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Behavioral cusps: a developmental and pragmatic concept for behavior analysis
1Department of Behavior Analysis, University of North Texas, Denton 76203, USA. Rosales@scs.unt.edu
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
|October 8, 1997
Summary
Behavioral development involves understanding environmental influences on behavior change. A behavioral cusp is a pivotal behavior change that unlocks new learning opportunities and has significant long-term consequences.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral science
- Developmental psychology
- Behavior analysis
Background:
- Traditional developmental concepts focus on stages and predictable behavior changes.
- Behavior analysis emphasizes environmental contingencies as drivers of behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a behavior-analytic framework for understanding development.
- To introduce the concept of a "behavioral cusp" as a key developmental phenomenon.
Main Methods:
- Analyzing fundamental mechanisms of behavior analysis, including environmental contingencies.
- Examining how these contingencies systematically vary across the lifespan.
- Identifying behavior changes with far-reaching consequences.
Main Results:
- Environmental contingencies systematically influence behavior change throughout life.
- Certain behavior changes, termed "behavioral cusps," lead to new environmental contingencies.
- Behavioral cusps are crucial for subsequent development and learning.
Conclusions:
- Behavior change is the core of development from a behavior-analytic viewpoint.
- Behavioral cusps represent critical junctures in development.
- Understanding behavioral cusps offers a powerful lens for studying developmental processes.
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