Sixteen water-deprived rats were exposed to 30 4-hr sessiens in which responsas en ene lavar prnduced water undar a rasatting dalay nf 60s and responses en a second lavar cancelad any schaduled water dalivarias. Pravious studias haya damonstratad response acquisitinn within ene sassion undar similar prncedures with shorter (e.g., 30-s) dalays, but there was no avidanca nf censistent response acquisitinn in tha present study, Althnugh 1 0 rats emittad savaral mora responsas en tha lavar that predUcad water than en fha lavar that cancelad water daliveries en tha first day, and raceivad mere than 10 watar delivarias, this pattarn enly parsisted ter two rats. Nene of tha rats that failad te acquire the response during tha initial sessien acquirad tha response ovar subsequant sassions. Thase findings suggast that raspending is net nacassarily strangthanad by pretractad axpnsura te rasettEng delay arrangemants and that pattarns of raspnnding observad en initial axpesura te such arrangamants may diffar substantially frem thesa observad subsaquantly.

This study examined the effects of acute and weekly administration of anatoxin-a and nicotine on operant performance. Anatoxin-a is a potent nicotinic receptor agonist produced by cyanobacteria, which are found in fresh waters throughout the world. Anatoxin-a is a potential human health hazard and has been responsible for numerous deaths of wildlife, livestock and domestic animals. Remarkably little is known, however, about the effects of anatoxin-a on behavior. Nicotine, the psychomotor stimulant in tobacco, has many well-documented behavioral effects, which often diminish (i.e. tolerance develops) when it is given daily. Male Long Evans rats initially were trained to respond under a multiple variable-ratio 30-response variable-interval 60-s (mult VR-30 VI 60-s) schedule of food reinforcement. They were then divided into 12 groups of 8 that received four weekly subcutaneous injections of anatoxin-a (0.05-0.2 mg/kg), nicotine (0.125-1.8 mg/kg), or vehicle 5-min prior to testing. When initially administered, each compound decreased response rates and reinforcement rates in both components of the multiple schedule. Substantial tolerance developed to the disruptive effects of nicotine with weekly administration. Tolerance also developed to the effects of anatoxin-a, although to a lesser degree; the highest dose severely decreased performance with little evidence of recovery. In conjunction with prior findings, these results suggest the behavioral effects of anatoxin-a and nicotine are similar, but not identical, and that relatively infrequent (episodic) administration can produce tolerance.

Groups comprising eight rats initially were exposed to response-independent water deliveries, then to conditions under which a lever-press response raised an empty dipper immediately or after a resetting delay of 15, 30, or 45 s. When their performance was compared to that of control animals using a 90% confidence level, six rats in the immediate-reinforcement group met the primary criterion for response acquisition during a single 6-h session; 4, 4, and 3 did so in the 15, 30, and 45 s delay groups, respectively. Similar evidence of acquisition was obtained when a 95% confidence level was used. With a 99% confidence level, however, evidence of acquisition was not compelling. Although these data appear to provide the first demonstration of response acquisition in the absence of handshaping or autoshaping under conditions where the putative reinforcer is both conditioned and delayed, they also demonstrate that whether response acquisition occurs depends, in part, on how it is defined.

Self- and cross-citations in JABA and JEAB from 1993 through 2003 were examined. Yearly mean levels of self-citation for JABA and JEAB were 34.9% and 33.2%, respectively. Overall, 7.8% of JABA citations were JEAB articles, and 0.6% of JEAB citations were JABA articles. The former value, but not the latter, is substantially higher than the cross-citation level reported for earlier years. The two JEAB articles most often cited in JABA were published over 20 years ago and are concerned with establishing operations and the matching law.

