Abstract
The present experiment examined the resistance of touch-key responses in severely disturbed children to the effects of fixed-ratio one and variable-ratio punishment. Subsequent to response suppression, resistance to extinction was examined for the various punishment schedules. A multiple-stimulus design was employed in the three studies comprising the experiment. The touch-key response was maintained on a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule, and the punishing stimulus was a loud (105 db) tone. Results of the three studies indicated that for the punishment schedules chosen, no difference was seen between the suppressive effects of fixed-ratio one and variable-ratio punishment. Subsequent study of resistance to extinction proved impossible, as all subjects ceased responding during punishment application and did not recover the response. It is suggested that responding maintained on a variable-ratio schedule is inappropriate for investigating ratio punishment schedules because of its great susceptibility to disruption.
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