Effects of methylphenidate on sensitivity to reinforcement in children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an application of the matching law.
J Appl Behav Anal
; 33(4): 573-91, 2000.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11214032
ABSTRACT
The behavior of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been hypothesized to be the result of decreased sensitivity to consequences compared to typical children. The present study examined sensitivity to reinforcement in 2 boys diagnosed with ADHD using the matching law to provide more precise and quantitative measurement of this construct. This experiment also evaluated the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on sensitivity to reinforcement of children with ADHD. Subjects completed math problems to earn tokens under four different variable-interval (VI) schedules of reinforcement presented in random order under both medicated and nonmedicated conditions. Results showed that, in the medicated condition, the matching functions for both subjects resulted in higher asymptotic values, indicating an overall elevation of behavior rate under these conditions. The variance accounted for by the matching law was also higher under the medicated conditions, suggesting that their behavior more closely tracked the changing rates of reinforcement while taking MPH compared to placebo. Under medicated conditions, the reinforcing efficacy of response-contingent tokens decreased. Results are discussed with respect to quantifying behavioral changes and the extent to which the drug interacts with prevailing contingencies (i.e., schedule values) to influence behavioral variability.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Resolução de Problemas
/
Teoria Psicológica
/
Reforço Psicológico
/
Transtorno do Deficit de Atenção com Hiperatividade
/
Estimulantes do Sistema Nervoso Central
/
Metilfenidato
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
Limite:
Child
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Appl Behav Anal
Ano de publicação:
2000
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos