Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior最新文献

Progressive ratio analysis (PRA) has been used to quantify the relative reinforcer efficacy of various programmed consequences across basic and applied research paradigms. It has also been used as an alternative methodology for demand-curve analysis. In this study, we enrolled 96 consenting adults with disabilities to participate in a translational controlled consecutive case series. Specifically, we compensated participants for using an arbitrary response (e.g., a die roll) to demonstrate the circumstances under which they would work to earn preferred reinforcers in both Basis x PRA and progressive fixed ratio analysis (PFRA) paradigms. Using t tests of logarithmically transformed Pearson correlation coefficients, we established that Basis x PRA did not correlate with metrics of demand elasticity obtained from PFRA. However, Basis x PRA significantly predicted multiple metrics of equilibrium observed during PFRA. Consequently, the assessment likely retains prescriptive value across a number of domains.

Although differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) is frequently successful in decreasing challenging behavior, relapse of previously reduced behavior can occur. Renewal is a form of relapse following a context change. This human-operant experiment evaluated a context-fading procedure to mitigate renewal during DRA with asymmetrical reinforcers for two alternative responses (i.e., differing magnitudes of points). Thirty-six participants were assigned to a context-fading or control group. During the first phase, the target response was reinforced in Context A. During the second phase, the target response was on extinction and two alternative responses were reinforced in Context B. For the context-fading group, the background color shifted from Context B to Context A. For the no-fading group, Phase 2 occurred entirely in Context B. Context A was reintroduced during the renewal test, with reinforcement contingencies identical to those in Phase 2. Renewal occurred for 17 of 18 participants (94.44%) without fading and only nine of 18 (50.00%) with fading. The magnitude of renewal was also greater for the no-fading group. These findings suggest context fading may be an effective strategy to mitigate renewal, although it may also produce temporary increases in the target response during the fading process.

Schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) arises when subjects consume excessive amounts of water during interval responding on operant tasks, a paradigm introduced and mostly developed in rats. Neuropharmacological studies conducted on SIP have mainly shown a prominent role of dopamine and 5HT in this adjunctive behavior. In particular, D₁/D₂ receptor antagonists decrease SIP, whereas low doses of dopamine reuptake blockers increase SIP. There is more specific evidence of a decline in SIP after lesions of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. A decline in SIP is likewise observed after the injection of 5HT reuptake blockers and modulated by 5HT_2A/5HT_2C receptor agonists and antagonists. Despite more limited studies with other neurotransmitter systems, SIP has so far been shown to decline after the injection of muscarinic or NMDA receptor antagonists as well as benzodiazepine receptor agonists. Under some conditions, the role of neuroendocrine factors is shown by alterations in blood corticosterone levels during the course of SIP, indicative of its stress-reducing properties.

Alternative-reinforcement-based treatments are common strategies for reducing maladaptive behavior in humans. When conditions of alternative reinforcement are made worse in some way, however, behavior that was targeted for elimination may resurge. Previous research using rat subjects has demonstrated that high-magnitude (relative to low-magnitude) alternative reinforcement produces faster elimination of target behavior but more resurgence once removed. The purpose of the present experiment was to assess cross-species generality of these effects to mice. During Phase 1, lever pressing produced single food pellet reinforcers. Next, during Phase 2, lever pressing was extinguished and groups of mice experienced either small-magnitude (one pellet), large-magnitude (three pellet), or no alternative reinforcement for nose poking. All food was suspended in Phase 3 to assess resurgence. As an additional goal of this study, changes in resurgence across successive determinations were assessed by cycling between periods during which alternative reinforcement was present or absent. Large-magnitude alternative reinforcers produced faster suppression of target behavior but more resurgence when removed than did small-magnitude alternative reinforcers. Moreover, this effect endured across repeated resurgence tests.

Blakemore, E. T., & Morris, S. L. (2025). Testing the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics’ predictions about choice under concurrent random-ratio schedules. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 124(3), Article e70065. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeab.70065

The title was published as: Testing the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamic's predictions about choice under concurrent random-ratio schedules

It should have been: Testing the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics’ predictions about choice under concurrent random-ratio schedules

This has been corrected in the article. We apologize for the error.

