Self-Monitoring and Self-Reinforcement of Studying by College Students
The present study involves examination of self-monitoring and self-reinforcement of studying to partial out the relative contributions of self-monitoring and self-reinforcement to change of behavior in number of minutes studied and test score. Undergraduate students were divided into groups and were asked to observe and record the number of minutes studied for an introductory psychology course. Reinforcers were points toward the student's course grade. It was predicted that study output would increase and thereby increase scores on course tests. After a 6-wk. experimental period, those students who self-reinforced in their natural environment significantly increased their study time. There was no significant difference between groups in test scores. These findings suggest self-reinforcement in a naturalistic context may increase time of study but not grades. The lack of relationship between time in study and test performance was discussed.