A note on some reinforcing properties of university lectures.
College students attend lectures only when attendance itself earns course credit—making it contingent on prior work backfires.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The researchers wanted to know why college students skip lectures. They tested the students in one psychology class.
First they gave points just for showing up. Attendance stayed high. Then they switched. Students only got points if they finished the previous assignment. Both attendance and homework dropped.
They went back to the first rule. Attendance shot back up. Simple A-B-A design showed the pattern clearly.
What they found
When lectures were tied directly to grades, almost everyone came. When the rule changed to 'finish homework first,' attendance fell by half.
The tricky part: making homework a gate did not help homework get done. It just made students stay home. Direct grade points for showing up worked best.
How this fits with other research
Robinson et al. (1974) found the opposite in grade school. They rewarded correct homework and saw both homework and classwork improve. The difference is age. Little kids will work for praise or small prizes. College students need the big prize—course credit.
Clark et al. (1970) and Hall et al. (1970) showed that tokens work in younger classrooms. But those studies used candy or teacher attention. Alba et al. (1972) proves that older learners need grade contingencies, not trinkets.
Fluharty et al. (2024) extends the idea. They let middle-schoolers pick their own class reward. Preferred items boosted preparedness more than low-p items. The lesson: match the reinforcer to the age and setting.
Why it matters
If you teach college courses or supervise university practicum students, tie attendance straight to the grade. Skip the extra hoops. One clear rule works better than layered contingencies.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Contingency management systems in university courses have sometimes assigned the role of reinforcing stimulus to lectures and demonstrations. Attending a lecture was made contingent upon having previously finished certain course assignments. The present paper investigated some variables that control student attendance at lectures. Attendance remained high throughout each course at those class meetings where quizzes contributing to course grades were given or where impending quizzes were discussed. Attendance at lectures over the reading assignments or over material unrelated to course quizzes rapidly declined. When students were given course credit for attending these lectures, or when the lectures included information for future quizzes, attendance increased. When attending these lectures was made contingent upon having completed certain assignments the prior week, no increase in assignment completion was noted and the attendance at the lectures decreased even further. All lectures were given during one class meeting each week. Attendance at the other class meetings during the week remained stable.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1972 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1972.5-151