Self-Recording Mutually Exclusive Multiple Responses

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Abstract
Self-recording procedures generally focus on a single target response despite the fact that the situations to which they are applied often involve choices among competing responses. This analogue study explored the effects of self-recording on several mutually exclusive responses in a situation in which limited behavior was available to allocate among the responses. Four young competitive swimmers could swim 25 yards of any of four swimming strokes on a given trial. During baseline all subjects exhibited distinct preferences for one of the strokes. In different conditions subjects then self-recorded choices of all strokes or of only one stroke. When only one stroke was self-recorded, choice of that stroke increased in frequency. However, when all strokes were recorded choice patterns tended toward equity among the strokes for three of four subjects, an outcome not predicted by the existing literature. The results suggest that self-recording research, and possibly applications, might be improved through better understanding of response interactions.