point loss arranged in variable-time (VT) and variable-interval (VI) schedules on persistence. For that purpose, a multiple schedule was in force. One component had point gains only, and the other had point gains and losses. The net reinforcement rate was equated across components by arranging greater point gains in the gains-plus-losses component. Increases in the speed of the moving response button disrupted responding during test sessions. No differential persistence between point-gains and point-gains-and-loss conditions was observed during Experiments 1 and 2. To ensure that point losses could function as punishers, Experiments 3 and 4 compared the effects of point loss arranged in fixed-ratio (FR) or VI schedules on response rate and persistence. The FR and VI point loss decreased the response rate during Experiment 3 but did not produce differential persistence in Experiment 4. These results suggest that point loss decreases response rate but does not weaken persistence more than gains strengthen persistence.

Policies vary substantially in terms of providing sources of psychosocial enrichment. Behavioral economic models of substance use and addiction emphasize that deficits in access to substance-free sources of reward increase substance reinforcing value and risk for addiction. The current study used an alcohol demand curve approach to test the hypothesis that various indices of reward deprivation would be associated with elevated alcohol reinforcing efficacy. We examined associations between alcohol demand indices and several facets of reward deprivation in a sample of young adults (N = 1,331; ages 19-25 years) recruited from the United States and Canada who reported recent binge drinking. Additionally, we created an index of cumulative reward deprivation that integrated the various reward facets and examined its association with alcohol demand intensity and maximum expenditure on alcohol. Our findings indicate that reward deprivation is associated with elevated alcohol demand and provide support for alcohol prevention and intervention approaches that emphasize environmental enrichment.

We examined the zoographics, or the characteristics of nonhuman animal subjects, reported for the entirety of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) through the most recent complete year (1958–2023). Animal sex in particular was evaluated to determine whether the lack of inclusion of female subjects in other disciplines extends to JEAB. Through systematic coding of all nonhuman empirical articles, we found consistent underreporting of most zoographics and a disproportionate use of male subjects relative to female subjects. Additionally, animal sex was commonly unreported and the inclusion of both male and female subjects was sparse. Recent years show some improvement, but greater inclusion is required. Lack of female subjects in research as well as underreporting of zoographics can generate unrepresentative results and hamper replication, generalization, and translation. We provide resources to guide future research and reporting suggestions such as equal inclusion and disaggregation of data by sex. We also clarify misunderstandings about the use of both sexes in research such as beliefs that it necessarily increases the cost of research.

One of the most common treatments for severe challenging behavior involves placing the challenging behavior on extinction and differentially reinforcing an alternative response (DRA). However, extinction is not always feasible and may be unsafe or impractical to implement in some circumstances. Thus, implementing a DRA without extinction intervention may be necessary for some cases. Currently, the extent to which DRA without extinction produces durable treatment outcomes, particularly as it relates to the resurgence of challenging behavior, is unclear. The present study investigated resurgence following DRA with and without extinction using a three-phase resurgence evaluation in a translational human operant model with college students as participants. All participants demonstrated resurgence across both experimental groups. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence, magnitude, or persistence of resurgence between groups, levels of resurgence magnitude were relatively higher in the DRA-without-extinction group than in the DRA-with-extinction group. Clinical implications of these findings and directions for future human operant investigations of resurgence are discussed.

Heightened delay discounting has been linked to adverse smoking cessation outcomes, including among light cigarette users. Few studies have evaluated delay discounting's proposed mechanism, preference reversal (concurrent increases in valuation of/craving for desired objects), and none have done so in naturalistic settings. We examined how person-level delay discounting moderated the within-person association between cigarette valuation and craving among very light daily cigarette users who were financially incentivized to abstain. Forty participants completed a baseline delay-discounting task and intermittent ratings of cigarette valuation and craving during the incentivized abstinence attempt. Subjects earned monetary rewards for abstinence on a descending schedule (e.g., $20 on Days 1 and 2 and $2.50 on Days 9 and 10). Consistent with preference reversals, there was a positive association between cigarette valuation and craving. This relation was moderated by delay discounting (stronger among those with low discounting rates) and by monetary reinforcement amount (stronger on days with low reinforcement). Additionally, subjects were more likely to report stronger cravings on days with high monetary reinforcement, with this effect moderated by delay discounting (stronger among those with low discounting rates). The results suggest that heightened delay discounting may not confer risk for preference reversal among very light daily cigarette users who are attempting abstinence.

The hegemonic use of electric shock as an aversive stimulus limits what is known about the generality of avoidance behavior and related phenomena. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using the hot air blast (HAB) instead of electric shock as an aversive stimulus in avoidance conditioning. Four male Wistar rats were exposed to a discrete-trial procedure. In the first phase, the emission of a lever-press response during a trial was positively reinforced. In the second phase, the same contingency was employed, but an escapable HAB was presented at the end of a trial when no response was emitted. In the third phase, positive reinforcement was suspended and a discrete-trial avoidance procedure was employed. In the fourth phase, HAB presentation was completely suspended. As a result, all subjects learned the avoidance response and showed a marked reduction in its frequency during HAB suspension. These results offer evidence indicating that avoidance behavior is controlled by the HAB, thereby advancing the understanding of the generality of this stimulus as being aversive.

In the dictator game, the evidence that giving is equivalent to taking is mixed. The purpose of this study was to investigate framing effects (giving/taking) on social-discounting rates among young African adults from an informal settlement in South Africa. Employing a within-participant design, these young adults completed a series of incentivized dictator games with an isomorphically equivalent giving and taking frame at each of eight social distances. Altruism was measured by the social-discounting rate, and framing effects were assessed using generalized linear regression. The study provides empirical evidence that prosocial behavior among young South African adults is subject to framing because exponential, hyperbolic, and q-exponential social-discounting rates in all instances were lower in the taking than in the giving frame. This difference may be the result of greater “egalitarianism” and “selflessness” elicited by the taking frame, which likely is a product of the experiment's particular social and economic field context. More comparative research is required to establish the working of specific mechanics of morality that may operate differently in diverse socioeconomic contexts, thus contributing to elucidating the heterogeneous nature of findings in this area of study.

Walking is a common and preferred form of exercise. Although there are current recommendations for walking volume (e.g., steps per day), recent research has begun to distinguish volume from intensity (e.g., “brisk” walking) as an important dimension of exercise. Increasing intensity may confer health advantages beyond volume measures because it shifts cardiovascular performance to more vigorous training zones. Reinforcement-based approaches have been valuable in increasing volume measures of exercise, and the present study sought to develop a corresponding reinforcement approach to training walking intensity. For this study, we used a continuous reinforcement paradigm where music played only while walking met specified criteria; otherwise, music playback stopped. As a result, music was synchronized with walking performance. Seventeen participants walked on a nonmotorized treadmill at a self-selected pace. Across the session, different conditions arranged for music to play independent of walking speed or contingent on speed increases or decreases. An extinction component assessed performance when music was withdrawn completely. Walking speed was selectively increased and decreased by adjusting the contingencies that were arranged for music, and variability in speed increased during extinction, with both findings indicating that music was a reinforcer. Heart rate was also increased to moderate–vigorous intensities during reinforcement. The findings provide a compelling case that walking intensity can be modified by music reinforcement. We suggest that synchronous schedules may be an important foundation for future exercise technologies that are based on reinforcement.