The matching law

This article introduces the quantitative analysis of choice behavior by describing a number of equations developed over the years to describe the relation between the allocation of behavior under concurrent schedules of reinforcement and the consequences received for alternative responses. Direct proportionality between rate of responding and rate of reinforcement was observed in early studies, suggesting that behavioral output matched environmental input in a mathematical sense. This relation is termed "strict matching," and the equation that describes it is referred to as "the matching law." Later data showed systematic departures from strict matching, and a generalized version of the matching equation is now used to describe such data. This equation, referred to as "the generalized matching equation," also describes data that follow strict matching. It has become convention to refer to either of these equations as "the matching law." Empirical support for the matching law is briefly summarized, as is the applied and practical significance of matching analyses

Can a Christian be a Good Behavior Analyst? Yes, Indeed!

This article is the result of Dr. VanTol\u27s collaboration with Dr. Alan Poling, Professor of Psychology at Western Michigan University, and Dr. Kristal E. Ehrhardt, Professor of Education at Western Michigan University

Reinforcer magnitude and demand under fixed-ratio schedules with domestic hens

This study compared three methods of normalizing demand functions to allow comparison of demand for different commodities and examined how varying reinforcer magnitudes affected these analyses. Hens responded under fixed-ratio schedules in 40-min sessions with response requirement doubling each session and with 2-s, 8-s, and 12-s access to wheat. Over the smaller fixed ratios overall response rates generally increased and were higher the shorter the magazine duration. The logarithms of the number of reinforcers obtained (consumption) and the fixed ratio (price) were well fitted by curvilinear demand functions (Hursh et al., 1988. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 50, 419–440) that were inelastic (b negative) over small fixed-ratios. The fixed ratio with maximal response rate (Pmax) increased, and the rate of change of elasticity (a) and initial consumption (L) decreased with increased magazine duration. Normalizing consumption using measures of preference for various magazine durations (3-s vs. 3-s, 2-s vs. 8-s, and 2-s vs. 12-s), obtained using concurrent schedules, gave useful results as it removed the differences in L. Normalizing consumption and price (Hursh and Winger, 1995. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 64, 373–384) unified the data functions as intended by that analysis. The exponential function (Hursh and Silberberg, 2008. Psychological Review, 115, 186–198) gave an essential value that increased (i.e., α decreased significantly) as magazine duration decreased. This was not as predicted, since α should be constant over variations in magazine duration, but is similar to previous findings using a similar procedure with different food qualities (hens) and food quantities (rats)

Remote Explosive Scent Tracing of Explosive Remnants of War: A Perspective from the 2010 Morogoro Workshop

In March 2010, a workshop was held in Morogoro, Tanzania, to consider the past, present and future status of the Remote Explosive Scent Tracing system for explosive- remnants-of-war detection. This article summarizes the workshop’s discussions and explains lessons learned from the REST research project in Morogoro

Two Strategies for Landmine Detection by Giant Pouched Rats

This article compares the performance of Giant African Pouched Rats under two different management systems, both appropriate for mine-detection operational use. Employing International Mine Action Standards for accreditation, the researchers outline the process of conditioning and testing these mine-detection animals for field use

Gender of Authors in the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis [Gênero dos autores na Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento]

We examined publication records in the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis from 2005 through 2020 to determine the participation of women and men as contributing authors. We assessed the following variables: authorship (in general), first authors, articles with at least one woman, articles with at least one man, articles with both men and women, single-author articles, and authors with more than 10 publications. We identified 281 articles, with a total of 732 listed authors. Women and men were listed as authors 361 (49%) and 368 (50%) times, respectively. Women accounted for 43% of articles as first authors, and 69% of articles listed at least one woman as an author. These data are discussed and compared to data from other behavior-analytic journals. - Examinamos o registro de publicação, de 2005 a 2020, do Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento para determinar a participação de mulheres e homens como autores colaboradores. Foram avaliadas as seguintes variáveis: autoria (em geral), primeiros autores, artigos com pelo menos uma mulher, artigos com pelo menos um homem, artigos de ambos os sexos, artigos de autoria única e autores com mais de 10 publicações. Identificamos 281 artigos, com um total de 732 autores listados. Mulheres e homens foram listados como autores 361 (49%) e 368 (50%) vezes, respectivamente. As mulheres representaram 43% dos artigos como primeiros autores e 69% dos artigos listaram pelo menos uma mulher como autora. Esses dados são discutidos e comparados com dados de outros periódicos analíticos comportamentais

Gender of authors in the Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis: changes over time [GÉNERO DE LOS AUTORES DE LA REVISTA MEXICANA DE ANÁLISIS DE LA CONDUCTA: CAMBIOS A TRAVÉS DEL TIEMPO]

The Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis was examined from 1975 to 2018 to determine the proportion of authorship by women and men. Data were compiled and assessed for the percentage of authorship, percentage of first-authored publications, percentage of publications with at least one woman, and percentage of publications with at least one man. From the journal’s inception to 2018, women and men accounted for 33% and 67% of authorship, respectively. The data suggest that women’s participation, based on percentages of total authorship, has increased across time. - Con el propósito de determinar la proporción de autores mujeres y hombres, se analizaron los artículos publicados en la Revista Mexicana de Análisis de la Conducta de 1975 a 2018. Con base en los datos recopilados, se evaluó el porcentaje de artículos publicados, el porcentaje de artículos publicados como primer autor, el porcentaje de publicaciones con al menos una mujer como autora y el porcentaje de publicaciones con al menos un hombre como autor. Desde la creación de la revista hasta 2018, las mujeres y los hombres conformaron el 33% y el 67% de los autores, respectivamente. Con base en los porcentajes del total de publicaciones, los datos sugieren que la participación de las mujeres de hecho ha aumentado a través del tiempo

Reinforcement for Operational Mine Detection Rats

When using animals for the detection of landmines, handlers face challenges of when to reinforce indication responses, as the actual location of landmines in the field is unknown. Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling(Anti-Personnel Landmine Detection Product Development or APOPO) evaluated an inexpensive method to reinforce rat-indication responses in field settings using TNT to contaminate ground area. Rat detection accuracy was high over the TNT contamination after an overnight soak period of 16 hours and detection accuracy decreased as a function of days passed since soaking

Mine Detection Rats: Effects of Repeated Extinction on Detection Accuracy

This article describes the performance of Giant African Pouched Rats where reinforcement (reward) or extinction (no reward) conditions affected landmine identification. Accuracy deteriorated quickly in the absence of reinforcement, suggesting that reinforcement is essential

Evaluating Landmine-detection Rats in Operational Conditions

Researchers evaluate the accuracy of pouched rats’ ability to detect landmines under operational search conditions. Results indicate the ineffectiveness of one training method for maintaining quality operational performance and suggest further examination