RESUMO
Resumen En el presente estudio se investigó si la frecuencia de las actividades hechas por la pareja tiende a igualar la frecuencia de las actividades recibidas del cónyuge; conforme a la ley de igualación. Participaron 120 hombres y 120 mujeres divididos en seis bloques de cinco años de matrimonio cada uno. Se pidió a los participantes que, de una lista de 63 actividades divididas en 9 áreas de interacción marital, indicaran cuáles realizaban por y cuáles recibían de su pareja. Posteriormente, se estimó si la proporción de actividades que los miembros de la pareja reportaron que hacían por su pareja tendía a igualar la proporción de actividades que decían recibir de ella. Los participantes reportaron que la proporción de actividades que hacen por su pareja es similar a la proporción de actividades que reciben de ella. Estos hallazgos sugieren que la relación entre las actividades del matrimonio y los reforzadores que mantienen unida a una pareja puede explicarse cuantitativamente con la ley de igualación; esto es, en términos de la relación entre los patrones de conducta que los miembros de la pareja hacen por y reciben de su pareja.
Abstract In the present study, it was explored if the frequency of the activities done for the spouse tends to match the frequency of the activities received from the partner, according to the matching law. Participants were 120 men and 120 women divided into six blocks of five years of marriage each one; that is, from 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 15, 16 to 20, 21 to 25, and more than 26 years of marriage. They were asked to choose, from a list of 63 activities divided into 9 areas of marital interaction (household responsibilities, raising children, social activities, finance, communication, sexual interaction, occupational or academic progress, personal independence, and spouse independence), which activities they performed for their partner and which ones they received from them. Based on the importance scores reported in a previous study, the proportion of the reinforcing value of the 63 marital activities was calculated. Subsequently, it was estimated whether the proportion of activities done for the spouse tends to equate the proportion of activities received from the partner. It was found that the proportion of activities the participants do for their partners is similar to the proportion of activities they received from them. Linear regressions were calculated for each block of years of marriage with the proportion of activities done predicted by the proportion of activities received. With these regressions, the deviation of the matching between the proportions was estimated. Slopes greater than 1.0 would show that participants reported to do more activities than they reported to receive; slopes lower than 1.0 would show that participants did fewer activities than those received; and if the value is close to 0.5 it would indicate indifference; that is, participants would do the same number of activities, regardless of those received from their partner. It was found that for men the slope varied between 0.71 and 1.02, and for women the slope varied between 0.908 and 1.035. These findings suggest that the relationship between marital activities and the reinforcers that hold a couple together can be explained quantitatively by the matching law; this is, by the correlation between the activities done for and receive from the spouse.
RESUMO
Decidir si una secuencia de respuestas es una unidad conductual diferente a los elementos que la constituyen y que obedece a las mismas reglas de reforzamiento que respuestas discretas ha representado un problema difícil de resolver. Una forma de mostrar que una secuencia es una unidad de conducta, es observar si dicha secuencia cumple la relación propuesta por la ley de igualación. Con este propósito, se entrenó a cuatro ratas privadas de alimento y experimentalmente ingenuas a apretar en secuencia dos operandos para recibir una gota de leche. Se usaron diferentes programas concurrentes de intervalo variable (VI) para reforzar cada una de cuatro posibles secuencias. Cuando las ratas produjeron una secuencia no reforzada, las luces de la cámara experimental se apagaron durante 2 s. En tres diferentes fases se varió la tasa de reforzamiento para cada secuencia. Los resultados mostraron que las ratas fueron altamente sensibles a las tasas relativas de reforzamiento. Sin embargo, las pendientes de las curvas de ajuste fueron menores a uno, mostrando sub-igualación. Se concluyó que una secuencia de respuestas puede comportarse como un patrón integrado pero no representa una unidad conductual estrictamente equivalente a las operantes discretas.
Deciding both, whether a response sequence is a different behavioral unit than the elements that constitute it, and if it obeys the same reinforcement rules than discrete responses, has been a difficult problem. A way to prove that a sequence is a behavioral unit is to determine if it behaves according to the principles of the matching law. With this purpose, four naïve experimentally rats were food-deprived and trained to lever press two operanda in a sequence to receive a drop of milk. Different concurrent variable interval (VI) schedules were used to reinforce each of four possible sequences. When the rats produced a non-reinforced sequence the lights of the experimental chamber were turned off during 2 s. In three consecutive phases of the experiment, the reinforcement rate for each sequence was different. Results showed that the rats were highly sensitive to the relative rates of reinforcement assigned to each sequence. However, the adjustment curves showed slopes that were smaller than one, thus under-matching was found. It was concluded that although a response sequence can behave as an integrated pattern of behavior, it does not necessarily represent an equivalent behavioral unit comparable to that of a discrete operant response.