Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of monitoring on response rates in the presence of inaccurate rules. Six undergraduate students were exposed to an Fixed Interval (FI) FI multiple reinforcement schedule and then to an Extinction (EXT) EXT multiple reinforcement schedule. The experimenter was present (i.e., monitoring) during only one of the multiple-schedule components. Before sessions, participants received the written, inaccurate rule "press the button quickly". Sessions lasted for 10 minutes. Each participant emitted high response rates that were non-differential between components with or without monitoring. A discussion in terms of a selectionist approach is carried out.
Monitoring; instruction; schedules of reinforcement; rule-governed behavior; insensitivity