The law of effect, originally proposed by E. L. Thorndike in a book that was published in 1911, had a major influence on the development of studies of instrumental or operant conditioning in the twentieth century. It remains a core concept in psychology and is invariably covered in undergraduate and graduate courses. Thorndike's law of effect also remains a topic of inquiry in contemporary efforts to understand the nature of habitual responses as contrasted with goal-directed behavior. The mechanisms of the law of effect continue to be studied by behavioral and social psychologists as well as neuroscientists. However, many statements of the law of effect deviate in significant ways from Thorndike's original formulation. The present article reviews the history of Thorndike's law of effect and traces how the law has been, and continues to be, misrepresented. The hope is that familiarity with common misrepresentations of the law of effect will encourage greater consistency and clarity in discussions of the law and better appreciation of its role in contemporary research.

Increasing cybercrime rates means identifying potential victims is critically important. Social discounting tasks show that individuals share less personally identifying information as social distance increases. However, the test–retest reliability and uniqueness of this measure is unclear. The current study assessed social discounting for personally identifying information (SDPII), delay discounting, risk taking, and personality at two measurement waves 30 days apart for 64 undergraduate students. Test–retest reliability was statistically significant for the SDPII and all other measures, replicating previous studies. SDPII rates were not significantly correlated with other measures during both measurement waves, showing discriminant validity. SDPII rates were lower than those reported in a previous study but were still well described by a hyperbolic discounting function, suggesting replicability across studies. The high test–retest reliability, uniqueness, and replicability of the SDPII suggests that it may quantitatively identify cybercrime victimization. Future research should test which measure or combination of measures can accurately predict scam and cybercrime victimization to inform data-based interventions.

This experiment was designed to examine the question of how different force-exertion requirements in effect prior to extinction affect force exertion during extinction of the previously reinforced response, with an emphasis on such effects early in extinction. Human participants were exposed to one of three conditions in which making a force-exertion response resulted in points displayed on a computer screen. In two conditions, the response-force requirement was fixed during the reinforcement phase at a force exertion of either 50%–65% or 100%–125% of the force criterion exerted in a pretest. During the third condition, the force-exertion criterion was decreased progressively from 100%–125% to 50%–65% of the force criterion during the reinforcement phase. After a short adjustment period, response-force exertions generally conformed to the force requirements for reinforcement. Removing the opportunity for reinforcement reduced the number of responses relative to those occurring in the reinforcement phase, although some responding was still occurring for most participants at the end of the extinction phase. The results are discussed in relation to the variables responsible for the extinction of a force-defined response, emphasizing changes in force early in extinction.

Choice in concurrent schedules is organized in visits to each alternative, and the duration of these visits is exponentially distributed. A model of changeover behavior based on this fact successfully described changeover behavior in two large data sets from published experiments, but some limitations were apparent in this analysis, seemingly reflecting an effect of the passage of time on the data across the lengthy experiments. This article describes an experiment that exposed rats to a dynamic concurrent variable-interval procedure designed to address these limitations. One of 35 possible combinations of overall and relative reinforcement rates was chosen pseudorandomly at the beginning of each session without signaling the specific combination in effect. By allowing the sensitivity parameter in the generalized matching law to be a function of the overall reinforcement rate, the model provided a satisfactory description of the results. This modification includes free parameters that presumably reflect the effects of how discriminable the alternatives are and how costly it is to switch between them, increasing the scope of the matching law. The updated model holds promise as the foundation for a general theory of performance in concurrent schedules of reinforcement.

The evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics (ETBD) has predicted that under concurrent random-ratio (RR) schedules, preference for the denser schedule becomes more extreme with (a) larger differences between the concurrent ratio requirements and (b) smaller absolute values of the ratio requirement for the denser alternative. In this study, we tested ETBD's predictions by evaluating human participants' choice under various concurrent RR schedules. Sixty-three undergraduate students participated and were presented with two concurrently available response options on a touchscreen monitor. The difference between the concurrently available ratio requirements was manipulated across conditions, and the absolute value of the ratio requirement for the denser alternative was manipulated across groups. As predicted by the ETBD, participants' preference for the denser alternative increased as the difference between the concurrent ratio requirements increased and groups with smaller absolute ratio requirements tended to display more extreme preference. However, a high level of heterogeneity was observed across human participants within each group that was not evident in the behavior of artificial organisms animated by the ETBD. Our findings demonstrate the importance of focusing on individual behavior and suggest directions for future research investigating choice under concurrent ratio schedules and evaluating the ETBD.