The Analysis of Correspondence Training as a Chain Reinforceable at Any Point

Abstract

PANIAGUA, FREDDY A., and BAER, DONALD M. The Analysis of Correspondence Training as a Chain Reinforceable at Any Point. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1982, 53, 786-798. The present study analyzed correspondence training as a chain consisting of (1) a promise; (2) a series of behaviors leading from the promise to its nonverbal fulfillment, called intermediate behaviors; (3) a nonverbal behavior that fulfills the promise; (4) a verbal report; and (5) a nonverbal (reported) behavior. The study compared reinforcement contingencies operating at 2 points in that chain, specifically on the promise and on the report of the nonverbal (promised/reported) behavior. The study also considered setting up the reinforcer contingent on either the promise or on the intermediate behaviors, to be delivered contingent on fulfillment of the promise, and compared these contingencies with reinforcing only the promise or only the report of the related nonverbal behavior. These comparisons were made in 3 experiments. 8 3-5-yearold children served as subjects in the 3 experiments; a multiple-baseline design across subjects was employed in each experiment. Consistently higher levels of correspondence occurred after setting up the reinforcer contingent on either promises or intermediate behaviors, in comparison with reinforcement of only the promises or only the (true) reports. Reinforcing reports yielded better results than reinforcing promises. However, reinforcing reports produced higher levels of correspondence only after previous conditions of setting up the reinforcer contingent on the promise and on the intermediate behaviors.