Context: a central concept

Seminal research in several areas has underscored the central role played by context in the control of behavior. Landmark studies in classical conditioning (with both conditioned suppression and autoshaping procedures) and in conditioned reinforcement (using the observing paradigm) are reviewed. The role of context also proved central in the study of choice (including the matching law and delay-reduction theory). This latter work contributed to the development of experimental analogs to foraging behavior. Research on foraging has also highlighted the importance of context and has led to some counterintuitive predictions that are mediated by context.