Operant Conditioning of Visual Fixation in Infants Under Three Intensities of Auditory and Visual Reinforcement

Visual fixation on one of two blank targets was reinforced with either visual or auditory stimuli in one of 3 intensity sequences: (1) low, medium, high; (2) ? Alum, high, low; and (3) high, low, medium. An analysis of -variance of learning scores for the 48 14-week-old'infants resulted in a significant interaction of intensity and order and in a significant interaction of sex, modality, intensity and order.These results are discussed in terms of the infant's sensitivity within particular learning situations. (Author) U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO DUCE° EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERT )N OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECE55AR'LY REPRE 41. SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF Abstract EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY Visual fixation on one of two blank targets was reinforced with either C) visual or auditory stimuli'in one of 3 intensity sequences, 1) low, medium, high CC) 1) medium, high, low, and 3) high, low, medium. An analysis of variance of CD learning scores for the 48 14-week-old infants resulted in a significant intercm action of intensity and order and in a significant interaction of sex, modality, intensity and ordriT. These results are discussed in terms of the infant's sensitivity within particular learning situations. Operant Conditioning of Visual Fixation in Infants Under Three Intensities of Auditory and Visual Reinforcementl Lynn Dorman, John S. Watson, and Peter Vietze2 University of California, Berkeley A previous study (Watson, 1969) examined the usefulness of the fixation response in infants as an appropriate vehicle for the study of operant learning. That study also determined whether auditory as well as visual stimulation could serve as reinforcement. The auditory stimulus was a 1000 cps tone of approxiirately 65.db,and.the visual stimulus was a red light of approximately 28 ft. candles from behind a translucent circle which displayed a schematic face. In each of the two experiments, one with 14 -week -olds and one-with ten week olds, visual fixation did show significant effects of operant learning. However, there appeared to be a sex difference in learning which interacted with the type of reinforcer. In general, female infants learned better under auditory reinforcement than under visual reinforcement and males learned better under visual than under auditory. Given the later age sex difference findings that girls generally excel on verbal tasks and boys on spatial tasks (Maccoby, 1966; Terman and Tyler, 1954) this finding was viewed as quite interesting. Watson concluded that his results were most simply explained by an assumption that the sexes differ in their responsiveness to the visual and auditory modalities. He also proposed an altcrnative explanation which incorporated the possibility that the two stimuli used may have functioned differently because of a difference in their relative intensity levels rather than because they differed in modality. The observed interaction might really be an interaction of sex and intensit,. -If so, then altering the intensity of the stimuli would be expected to change' the potential reinforcement value of stimuli in each modality. If the original stimuli had differed in intensity and the sexes of this age differ in arousal thresholds then perhaps a softer tone would support learning for males or perhaps c)a brighter light would support learning for females. The intensity variable in reinforcers was employed in this study, using the same apparatus as in the earlier Watson study. An operant procedure was used but in addition to the one intensity of the light and tone previously used, a greater wand a lesser intensity of both light and tone were included. 4:114 FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY