Historical and contemporary theories of reinforcement, as well as the clinical application of reinforcement principles to behavior modification and therapy, are critically analyzed and discusssed. A new behavioral approach to studying the allocation of behavior under changed environmental constraints, termed behavioral momentum, is also presented. Whereas traditional behavioral analysis has emphasized the role of response rate as an index of response probability and response strength, more recent studies have addressed the persistence of behavior under altered environmental conditions and reinforcement contingencies. In terms of behavior modification and therapy, issues such as generalizability and relapse prevention have major implications for the type and length of behavioral intervention strategies employed. The behavioral momentum model analyzes operant behavior not only in terms of its response rate but also in relation to its persistence under changed environmental constraints. The authors discuss the applicability of this recent addition to reinforcement theories in context of its implications for behavior modification and therapy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allison, J. (1983). Behavioral economics. New York: Praeger.
2.
Bolles, R. C. (1975). Theory of motivation. New York: Harper & Row.
3.
Davis, C. A. , & Brady, M. P. (1993). Expanding the utility of behavioral momentum with young children: Where we've been, where we need to go. Journal of Early Intervention, 17, 211-223.
4.
Davis, C. A. , Brady, M. P., Hamilton, R., McEvoy, M. A., & Williams, R. E. (1994). Effects of high-probability requests in the acquisition and generalization of social interactions skills of young children with severe disabilities. Journal ofApplied BehaviorAnalysis, 27, 619-638.
5.
Domjan, M. , & Burkhard, B. (1986). The principles of learning & behavior. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
6.
Eifert, G. H. , & Plaud, J. J. (in press). From behavior theory to behavior therapy: An overview. In J. J. Plaud & G. H. Eifert (Eds.), From behavior theory to behavior therapy. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
7.
Fath, S. J. , Fields, L., Malott, M. K., & Grossett, D. (1983). Response rate, latency, and resistance to change. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 39, 267-274.
8.
Ferster, C. B. , & Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of reinforcement. New York: Prentice Hall.
9.
Harchik, A. , & Putzier, V. (1990). The use of high probability requests to compliance with instructions to take medication. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 15, 40-43.
10.
Harper, D. N. , & McLean, A. P. (1992). Resistance to change and the law of effect. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 57, 317-337.
11.
Horner, R. , Day, H. M., Sprague, J., O'Brien, M., & Heathfield, L. (1991). Interspersed requests: A nonaversive procedure for decreasing aggression and self-injury during instruction. Journal of Applied BehaviorAnalysis, 24, 265-278.
12.
Hull, C. L. (1943). Principles of behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
13.
Mace, F. C. , & Belfiore, P. (1990). Behavioral momentum in the treatment of escape-motivated stereotypy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 507-514.
14.
Mace, F. C. , Hock, M. L., Laili, J. S., West, B. J., Belfiore, P., Pinter, E., & Brown, D. K. (1988). Behavioral momentum in the treatment of noncompliance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 123-141.
15.
Mace, F. C. , Lallis, J. S., Shea, M. C., Pinter, E., West, B. J., Roberts, M., & Nevin, J. A. (1990). The momentum of human behavior in a natural setting. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 54, 163-172.
16.
Marks, I. (1981). Behavioral concepts in the treatment of neuroses. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 9, 137-154.
17.
Meehl, P. E. (1950). On the circularity of the law of effect. Psychological Bulletin, 47, 52-75.
18.
Millenson, J. R. , & Leslie, J. C. (1979). Principles of behavioral analysis. New York: Macmillan.
19.
Moore, B. R. (1973). The role of directed Pavlovian reactions in simple instrumental learning in the pigeon. In R. Hinde & J. Hinde (Eds.), Constraints on learning (pp. 159-188). New York: Academic Press.
20.
Nevin, J. A. (1974). Response strength in multiple schedules. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 21, 389-408.
21.
Nevin, J. A. (1984). Pavlovian determiners of behavioral momentum. Animal Learning and Behavior, 12, 363-370.
22.
Nevin, J. A. (1988). Behavioral momentum and the partial reinforcement effect. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 44-56.
23.
Nevin, J. A. (1992). An integrative model for the study of behavioral momentum. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 57, 301-316.
24.
Nevin, J. A. , Mandell, C., & Atak, J. R. (1983). The analysis of behavioral momentum. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 39, 49-59.
25.
Nevin, J. A. , Tota, M. E., Torquato, R. D., & Shull, R. L. (1990). Alternative reinforcement increases resistance to change: Pavlovian or operant contingencies?Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 53, 359-379.
26.
Olds, J. , & Milner, P. (1954). Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal area and other regions of the rat brain. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 54, 419-427.
27.
Pierce, W. D. , & Epling, W. F. (1980). What happened to analyses in applied behavior analyses?The BehaviorAnalyst, 3, 1-9.
28.
Plaud, J. J. , Eifert, G. H., & Wolpe, J. (in press). The role of theory in behavior therapy: Conceptual and practical conclusions. In J. J. Plaud & G. H. Eifert (Eds.), From behavior theory to behavior therapy. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
29.
Plaud, J. J., & Gaither, G. A. (1995). Human behavioral momentum: Implicationsfor behavior analysis and therapy. Manuscript submitted for publicaton.
30.
Plaud, J. J. , & Vogeltanz, N. D. (1993). Behavior therapy and the experimental analysis of behavior: Contributions of the science of human behavior and radical behavioral philosophy. Joumal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 24, 119-127.
31.
Premack, D. (1962). Reversibility of the reinforcement relation. Science, 136, 266-257.
32.
Premack, D. (1965). Reinforcement theory. In D. Levine (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Volume 13 (pp. 123-180). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
33.
Premack, D. (1971). Catching up with common sense, or two sides of a generalization: Reinforcement and punishment. In R. Glaser (Ed.), The nature of reinforcement (pp. 121-150). New York: Academic Press.
34.
Shettleworth, S. J. (1973). Food reinforcement and the organization of behavior in golden hamsters. In R. Hinde & J. Hinde (Eds.), Constraints on leaming (pp. 243-264). New York: Academic Press.
35.
Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
36.
Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: Macnmillan.
37.
Thormdike, E. L. (1932). The fundamentals of learning. New York: Columbia University, Teachers College.
38.
Winter, J. , & Perkins, C. C. (1982). Immediate reinforcement in delayed reward learning in pigeons. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 38, 169-179.
