Barnes D, Keenan M
Department of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Ireland.
J Exp Anal Behav. 1993 May;59(3):501-20. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1993.59-501.
Two experiments explored the effects of two types of concurrent activity on human fixed-interval performance. Eight adult subjects were given access to either reading material or a working television set across three fixed-interval values (60 s, 300 s, and 600 s). During Experiment 1, 2 subjects produced "scalloped" patterns and reported no verbal regulation (e.g., counting) in the presence of the reading material, but shifted to low-rate patterns and reported verbal regulation when the reading material was withdrawn. The 2 other subjects in Experiment 1 produced consistent low-rate performances and reported verbal regulation during access to reading material. However, when these subjects were given access to a working television set, they produced scalloped patterns and reported no verbal regulation. During Experiment 2, 4 experimentally naive subjects showed consistent scalloped patterning and no verbal regulation across fixed-interval values when they were allowed to watch television. When access to the television was denied, subjects reliably reported verbal regulation, and low-rate patterns emerged. These behavioral effects focus our attention on the contingencies that control human performance on fixed-interval schedules.
两项实验探究了两种同时进行的活动对人类固定间隔表现的影响。八名成年受试者在三个固定间隔值（60秒、300秒和600秒）期间可以选择阅读材料或观看正在播放节目的电视机。在实验1中，两名受试者呈现出“扇形”模式，并且在有阅读材料时报告没有进行言语调节（例如计数），但在撤掉阅读材料后转变为低频率模式并报告进行了言语调节。实验1中的另外两名受试者在阅读材料可用期间表现出一致的低频率表现，并报告进行了言语调节。然而，当这些受试者可以观看正在播放节目的电视机时，他们呈现出扇形模式并报告没有进行言语调节。在实验2中，4名没有相关经验的受试者在被允许看电视时，在不同固定间隔值下呈现出一致的扇形模式且没有言语调节。当不允许看电视时，受试者可靠地报告进行了言语调节，并且出现了低频率模式。这些行为效应让我们将注意力集中在控制人类在固定间隔时间表上表现的意外情况上。
