University of Florida, USA.
J Appl Behav Anal. 2012 Winter;45(4):667-84. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2012.45-667.
We evaluated the discrimination acquisition of individuals with developmental disabilities under immediate and delayed reinforcement. In Experiment 1, discrimination between two alternatives was examined when reinforcement was immediate or delayed by 20 s, 30 s, or 40 s. In Experiment 2, discrimination between 2 alternatives was compared across an immediate reinforcement condition and a delayed reinforcement condition in which subjects could respond during the delay. In Experiment 3, discrimination among 4 alternatives was compared across immediate and delayed reinforcement. In Experiment 4, discrimination between 2 alternatives was examined when reinforcement was immediate and 0-s or 30-s intertrial intervals (ITI) were programmed. For most subjects, discrimination acquisition occurred under immediate reinforcement. However, for some subjects, introducing delays slowed or prevented discrimination acquisition under some conditions. Results from Experiment 4 suggest that longer ITIs cannot account for the lack of discrimination under delayed reinforcement.
我们评估了个体在即时和延迟强化下的辨别能力习得。在实验 1 中，当强化是即时的或延迟 20 秒、30 秒或 40 秒时，检查了两种选择之间的辨别。在实验 2 中，比较了即时强化条件和延迟强化条件下的两种选择之间的辨别，在延迟强化条件下，被试可以在延迟期间做出反应。在实验 3 中，比较了即时和延迟强化条件下的四种选择之间的辨别。在实验 4 中，当强化是即时的，并且程序设置为 0 秒或 30 秒的试验间间隔（ITI）时，检查了两种选择之间的辨别。对于大多数被试来说，在即时强化下，辨别能力习得。然而，对于一些被试来说，在某些条件下，引入延迟会减缓或阻止辨别能力习得。实验 4 的结果表明，较长的 ITI 不能解释延迟强化下缺乏辨别能力的原因。
