This classic edition of the Handbook of Operant Behavior presents seminal work in the field of learning and behavior, foreshadowing a new direction for learning research, and presenting many questions that remain unanswered. Featuring impressive contributions from leading figures across the field—ranging from N. J. Mackintosh from what was to become the cognitive school through Morse, Kelleher, Hutchinson, and Hineline on the neglected topic of aversive control to Blough and Blough on psychophysics to Philip Teitelbaum on behavioral physiology—the book is a must-read for anyone interested in human and animal learning. In a newly written introduction, J. E. R. Staddon highlights several issues that deserve more attention: how language is learned and syntax evolves, how animals choose, and a new paradigm for the study of learning in general. The book is essential reading for all students and researchers of learning and behavior, and aims to encourage researchers to revisit some of the fascinating behavioral questions raised by the original book.

This combined survey of operant and classical conditioning provides professional and academic readers with an up-to-date, inclusive account of a core field of psychology research, with in-depth coverage of the basic theory, its applications, and current topics including behavioral economics. Provides comprehensive coverage of operant and classical conditioning, relevant fundamental theory, and applications including the latest techniques Features chapters by leading researchers, professionals, and academicians Reviews a range of core literature on conditioning Covers cutting-edge topics such as behavioral economics

Over the past century, educational psychologists and researchers have posited many theories to explain how individuals learn, i.e. how they acquire, organize and deploy knowledge and skills. The 20th century can be considered the century of psychology on learning and related fields of interest (such as motivation, cognition, metacognition etc.) and it is fascinating to see the various mainstreams of learning, remembered and forgotten over the 20th century and note that basic assumptions of early theories survived several paradigm shifts of psychology and epistemology. Beyond folk psychology and its naïve theories of learning, psychological learning theories can be grouped into some basic categories, such as behaviorist learning theories, connectionist learning theories, cognitive learning theories, constructivist learning theories, and social learning theories. Learning theories are not limited to psychology and related fields of interest but rather we can find the topic of learning in various disciplines, such as philosophy and epistemology, education, information science, biology, and – as a result of the emergence of computer technologies – especially also in the field of computer sciences and artificial intelligence. As a consequence, machine learning struck a chord in the 1980s and became an important field of the learning sciences in general. As the learning sciences became more specialized and complex, the various fields of interest were widely spread and separated from each other; as a consequence, even presently, there is no comprehensive overview of the sciences of learning or the central theoretical concepts and vocabulary on which researchers rely. The Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning provides an up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the specific terms mostly used in the sciences of learning and its related fields, including relevant areas of instruction, pedagogy, cognitive sciences, and especially machine learning and knowledge engineering. This modern compendium will be an indispensable source of information for scientists, educators, engineers, and technical staff active in all fields of learning. More specifically, the Encyclopedia provides fast access to the most relevant theoretical terms provides up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the most important theories within the various fields of the learning sciences and adjacent sciences and communication technologies; supplies clear and precise explanations of the theoretical terms, cross-references to related entries and up-to-date references to important research and publications. The Encyclopedia also contains biographical entries of individuals who have substantially contributed to the sciences of learning; the entries are written by a distinguished panel of researchers in the various fields of the learning sciences.

Since the appearance of the treatise on "Schedules of Reinforcement" by Ferster and Skinner over two decades ago, the literature in behavior analysis, both experimental and applied, has been dominated by a range of studies dedi cated to providing ever more systematic and refined accounts of these "mainsprings of behavior control. " For the most part, the analysis has been pursued in the best traditions of "scientific methodology" with careful atten tion to the isolation of controlling variables in unitary form. Of late, relatively simple interaction effects have provided an important additional focus for more sophisticated analyses. It is clear, however, from even a cursory survey of the monumental research and conceptual analysis which is represented in this scholarly volume by Henton and Iversen that the surface ofthis complex "be havioral interactions" domain has barely been scratched. The primary focus of this pioneering effort extends the competing response analysis across all experimental schedules, both classical and instrumental, as well as the interactions between the two. Appropriately, the analysis empha sizes overt behavioral interactions, beginning with the simplest case of one operant and one respondent, and inevitably implicating more diverse and subtle interactions. As the analysis expands to include interactions between multiple recorded responses, increasingly more precise empirical specifications ofrecip rocal interactions in response probabilities are revealed independently of con ventional procedural labels (i. e. , operants, respondents, collaterals, adjunc tives, etc. ) and traditional theoretical distinctions.

