Accuracy and controlling effects of self-monitoring as a function of concurrent responding and reinforcement

Two experiments are presented in which the accuracy and controlling effects of self-monitoring are evaluated as a function of engaging in concurrent operants and as a function of being reinforced for reliable recording. In Experiment I, each of 12 subjects were exposed to conditions involving reinforced self-monitoring, operant responding, and the concurrent performance of operant responding and reinforced self-monitoring. Monitoring was always reinforced, operant responding was not. Results indicated that the accuracy of self-monitoring was decreased during the performance of a concurrent operant. No controlling (reactive) effects of self-monitoring were observed. Experiment II was conducted to evaluate the effects of reinforcing reliable self-monitoring on the accuracy and control produced by self-monitoring. Experimental phases included self-monitoring, reinforced self-monitoring, and a replication of concurrent reinforced self-monitoring-operant responding. Reinforcing reliable recording resulted in a slight decrease in errors compared to self-monitoring alone, while errors during both these conditions were significantly fewer than during the concurrent self-monitoring-operant task. Rates of the monitored response remained stable during reinforced self-monitoring, while they decreased during self-monitoring alone. The results of both experiments are related to the clinical usage of self-monitoring, as they demonstrate the importance of assessing concurrent environmental contingencies when requesting clients to self-monitor, as well as indicating the potential accelerative effects on a response that, when correctly monitored, is reinforced.