Fowler S A, Baer D M
J Appl Behav Anal. 1981 Spring;14(1):13-24. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1981.14-13.
Delayed reinforcement, sometimes delivered just after the setting in which the critical behavior had occurred (Early), and sometimes delivered only after several further settings had been encountered (Late), was used to improve a variety of behaviors in seven preschool children, and to control their generalization. Performance of those behaviors was measured in two classroom settings: the Contingent setting, within which performance of the specified behavior determined the latter (Early or Late) reinforcement, and the Generalization setting, in which there were no experimental contingencies, immediate or delayed, for the performance of the same behavior. Performances by all children in the Contingent setting were controlled by delayed reinforcement, whether Early or late. All children showed consistent generalization from the Contingent setting to the Generalization setting during the Late condition, when reinforcement was delivered at the end of the school day. Generalization did not occur during the Early condition, when reinforcement was provided immediately after the Contingent setting (prior to the Generalization setting), unless that condition had been preceded by a Late condition (as it was for S6 and S7). The results suggest that the Late timing of delayed reinforcement was an effective and efficient generalization-promotion technique for performances that did not generalize spontaneously.
延迟强化有时在关键行为发生的情境之后立即给予（早期），有时仅在经历了几个其他情境之后才给予（晚期），用于改善七名学龄前儿童的多种行为，并控制其行为泛化。在两种课堂情境中测量这些行为的表现：依随情境，在该情境中特定行为的表现决定了后期（早期或晚期）强化；泛化情境，在该情境中对于相同行为的表现不存在即时或延迟的实验性依随关系。在依随情境中，所有儿童的表现都由延迟强化控制，无论是早期还是晚期。在晚期条件下，即放学时给予强化时，所有儿童都表现出从依随情境到泛化情境的一致泛化。在早期条件下，即在依随情境之后立即给予强化（在泛化情境之前）时，除非该条件之前有过晚期条件（S6和S7的情况），否则不会发生泛化。结果表明，对于不会自发泛化的表现，延迟强化的晚期时机是一种有效且高效的泛化促进技术。
