The experimental analysis of behavior is school of thought in psychology founded on

B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. ...

's philosophy of radical behaviorism and defines the basic principles used in applied behavior analysis. A central principle was the inductive reasoning data-driven examination of functional relations, as opposed to the kinds of

hypothetico-deductive The hypothetico-deductive model or method is a proposed description of the scientific method. According to it, scientific inquiry proceeds by formulating a hypothesis in a form that can be falsifiable, using a test on observable data where the out ...

learning theory that had grown up in the

comparative psychology Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior. Research in this area addr ...

of the 1920–1950 period. Skinner's approach was characterized by observation of measurable behavior which could be predicted and controlled. It owed its early success to the effectiveness of Skinner's procedures of

operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...

, both in the laboratory and in

behavior therapy Behaviour therapy or behavioural psychotherapy is a broad term referring to clinical psychotherapy that uses techniques derived from behaviourism and/or cognitive psychology. It looks at specific, learned behaviours and how the environment, or oth ...

Basic learning processes in behavior analysis

Classical (or respondent) conditioning

In classical or respondent conditioning, a neutral stimulus (''conditioned stimulus'') is delivered just before a reflex-eliciting stimulus (''unconditioned stimulus'') such as food or pain. This typically done by pairing the two stimuli, as in Pavlov's experiments with dogs, where a bell was followed by food delivery. After repeated pairings, the conditioned stimulus comes to elicit the response.

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...

(also, "instrumental conditioning") is a learning process in which behavior is sensitive to, or controlled by its consequences. Specifically, behavior followed by some consequences becomes more frequent (positive reinforcmeent), behavior that is followed by other consequences becomes less frequent (punishment) and behavior not followed by yet other consequence becomes more frequent (negative reinforcement). For example, in a food-deprived subject, when lever-pressing is followed by food delivery lever-pressing increases in frequency (positive reinforcement). Likewise, when stepping off a treadmill is followed by delivery of electric shock, stepping off the treadmill becomes less frequent (punishment). And when stopping lever-pressing is followed by shock, lever-pressing is maintained or increased (negative reinforcement). Many variations and details of this process may be found in the main article.

Experimental tools in behavioral research

Operant conditioning chamber

The most commonly used tool in animal behavioral research is the

operant conditioning chamber An operant conditioning chamber (also known as a Skinner box) is a laboratory apparatus used to study animal behavior. The operant conditioning chamber was created by B. F. Skinner while he was a graduate student at Harvard University. The cham ...

—also known as a Skinner Box. The chamber is an enclosure designed to hold a test animal (often a

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

, or

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

). The interior of the chamber contains some type of device that serves the role of ''discriminative stimuli'', at least one mechanism to measure the subject's ''behavior'' as a rate of response—such as a lever or key-peck switch—and a mechanism for the delivery of ''consequences''—such as a food pellet dispenser or a token reinforcer such as an LED light.

Cumulative recorder

Of historical interest is the cumulative recorder, an instrument used to record the responses of subjects graphically. Traditionally, its graphing mechanism has consisted of a rotating drum of paper equipped with a marking needle. The needle would start at the bottom of the page and the drum would turn the roll of paper horizontally. Each subject response would result in the marking needle moving vertically along the paper one tick. This makes it possible for the rate of response to be calculated by finding the

slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the ''direction'' and the ''steepness'' of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter ''m''; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter ''m'' is use ...

of the graph at a given point. For example, a regular rate of response would cause the needle to move vertically at a regular rate, resulting in a straight diagonal line rising towards the right. An accelerating or decelerating rate of response would lead to a quadratic (or similar) curve. For the most part, cumulative records are no longer graphed using rotating drums, but are recorded electronically instead.

Key concepts

Laboratory methods employed in the experimental analysis of behavior are based upon B.F. Skinner's philosophy of

radical behaviorism Radical behaviorism is a "philosophy of the science of behavior" developed by B. F. Skinner. It refers to the philosophy behind behavior analysis, and is to be distinguished from methodological behaviorism—which has an intense emphasis on ...

