Differential conditioning using covert stimuli

Differential conditioning of verbal operants using covert stimuli, based on Cautela's covert reinforcement and covert sensitization methods of self control therapy, was studied in the laboratory. Each of 22 subjects was trained to visualize a reinforcing and an aversive scene, based on reported preferences from stimuli on the Reinforcement Survey Schedule. The operant was the emission of a number between 0 and 100. For one group the consequence of responding with a number ending in 1–3 was the self-presented reinforcing scene cued by the experimenter, with the aversive scene contingent upon a number ending in 7–9. The consequences were reversed for the other group. The results showed that contingent covert stimuli significantly changed the rates of the selected operants from baseline. This study supports Cautela's contention that covert stimuli can control behavior. The difficulty of measuring the covert stimulus was noted.