Effects of an online group-based intervention on effort tolerance in general education

Abstract

Effort tolerance refers to a repertoire of selecting a larger reinforcer requiring a higher-effort response over a smaller reinforcer requiring a lower-effort response. The current study investigated the effects of an online group-based effort-tolerance training on students' effort tolerance. The study adds to the literature because no studies have investigated the effects of a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement as an intervention that targets effort tolerance for a whole class in an online platform and in general education settings. During the intervention, researchers gradually increased the response requirements (i.e., number of math problems) to access a larger reinforcer and incorporated choice-making opportunities to promote second-grade students' selection of a higher-effort/larger-reinforcer response. The findings yielded mixed results – the intervention was relatively effective at increasing effort tolerance for students performing on and below grade level for math, but the same effects were not shown in students performing above grade level. Future applications in education and research are discussed.