, which is premised upon: # Everything that organisms do is behavior (including thinking), and # All behavior is lawful and open to experimental analysis. # Central to operant conditioning is the use of a Three-Term Contingency (Discriminative Stimulus, Response, Reinforcing Stimulus) to describe functional relationships in the control of behavior. * ''Discriminative stimulus'' (S) is a cue or stimulus context that sets the occasion for a response. For example, food on a plate sets the occasion for eating. * ''Behavior'' is a response (R), typically controlled by past consequences and also typically controlled by the presence of a discriminative stimulus. It operates on the environment, that is, it changes the environment in some way. * ''Consequences'' can consist of

reinforcing stimuli In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...

(S) or punishing stimuli (S) which follow and modify an operant response. Reinforcing stimuli are often classified as positively (S) or negatively reinforcing (S). Reinforcement may be governed by a ''schedule of reinforcement'', that is, a rule that specifies when or how often a response is reinforced. (See

). #

Respondent conditioning Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learni ...

is dependent on stimulus-response (SR) methodologies (unconditioned stimulus (US), conditioned stimulus (CS), neutral stimulus (NS), unconditioned response (UR), and conditioned response, or CR) #

Functional analysis (psychology) Functional analysis in behavioral psychology is the application of the laws of operant and respondent conditioning to establish the relationships between stimuli and responses. To establish the function of operant behavior, one typically examines t ...

Data collection Data collection or data gathering is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established system, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes. Data collection is a research com ...

Anti-theoretical analysis

The idea that Skinner's position is anti-theoretical is probably inspired by the arguments he put forth in his article ''Are Theories of Learning Necessary?'' However, that article did not argue against the use of theory as such, only against certain theories in certain contexts. Skinner argued that many theories did not explain behavior, but simply offered another layer of structure that itself had to be explained in turn. If an organism is said to have a drive, which causes its behavior, what then causes the drive? Skinner argued that many theories had the effect of halting research or generating useless research. Skinner's work did have a basis in theory, though his theories were different from those that he criticized. Mecca Chiesa notes that Skinner's theories are inductively derived, while those that he attacked were deductively derived. The theories that Skinner opposed often relied on mediating mechanisms and structures—such as a mechanism for memory as a part of the mind—which were not measurable or observable. Skinner's theories form the basis for two of his books: ''

Verbal Behavior ''Verbal Behavior'' is a 1957 book by psychologist B. F. Skinner, in which he describes what he calls verbal behavior, or what was traditionally called linguistics. Skinner's work describes the controlling elements of verbal behavior with termino ...

'', and ''Science and Human Behavior''. These two texts represent considerable theoretical extensions of his basic laboratory work into the realms of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and others.

Notable figures

Charles Ferster Charles Bohris Ferster (1 November 1922 – 3 February 1981) was an American behavioral psychologist. A pioneer of applied behavior analysis, he developed errorless learning and was a colleague of B.F. Skinner's at Harvard University, co-authorin ...

– pioneered

Errorless learning Errorless learning was an instructional design introduced by psychologist Charles Ferster in the 1950s as part of his studies on what would make the most effective learning environment. B. F. Skinner was also influential in developing the techniqu ...

, which has since become a commonly used form of

Discrete trial training Discrete trial training (DTT) is a technique used by practitioners of applied behavior analysis (ABA) that was developed by Ivar Lovaas at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). DTT uses direct instruction and reinforcers to create clea ...

(DTT) to teach

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

children, and co-authored the ''Schedules of Reinforcement'' book alongside

. *

Richard Herrnstein Richard Julius Herrnstein (May 20, 1930 – September 13, 1994) was an American psychologist at Harvard University. He was an active researcher in animal learning in the B. F. Skinner, Skinnerian tradition. Herrnstein was the Edgar Pierce Profess ...

– developed the

matching law In operant conditioning, the matching law is a quantitative relationship that holds between the relative rates of response and the relative rates of reinforcement in concurrent schedules of reinforcement. For example, if two response alternatives A ...

, a mathematical model for

decision making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either rati ...

, co-authored the controversial ''

The Bell Curve ''The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life'' is a 1994 book by psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray, in which the authors argue that human intelligence is substantially influenced by b ...

