Laura L. Chivers Stephen T. Higgins, Sarah H. Heil, Rebecca W. Proskin, & Colleen S. Thomas. (2008)
Effects of initial abstinence and programmed lapses on the relative reinforcing effects of cigarette smoking.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
41, 481-497.
Fifty-eight smokers received abstinence-contingent monetary payments for 1 (n = 15) or
14 (n = 43) days. Those who received contingent payments for 14 days also received 0, 1,
or 8 experimenter-delivered cigarette puffs on 5 evenings. The relative reinforcing effects
of smoking were assessed in a 3-hr session on the final study day, when participants
made 20 choices between smoking or money. The reinforcement contingencies
exerted robust control over smoking, and programmed smoking lapses produced
few discernible effects. These results further illustrate the robust control that
reinforcement contingencies can exert over cigarette smoking and suggest that any
effects of lapses on the relative reinforcing effects of smoking are modest under
conditions involving abstinence-contingent reinforcement contingencies.
DESCRIPTORS: abstinence, cigarette smoking, contingency management, lapses, reinforcing effects