The Effects of Quality of Reinforcement on the Resurgence of Responding

TL;DR

This study shows that higher-quality rewards lead to stronger return of learned behaviors when those behaviors are no longer rewarded.

Contribution

The study introduces a method to empirically determine reinforcer quality and demonstrates its impact on behavior resurgence.

Findings

Higher-quality reinforcers led to greater resurgence of target behavior.

Behavior resurgence was observed when both target and alternative behaviors were placed on extinction.

Results highlight the importance of reinforcer quality in behavior analysis.

Abstract

The current study evaluated the effects of quality of reinforcement on the resurgence of target behavior responding. We defined higher- or lower-quality stimuli in terms of reinforcer potency, and specifically by the identified extent to which a reinforcer maintains responding at progressively greater response requirements. We first conducted a stimulus potency analysis to empirically derive higher- or lower-quality reinforcers using a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. We then conducted a human operant study within a three-condition resurgence evaluation with three children diagnosed with developmental disabilities. During Condition 1, target behavior responding led to higher- or lower-quality reinforcement according to a variable interval (VI) 30-s schedule of reinforcement. Following stable responding, Condition 2 delivered higher- or lower-quality reinforcement to the alternative behavior according to a VI 30-s schedule of reinforcement as target behavior responding was placed on extinction. During Condition 3, responding to both the target and alternative responses was placed on extinction. All three participants showed greater resurgence of the target behavior to a greater extent within the condition associated with higher-quality reinforcer delivery. We will discuss these results considering the importance of quality of reinforcement to both experimental and applied behavior analysis.

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