AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF TOKEN REINFORCEMENT ON DIVERGENT VERBAL RESPONDING1

Abstract

The effect of token reinforcement on three classes of divergent verbal responding to verbal stimulus items from three measures of the Wallach‐Kogan Creativity test was examined. The subjects consisted of two “gifted”, two “average”, and two “learning disabled” children from a public‐school setting. The design utilized both an intra‐subject and inter‐subject multiple‐baseline design with a reversal design added. Tokens were dispensed contingent upon the number of appropriate verbal responses to each stimulus item, i.e. , a continuous schedule of reinforcement was used—one token per appropriate response. Interobserver agreement on “appropiateness” was 993%. The tokens could be used to “purchase” items listed in a “menu” format ( e.g. , ball and jacks—100 tokens). Consistently large effects of token reinforcement were observed, without generalization of effect across the three classes of behaviors, or conditions. These results support the works of Goetz and Baer ( Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 1973, 6 , 209–217), Goetz and Salmonson ( Behavior Analysis and Education , G. Semb, (Ed.), University of Kansas, 1972, 53–61), and Maloney and Hopkins ( Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 1973, 6 , 425–434). Implications lie in continued experimental analysis of behavior approach to the concept called “creativity”. Additionally, implications are made in classroom application of assessing and intervening in the area of divergent responding for children with deficits in those areas.