INTEREST INVENTORY ITEMS AS REINFORCING STIMULI: A TEST OF THE A-R-D THEORY

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that interest inventory items would function as reinforcing stimuli in a visual discrimination task. When previously rated liked and disliked items from the strong vocational interest blank were differentially presented following one of two responses, subjects learned to respond to the stimulus that was followed by liked items. When indifferent items were presented following responses to one stimulus the delivery of either liked or disliked items after responses to the other stimulus was related to systematic changes in discrimination performance. The results support the A-R-D interpretation that attitudinal stimuli (interest items) which elicit emotional responses will also serve as reinforcing stimuli when made contingent upon instrumental responses. (Author) Report on Project: Language, Personality, Social, and Cross-Cultural Study and Measurement of the Human A-R-D (Motivational) System.