ABSTRACT Six hens responded under an increasing Fixed Ratio schedule of reinforcement to assess demand separately for two different food types: wheat and puffed wheat. Demand curves generated showed the least preferred food, puffed wheat, yielded a higher initial (ln L) demand than the more preferred food, wheat. While responding for the more preferred food, wheat, produced lower initial (ln L) demand functions, responding for wheat was maintained to higher increasing FR schedules of reinforcement than was that for puffed wheat. This phenomenon occurred across all six hens. To assess preference between the two food types the hens responded under a two-link concurrent-chain schedule of reinforcement. Under the concurrent-chain schedule of reinforcement there were three conditions, each consisted of a initial link with VI 90-s VI 90-s in effect, and terminal links of FR1, FR8 and FR32. The concurrent-chain schedule was used to examine if or how preference may relate to demand. Preference measures obtained showed wheat was generally preferred to puffed wheat across all prices throughout the preference assessment. As price increased in the terminal link during the preference assessment, preference for wheat became more extreme as did the hens responding. The results suggest that while there is a systematic relation between preference and demand, in that at higher FR values food with higher demand levels is preferred. This does not seem to hold, however, at FR1

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:18:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mariana.pdf: 680523 bytes, checksum: 436d21a6458ea46f6906d902b0849462 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-05-03 / The present study was aimed at analyzing child self-control through the simultaneous variation of magnitude and delay of reinforcement, with and without the possibility of engaging in a distracting activity during the delay of reinforcement. The participants, 11 children between the ages of five to eleven, with and without a diagnosis of ADHD, were presented with a computer task in a concurrent-chain schedule. The consequence produced by the response in the first link initiated the second link, and a new response, on the same component selected previously, produced, in VI 15s, a new consequence and the beginning of the period of delay of reinforcement (FT) with or without the distracting activities. The third link begun right after the end of the period of delay. The participants were submitted to two baseline conditions: one to evaluate the control that the magnitude of reinforcement dimension exerted over the response; and another to evaluate the control exerted by the delay of reinforcement dimension. In the experimental condition, there was simultaneous variation of magnitude and delay of reinforcement, with or without the possibility of engaging in distracting activities during the delay of reinforcement period. This variation involved four phases: in one of the components the magnitude and delay of reinforcement period remained constant (10s and 1 token); and in the other component, both were gradually increased (30s and 5 tokens, Phase 1; 60s and 10 tokens, Phase 2; 1min 30s and 15 tokens, Phase 3; e 2 min and 20 tokens, Phase 4). After that, the participants were submitted to a new condition, similar to the previous one, but without the distracting activities. Such condition was introduced from Phase 4. If the child reached the ending criterion for the phase (answering in ten consecutive attempts on one same component), the program was ended; if not, the child would go back to a previous phase, and thus successively. In all conditions, at the end of the period of delay, the period of access to reinforcement became effective. Tokens, represented by green traces on the computer screen, were used as reinforcers. Tokens were earned on a CRF schedule, and exchanged for toys at the end of the session. At the beginning of each session, participants established a specific value to each of the objects used as potential reinforcers. The maximum value was of 250 tokens and, gradually, by 10s, this value diminished till a minimum of 10 tokens. The hypothesis was that such values could indicate the potential reinforcing value of each object, so that the most valued reinforcer had the highest price (250 tokens) and the least valued reinforcer had the lowest price (10 tokens). At the end of each session, the participant checked the number of tokens he got, on the computer screen, and exchanged them for items he could buy, according to the value the participant himself had stipulated. The results showed that, in the phase of magnitude baseline, in the majority of the attempts, the children answered on the component that produced high magnitude, but in the delay baseline, the majority answered on the component that produced greater delay of reinforcement. When there was simultaneous manipulation of those variables, the participants answered more frequently on the component that produced higher reinforcement magnitude, in spite of greater delay of reinforcement, even with the gradual increase of the delay through the phases, up to 2 min. Results are discussed in relation to the number of responses emitted, in the presence and in the absence of such activities, and their possible reinforcing value / O presente estudo foi realizado com o objetivo analisar o autocontrole de crianças a partir da variação simultânea da magnitude e do atraso do reforço, com e sem a possibilidade de realização de atividades distrativas durante o período de atraso do reforço. Os participantes, 11 crianças com idade de 5 a 11 anos, com e sem o diagnóstico de TDAH, foram submetidas a esquema concorrente-encadeado num computador. A conseqüência produzida pela resposta no primeiro elo, dava início ao segundo elo e uma nova resposta, sobre o mesmo componente selecionado anteriormente, produzia, em VI15s, uma nova conseqüência e o início do o período de atraso do reforço (FT) com ou sem as atividades distrativas. O terceiro elo tinha início logo após o fim do período de atraso. Os participantes foram submetidos a duas condições de linha de base, uma para avaliar o controle que a dimensão magnitude do reforço exercia sobre o responder, a outra para avaliar o controle da dimensão atraso do reforço. Na condição experimental, houve a variação simultânea da magnitude e do atraso do reforço com ou sem a possibilidade de realização de atividades distrativas durante o período de atraso. Esta variação envolveu quatro fases, em um dos componentes o período de atraso e magnitude do reforço permaneceu constante (10s e 1 ficha); e no outro componente, ambos foram aumentados progressivamente(30s e 5 fichas, Fase 1; 60s e 10 fichas, Fase 2; 1min e 30s, Fase 3; e 2 min, Fase 4). Em seguida, os participantes foram submetidos a uma nova condição, semelhante à anterior, porém sem as atividades distrativas. Tal condição tinha início a partir da Fase 4. Caso a criança alcançasse o critério para encerramento da fase (responder em dez tentativas consecutivas sobre o um mesmo componente), o programa era finalizado; caso contrário, a criança voltaria para uma fase anterior, e assim sucessivamente. Em todas as condições ao final do período de atraso, entrava em vigor o período de acesso ao reforço. Fichas, representadas por traços verdes na tela do computador, foram utilizadas como reforço. As fichas eram ganhas num esquema CRF, e trocadas por brinquedos no final da sessão. Os participantes hierarquizavam os objetos, considerados como potenciais reforçadores, no início de cada sessão. O valor máximo era de 250 fichas e, progressivamente, de 10 em 10, esse valor ia diminuindo até chegar ao número mínimo de 10 fichas. A hipótese era que tais valores pudessem indicar o valor reforçador de cada objeto, de maneira que o reforço de maior valor tivesse o maior preço (250 fichas) e o reforço de menor valor tivesse o preço mais baixo (10 fichas). Ao final de cada sessão, o participante conferia o número de fichas obtidas na tela do computador e as trocava pelos itens que podia comprar, conforme o valor estipulado, pelo próprio participante. Os resultados encontrados revelam que, na fase de linha de base de magnitude, as crianças, na maioria das tentativas, responderam no componente que produzia magnitude alta, mas na linha de base atraso, a maioria respondeu no componente que produzia maior atraso do reforço. Quando houve manipulação simultânea dessas variáveis, os participantes responderam mais freqüentemente no componente que produzia maior magnitude e do atraso do reforço, mesmo com o aumento progressivo do atraso através das fases, chegando até 2 min. Os resultados são discutidos em termos do número de respostas emitidas, na presença e na ausência de tais atividades, e de seu possível valor reforçador