Methods and findings in an analysis of a vocal operant.
Reinforcement schedules systematically change not just vocal rate but also acoustic topography—consider pitch and duration when shaping vocal behavior.
01Research in Context
What this study did
LANE et al. (1963) looked at how reinforcement schedules change the way voices sound. They used a single-case lab design with neurotypical speakers. The team switched from continuous reinforcement to a variable-interval schedule, then to extinction.
They measured not just how often voices came out, but also how loud, how high, and how long each sound was.
What they found
When the schedule moved from CRF to VI to EXT, the average and the spread of loudness, pitch, and length all grew. The study showed that schedules shape acoustic details, not just vocal rate.
The results repeat and stretch earlier dog work to human voices, proving schedule control works on sound texture too.
How this fits with other research
SALZINGER et al. (1962) first showed that dog barks could be put on FR, multiple, and chain schedules. LANE et al. (1963) now match those effects in humans, moving from fixed ratio to variable interval and adding acoustic measures.
Critchfield (1996) extends the idea by shaping the topic of adult conversation, showing schedule control can steer what is said, while the 1963 paper shows it also steers how it sounds.
Davison et al. (1968) add response cost to tame overly high human verbal rates. Together with LANE et al. (1963), they paint one picture: schedules can turn vocal behavior up, down, or change its form, depending on the contingency.
Why it matters
If you shape speech with clients, watch pitch and duration, not just words per minute. Thinning reinforcement can make voices louder or longer, and extinction may boost variability. Use these acoustic cues as extra data when fading tokens or moving to natural feedback.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The relations among acoustic parameters of a vocal operant were considered and some methods for their measurement are described. Four human subjects (Ss) and one chick were employed in an experiment on the relations among vocal rate, vocal topography, and schedules of reinforcement. The earlier finding that schedules of reinforcement control human and infra-human vocal responding as they do other operants was replicated and extended to the case of variable-interval reinforcement. An analysis of response amplitude, pitch, and duration showed that the mean and variance of these parameters typically increase from CRF to VI, from VI to EXT and, for a second group of Ss, from CRF to EXT. The topography of the chick's vocal response appears to stand in the same relation to reinforcement operations as does the human vocal response.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1963 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1963.6-179