A delay of reinforcement gradient and correlated reinforcement in the instrumental conditioning of conversational behavior.

The negative reinforcing functions of nonconformity

“…The results of the present experiments join a growing body of social psychological research modeled on instrumental conditioning, e.g., conversational behavior (Weiss, Boyer, Colwick, & Moran, 1971;Weiss, Lombardo, Warren, & Kelley, 1971), altruistic behavior (Weiss, Buchanan, Altstatt, & Lombardo, 1971;Weiss, Boyer, Lombardo, & Stich, 1973), and social facilitation (Weiss & Miller, 1971). It is important to note that while the present research was modeled on escape conditioning, in no way is it proposed that nonconformity behavior is escape conditioning.…”

“…The negative reinforcing functions of nonconformity should thus be a fundamental psychological phenomenon, extending over a wide variety of situations, and deserving of rigorous experimental study. Experimental evidence that differences in opinion arouse aversive drive can be found in such diverse situations as the classical conditioning of attraction responses (e.g., Byrne, 1971;Byrne & Clore, 1967), the differential energization of dominant and subordinate habits in paired-associates learning (Lombardo, Libkum an, & Weiss, 1972), and the instrumental escape conditioning of a switch-throwing response in verbal communication (e.g., Weiss, Boyer, Colwick, & Moran, 1971;Weiss, Lombardo, Warren, & Kelley, 1971). As the theoretical analysis developed above suggests, arousal of aversive drive by the cues of difference could apply with particular force to nonconformity.…”

“…Thus, as well as being a class of behaviors which may be learned and modified, it is possible that conformity-nonconformity situations may, for example, serve to reinforce other instrumental responses. This type of experimental approach, i.e., the use of some social situation or process as a reinforcer for some nonsocial instrumental response, has been used with success in a number of experimental paradigms, e.g., conversational behavior (Weiss, Boyer, Colwick, & Moran, 1971;Weiss, Lombardo, Warren, & Kelley, 1971) and altruistic behavior (Weiss, Buchanan, AItstatt, & Lombardo, 1971;Weiss, Boyer, Lombardo, and Stich, 1973). It is the specific purpose of the present research to assess the reinforcing functions, if any, of escape from a situation wherein an individual is a nonconformist.…”

Communication and conditioning: Correlated reinforcement

“…In these studies speaking in reply has been found to function as a reinforcer, and subjects will learn an instrumental response the reinforcement for which is the opportunity to speak in reply to a person of differing opinion. Ex• perimental demonstration of our theoretical analogies extends well beyond the analogs of acquisition and extinction, commonly deemed sufficient in social psychology or behavior therapy, to include analogs of partial reinforcement effects, intermittent shock effects, delay of reinforcement effects, drive effects, correlated reinforcement effects (discrete-trials DRL), and cor• related delay of reinforcement effects (e.g., Weiss, Beck , & Stich, 1972;Weiss, Boyer, Colwick, & Moran, 1971). Exploration of such a broad range of predicted effects makes it particularly difficult to include demonstration of the replicability of these effects within the program of research, but we have, nevertheless, taken care to show these effects to be replicable and now do so with correlated delay of reinforcement.…”

Drive effects on instrumental response speed induced by intermittent disagreement in conversation

“…Latency data from nine experiments show a fundamental similarity to a discrete· trials instrumental escape·conditioning model in demo onstrating replicable analogs of (1) acquisition, (2) ex· tinction, (3) partial·reinforcement effects, (4) drive effects, (5) a delay of reinforcement gradient, (6) cor· related reinforcement effects, (7) correlated delay of reinforcement effects, and (8) intermittent shock effects (Weiss, Beck, & Stich, 1972;Weiss, Boyer, Colwick, & Moran, 1971;Weiss, Lombardo, Warren, & Kelley, 1971;Weiss, Williams, & Miller, 1972). The importance of studying one person's reply to another is generally acknowledged by researchers in interpersonal communi· cation, but the reinforcing function of speaking in reply had not previously been identified and explored.…”