Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Behavior analysis and neuroscience.

John W. Donahoe1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, MA, USA

Behavioural Processes
|April 12, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same journal

Sex and brain maturation underlie the attribution of incentive salience to conditioned stimuli in Wistar rats.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Shining a light on jellyfish behaviour: Enhanced motor activity and positive phototaxis in Aurelia coerulea.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Detour-task performance in color polymorphic male mosquitofish.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Behavioral and physiological changes during the estrous cycle of socially housed female guinea pigs.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Flexible time-series analysis: A dynamically aware method for inferring directed dependencies in behavioral data.

Behavioural processes·2026
Same journal

Effects of group size and landmarks on escape behavior of three fish species.

Behavioural processes·2026

Natural selection explains species diversity, but required genetics and population genetics for acceptance. Similarly, selection by reinforcement explains behavior complexity but needs neuroscience integration and quantitative methods for wider scientific adoption.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Comparative Psychology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection revolutionized understanding of phylogenetic diversity.
  • The acceptance of natural selection required advancements in genetics and population genetics.
  • Similarly, selection by reinforcement, proposed by Thorndike and Skinner, offers a functional account for ontogenetic (behavioral) diversity but faces limited acceptance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the parallels between the historical acceptance of natural selection and the current status of selection by reinforcement.
  • To identify the necessary components for the widespread acceptance of selection by reinforcement as a principle for understanding complex behavior.
  • To propose a path forward by integrating behavior analysis with neuroscience.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • The study employs a comparative historical analysis of scientific principle adoption.
  • It identifies the need for biological mechanisms (neuroscience) and quantitative procedures analogous to genetics and population genetics.
  • Neural-network techniques are proposed as a framework for behavior-analytically faithful interpretation of reinforcement.

Main Results:

  • The historical trajectory of natural selection suggests that selection by reinforcement requires analogous advancements for broad scientific acceptance.
  • Integration with neurosciences is crucial for discovering the biological mechanisms underlying reinforcement.
  • Development of coordinated quantitative procedures is necessary to trace the cumulative effects of reinforcement.

Conclusions:

  • The widespread acceptance of selection by reinforcement hinges on its integration with neurosciences and the development of quantitative methods.
  • Neural-network techniques offer a promising avenue for a behavior-analytically faithful interpretation of reinforcement.
  • This integration could lead to a more comprehensive understanding of complex behavior, mirroring the impact of genetics on evolutionary biology.