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Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE
06:57

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Published on: May 14, 2019

Adjunctive behaviors are operants.

Peter R Killeen1, Ricardo Pellón

  • 1Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. killeen@asu.edu

Learning & Behavior
|January 30, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study challenges the traditional view of reinforcement, suggesting that proximity, not just timing or contingency, is key to conditioning. New principles of association may offer a broader theory of learning.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Learning Theory
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Traditional conditioning models assume reinforcement requires strict contingency and contiguity.
  • Schedule-induced polydipsia is a behavior often explained by incentive delivery, not reinforcement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and reject the standard assumptions about conditioning.
  • To propose alternative principles for understanding associative learning and conditioning.

Main Methods:

  • Critical review of existing arguments and evidence in conditioning.
  • Presentation of data supporting alternative theoretical frameworks.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests that delay of reinforcement gradients may differ for various response classes.
  • Proximity between response and reinforcer emerges as a critical factor in association.

Conclusions:

  • Standard assumptions regarding contingency and contiguity in conditioning are challenged.
  • Proximity offers a more comprehensive principle for understanding associative learning.
  • These findings lay the groundwork for a more general theory of conditioning.