This impressive collection features Richard Herrnstein's most important and original contributions to the social and behavioral sciences--his papers on choice behavior in animals and humans and on his discovery and elucidation of a general principle of choice called the matching law. In recent years, the most popular theory of choice behavior has been rational choice theory. Developed and elaborated by economists over the past hundred years, it claims that individuals make choices in such a way as to maximize their well-being or utility under whatever constraints they face; that is, people make the best of their situations. Rational choice theory holds undisputed sway in economics, and has become an important explanatory framework in political science, sociology, and psychology. Nevertheless, its empirical support is thin. The matching law is perhaps the most important competing explanatory account of choice behavior. It views choice not as a single event or an internal process of the organism but as a rate of observable events over time. It states that instead of maximizing utility, the organism allocates its behavior over various activities in exact proportion to the value derived from each activity. It differs subtly but significantly from rational choice theory in its predictions of how people exert self-control, for example, how they decide whether to forgo immediate pleasures for larger but delayed rewards. It provides, through the primrose path hypothesis, a powerful explanation of alcohol and narcotic addiction. It can also be used to explain biological phenomena, such as genetic selection and foraging behavior, as well as economic decision making.

Originally published in 1988, the purpose of this title was to present a coherent summary of the previous 30 years’ of research on the way in which animals and humans distribute their behaviour between alternative sources of reinforcement. There were three reasons why the book was needed at the time. First, it makes use of the empirical results available, something only partially present in many theories of the time. Second, as a general source of information to gain understanding of the scope of research on behaviour allocation. Third, a text was needed that described the techniques of experimental design and data analysis in this area.

In this book, consultants Brett DiNovi and Paul Gavoni, Behavioral Analysts, help leaders of schools, businesses, governments, families, and everyday life to learn and implement leadership principles based on behavioral science and proven case studies. The success of their company, Brett DiNovi & Associates, and their book comes from showing how behavior karma works in learning to master the 5 Scientific Laws of Life and Leadership in everyday scenarios and in crises. The book shows how to create opportunities, get feedback, and achieve desired outcomes -- in other words, how to successfully meet goals and fulfill values, repeatedly and reliably.

Behavior Change in the Human Services, Sixth Edition continues to provide a systematic introduction and overview of behavioral and cognitive principles and their applications to a wide range of problems and situations encountered in the human service professions. Designed for students and practitioners, the book uses a unique problem-solving framework to demonstrate how behavior change principles can be applied to practice situations. Martin and Sandra Sundel feature a detailed and sequential organization that encourages readers to move progressively through material of increasing complexity and to conduct self-assessments of their knowledge. The Fifth Edition includes eight clinical case studies and many new and engaging examples that address issues such as substance abuse, child behavior problems, assertiveness, marital discord, and developing appropriate social behaviors. The expanded chapter on intervention techniques incorporates empirically tested behavioral and cognitive strategies for addressing clinical problems such as phobias, anxiety disorders, depression, and other behavioral disorders. Current developments and trends in the field are discussed, including the movement toward evidence-based practice. This comprehensive yet accessible text also features figures, charts, and forms to demonstrate data collection and analysis. Any student pursuing a career in the helping professions, including social work, psychology, counseling, special education, nursing, and psychiatry, will find this book valuable

The contingent relationship between actions and their consequences lies at the heart of Skinner’s experimental analysis of behavior. Particular patterns of behavior emerge depending upon the contingencies established. Ferster and Skinner examined the effects of different schedules of reinforcement on behavior. An extraordinary work, Schedules of Reinforcement represents over 70,000 hours of research primarily with pigeons, though the principles have now been experimentally verified with many species including human beings. At first glance, the book appears to be an atlas of schedules. And so it is, the most exhaustive in existence. But it is also a reminder of the power of describing and explaining behavior through an analysis of measurable and manipulative behavior-environment relations without appealing to physiological mechanisms in the brain. As en exemplar and source for the further study of behavioral phenomena, the book illustrates the scientific philosophy that Skinner and Ferster adopted: that a science is best built from the ground up, from a firm foundation of facts that can eventually be summarized as scientific laws.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

Puppy Socialization: What It Is and How to Do It defines and demystifies the most important thing you can do for your puppy: socialization. The authors don't just tell you what you need to know about socialization. They show you with dozens of photographs and exclusive linked videos (a live internet connection is needed to view the videos). You'll see other owners socialize their puppies under the guidance of a nationally certified dog trainer and behavior consultant. These real-life examples of socialization show you what to do when things go well and when they don't go so well. You’ll learn about: • The magical time. Did you know that there is a special time in a puppy's life when he is primed to accept new things? The authors tell you when that time is, when that socialization window starts closing, and how a little effort by an owner during that time can save heartache later. • Canine body language. Puppies and dogs are talking all the time—with their body language. Learn to tell when a puppy or dog is relaxed and happy, a bit nervous about something, or outright fearful. • Myth-busting. There's a lot of advice out there about socialization and not all of it is good. Some common myths can actually cause a puppy harm. The authors give you the most up-to-date information on puppy socialization and put some harmful myths to rest. • Socializing a puppy during COVID-19. Puppies have so much to get used to: people, environments, noises, and more. The authors provide strategies for keeping humans and puppies safe while socializing puppies, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. • What supplies are needed during socialization. The authors provide checklists of things owners need when socializing a puppy at home and away from home.

This reference work breaks new ground as an electronic resource. Utterly comprehensive, it serves as a repository of knowledge in the field as well as a frequently updated conduit of new material long before it finds its way into standard textbooks.

This book is designed to honor George Caspar Homans for his many and varied contributions to the development of modern sociology. The chapters have been written by sociologists and psychologists who value his work sufficiently to have made his basic approach their own. These original essays are intended to elucidate, assess, and give a progress report on the theoretical tradition Homans founded and to which he has given such significant impetus.

Law is widely assumed to provide contemporary society with its most important means of organizing responsibility. Across a broad range of areas of social life – from the activities of states and citizens, to work, business and private relationships – it is understood that legal regulation plays a crucial role in defining and limiting responsibilities. But Law and Irresponsibility pursues the opposite view: it explores how law organizes irresponsibility. With a particular focus on large-scale harms – including extensive human rights violations, forms of colonialism, and environmental or nuclear devastation – this book analyzes the ways in which law legitimates human suffering by demonstrating how legal institutions operate as much to deflect responsibility for harms suffered as to acknowledge them. Drawing on a series of case studies, it shows not only how law facilitates the dispersal and disavowal of responsibility, but how it does so in consistent and patterned ways. Irresponsibility is organized, and its organization is traced here to the legal forms, and the social and political conditions, that sustain ‘our’ complicity in human suffering. This innovative and interdisciplinary book provides a radical challenge to conventional thinking about law and legal institutions. It will be of considerable interest to those working in law, political and legal theory, sociology and moral philosophy.