''. * James Holland – co-wrote the highly cited and well-known ''Principles of Behavior'' with B.F. Skinner. *

Fred S. Keller Fred Simmons Keller (January 2, 1899February 2, 1996) was an American psychologist and a pioneer in experimental psychology. He taught at Columbia University for 26 years and gave his name to the Keller Plan, also known as Personalized System ...

– creator of the

Personalized System of Instruction The Keller Plan, also called the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), was developed by Fred S. Keller with J. Gilmour Sherman, Carolina Bori, and Rodolpho Azzi in the middle 1960s as an innovative method of instruction for the then-new U ...

(PSI). *

Ogden Lindsley Ogden R. Lindsley (August 11, 1922, in Providence, Rhode Island – October 10, 2004) was an American psychologist. He is best known for developing precision teaching (including the Standard Celeration Chart). In 1948, he obtained an A.B. i ...

– founder of the Precision Teaching approach to teaching. *

Jack Michael Jack Michael (January 16, 1926 – November 12, 2020) was an American psychologist and professor at Western Michigan University. He developed one of the first token economies, the concept of motivating operations (MOs), and is a pioneer of what i ...

– noted verbal behavior and motivating operations theorist and researcher. * John Anthony (Tony) Nevin – development

behavioral momentum Behavioral momentum is a theory in quantitative analysis of behavior and is a behavioral metaphor based on physical momentum. It describes the general relation between resistance to change (persistence of behavior) and the rate of reinforcement obta ...

Howard Rachlin Howard Rachlin (1935–2021) was an American psychologist and the founder of teleological behaviorism. He is Emeritus Research Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University in New York. His initial work was in the quan ...

– pioneer in self-control research and

behavioral economics Behavioral economics studies the effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural and social factors on the decisions of individuals or institutions, such as how those decisions vary from those implied by classical economic theory. ...

. *

Murray Sidman Murray Sidman (April 29, 1923 – May 18, 2019) was a behavioral scientist, best known for ''Sidman Avoidance'', also called "free-operant avoidance", in which an individual learns to avoid an aversive stimulus by remembering to produce the respo ...

– discovered Sidman Avoidance, highly cited author, researcher on punishment, also has been influential in research on stimulus equivalence. * Philip Hineline – contributed extensively to negative reinforcement (escape/avoidance), molecular/molar accounts of behavior processes, and the characteristics of interpretive language. *

Allen Neuringer Allen Neuringer is an American psychologist. He is a highly published and well regarded scientist in the field of the experimental analysis of behavior, as pioneered by B.F. Skinner. His areas of research include human volition studies, the gener ...

– well known for theoretical work including volition perception, randomness,

self-experimentation Self-experimentation refers to the special case of single-subject research in which the experimenter conducts the experiment on themselves. Usually this means that a single person is the designer, operator, subject, analyst, and user or reporter ...

, and other areas. *

Peter B. Dews Peter B. Dews (1922–2012) was an American psychologist and pharmacologist. He is credited as the principal founder of the discipline of behavioral pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concer ...

principal founder of behavioral pharmacology

References

External links

''The Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior''
has been the flagship journal for behavioral research since 1958 (as a quarterly and since 1964 as a bimonthly publication).
''The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis''
explores what is considered to be the more applied areas of the experimental analysis of behavior.
''Behavioural Pharmacology''
publishes research on the effects of drugs, chemicals, and hormones on schedule-controlled operant behavior, as well as research into "the neurochemical mechanisms underlying behaviour."

is an online journal publishing experimental research focused on human subjects.
''The Analysis of Verbal Behavior''
– annual journal for publication of verbal behavior research.
''Are Theories of Learning Necessary?''
B.F. Skinner's seminal 1950 classic in which he attacks the hypothetico-deductive model of research driven by hypothesis testing.
''Behavioural Processes''
publishes an annual issue on

quantitative analysis of behavior Quantitative analysis of behavior is the application of mathematical models to the experimental analysis of behavior. The aim is to describe and/or predict relations between independent environmental variables and dependent behavioral variables. Th ...

and an issue on Comparative Cognition. {{DEFAULTSORT:Experimental Analysis Of Behavior Experimental psychology Behaviorism