Ruiz David, Fox Adam, Rodriguez Raúl Narayanam
Laboratorio de Análisis de la Conducta, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala.
St. Lawrence University.
J Exp Anal Behav. 2025 Sep;124(2):e70048. doi: 10.1002/jeab.70048.
Rules can control the listener's behavior, yet few studies have examined variables that quantitatively determine the extent of this control relative to other rules and contingencies. To explore these variables, we employed a novel procedure that required a choice between rules. Participants clicked two buttons on a computer screen to earn points exchangeable for money. During training, participants were exposed to rules from two simulated individuals. Rule compliance was measured using free-operant choice periods. In the test phase, both simulated individuals appeared simultaneously, providing different rules, followed by a free-operant period of extinction to assess participants' preferences. Experiment 1 varied the reinforcement rate associated with each rule provider, showing that participants systematically preferred the rule provider with the highest reinforcement rate. In the control condition without rules, participants' preferences tended toward indifference. Experiment 2 varied rule accuracy. This time, participants' preferences favored the icon correlated with accurate rules. However, preferences were not exclusive to the alternatives instructed by this rule provider and tended to match the reinforcement rate obtained for this rule provider during training. These findings suggest that rule-following behavior is a form of choice governed by the relative distribution of reinforcement available in the listener's environment.
规则可以控制听众的行为，但很少有研究考察那些能定量确定这种控制相对于其他规则和意外情况的程度的变量。为了探究这些变量，我们采用了一种新颖的程序，该程序要求在规则之间进行选择。参与者通过点击电脑屏幕上的两个按钮来赚取可兑换金钱的积分。在训练期间，参与者接触到来自两个模拟个体的规则。使用自由操作选择期来测量规则遵循情况。在测试阶段，两个模拟个体同时出现，提供不同的规则，随后是一个自由操作的消退期，以评估参与者的偏好。实验1改变了与每个规则提供者相关的强化率，结果表明参与者系统地偏好强化率最高的规则提供者。在没有规则的控制条件下，参与者的偏好趋于无差异。实验2改变了规则的准确性。这一次，参与者的偏好倾向于与准确规则相关的图标。然而，偏好并不局限于由该规则提供者指示的选项，并且倾向于与训练期间为该规则提供者获得的强化率相匹配。这些发现表明，遵循规则的行为是一种选择形式，由听众环境中可用强化的相对分布所支配。
