The role of frustrative nonreward in noncontinuous reward situations.

Frustrative nonreward in partial reinforcement and discrimination learning: some recent history and a theoretical extension.

Learning theory and the symbolic processes.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the sequential mode of theorizing along with several reward variables, such as magnitude of reward, delay of reward, and nonreward. Sequential theorizing is found to be very helpful in selective learning. This may also explain many phenomena not deducible from other hypotheses. Moreover, a generalization decrement interpretation sequential theorizing has been shown to be applicable to a wide variety of phenomena, currently explained in diverse terms, such as associational and motivational. Sequential and nonsequential theories normally emphasize different classes of independent variables. Considering partial reward (PR), for example, a nonsequential theory such as the dissonance hypothesis suggests that resistance to extinction (Rn) is regulated by total number of nonrewards regardless of their sequence or order. Where the dissonance hypothesis sees the sequence of nonrewards as irrelevant, the sequential hypothesis sees number of nonrewards as irrelevant.

A Sequential Hypothesis of Instrumental Learning1

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/188/4189/699.full.pdf

Virginia F. Sheffield

Papers

Extinction as a function of partial reinforcement and distribution of practice.