Understanding Behavior

dualism

the assumption of two different types of existence; inner-outer dualism that posits two worlds, an inner and outer — the interaction between the two worlds remains a mystery in terms of science

pragmatism

philosophical stance that holds that truth is true insofar as it works and is worth asking. A question is only worth pursuing if its answer would make a difference for our understanding of the world.

realism

the view of the world assuming a real world that exists apart from our perception

sense data

a term for the subjective experience of the real, objective world

sense data theory

a theory based on dualism; that scientists only have access to sense data, which provide a bases for things in the real world that we cannot observe directly

action

a specific episode of an activity with a beginning and an end

activity

a pattern of behavior that takes up time and is identified over a period of time

autonomy

the capacity of something to behave

category mistake

Ryle’s definition of using mental terms as an action rather than as a category label of action

copy theory

a fallacious theory that the environment is represented inside the organism

explanatory fiction

a fictional cause invented to give the appearance of an explanation; usually mental events and entities

mentalism

making up fictional causes to create phony explanations

mind-body problem

the issue of the mind controlling the body; the immaterial controlling the material

molar view

the view that behavioral units are extended activities

natural event

an event locatable in time and space and explained by other natural events

overt behavior

observable by anyone around; public verbal behavior

covert behavior

supposedly only observable only by the person engaging in it; subvocal speech

private event

an event only observable to the person to whom it belongs

pseudo-question

a question that cannot be answered because it implies a non-sensical response

public event

an event observable by any number of people

classical conditioning

the category of procedures in which an initially neutral stimulus comes to induce automatic responses that it is paired with

conditional punisher

a stimulus or event that serves to punish behavior as a result of its having signaled an unconditional punisher

conditional reflex

when the initially neutral stimulus becomes a conditional stimulus/conditional inducer of an automatic response

conditional reinforcer

a stimulus or event that serves to reinforce behavior as a result of its having signaled an unconditional reinforcer

conditional response

the automatic response induced by the initially neutral stimulus that has become conditional as a result of conditioning

contingency

exists when one event is predictive of the likelihood of the other event

elicit

the term for the relation between a stimulus and a response in a refllex situation

fitness

reproductive success of an individual, group, or genetic variant

fixed action pattern

an activity more complex than a reflex that is induced by an important event known as a releaser

learned helplessness

the tendency of organisms to become passive when repeatedly exposed to situations where aversive events are unavoidable

negative punishment

an activity that reduces the likelihood of a reinforcer

negative reinforcement

an activity reduces the likelihood of an aversive event

operant conditioning

the early term for acquisition of operant behavior

operant learning

the acquisition of operant behavior

positive punishment

an activity increases the likelihood of an aversive event

positive reinforcement

an activity increases the likelihood of a good event

proximate explanation

explanations that rely on relatively immediate factors and short-term contingencies

shaping

the method in which behavior is trained by a combination of differential reinforcement and gradual shifting of the criterion of reinforcement

ultimate explanation

an explanation that appeals to history to explain the present

unconditional punisher

an event that tends to lower ultimate reproductive success (injury, illness, predators)

unconditional reflex

reflex that is the basis for classical conditioning (salivation)

unconditional reinforcer

a good event that tends to increase ultimate reproductive success (food, shelter, mates)

unconditional response

the response to an unconditional stimulus

unconditional stimulus

the environmental event that induces activities related to it

self-report

an instance of self-knowledge in which the induced activity is verbal and the stimuli controlling the verbal behavior may be both conditions of the body and the environmental context

behavioral chain

a sequence of activities where each one produces an SD that induces the next behavior in the chain; the chain ends in an ultimate reinforcer

contextualism

the view that scientific theories and experiments are influenced by the cultural context in which they occur

declarative knowledge

said to be the “knowing about”

discrimination

a change in an individual’s behavior with a change in context; the behavioral change IS the discrimination, the behavior does not change BECAUSE of the discrimination

discriminative stimulus (SD)

changes in the environment that induce different activities

matching to sample

a training procedure in which an organism is presented a sample stimulus and required to choose the sample from an array in order to receive reinforcement

procedural knowledge

said to be the “knowing how”

relational stimulus control

when one’s behavior favors an alternative that is better than the opposite alternative, the action is under relational stimulus control where the SD is the relation rather than an event

self-knowlege

activity that is under the stimulus control of one’s own behavior

stimulus control

a term for the relation between an SD and the activity it induces

verbal report

an utterance induced by a context including a listener, a history of utterances; induced by public discriminative stimuli

mand

a type of verbal behavior corresponding to orders, requests, or advice that require context

tact

a type of verbal behavior corresponding to observations, descriptions that require some sort of response from the listener

verbal behavior

operant behavior on the part of a speaker that is subsequently reinforced by the listener

verbal community

a community that serves as speakers and listeners to one another interchangeably; shapes the verbal behavior of a child

verbal episode

the basic unit of verbal behavior that consists of a context where a speaker delivers an utterance and the listener responds to reinforce it, and the speaker response to reinforce the listener and so on

implicitly shaped behavior

behavior acquired without rules or rule-giving that is entirely shaped by naturally occurring contingencies between variation and consequence

precurrent behavior

the behavior contributing to the solution of a problem; behavior that generates discriminative stimuli that may lead to a solution; could be vocal or non-vocal, public or private

proximate reinforcement relation

a short-term reinforcement relation in which rule-governed behavior is reinforced by another person (the rule giver)

Rule

a verbal SD that induces an activity in the listener that is consistent with a long-term contingency that is conducive to ultimate reproductive success

Rule-following

behavior in the listener of a rule that is consistent with the long-term contingency that the rule points to

rule-governed behavior

another term for rule following

S^D : B —> S^R

a notation that indicates stimulus control and reinforcement

ultimate reinforcement relation

the long-term reinforcement relation that prompts rule-giving in situations like reinforcement traps

aversive control

control of behavior through punishment or negative reinforcement

coercion

the control of behavior by punishment and threat of punishment

impulsiveness

behavior that is acted on for small reinforcers that are delivered immediately and is punished in the long term

reinforcement trap

a situation where a short-term contingency that reinforces maladaptive behavior is pitted against a long-term contingency that provides large reinforcement for good behavior

self-control

when an long-term contingency that would promote reproductive success competes with short-term contingency that would reduce reproductive success and the behavior consistent with the long-term contingency is acted on

social freedom

when preferences result from positive reinforcement instead of threats of punishment

spiritual freedom

freedom from worldly attachments or desires, and short-term reinforcement contingencies to prefer long-term contingencies