Eliot Hearst

Bio: Eliot Hearst is an academic researcher from Columbia University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Reinforcement & Educational psychology. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 5 publications receiving 174 citations.

On the classification of reinforcement schedules

Abstract: 1 G. K. Batchelor, The Theory of Homogeneous Turbulence (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1954). 2 G. K. Batchelor and A. A. Townsend, \"Decay of Turbulence in the Final Period of Decay,\" Proc. Roy. Soc. London, A, 194, 527-543, 1948. 3 W. Heisenberg, \"Zur statistischen Theorie der Turbulenz,\" Z. Physik, 124, 628-657, 1948. 4W. H. Reid, \"Two Remarks on Heisenberg's Theory of Isotropic Turbulence,\" Quart. Appl. Math. 14, 201-205, 1956. 6 Cf. M. J. Lighthill, Nature, 173, 746, 1954. I am indebted to Professor Lighthill for some further illuminating remarks regarding this point.

The behavioral effects of some temporally defined schedules of reinforcement

Abstract: The differences in behavioral effects between interval and ratio reinforcement have been pointed out by several investigators (1, 6, 9, 15), and reveal themselves most clearly in comparisons of over-all response rates, temporal patterns of cumulative-response curves, and subsequent extinction responding. In view of the different procedures followed by the experimenter and these contrasting behavioral effects, most researchers have regarded the two categories as basically distinct.

After the puzzle boxes: thorndike in the 20th century.

Abstract: From the beginning of this century, following the publication of his dissertation, Thorndike made many significant contributions to psychology, some related to animal and human learning and others to various areas of educational psychology. This paper concentrates on the former and mentions some of the latter, in the context of personal and professional aspects of his life.

William Nathan Schoenfeld (1915-1996): innovative scientist, inspiring teacher, relentless questioner, complicated man.

Abstract: The scientific and academic contributions of the late William N. Schoenfeld (1915–1996) are large and, together with his personal qualities as a researcher, thinker, and teacher, supply the themes for this memorial essay on his work and life.

A quantitative analysis of the responding maintained by interval schedules of reinforcement

Abstract: Interval schedules of reinforcement maintained pigeons' key-pecking in six experiments. Each schedule was specified in terms of mean interval, which determined the maximum rate of reinforcement possible, and distribution of intervals, which ranged from many-valued (variable-interval) to single-valued (fixed-interval). In Exp. 1, the relative durations of a sequence of intervals from an arithmetic progression were held constant while the mean interval was varied. Rate of responding was a monotonically increasing, negatively accelerated function of rate of reinforcement over a range from 8.4 to 300 reinforcements per hour. The rate of responding also increased as time passed within the individual intervals of a given schedule. In Exp. 2 and 3, several variable-interval schedules made up of different sequences of intervals were examined. In each schedule, the rate of responding at a particular time within an interval was shown to depend at least in part on the local rate of reinforcement at that time, derived from a measure of the probability of reinforcement at that time and the proximity of potential reinforcements at other times. The functional relationship between rate of responding and rate of reinforcement at different times within the intervals of a single schedule was similar to that obtained across different schedules in Exp. 1. Experiments 4, 5, and 6 examined fixed-interval and two-valued (mixed fixed-interval fixed-interval) schedules, and demonstrated that reinforcement at one time in an interval had substantial effects on responding maintained at other times. It was concluded that the rate of responding maintained by a given interval schedule depends not on the overall rate of reinforcement provided but rather on the summation of different local effects of reinforcement at different times within intervals.

The effects of a variety of instructions on human fixed-interval performance.

Abstract: College students were instructed to press a button for points under a single reinforcement schedule or under a variety of reinforcement schedules. Instructions for a single schedule were either specific or minimal. Instructions on a variety of schedules involved specific instructions on eight different schedules of reinforcement. Subsequent to the varied training, responding under a fixed-interval schedule occurred at a low rate. Both the minimal and specific instruction training led to fixed-interval responding that was similar to the responding exhibited during training. These findings suggest that under certain conditions instructed behavior is sensitive to changes in contingencies.

State notation of behavioral procedures

Abstract: State notation has been increasingly utilized to describe and implement behavioral procedures since its adaptation for this purpose in 1970. The original version describes states as unique segments of an experimental procedure, accompanied by specified stimulus conditions. Transitions among states are triggered by inputs from the subject, or by the passage of time, and may be the occasion for changing stimulus conditions, recording data, or per-forming other operations. Extensive usage has suggested a number of possible improvements, and the notation therefore has been expanded and modified. Revisions recently incorporated in state notation increase its power as a descriptive device for effectively communicating the procedural details of reinforcement contingencies.