Increasing Cooperation among Children Using Dependent Group-Oriented Reinforcement Contingencies

Abstract

This investigation evaluated the differential effectiveness of two reinforcement contingencies for improving cooperation among students when solving a mathematics estimation task. The two reinforcement paradigms were a dependent group-oriented contingency and an individual reinforcement contingency. Subjects were 371 children enrolled in grades 2 through 5 at two public schools. The two schools were randomly assigned to the two reinforcement conditions. The estimation task required guessing the number of objects in a container on three occasions, at weekly intervals. Feedback (high, low, or correct) was provided each week. Results showed that the group reinforcement contingency resulted in superior estimation accuracy and was associated with a higher degree of cooperation among students. These findings were discussed within the context of the literature pertaining to group-oriented reinforcement contingencies for improving cooperation and academic skills.