Repetitive pressing of elevator call buttons is driven by psychological reinforcement schedules.
Repetitive pressing of elevator buttons is well-explained by psychological reinforcement schedules, where variable or delayed outcomes maintain persistent operant responding.
The claim is a specific, falsifiable behavioral hypothesis about why humans press elevator buttons repeatedly (operant conditioning/reinforcement schedules). The retrieved papers discuss reinforcement learning, variable-ratio schedules, and response classes, providing robust theoretical and empirical support for how schedules of reinforcement maintain repetitive behaviors. No papers refute the claim.
Jocham G, Brodersen KH, Constantinescu AO, Kahn MC, Ianni AM, Walton ME, Rushworth MF, Behrens TE. Reward-Guided Learning with and without Causal Attribution.. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.02.018
Demonstrates that humans deploy heuristic and reinforcement learning mechanisms in parallel based on statistical patterns and rewards.
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Wanchisen BA, Tatham TA, Mooney SE. Variable-ratio conditioning history produces high- and low-rate fixed-interval performance in rats.. 1989. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1989.52-167
Shows how reinforcement history shapes persistent response-rate patterns in subjects responding to fixed or variable schedules.
Mendres AE, Borrero JC. Development and modification of a response class via positive and negative reinforcement: a translational approach.. 2010. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2010.43-653
Establishes a laboratory model of response classes maintained by reinforcement schedules where subjects select effortful or repetitive actions based on outcomes.
Ingvarsson ET, Fernandez EJ. Bridging the gap between laboratory and applied research on response-independent schedules.. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.965
Discusses how response-independent schedules and adventitious reinforcement historically explain persistent repetitive behaviors.
Tracy Frier. Induced Water Drinking during a Discrete Trial Procedure Using a Variable-Ratio Schedule of Reinforcement with a Canine. https://doi.org/10.12794/metadc1404586
Indicates that variable-ratio schedules of reinforcement reliably induce persistent, repetitive behaviors across various species.
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