Is superstitious behavior more easily acquired by negative reinforcement schedules than positive reinforcement schedules? Examinations of the polarity and the duration of a consequence

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of positive and negative reinforcement on superstitious behaviors. Participants were instructed to produce the word "GOOD" on a computer display (positive reinforcement condition) or to remove the word "BAD" (negative reinforcement condition) by pressing any of six keys. The words GOOD or BAD were presented at fixed-time intervals regardless of the participant's responses. In Experiment 1, only participants exposed to the negative reinforcement condition acquired superstitious behaviors. However, the observed asymmetry may not have been due to the polarity of consequences (positive vs. negative) but instead to the amount of time of goal states, because the period of the absence of BAD was longer than the period of the presence of GOOD. Experiment 2 varied the duration of word presentations to match the period of goal state between the positive and negative reinforcement conditions, and found that participants acquired superstitious behaviors equally under the two conditions. These results indicate that the duration of a consequence rather than its polarity is a critical factor controlling superstitious behaviors. The theoretical relationship between superstitious behavior and the illusion of control is discussed.

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