fei75766_ch16_495-533.indd 524  02/06/20 01:34 PM
Part VI    Learning-Cognitive Theories524
other words, personality change maygoundetected because ourlanguage lends itself 
toattributions ofunderlying, stable traits.
Onesystematized operant conditioning framework thathasbeen usedin
countless studies tochange behavior inboth animals andhumans isknown asthe
“Token Economy.” Inthisparadigm, individuals aregiven “tokens” fordesired 
behaviors, which canlaterbetraded informeaningful rewards. Such token 
economies have been usedsuccessfully toreduce drugdependence (e.g., Petry, 
Alessi ,&Rash, 2013), butalsotofundamentally change howemployees orstu-
dents approach their work. Forexample, JaneLeeSaber (2017) adopted atoken 
economy system forundergraduate students. Instudy one,72students inamar-
keting class identified three types ofactive learning behaviors tobereinforced: 
individual class participation, individual class participation using external sources ,
andin-class group work participation. Then, after abaseline period, students spent 
5weeks receiving tokens forthetarget behaviors, recorded their allocations, and
trading their accumulated tokens fortherewards such as“Get onemultiple choice 
hintduring theexam” (5tokens), or“Instructor willdiscuss career advice forup
to15minutes” (7tokens). Study twowasanexperimental design inwhich aclass 
employing thetoken economy system developed bythefirstgroup wascompared 
toonewithout thetoken economy. Results showed thatthetoken economy tech-
nique increased reinforced target behaviors (e.g., different kinds ofparticipation) 
instudents. Thisisnotsurprising. More interesting, however, examination and
group grade performance alsoimproved forthetoken economy groups. Finally, 
student self-reported measures ofeffort, interest andenjoyment ofthecourse con-
tentimproved aswell. 
Astoken economies suchasSaber’s havebeen shown toimprove learning, 
studying behaviors, academic achievement andattendance (e.g., Hirst, Dozier, &
Payne, 2016), itmight notbefar-fetched toargue thatconditioning, inchanging how
students learn, might ultimately bechanging something fundamental about whothey
are—from passive toactive learners. Could thiseversosmall change beargued tobea
change intheirpersonality? Skinner would surely sayyes.
How Personality Affects Conditioning
Ifconditioning canaffect personality, isthereverse alsotrue? Thatis,canpersonality 
affect conditioning? Several thousand studies withbothanimals andhumans havedem-
onstrated thepower thatconditioning hastochange behavior/personality. With humans 
inparticular, however, itisclearthatdifferent people respond differently tothesame 
reinforcers, andpersonality mayprovide animportant clueabout whythismaybeso.
Stacey Sigmon andcolleagues (2003) studied theeffects thatD-amphetamine 
hasonsmoking using twodifferent reinforcers: cigarettes andmoney. Inaddition to
trying toreplicate thefinding thatpsychomotor stimulants specifically increase the
reinforcing value ofnicotine compared tomoney, theywanted toexamine whether 
there wereanyindividual differences intheeffect. Ifthere were, thenwhat might be
some possible explanations?
Participants wereadult smokers (averaging 20cigarettes perday)between the
agesof18and45,withamean ageof21;78%wereEuropean American and61%
werefemale. Tobeincluded inthestudy, participants hadtotestnegative fordrugs Final PDF to printer