Abstract

MONTELES, Karla Maria Costa; PARACAMPO, Carla Cristina Paiva  and  ALBUQUERQUE, Luiz Carlos de. Effects of a continuous history of reinforcement and social consequences on rule following. Psicol. Reflex. Crit. [online]. 2006, vol.19, n.2, pp. 186-196. ISSN 0102-7972.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-79722006000200004.

In order to investigate the effects of variables involved in rule following, 18 children were exposed to a matching-to-sample procedure. Each child touched one of two comparison stimuli in the presence of a contextual stimulus. Correct responses were reinforced with tokens. Phase 1 began with minimal instruction, Phase 2 with a contingency-correspondent rule, and Phases 3 and 4 with a change in the contingencies. The three experimental conditions differed in Phases 1 and 3. In Phase 1 of Condition 1, no response was reinforced, and in Phase 1 of Conditions 2 and 3, there was differential reinforcement of the correct responses. In Phase 3 of the three conditions, the maintenance of rule following was not rewarded with tokens; instead praise was delivered in Condition 3. Rule following was maintained in Conditions 1 and 3, but left out in Condition 2. Some explanations are provided for the maintenance of rule following behavior.

Keywords : Control by rules; control by reinforcement history; control by social consequences; matching-to sample; children.