The approach to psychology advocated by the radical behaviourists was often misunderstood and frequently gave rise to controversy. Originally published in 1974, this book introduced current research in operant conditioning and explains the attempt to understand behaviour inherent in such experiments at the time. After considering the philosophical context in which behaviouristic psychology developed, the author outlines the basic characteristics of operant research by reviewing single experiments on the effects of reinforcement on behaviour. Chapters on schedules of intermittent reinforcement extend this approach to more complex situations and emphasize that behaviour can be maintained and controlled in many different ways by environmental events. The author then discusses recent work on conditional reinforcement and on the discriminative control of behaviour and shows how operant research has changed our understanding of these important concepts in psychology. Subsequent chapters review research within the operant paradigm on the effects on behaviour of punishment, anxiety, aversive stimuli and drugs, again by emphasising the special contribution to these topics made by operant conditioning techniques and methodology. The final chapters consider the general implications of operant research for educational practice and for clinical psychology, and place this approach within the context of psychology as a whole. Dr Blackman argues that it should be recognized as one important attempt to further the scientific analysis of behaviour. This book, filled a long recognized need for an undergraduate text in this area at the time, and helped students form their own evaluation. Now it should be read in its historical context.

This popular text gives students a comprehensive and readable introduction to contemporary issues in learning and behaviour, while providing balanced coverage of classical and instrumental conditioning.

This book was first published in 1988. B. F. Skinner was arguably the most important and influential psychologist of the last century. Yet in his long and distinguished career he consistently declined to be engaged by his critics. In his ninth decade, he elected to confront them all: cognitivists, ethologists, brain scientists, biologists, linguists, and philosophers - close to one hundred and fifty scientists and scholars from the entire spectrum of behavior-related disciplines around the world. Skinner's views on consciousness, language, problem solving, evolution, biology, brain function, computers, theory and explanation, presented in six seminal papers, are analyzed, criticized and explained in the 'open peer commentary' format of the Behavioral and Brain Sciences journal. The result is a remarkably lucid and revealing historical record of Skinnerian thinking and its impact on psychology and its allied disciplines. General readers, students, professionals and historians will find this unique intellectual exchange an invaluable resource.

The approach to psychology advocated by the radical behaviourists was often misunderstood and frequently gave rise to controversy. Originally published in 1974, this book introduced current research in operant conditioning and explains the attempt to understand behaviour inherent in such experiments at the time. After considering the philosophical context in which behaviouristic psychology developed, the author outlines the basic characteristics of operant research by reviewing single experiments on the effects of reinforcement on behaviour. Chapters on schedules of intermittent reinforcement extend this approach to more complex situations and emphasize that behaviour can be maintained and controlled in many different ways by environmental events. The author then discusses recent work on conditional reinforcement and on the discriminative control of behaviour and shows how operant research has changed our understanding of these important concepts in psychology. Subsequent chapters review research within the operant paradigm on the effects on behaviour of punishment, anxiety, aversive stimuli and drugs, again by emphasising the special contribution to these topics made by operant conditioning techniques and methodology. The final chapters consider the general implications of operant research for educational practice and for clinical psychology, and place this approach within the context of psychology as a whole. Dr Blackman argues that it should be recognized as one important attempt to further the scientific analysis of behaviour. This book, filled a long recognized need for an undergraduate text in this area at the time, and helped students form their own evaluation. Now it should be read in its historical context.

Using a behavioral perspective, Behavior Analysis and Learning provides an advanced introduction to the principles of behavior analysis and learned behaviors, covering a full range of principles from basic respondent and operant conditioning through applied behavior analysis into cultural design. The text uses Darwinian, neurophysiological, and biological theories and research to inform B. F. Skinner’s philosophy of radical behaviorism. The seventh edition expands the focus on neurophysiological mechanisms and their relation to the experimental analysis of behavior, providing updated studies and references to reflect current expansions and changes in the field of behavior analysis. By bringing together ideas from behavior analysis, neuroscience, epigenetics, and culture under a selectionist framework, the text facilitates understanding of behavior at environmental, genetic, neurophysiological, and sociocultural levels. This "grand synthesis" of behavior, neuroscience, and neurobiology roots behavior firmly in biology. The text includes special sections, "New Directions," "Focus On," "Note On," "On the Applied Side," and "Advanced Section," which enhance student learning and provide greater insight on specific topics. This edition was also updated for more inclusive language and representation of people and research across race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, and neurodiversity. Behavior Analysis and Learning is a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology or other behavior-based disciplines, especially behavioral neuroscience. The text is supported by Support Material that features a robust set of instructor and student resources: www.routledge.com/9781032065144.