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Summary
The matching law can be disproven as an empirical finding or accepted as a definition of reinforcer utility. Failure to match suggests issues with variable scaling or experimental design, potentially requiring law revisions.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral psychology
- Reinforcement theory
Background:
- The matching law describes response allocation in concurrent schedules of reinforcement.
- It can be interpreted as an empirical generalization or a definitional component of utility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the theoretical implications of the matching law.
- To examine conditions under which the matching law may fail or require revision.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of the matching law's role in defining utility.
- Discussion of empirical failures and their interpretation.
Main Results:
- The matching law is tautologous if used to define utility, making it unfalsifiable within that context.
- Deviations from matching often indicate improper scaling of independent variables.
Conclusions:
- Failures to obtain matching may necessitate reinterpreting or revising the matching law.
- Alternative definitions of utility may supersede the theoretical matching law.