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Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction01:24

Generalization, Discrimination, and Extinction

Generalization, discrimination, and extinction are key concepts in operant conditioning that influence how behaviors are learned and maintained.
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Positive and negative reinforcement are key concepts in operant conditioning, a learning process where the consequences of a behavior affect the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.
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Reinforcement Schedules01:24

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New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat
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Published on: January 23, 2017

Rethinking reinforcement: allocation, induction, and contingency.

William M Baum1

  • 1University of California Davis, CA, USA. wmbaum@ucdavis.edu

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|January 31, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Behavioral science can be better understood through allocation, induction, and correlation, rather than reinforcement. These concepts explain how choices are made and influenced by Phylogenetically Important Events (PIEs).

Keywords:
Phylogenetically Important Eventallocationcontingencycorrelationinducerinducing stimulusinductionreinforcementreinstatement

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Science
  • Behavioral Economics
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • The traditional concept of reinforcement in understanding behavior is challenged as incomplete and potentially incorrect.
  • An alternative framework is proposed, organizing behavioral understanding around allocation, induction, and correlation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and define a new conceptual framework for organizing behavior.
  • To explain how allocation, induction, and correlation offer a more comprehensive understanding of behavior than reinforcement.

Main Methods:

  • Behavior is conceptualized as 'allocation,' emphasizing the centrality of choice in all actions.
  • Induction describes behavior elicited by Phylogenetically Important Events (PIEs) or associated stimuli.
  • Correlation explains how contingencies link operant activities with PIEs, influencing behavior.

Main Results:

  • Allocation, the measure of behavior, is shown to change as a result of induction and correlation.
  • Phylogenetically Important Events (PIEs) induce related activities, and correlated stimuli become conditional inducers.
  • Feedback functions, derived from constraints on performance, explain schedule-related phenomena.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed framework of allocation, induction, and correlation provides a more complete model of behavior.
  • Behavioral 'selection' is reinterpreted as the generation of PIEs within situational constraints, driven by contingency and induction.