Lloyd, J. W., Eberhardt, M. J., & Drake, G. P., Jr. (1996).
Group versus individual reinforcement contingencies within the context of group study conditions.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
29, 189-200.
We investigated the effects of two teaching variables on
students' Spanish vocabulary quiz performance: (a) group study
and (b) individual versus group contingencies. In Experiment 1,
we compared students' quiz scores under conditions in which
students either studied independently and received no programmed
reinforcement or studied in groups and received individual
rewards for high scores. The results showed that, on average, the
group-study individual-reward condition produced superior quiz
scores. In Experiment 2, we compared individual (i.e., the
superior condition in Experiment 1) and group contingencies
within the context of the group study condition. On average
across the class, group contingencies produced performance
superior to individual contingencies. In both studies, however,
benefits for the classes as a whole were mitigated by effects on
individual students. These results extend the literature on the
effects of group-based instructional activities and reinforcement
contingencies. Educators who choose such procedures may encounter
conflicting findings depending on whether they examine results at
the group or individual level.
DESCRIPTORS: group contingencies, academic behavior, adolescents,
foreign language learning