Olson, Laraway, and Austin (2001) provide an informative introduction to establishing operations (EOs) and their relevance to organizational behavior management. Because the EO concept is relatively new, many issues relevant to it merit discussion. Eight are considered here: (1) If the EO concept is to be useful, empirical techniques must be developed for isolating EOs. (2) A given EO is likely to affect many behaviors and a given behavior is likely to be affected by many EOs. (3) Rules are EOs. (4) EOs relevant to punishment are apt to be ignored. (5) Abolishing operations also are apt to be ignored. (6) EO effects are not necessarily ''momentary.'' (7) Response frequency (or rate) is not always the best measure of reinforcer effectiveness. (8) The EO concept is invaluable if only because it emphasizes that environmental events, not subjective states, are primarily determinants of the effectiveness of reinforcers and punishers. (C) 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

This manuscript traces functional assessment (FA) in school settings to early contributions by B. F Skinner that are evident in Science and Human Behavior (1953). The logic and methods of functional assessment are evident in Skinner's writings, and many early researchers and practitioners influenced by his ideas employed FA in designing interventions in schools and other settings. FA has continued to play an important role in behavior analysis, and the value of this approach in dealing with behavior problems in many settings, including schools, has long been evident. Although interest in FA in school settings has only recently become widespread, FA in education has a long and impressive history.

In two experiments, the effects of MDMA on the acquisition of lever-press responding of rats were examined under procedures in which water delivery was delayed by 0, 10, or 20 s relative to the response that produced it. In the first study, experimentally naive, water-deprived rats received an intraperitoneal injection of MDMA (0, 1.0, 3.2, or 5.6 mg/kg) prior to one 8-h experimental session. Response acquisition was observed under all conditions at all drug doses. MDMA increased the total number of responses emitted and the total number of water deliveries earned in dose-dependent fashion, but only when reinforcement was immediate. Under conditions of delay, MDMA had no effect on either measure. Under all reinforcement conditions, higher doses of MDMA typically produced an initial reduction in lever pressing, and in that sense interfered with learning. In the second study, rats received an MDMA injection regimen previously shown to be neurotoxic. Control rats received saline solution according to the same injection schedule. Two weeks after completing the regimen, rats were water deprived and exposed to behavioral procedures as described for the first experiment. Although MDMA significantly reduced 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels in the striatum and prefrontal cortex, mean performance of rats exposed to MDMA did not differ from that of rats exposed to vehicle. Twenty-five percent of the rats exposed to MDMA and delayed reinforcement did fail to acquire responding, which suggests that further study of the effects of neurotoxic doses of MDMA on initial response acquisition is warranted.

Previous studies have shown that ratio size influenced the development of tolerance under simple and multiple schedules, but not under progressive-ratio (PR) schedules. PR schedules share certain features with mixed-ratio (MR) schedules, and pilot data suggested that ratio size fails to modulate tolerance to cocaine or morphine under MR schedules. The present study examined more comprehensively the pre- and postchronic effects of cocaine and (in separate birds) morphine under MR schedules with fixed-ratio (FR) 5 and FR 95, FR 25 and FR 75, and FR 50 and FR 50 components. Acute doses of cocaine and morphine initially were given in an ascending series (beginning with 0.56 mg/kg) until responding was reduced to near-zero levels. Chronic (daily) dosing with a dose that reduced, but did not eliminate, responding then occurred until response rates stabilized. Finally, postchronic dose–response determinations were conducted. Both cocaine and morphine reduced response rates at all FR values. Tolerance was consistently observed to the effects of morphine, but not to those of cocaine. With both drugs the degree of tolerance observed did not vary as a function of FR value. These findings, like those obtained under PR schedules, indicate that ratio size does not always modulate drug tolerance. A behavioral momentum analysis of drug action appears to account for whether or not ratio size modulates tolerance, and such an analysis is provided.

