Biological Determinants Of Reinforcement PDF Download

ABSTRACT: Although vicarious reinforcement effects (increases in one's behavior as a result of observing another's behavior being reinforced) have been demonstrated under a variety of experimental arrangements, little research has examined the determinants of those effects from the standpoint of basic learning principles or the conditions under which they are more or less likely to be observed. This study examined some antecedent and consequent influences of vicarious reinforcement effects, as well as the maintenance and generalization of those effects. The results of Experiment 1 identified the influence of both stimulus control and establishing operations on vicariously reinforced responding. Experiment 2 examined the influence of differential consequences delivered to a model in a vicarious reinforcement arrangement. Experiment 3 showed the maintenance, over time, of a response acquired via vicarious reinforcement as well as the generalization of responses to new environments and the generalization of imitative behavior. The general results from all three experiments highlight a variety of determinants of vicarious reinforcement effects.