Verbal Conditioning by a Simulated Experimenter

摘要

The present study sought to control for absolute consistency in experimenter behavior and reaction to the subject's verbal emissions. To attain this end, a computer was programmed to simulate the functions of the experimenter. Not only were the instructions to the subject and the experimental stimuli presented in a standardized manner, but invariance in the reinforcing operations was attained. The computer was programmed to recognize the preselected response class and reinforce it with the typed message 'very good.' The result is a highly replicable and consistent presentation of stimuli and reinforcement.