Steven lives in a group home with four other men. Most of his housemates spend about equal amounts of time in the living room and the recreation room. Steven spends about 75% of his free time in the living room and 25% in the recreation room. Staff observations have shown that staff attention is very reinforcing for Steven. If the matching law is operating in this scenario, what is the predicted rate of staff attention to Steven in the living room?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to the matching law, the relative rate of response matches the relative rate of reinforcement. In this case, Steven spends 75% of his time in the living room and 25% in the recreation room, which means the predicted rate of staff attention should be three times higher in the living room than in the recreation room. Therefore, the correct answer is B, as it states that the predicted rate of staff attention in the living room is three times the rate in the recreation room.

Steven Lives in a Group Home with Four Other Men