Effects of a History of Differential Reinforcement on Preference for Choice

Abstract

The effects of a history of differential reinforcement for selecting a free-choice versus a restricted-choice stimulus arrangement on the subsequent responding of 7 undergraduates in a computer-based game of chance were examined using a concurrent-chains arrangement and a multiple-baseline-across-participants design. In the free-choice arrangement, participants selected three numbers, in any order, from an array of eight numbers presented on the computer screen. In the restricted-choice arrangement, participants selected the order of three numbers preselected from the array of eight by a computer program. In initial sessions, all participants demonstrated no consistent preference or preference for restricted choice. Differential reinforcement of free-choice selections resulted in increased preference for free choice immediately and in subsequent sessions in the absence of programmed differential outcomes. For 5 participants, changes in preference for choice were both robust and lasting, suggesting that a history of differential reinforcement for choice may affect preference for choice.

The value of choice as a reinforcer for typically developing children

“…Third, the experimenter‐choice conditioning was not effective for any of the participants. These results are similar to the results found by Karsina et al () in that after successfully conditioning a preference for the free‐choice option with several participants, they were unable to condition a preference for the restricted‐choice option. Collectively, our results and those of Karsina et al may indicate that a preference for choice may be difficult to change following a programmed history of differential reinforcement.…”

“…However, during the posttest and interspersed choice‐assessment sessions, they continued to select the child‐choice option more frequently than the experimenter‐choice or control options. The data from Larra and Cole indicate that it is difficult to condition experimenter choice, particularly when an individual already has a preference for child choice, which replicates the findings of Karsina et al ().…”

Functions of Organizational Leaders in Cultural Change: Financial and Social Well-Being

“…Choice, behavior analytically speaking, simply refers to situations in which organisms may allocate responding to one of multiple possible options (Fisher & Mazur, 1997). A limited number of behavior analytic studies have demonstrated that animals and humans prefer situations in which more options are available to those situations in which fewer options are available (Catania, 1975;Karsina, Thompson, & Rodriguez, 2011;Ono, 2000Ono, , 2004Suzuki, 1997Suzuki, , 2000. However, others have shown that the presence of too many options tends to be less preferable (Schwartz, 2004) and that people tend to take longer to make decisions, or fail to make them at all, given too many options from which to choose.…”

Shifting preferences for choice‐making opportunities through histories of differential reinforcer quality

“…Karsina, Thompson, and Rodriguez () exposed college students to differential schedules of reinforcement associated with free‐choice or restricted‐choice opportunities using a lottery simulation game administered on a computer. The goal of this game was to select three numerals between 1 and 8 that, if matched to “winning” numerals, resulted in points.…”