Demand curve fitting is a method of data analysis for interpreting reinforcer consumption. These methods were established and validated by examining increases in unit price (UP) across sessions. An alternative experimental preparation is the progressive-ratio (PR) schedule in which schedule requirements increase within a session. Although PR schedules provide an efficient alternative to traditional evaluations of UP, using demand curves to interpret data obtained via PR schedules has not been systematically evaluated in applied contexts. In this study, the experimenters compared demand curves constructed based on across- and within-session increases in UP and evaluated correspondence between the two methods. Results indicated poor correspondence between demand curves constructed with the two methods. Furthermore, within-session measures of responding suggest that higher rates of problem behavior and longer durations of postreinforcement pauses were more likely under PR schedules than fixed-ratio schedules. Results are discussed in terms of implications for clinical application.

中文翻译：

---

工作要求的会话内和会话间增加不会产生类似的响应输出

需求曲线拟合是一种解释强化物消耗的数据分析方法。这些方法是通过检查会话间单价 (UP) 的增加来建立和验证的。另一种实验准备是渐进比率 (PR) 计划，其中计划要求在会话中增加。尽管 PR 计划为传统的 UP 评估提供了一种有效的替代方案，但使用需求曲线来解释通过 PR 计划获得的数据尚未在应用环境中进行系统评估。在这项研究中，实验者比较了基于跨时段和时段内 UP 增加构建的需求曲线，并评估了两种方法之间的对应关系。结果表明，用两种方法构建的需求曲线之间的对应性较差。此外，会话内响应的测量表明，在 PR 计划下，问题行为的发生率更高，强化后停顿的持续时间更长，而不是固定比率的计划。结果在对临床应用的影响方面进行了讨论。