OPERANT EXTINCTION AFTER FIXED‐INTERVAL SCHEDULES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN^1,²

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present some findings on operant experimental extinction in young children after conditioning on three fixed intervals of reinforce- ment. Observations reported here have been obtained from investigations in pro- gress during the past two years. APPARATUS A detailed account of the methodology employed has been presented in a previous paper (2). Essentially, the apparatus consists of a lever as the manipulandum, a universal-type reinforcer dispenser, and two standard toys available for play at any time. There is an adult who brings the child to the laboratory and takes him out. During the session she remains in the room behind an opaque screen. There is also an E in an observational room who operates the controls and makes no- tations on changes in behavior. SUBJECTS Behavior during extinction was observed in four youngsters following training on fixed-interval schedules of reinforcement of 20, 30, and 60 seconds. The initials of each child, sex, age at the time of the first observation, and previous experimental experience are as follows: