A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR IN THE BALLOON ANALOGUE TASK

Abstract

In the balloon analogue task, a continuous schedule of positive reinforcement and a random ratio schedule of punishment for “pump” responses operate simultaneously, along with the opportunity to terminate each trial and avoid an impending punishing stimulus. In this study, the functional properties of game points and point losses were analyzed in three groups of college students (N=92) by varying the density of balloon explosions throughout the 30-balloon session. The within-session changes in density of explosions produced immediate systematic adjustments in pump responses per balloon. The results showed that 1) the number of pumps per balloon is sensitive to the local probability of explosions; 2) the suppression brought on by explosions depends on the temporal distance to the last explosion and the number of consecutive explosions; 3) suppression appears to be non-linear, with stronger effects as the local probability of explosions increases; and, 4) within limits, points without assigned extrinsic value may serve as reinforcers in the balloon analogue environment for populations with a history of game playing. Given these findings, a valuable strategy for future research may be to study differential reactivity to wins and losses as a proximal determinant of total scores that is amenable to experimental analysis.

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