THE EFFECTS OF SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT ON INSTRUCTION FOLLOWING

The present study is a mixed design that examines instruction followin g, with the accuracy of instructions varied across phases within subje cts and the schedule of reinforcement varied across six groups. A choi ce experiment was conducted in which subjects were provided with instr uctions that varied systematically in their accuracy. Across phases, t he accuracy of instructions (expressed in percentages) was either 0-50 -100-50-0 or 100-50-0-50-100. Across groups, the schedule of reinforce ment was one of the following: continuous, Fixed Ratio 2, or Fixed Rat io 3. With continuous reinforcement, subjects showed collateral conseq uence control and either followed or disobeyed instructions, in keepin g with the predictions of reinforcement theory. When the schedule of r einforcement was leaned, however, insensitivity was observed. The impl ications of the results for the controversies regarding the concept of rule-governed behavior are discussed.