Journal of Applied Behavior AnalysisVolume 32, Issue 2 p. 237-238 NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT: AN INAPPROPRIATE DESCRIPTION OF TIME-BASED SCHEDULES THAT REDUCE BEHAVIOR Alan Poling, Corresponding Author Alan Poling WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008 (E-mail: [email protected]).Search for more papers by this authorMatthew Normand, Matthew Normand WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITYSearch for more papers by this author Alan Poling, Corresponding Author Alan Poling WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008 (E-mail: [email protected]).Search for more papers by this authorMatthew Normand, Matthew Normand WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITYSearch for more papers by this author First published: 27 February 2013 https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1999.32-237Citations: 22AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. REFERENCES Carr, J. E., Bailey, J. S., Ecot, C. L., Lucker, K. D., & Weil, T. M. (1998). On the effects of noncontingent delivery of differing magnitudes of reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 31, 313–321. 10.1901/jaba.1998.31-313 CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Catania, A. C. (1991). Glossary. In I. H. Iversen & K. A. Lattal (Eds.), Experimental analysis of behavior (Part 2, pp. G1–G44). Amsterdam: Elsevier. 10.1016/B978-0-444-81251-3.50015-1 Google Scholar Chance, P. (1998). First course in applied behavior analysis. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Google Scholar Lattal, K. A., & Poling, A. (1981). Describing response-event relations: Babel revisited. The Behavior Analyst, 4, 143–152. CASPubMedGoogle Scholar Miltenberger, R. (1997). Behavior modification: Principles and procedures. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Google Scholar Tucker, M., Sigafoos, J., & Bushell, H. (1998). Use of noncontingent reinforcement in the treatment of challenging behavior. Behavior Modification, 22, 529–547. 10.1177/01454455980224005 CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Vollmer, T. R., Iwata, B. A., Zarcone, J. R., Smith, R. G., & Mazaleski, J. L. (1993). The role of attention in the treatment of attention-maintained self-injurious behavior: Noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement of other behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 9–21. 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-9 CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Citing Literature Volume32, Issue2Summer 1999Pages 237-238 ReferencesRelatedInformation

There are many criticisms of the use of inferential statistics in behavioural research, including those made by Sidman (1960). This paper reports the frequency of use of inferential statistics in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior in every fifth year from 1960. The usage is apparently growing. It is argued that is it time to return to appropriate experimental control.

Although rarely used in this context, research techniques associated with applied behavior analysis may be especially useful for examining the effects of psychotropic medications in people with mental retardation. One characteristic of applied behavior analysis is that researchers often report social validity data, in addition to data that quantify the behaviors targeted for change. Social validity data reflect the social significance of target behaviors, the appropriateness of procedures, and the perceived importance of results. They are important because they can be used to predict whether a given intervention will be used and, if used, whether consumers are likely to be satisfied with it. Social validity merits consideration in studies of the psychopharmacology of mental retardation, but researchers have largely ignored the topic. MRDD Research Reviews 1999;5:342–347. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The present study examined the effects of morphine in pigeons responding under a progressive-ratio 25 schedule of food delivery. Morphine initially reduced response rates and breaking points. With chronic exposure, tolerance developed to these effects. The magnitude of the observed tolerance was not obviously different from that previously reported under a PR 5 schedule of food delivery. In addition, when drug effects were compared under the fixed-ratio 25 and fixed-ratio 100 components comprised by the progressive-ratio schedule, comparable tolerance was observed. Although prior studies using other procedures have shown that ratio size modulates the development of tolerance to morphine and other drugs, the present data suggest that this relation is constrained, and is not easily observed under progressive-ratio schedules.

Previous studies have surveyed a variety of service providers in school and institutional settings, and reported a pervasive lack of education and training with regard to the use of psychotropic medication in people with intellectual disability. Because an increasing number of people with intellectual disability are living in the community and since many of these people receive psychotropic medications, the present study extended research in this area by surveying direct service staff to determine their perceptions, knowledge and opinions with regard to the use of psychotropic medication in non-institutional settings for individuals with developmental disabilities. Consistent with the findings of previous studies, a majority of the 334 respondents in the present study reported that they had not received adequate training in the area of drug treatment The knowledge and skills deficits of direct service staff appear to represent a significant barrier to the appropriate monitoring and management of pharmacotherapy for individuals with intellectual disability. Therefore, a systematic training programme to educate direct service staff about psychotropic medication needs to be designed, implemented and disseminated on a broad scale.

