Efeitos do reforçamento positivo sobreposto à punição negativa na aquisição e manutenção de autorrelatos correspondentes de crianças

Abstract

The present study evaluated the effects of positive reinforcement for corresponding reports combined with negative punishment for non-corresponding reports on the acquisition and maintenance of corresponding self-reports in children. “Doing” consisted of naming a numeral or the result of a mathematical operation, while “saying” involved reporting whether the response was correct or incorrect following computer feedback. Five children participated and were exposed to four experimental conditions: (1) baseline, in which report accuracy was assessed in a situation with no differential consequences for corresponding or non-corresponding reports; (2) correspondence training, in which corresponding reports were followed by point delivery (positive reinforcement), while non-corresponding reports resulted in point removal (negative punishment); and (3) maintenance, in which correspondence was assessed in a situation with no differential consequences. For three participants who exhibited high correspondence levels in the baseline, a contingent reinforcement condition for reports of correct responses was introduced before the correspondence training condition. Positive reinforcement for corresponding reports superimposed with punishment for non-corresponding reports produced high correspondence levels (90–100%) in a few sessions (3–6) for all participants, which were maintained after 15 and 30 days for three of the five participants.