Date of Graduation

1998

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

EdD

College

College of Education and Human Services

Department

Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry

Committee Chair

Julie S. Vargas

Committee Co-Chair

Michael Perone

Committee Member

Roy Moxley

Committee Member

Rayne Sperling Dennison

Committee Member

Robert W. Allan

Abstract

The current experiments sought to extend human sign-tracking findings and to investigate behavioral contrast in a feature positive/feature negative paradigm with human participants. Twelve undergraduate students participated in one of two studies. Each participant was exposed to between nine and sixteen experimental sessions lasting between 10 and 20 minutes. A touch screen was used to detect touches to a computer monitor in either a feature positive arrangement, a feature negative arrangement, or a multiple VI10s-VI10s schedule presentation. The distinct feature presented was a filled triangle, while common features were filled squares. Reinforcement for touching the screen was not contingent on touch location. Reinforcement was comprised of a beeping noise and an increment of one “point”, as indicated by one ASCII character. Results provided preliminary evidence of successful feature positive and feature negative responding with adult humans in a free operant paradigm. Results from the behavioral contrast manipulation were less clear, but evidence of some differentiated behavior and stimulus control was detected, suggesting the current procedure as a starting point for future investigations.

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