Encyclopedia of Sociology

BEHAVIORISM

events do not stand alone. These stimuli regulate
behavior because they are an important part of the
contingencies of reinforcement. Behaviorism has
therefore emphasized a three-term contingency of
reinforcement, symbolized as Sd:R(r)Sr. The nota-
tion states that a specific event (Sd) sets the occa-
sion for an operant (R) that produces reinforce-
ment (Sr). The discriminative stimulus regulates
behavior only because it signals past consequences.
Thus, a sign that states ‘‘Eat at Joe’s’’ may set the
occasion for your stopping at Joe’s restaurant
because of the great meals received in the past. If
Joe hires a new cook, and the meals deteriorate in
quality, then Joe’s sign will gradually lose its influ-
ence. Similarly, posted highway speeds regulate
driving on the basis of past consequences. The
driver who has been caught by a radar trap is more
likely to observe the speed limit.

CONTEXT OF BEHAVIOR

Contingencies of reinforcement, as complex ar-
rangements of discriminative stimuli, operants,
and reinforcements, remain a central focus of
behavioral research. Contemporary behaviorists
are also concerned with the context of behavior, and
how context affects the regulation of behavior by
its consequences (Fantino and Logan 1979). Im-
portant aspects of context include the biological
and cultural history of an organism, its current
physiological status, previous environment—be-
havior interactions, alternative sources of rein-
forcement, and a history of deprivation (or satia-
tion) for specific events or stimuli. To illustrate, in
the laboratory food is used typically as an effective
reinforcer for operant behavior. There are obvi-
ous times, however, when food will not function as
reinforcement. If a person (or animal) has just
eaten a large meal or has an upset stomach, food
has little effect upon behavior.

There are less obvious interrelations between
reinforcement and context. Recent research indi-
cates that depriving an organism of one reinforcer
may increase the effectiveness of a different behav-
ioral consequence. As deprivation for food in-
creased, animals worked harder to obtain an op-
portunity to run on a wheel. Additionally, animals
who were satiated on wheel running no longer
pressed a lever to obtain food. These results imply
that eating and running are biologically interrelat-
ed. Based on this biological history, the supply or

availability of one of these reinforcers alters the

effectiveness of the other (Pierce, Epling, and

Boer 1986). It is possible that many reinforcers are

biologically interrelated. People commonly believe

that sex and aggression go together in some un-

specified manner. One possibility is that the availa-

bility of sexual reinforcement alters the reinforc-

ing effectiveness of an opportunity to inflict harm

on others.

CHOICE AND PREFERENCE

The emphasis on context and reinforcement con-

tingencies has allowed modern behaviorists to

explore many aspects of behavior that seem to

defy a scientific analysis. Most people believe that

choice and preference are basic features of human

nature. Our customary way of speaking implies

that people make decisions on the basis of their

knowledge and dispositions. In contrast, behavior-

al studies of decision making suggest that we choose

an option based on its rate of return compared

with alternative sources of reinforcement.

Behaviorists have spent the last thirty years

studying choice in the laboratory using concurrent

schedules of reinforcement. The word concurrent

means ‘‘operating at the same time.’’ Thus, con-

current schedules are two (or more) schedules

operating at the same time, each schedule provid-

ing reinforcement independently. The experimen-

tal setting is arranged so that an organism is free to

alternate between two or more alternatives. Each

alternative provides a schedule of reinforcement

for choosing it over the other possibilities. A per-

son may choose between two (or more) response

buttons that have different rates of monetary pay-

off. Although the experimental setting is abstract,

concurrent schedules of reinforcement provide an

analogue of choice in everyday life.

People are often faced with a variety of alter-

natives, and each alternative has its associated

benefits (and costs). When a person puts money in

the bank rather than spending it on a new car,

television, or refrigerator, we speak of the indi-

vidual choosing to save rather than spend. In

everyday life, choice often involves repeated selec-

tion of one alternative (e.g. putting money in the

bank) over the other alternatives considered as a

single option (e.g. buying goods and services).

Similarly, the criminal chooses to take the proper-

ty of others rather than take the socially acceptable