NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED058590
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1971-May
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Effects of Partial Reinforcement in the Acquisition and Extinction of Recurrent Serial Patterns.
Dockstader, Steven L.
The purpose of these 2 experiments was to determine whether sequential response pattern behavior is affected by partial reinforcement in the same way as other behavior systems. The first experiment investigated the partial reinforcement extinction effects (PREE) in a sequential concept learning task where subjects were required to learn a recurrent binary sequence up to a criterion and then were shifted to an extinction phase. The 2nd experiment was conducted to replicate the essential findings of the first study. Several conclusions are drawn from the results: (1) response perseverance in sequential learning tasks may be due to the proactive effects of the informative feedback, not necessarily to the consequences of the event; (2) a PREE in sequential learning tasks results from the proactive effects when discriminative cues for forthcoming, positive feedback are established; and (3) extinction in these more complex learning tasks may not be related to loss of habit strength, but rather to the mere abandonment of one strategy in search of another. (TA)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Denver Univ., CO.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A
Note: Paper presented at Rocky Mountain Psychological Association convention, Denver, Colo., May 12-15, 1971