pmc logo image
Logo of jeabehavJournal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Web SiteSubscriber LoginJournal of Applied Behavior Analysis Web SiteSubscription InformationInformation for AuthorsJournal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Web Site

Formats:

J Exp Anal Behav. 1993 September; 60(2): 239–254.
PMCID: PMC1322176
Fixed-interval performance and self-control in infants.
J C Darcheville, V Rivière, and J H Wearden
UFR de Psychologie, Université Charles de Gaulle, Lille III, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
Abstract
Twenty-six infants, 3 to 23 months old, were trained on fixed-interval schedules ranging from 10 s to 80 s. The operant response was touching an illuminated location on a touch-sensitive screen, and 20 s of cartoon presentation was the reinforcer. The subjects were also trained in a six-phase self-control procedure in which the critical phases involved choice between 20 s of cartoon available after a 0.5-s delay (impulsive choice) and 40 s of cartoon delayed for 40 s (self-controlled choice). All the youngest children (3 to 5 months) showed long postreinforcement pauses on the fixed-interval schedule, with most intervals involving the emission of a single, reinforced, response, and all made self-controlled choices. Older subjects (9 to 23 months) either produced the same pattern as the younger ones on the fixed-interval schedule (classified as pause-sensitive subjects) or produced short pauses and higher steady response rates (classified as pause-insensitive subjects). All pause-sensitive subjects made self-controlled choices in the self-control condition, and all pause-insensitive subjects made impulsive ones.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (2.0M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
  • Bentall RP, Lowe CF. The role of verbal behavior in human learning: III. Instructional effects in children. J Exp Anal Behav. 1987 Mar;47(2):177–190. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Bentall RP, Lowe CF, Beasty A. The role of verbal behavior in human learning: II. Developmental differences. J Exp Anal Behav. 1985 Mar;43(2):165–181. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Brackbill Y, Fitzgerald HE. Stereotype temporal conditioning in infants. Psychophysiology. 1972 Nov;9(6):569–577. [PubMed]
  • Buskist WF, Bennett RH, Miller HL. Effects of instructional constraints on human fixed-interval performance. J Exp Anal Behav. 1981 Mar;35(2):217–225. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Darcheville JC, Rivière V, Wearden JH. Fixed-interval performance and self-control in children. J Exp Anal Behav. 1992 Mar;57(2):187–199. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Devany JM, Hayes SC, Nelson RO. Equivalence class formation in language-able and language-disabled children. J Exp Anal Behav. 1986 Nov;46(3):243–257. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Frcka G, Beyts J, Levey AB, Martin I. The role of awareness in human conditioning. Pavlov J Biol Sci. 1983 Apr–Jun;18(2):69–76. [PubMed]
  • Logue AW, Peña-Correal TE, Rodriguez ML, Kabela E. Self-control in adult humans: variation in positive reinforcer amount and delay. J Exp Anal Behav. 1986 Sep;46(2):159–173. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Lowe CF, Beasty A, Bentall RP. The role of verbal behavior in human learning: infant performance on fixed-interval schedules. J Exp Anal Behav. 1983 Jan;39(1):157–164. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Martin I, Levey AB. Blocking observed in human eyelid conditioning. Q J Exp Psychol B. 1991 Aug;43(3):233–256. [PubMed]
  • Pouthas V, Droit S, Jacquet AY, Wearden JH. Temporal differentiation of response duration in children of different ages: developmental changes in relations between verbal and nonverbal behavior. J Exp Anal Behav. 1990 Jan;53(1):21–31. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Sonuga-Barke EJ, Lea SE, Webley P. Children's choice: Sensitivity to changes in reinforcer density. J Exp Anal Behav. 1989 Mar;51(2):185–197. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Sonuga-Barke EJ, Lea SE, Webley P. The development of adaptive choice in a self-control paradigm. J Exp Anal Behav. 1989 Jan;51(1):77–85. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Wanchisen BA, Tatham TA, Mooney SE. Variable-ratio conditioning history produces high- and low-rate fixed-interval performance in rats. J Exp Anal Behav. 1989 Sep;52(2):167–179. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Wearden JH, Burgess IS. Matching since Baum (1979). J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 Nov;38(3):339–348. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Wearden JH, Shimp CP. Local temporal pattering of operant behavior in humans. J Exp Anal Behav. 1985 Nov;44(3):315–324. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • WEINER H. Some effects of response cost upon human operant behavior. J Exp Anal Behav. 1962 Apr;5:201–208. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  • Weiner H. Controlling human fixed-interval performance. J Exp Anal Behav. 1969 May;12(3):349–373. [PMC free article] [PubMed]