Henry S. Roane, Nathan A. Call, & Terry S. Falcomata (2005).
A preliminary analysis of adaptive responding under open and closed economies.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
38, 335-348.
In the current investigation, we evaluated the effects of open and closed
economies on the adaptive behavior of 2 individuals with developmental
disabilities. Across both types of economy, progressive-ratio (PR)
schedules were used in which the number of responses required to
obtain reinforcement increased as the session progressed. In
closed-economy sessions, participants were able to obtain reinforcement
only through interaction with the PR schedule requirements (i.e., more
work resulted in more reinforcer access). In open-economy sessions,
participants obtained reinforcers by responding on the PR schedule
and were given supplemental (free) access to the reinforcers
after completion of the session. In general, more responding was associated
with the closed economy.
DESCRIPTORS: behavioral economics, positive reinforcement, reinforcer assessment