Variability and resistance to change of different response positions in response sequences emitted under continuous and lag reinforcement schedules

ABSTRACT This experiment examined resistance to change of the different response positions of three-response sequences (left/middle/right button presses) exhibited by a group of children when contingencies were shifted from continuous reinforcement to a lag or yoked reinforcement schedule. A backward progression of extinction for the three-response sequences was observed for all subjects under the lag schedule, suggesting that the role of extinction should be reconsidered as an explanation for increased variability observed under lag schedules. We suggest that variability may be, at least partly, explained by the documented effects of responses undergoing extinction rather than characterize variability as an operant dimension that can be reinforced per se.