Individual Differences in Response to Verbal Reinforcement: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

The present research project is concerned with the identification of factors responsible for individual variation in response to verbal reinforcemenr in human Ss. In this exploratory study Ss were 33 male patients at the N. J. State Diagnostic Center; they ranged in age from 13 to 17 yr. None was seriously disturbed and were of normal intelligence. Ss were given the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS) (Casrenada, McCandless, 8: Palermo, 1956) rather than the Taylor scale to compensate for their lower levels of reading ability. There were 15 high-anxious Ss (Mean CMAS score: 27, range: 21-37), and 15 low-anxious Ss (Mean CMAS score: 12, range: 5-19). The task was a standard verbal reinforcement situation where S was given 100 trials with 3 X 5-in. cards, each with a past tense verb and 4 pronouns. Trials 1-20 established the operant level of sentences beginning with I, Trials 21-80 provided reinforcements of and That's Good for sentences, and Trials 81-100 were trials in which E now said Very poor or That's not a good sentence at all following I sentences. The results showed no differences between anxiety groups during any of the 5 20-trial blocks, but reinforcemenr trial means for both groups were significantly higher than operant level means. During the extinction or punishment trials, both groups' level of response returned to operant level. Of particular interest, however, was the panern of unusual responders in both anxiety groups, since approximately a third of the Ss in each group functioned abnormally with respect to the verbal reinforcer. The verbal reward did not alter the operant level of response of a few of these Ss, while for others appeared to operate as a negative reinforcer in that level of response dropped abruptly following the first 1 or 2 post-operant reinforcements. In this regard at least, our results seem to be in agreement with those of Levin and Simmons ( 1962 ).