Abstract
Male high school students worked a matching-to-sample task in the presence of 2 different stimuli. During one stimulus (S+) a correct match was positively reinforced by the production of a nickel. During the other stimulus (S−) a correct match was negatively reinforced by avoiding the loss of a nickel. The initial reaction was usually a transient superiority of accuracy in S+. This transient superiority could be reinstated by decreasing the time to work the problem or the time the sample stimulus was present. In addition, the rate of the observing response that produced the sample tended to be higher during S+, and the time that elapsed before beginning the observing response tended to be shorter during S+.
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This research was conducted at the Behavior Research Laboratory, Anna State Hospital, and supported by the Illinois Department of Mental Health, NIMH Grant 4926 and NIMH Grant 17981, and is based on part of a dissertation submitted by the senior author to Southern Illinois University in August, 1970, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.
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Powell, J., Hake, D.F. Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement: A Direct Comparison of Effects on a Complex Human Response. Psychol Rec 21, 191–205 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394008
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394008