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Despite the positive relation between exercise and health, most people do not maintain an exercise program for an extended period of time (e.g., Dishman, 1984). Considerable research has focused on discovering variables that can increase the likelihood and intensity of exercising. Watching videos (e.g., Cohen, Chelland, Ball, & LeMura, 2002; Robergs, Bereket, & Knight, 1998) and listening to music (e.g., Karageorghis & Terry, 1997) can increase the intensity of exercise, as well as ratings of perceived exertion. Contracts between participants and experimenters can increase the attendance at exercise sessions (e.g., Epstein, Wing, Thompson, & Griffin, 1980; Wysocki, Hall, Iwata, & Riordan, 1979).
A very promising method for enhancing the intensity of exercise, that has received relatively little attention, is the presentation of response-contingent reinforcement. With response-contingent reinforcement, reinforcers are presented throughout the exercise session, and the rate of reinforcement may depend upon the participant's performance. For example, money may be presented to a person riding a stationary cycle after every 20 rotations of the pedals (Cohen et al., 2002). In this case, longer and faster cycling result in higher frequencies of reinforcement. This approach contrasts with behavioral contracts in which reinforcers are presented after 1 week or even after 6 months of exercising, and reinforcement depends on exercise participation and not on the intensity of exercising (e.g., Epstein et al., 1980; Wysocki et al., 1979).
De Luca and Holborn (1985, 1990, 1992) examined the effects of contingent reinforcement on exercise in children. In one experiment two obese and two nonobese 11-year old boys rode a stationary cycle (De Luca & Holborn, 1985). Baseline cycling time and rate of pedaling were initially established. In the second condition, the boys were told that they could earn points for riding the cycle, and that they could later exchange the points for arts, crafts, and games. The points were delivered according to a fixed interval 1-min schedule of reinforcement. Under this schedule, the first rotation of the pedals after 1 min turned on a light and a bell, and the boys earned one point. In the last condition of the experiment the baseline (no points) was redetermined. Response-contingent reinforcement substantially increased cycling time. In two similar studies, De Luca and Holborn (1990, 1992) showed that response-contingent reinforcement increased the rate and the duration of cycling when points were delivered according to fixed-ratio (FR) and variable-ratio schedules of reinforcement.
Three studies examined the effects of contingent reinforcement on exercise in adults. Libb and Clements (1969) increased cycling of four geriatric patients with contingent reinforcement. Geiger, Todd, Clark, Miller, and Kori (1992) increased walking speed in chronic pain patients with contingent verbal reinforcement and tokens. Cohen et al. (2002) examined the effects of contingent money on cycling in two female college students. Participants were told that they earned $0.05 every time they turned on a light and a tone while riding a stationary cycle. The light and tone were turned on after every 20 (FR 20 schedule) or every 40 (FR 40 schedule) rotations of the pedals. Each participant was given a tally of the amount of money she earned after each session, but the money was not delivered until the experiment was over. The money increased cycling time in one participant, but did not affect the second participant.
In light of the relative scarcity of research on the effects of contingent reinforcement on exercise, the present experiment further explored this variable. In some ways, this experiment resembled the Cohen et al. (2002) study. However, several changes were made to increase the likelihood of discovering a functional relation between reinforcement and exercise. Cohen et al. (2002) studied two participants with a single-subject experimental design. The present study increased the sample size and used a separate-groups experimental design. In the present experiment, 25 participants were tested in four separate exercise sessions. Cohen et al. (2002) used only $0.05 as a reinforcer, and the present study increased the amount to $0.15. Cohen et al. (2002) turned on a light and a tone for 1 s following the completion of each FR schedule. Reinforcement was made more salient in the present study by positioning a row of nine lights in front of the participant with an electro-mechanical digital counter to the right of the lights. The lights turned on incrementally as the participant pedaled the cycle and the counter audibly incremented 15 times when all of the lights were on. Finally, Cohen et al. (2002) gave money to each participant at the end of the experiment, whereas we presented money at the end of the session.
In addition to examining the effects of contingent reinforcement, the present study examined the effects of music on cycling. Research has shown that music can increase exercise duration...
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