Impulsivity/sociability and reinforcement in verbal operant conditioning: A replication

Abstract

The present investigation was designed to study the relationship between impulsivity/ sociability and modes of reinforcement in verbal operant conditioning. A randomized block design involving three levels of impulsivity/sociability (high, moderate and low) and two verbal reinforcement conditions (‘good’ and ‘poor’) was replicated 20 times. Two hundred and forty undergraduate and postgraduate female students (120 for impulsivity and 120 for sociability) were individually subjected to Taffel's verbal conditioning procedure. The study supports the following conclusions: (1) individuals with high scores on the impulsivity/sociability scale condition better with the rewarding reinforcer (‘good’) than with the punishing reinforcer (‘poor’); (2) the moderate scorers on the impulsivity/sociability scale condition comparably with both the rewarding and punishing reinforcers; (3) the high scorers on impulsivity/sociability as compared to low and moderate scorers on these scales condition better with the rewarding reinforcer; (4) the low scorers on the impulsivity scale as compared to high and moderate scorers condition better with the punishing reinforcer but such differences for low scorers on sociability are statistically nonsignificant.