The reinforcing effects of the recommendation in the threatening communication.
An instrumental escape conditioning paradigm was used to test the drive reducing effects of the recommendation in a threatening communication. Analogies were drawn between threatening communications and conditioning. Instrumental response speed was a monotonic decreasing function of delay of reinforcement: 0, 2, 6 sec (p less than .001). Each of the three delay groups acquired the instrumental response (p less than .001). Speed = 1/latency, automatically measured to .01 sec by a Lafayette digital stop clock. The Ss were 54 undergraduate males. A procedure was introduced to allow the separation and analysis of the drive inducing and reinforcing components of a threatening communication. Significant differences were detected between the reinforcing effects of communications (p less than .008). The results were interpreted in terms of the fear reduction model of persuasive communication.
D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D004328:Drive; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D011930:Reaction Time; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D013997:Time Factors