Some parameters of the conditioning of verbal affect responses in schizophrenic subjects.

The study explored the effect of verbal reinforcement procedures with a sample of hospitalized schizophrenics. Comparisons were made of the reinforcement effect when it was given at the beginning vs. in the middle of a 30-min. interview. No differential reinforcement effect in terms of timing was found. Moreover, for verbal reinforcement per se to be effective, a number of reinforcements were necessary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)