On Defining Onset of Experimental Phases in Verbal Conditioning

Abstract

It is suggested that instead of E arbitrarily predefining the onset of the various experimental phases in verbal conditioning, as has customarily been the case, these should rather be defined in terms of the events which effectively delineate the transition from one phase to the next. Thus the reinforced period should start following the first reinforcement, and the extinction period following the first non-reinforcement. The operant period should start following the initial correct response. The number of trials on which the analysis is based remains constant for all Ss. The procedure suggested is seen as providing a more valid index of conditioning than is obtained when the experimental phases are arbitrarily predefined.