Lattal Kennon A
Osaka Kyoiku University, Osaka, Japan.
Present Address: West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV USA.
Behav Anal Pract. 2020 Jun 2;13(4):1000-1008. doi: 10.1007/s40617-020-00423-0. eCollection 2020 Dec.
Unusually large, infrequent reinforcers, described as jackpots, are the subject of considerable discussion among applied animal behaviorists. Such reinforcers offer considerable promise in applied behavior analysis as a means of both potentiating training of new responses and response classes and enhancing previously learned ones. The concept of jackpot reinforcement, however, is rife with not only a lack of definitional and procedural clarity but also a paucity of research, either basic or applied, on such reinforcement. Considerations in undertaking such research include defining the parameters of jackpot reinforcers, identifying suitable dependent variables, and creating experimental designs appropriate for their assessment. The few experimental analyses of jackpot reinforcer effects on either response acquisition or maintenance have produced little evidence of systematic effects, despite the use of several different methods and behavioral measures. Negative results could reflect either the absence of systematic effects of these jackpot reinforcers or unsuitable methods of analysis. Only further research will take the topic of jackpot reinforcers beyond opinion and testimonial and into the realm of the science of behavior.
异常大且不频繁出现的强化物，即所谓的“头奖”，是应用动物行为学家们广泛讨论的主题。这类强化物在应用行为分析中极具潜力，既能增强对新反应和反应类别的训练，又能强化先前习得的反应。然而，“头奖”强化的概念不仅在定义和程序上缺乏清晰度，而且无论是基础研究还是应用研究，关于此类强化的研究都很匮乏。开展此类研究时需要考虑的因素包括定义“头奖”强化物的参数、确定合适的因变量，以及创建适用于其评估的实验设计。尽管使用了几种不同的方法和行为测量手段，但关于“头奖”强化物对反应习得或维持影响的少数实验分析几乎没有产生系统效应的证据。负面结果可能反映出这些“头奖”强化物不存在系统效应，也可能反映出分析方法不合适。只有进一步的研究才能使头奖强化物这一主题超越观点和证词，进入行为科学的领域。
