The Term DRO
Tuesday, 25 August 2020
Bad or Possibly Redeemable Label? Blogger: Andy Lattal, Ph.D. A procedure in which each target response postpones a scheduled reinforcer most often is described in both the basic and applied research and practice literature as a differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior schedule, or DRO. The term first was used by Reynolds (1961), although in a paper received two months before
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Praying Deer
Tuesday, 11 August 2020
Blogger: Andy Lattal, Ph.D. For the past six months I have had the pleasure of living in the beautiful city of Nara, Japan, during a sabbatical leave to conduct research at nearby Osaka Kyoiku University with my fine colleague Professor Hiroto Okouchi. Among the many beautiful sights of Nara is a 1300- acre park. And
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Are Bigger Reinforcers Better?
Tuesday, 04 August 2020
Blogger: Andy Lattal, Ph.D. When it comes to reinforcement, it is difficult to say. We can measure how “good” a reinforcer is in different ways. One measure is preference, but there may be many reasons why I prefer something that do not necessarily translate directly into how well it will maintain my behavior. The example
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When Punishment is a Reinforcer
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
Blogger: Andy Lattal, Ph.D. Punishment, by definition, reduces, weakens, or eliminates (depending on one’s theoretical bias) the responses on which it depends. But punishment also reinforces other behavior, notably that of the one administering the punishment. It does so because the behavior being punished is reduced or ceases altogether. And once the behavior of punishing is
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Immedium and Procrastinium: A Fable in Waiting
Tuesday, 07 January 2020
Once upon a time, there were twins named Immedium and Procrastinium. As their names might suggest, the two approached tasks very differently.
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Agency and Shaping
Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Shaping, or the differential reinforcement of successive approximations, is thought by many to be the most important tool in the behavior analyst’s toolbox.
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