SWITCHING FROM COMPETITION TO SHARING OR COOPERATION AT LARGE RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS: COMPETITION REQUIRES MORE RESPONDING¹

Abstract

Two pairs of high-school students matched-to-sample for money. On each trial, a subject could either respond on one lever to take the matching-to-sample problem himself (taking response) or respond on a second lever to give the problem to his coactor (giving response). The first subject to complete the response requirement determined the distribution of the problem. Competition maximizes the amount of responding over trials, i.e., both subjects make taking responses on each trial. Sharing and cooperation minimize responding: only one subject makes a taking response (sharing) or a giving response (cooperation) on each trial, and the subjects alternate responding such that there is an equitable distribution of responses and reinforcers over trials. Large increases in the fixed-ratio response requirement to distribute problems produced: (l) a switch from competition to sharing or cooperation, (2) the expected concomitant change from inequitable to equitable distributions of reinforcers, and (3) a reduction in the amount of responding for three of the four subjects. Previous animal research has shown that large response requirements may have aversive properties. Switching from competition to sharing or cooperation at large response requirements allows a reduction in responding and, at the same time, a moderate number of reinforcers for each subject.

BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: A REVIEW OF LANA'S ASSUMPTIONS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY1

“…Experimental analyses of social behavior have been undertaken by a few, such as Hake (Hake, Donaldson, & Hyten, 1983;Hake & Olvera, 1978;Hake, Olvera, & Bell, 1975;Hake, Vukelich, & Olvera, 1975;Vukelich & Hake, 1980), Schmitt (1987), Lindsley (1966, and others (Emurian, Emurian, & Brady, 1985;Spradlin, 1985). This work is important, but, as we have seen, the lesson from Lana is that much of social behavior is enacted through arbitrary verbal and gestural patterns that are reinforced through nonspecific reinforcement from verbal communities rather than through the gain or loss of points or through other specific social reinforcers.…”

Competitive Fixed‐interval Performance in Humans

“…In another series of experiments (Hake, Olvera, & Bell, 1975;Olvera & Hake, 1976), subjects were given choices to cooperate with or to compete against another individual, in gaining access to matching-to-sample problems. Correct responses on the matching-tosample problem produced points on a counter, which later could be exchanged for money.…”

Análise do comportamento e a construção social do conhecimento

“…Mais do que outra pessoa ganhar ou perder pontos (e.g., Hake, Olvera, & Bell, 1975), o controle social frequentemente envolve tatear eventos imaginários e muitas formas sutis de controle. Formas primárias de controle social não verbal estudadas em pesquisas anteriores, por exemplo, sobre cooperação e competição (Hake & Olvera, 1978), são importantes, mas as formas verbais não receberam a notoriedade que provavelmente merecem.…”