This study evaluated the effects of programming a variability contingency on one object and the generalization of variability across other objects and contingencies when the defining features of the variable responses were topographical differences. A dog's interactions with five different objects were measured under both ANY (where any physical contact with the object would be reinforced on a fixed ratio schedule) and the VAR contingencies (where only the novel responses per trial would be reinforced). The ANY contingency produced stereotyped responding of behavior with all objects. When one of the dog-object interactions was changed to the VAR contingency, a marked decrease in stereotypic behavior and an increase in novel responses in the form of topographical combinations were observed across both contingencies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc3973 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Gomez, Francisco |
| Contributors | Rosales-Ruiz, Jesus, Hyten, Cloyd, Smith, Richard |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Copyright, Gomez, Francisco, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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