Signal Detection Analysis of Choice Behavior and Aging
Tóm tắt
The primary research question was whether older adults respond to the contingencies of reinforcement such that they allocate their behavior as predicted by the reinforcement contingencies and discriminative stimuli programmed by the experimenters. Six subjects, ranging in age from 62 to 74 years, participated in 15 experimental sessions. Subjects were instructed to press the “F1” key when they saw a white circle, and to press the “F12” key when they saw a red letter “A.” Responses on the F1 key were reinforced on a variable interval (VI) 30-s schedule (i.e., a VI schedule of reinforcement with 11 arithmetically spaced intervals with a mean of 30 s); F12 key responses were reinforced on a VI 60-s schedule (i.e., a VI schedule of reinforcement with 11 arithmetically spaced intervals with a mean of 60 s). Reinforcers included monetary units (10 cents) and verbal praise. Results indicated positive effects of stimulus control of behavior. Collective false alarms and miss rates represented only 0.05% of the total responses. Also, two thirds of the subjects allocated behavior consistent with the second hypothesis that a denser reinforcement schedule (i.e., the VI 30-s) would cause subjects to respond more quickly to this condition. Implications of the present results for clinical studies of Alzheimer's Disease and dementia, as well as behavior modification strategies with aging individuals, are discussed.
Tài liệu tham khảo
Ankus, M., and Quarrington, B. (1972). Operant behavior in the memory-disordered. J. Gerontol. 27: 500-510.
Baron, A., and LeBreck, D. B. (1987). Are older adults generally more conservative? Some negative evidence from signal detection analyses of recognition memory and sensory performance. Exp. Aging Res. 13: 163-165.
Baron, A., and Menich, S. R. (1985). Age-related effects of temporal contingencies on response speed and memory: An operant analysis. J. Gerontol. 40: 60-70.
Baron, A., Myerson, J., and Hale, S. (1988). An integrated analysis of the structure and function of behavior: Aging and the cost of divided attention. In Davey, G., and Cullen, C. (eds.), Human Operant Conditioning and Behavior Modification, John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 139-166.
Davison, M., and McCarthy, D. (1988). The Matching Law: A Research Review, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.
Davison, M. C., and Tustin, R. D. (1978). The relation between the generalized matching law and signal-detection theory. J. Exp. Anal. Behav. 29: 331-336.
Ferster, C. B., and Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of Reinforcement, Appleton-Century Crofts, New York.
Goodglass, H., and Kaplan, E. (1983). The Assessment of Aphasia and Related Disorders, Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia.
Green, L., Fry, A. F., and Myerson, J. (1994). Discounting of delayed rewards: A life span comparison. Psychol. Sci. 5: 33-36.
Herrnstein, R. J. (1970). On the law of effect. J. Exp. Anal. Behav. 13: 243-266.
Lawton, P. (1989). Environmental approaches to research and treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. In Alzheimer's Disease Treatment and Family Stress: Directions for Research, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD.
Mackay, H.A. (1965). Operant Techniques Applied to Disorders of the Senium. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Queens College.
Maletta, G. J. (1992). Treatment of behavioral symptomatology of Alzheimer's Disease, with emphasis on agression: Current clinical approaches. Int. Psychogeriat. 4: 117-130.
Menich, S. R., and Baron, A. (1990). Age-related effects of reinforced practice on recognition memory: Consistent versus varied stimulus-response relations. J. Gerontol. Psychol. Sci. 45: 88-93.
Plaud, J. J. (1992). The prediction and control of behavior revisited: A review of the matching law. J. Behav. Ther. Exp. Psychiat. 23: 25-31.
Plaud, J. J., Moberg, M., and Ferraro, F. R. (In press). A review of Alzheimer's disease and dementia: Applied behavioral assessment and treatment approaches. J. Clin. Geropsychol.
Rabins, P. V. (1989). Behavior problems in the demented. In Alzheimer's Disease Treatment and Family Stress: Directions for Research, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, pp. 322-339. Washington, DC.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl. Psychol. Meas. 1: 385-401.
Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior, Macmillan, New York.
Steffes, R., and Thralow, J. (1985). Do uniform colors keep patients awake? J. Gerontol. Nurs. 11: 6-9.
Teri, L., Rabins, P., Whitehouse, P., Berg, L., Reisberg, B., Sunderland, T., Eichelman, B., and Phelps, C. (1992). Management of behavior disturbance in Alzheimer disease: Current knowledge and future directions. Alzheimer Disease Assoc. Disord. 6(2): 77-88.
U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging in America (1988). Aging America: Trends and Projections, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Wechsler, D. (1981). Manual for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX.
Wechsler, D. (1987). Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised Manual, Psychological Corporation, New York.