TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of continuous and partial reward on the vigilance task performance of adults with attentional deficits
T2 - A pilot investigation
AU - Lee, David L.
AU - Zentall, Sydney S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was partially supported by the Office of Special Education Programs of the US Department, Grant #H029D20017 to the second author. This article does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the funding agency.
Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2006/6
Y1 - 2006/6
N2 - The effects of reward schedule (100% and 30%) and extinction on attention (reaction time to auditory stimuli) and frustration levels (pressure exerted on a response key) of 15 adults with attentional disorders and 21 normal adults were examined using a continuous performance task. We predicted, based on Douglas and Parry ((1994). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22, 281), that adults with attentional deficits would (a) perform similar to comparisons when rewarded on a continuous schedule, (b) exhibit higher levels of frustration when that continuous schedule was moved to an extinction schedule, and (c) experience more frustration than comparisons when rewarded on a partial schedule. Overall, adults with attentional deficits were slower to respond and their responses were more variable than typical comparisons across trials, similar to what is observed for children. Continuous reward resulted in poorer performance earlier in the reward phase and continued throughout an extinction phase. The frustration levels of adults with attentional deficits did not differ from comparisons across schedule conditions. Results are discussed in terms of the role of arousal in mediating responding to various schedules of reward.
AB - The effects of reward schedule (100% and 30%) and extinction on attention (reaction time to auditory stimuli) and frustration levels (pressure exerted on a response key) of 15 adults with attentional disorders and 21 normal adults were examined using a continuous performance task. We predicted, based on Douglas and Parry ((1994). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22, 281), that adults with attentional deficits would (a) perform similar to comparisons when rewarded on a continuous schedule, (b) exhibit higher levels of frustration when that continuous schedule was moved to an extinction schedule, and (c) experience more frustration than comparisons when rewarded on a partial schedule. Overall, adults with attentional deficits were slower to respond and their responses were more variable than typical comparisons across trials, similar to what is observed for children. Continuous reward resulted in poorer performance earlier in the reward phase and continued throughout an extinction phase. The frustration levels of adults with attentional deficits did not differ from comparisons across schedule conditions. Results are discussed in terms of the role of arousal in mediating responding to various schedules of reward.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jbtep.2004.12.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jbtep.2004.12.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 16563307
AN - SCOPUS:33645069402
SN - 0005-7916
VL - 37
SP - 94
EP - 112
JO - Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
JF - Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
IS - 2
ER -