Delayed reinforcement and vocalization rates of infants.

Abstract

RAMEY, CRAIG T., and OURTH, L. LYNN. Delayed Reinforcement and Vocalization Rates of Infants. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1971, 42, 991-1997. 15 normal, home-reared infants at each of 3 age levels (3, 6, or 9 months) were submitted to operant conditioning procedures designed to increase the rate of vocalization behavior. One-third of the infants received immediate reinforcement, one-third received a 3-second delay between response and reinforcement, and one-third received a 6-second delay of reinforcement. The results indicated that learning occurred only under immediate reinforcement and that there was no developmental trend in the ability to withstand the detrimental effects of delayed reinforcement.