Effects of information and reinforcement on the conversational behavior of chronic psychiatric patient dyads

Conducted 2 experiments to determine if the conversational behavior of 3 male and 1 female chronic psychiatric patients could be increased through either reinforcement or the provision of information about potential topics of conversation. Each experiment utilized 1 dyad in a withdrawal design or a combined changing criterion and withdrawal design. For 3 of the 4 Ss a positive reinforcement contingency was used, while for the 4th an avoidance …