Every article published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, since its inception, was evaluated to determine trends in gender representation for authors and participants. Data were recorded for first authors and total authors. The number of articles describing study participants' gender also was tabulated, as was the number of females on the editorial board each year. From 1977 to 1997, the percentage of articles with a female first author increased from 7 to 43, and the percentage of total authors who were women increased from 10 to 33%. For editors, the percentage of females increased from 7 in 1977 to 11 in 1997. The increasing participation of women evident in the present data parallels findings in other areas of behavior analysis, although women continue to be underrepresented in those areas, as well as in organizational behavior management research. Across years, the percentage of articles that provided information about the gender of study participants varied widely, from 0 to 100%. On whole, roughly 50% of all articles provided this information. If gender is not reported, one cannot ascertain the population to which results generalize, or the relative representation of women as participants in research.

The present study investigated acquisition, extinction, and reacquisition of free-operant responding when rats' lever presses produced water after a resetting delay of 0, 10, 20, or 30 s. Results indicated that: (1) responding was acquired rapidly at all delays without shaping or autoshaping; (2) resistance to extinction was directly related to delay length and inversely related to intermittency of reinforcement; (3) responding acquired with delayed reinforcement recovered less rapidly from extinction, and was less efficient, than responding acquired with immediate reinforcement. Comparing these results with those of studies using discrete-trials and free-operant procedures with no reinforcement delay suggest that the specific conditions under which behavior is maintained determines, in part, the behavioral effects of delay and intermittency of reinforcement.

Groups of 8 experimentally naive rats were exposed during 8-hr sessions to resetting delay procedures in which responses on one lever (the reinforcement lever) produced water after a delay of 8, 16, 32, or 64 s. For rats in one condition, responses on a second (no-consequences) lever had no programmed consequences. For rats in another condition, responses on a second (cancellation) lever during a delay initiated by a response on the reinforcement lever prevented delivery of the scheduled reinforcer; responses on the cancellation lever at other times had no programmed consequences. Under both conditions and at all delays, most subjects emitted more responses on the reinforcement lever than did control rats that never received water emitted on either lever. At 8-s delays, both conditions engendered substantially more responding on the reinforcement lever than on the other lever, and performance closely resembled that of immediate-reinforcement controls. At delays of 16 and 32 s, however, there was clear differential responding on the two levers under the cancellation condition but not under the other condition. When the delay was 64 s, differential responding on the two levers did not occur consistently under either condition. These findings provide strong evidence that the behavior of rats is sensitive to consequences delayed by 8, 16, and 32 s, but only equivocal evidence of such sensitivity to consequences delayed 64 s. They also indicate that acquisition depends, in part, on the measure of performance used to index it.

Demand curves were generated for five domestic hens under progressive-ratio 5 schedules of food delivery and under fixed-ratio schedules of food delivery that began at fixed-ratio 5 and were incremented by 5 each session. All sessions ended after 10 consecutive minutes without a response. Although response rates at a given ratio were higher under the progressive-ratio schedule, all hens completed higher ratios under the fixed-ratio schedule. Similar, but not identical, demand curves were generated under progressive-ratio and fixed-ratio schedules. Under both schedules, consumption (reinforcers earned) decreased as cost (ratio size) increased. Data generally were well described by an equation in which elasticity of demand is constant, although an equation in which elasticity could vary accounted for slightly more of the variance.

Performance of nine domestic goats responding under concurrent variable-interval variable-interval schedules of food delivery was examined, with results analyzed in terms of the generalized matching equation. Substantial undermatching of response and time allocation ratios to obtained reinforcement ratios was evident. Post-reinforcement pause time ratios approximately matched obtained reinforcement ratios. Subtracting these times from total time allocation values yielded net time allocation ratios, which undermatched obtained reinforcement ratios to a greater degree than whole-session time allocation ratios. Slopes of regression lines relating behavioral outputs to environmental inputs characteristically were below 0.6, which is similar to previous findings in dairy cows tested under comparable conditions.

The present survey determined whether articles describing attempts to alter behavior in people with mental retardation and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (a) reported whether or not participants were receiving medications, (b) evaluated drugs as independent variables, and (c) evaluated (or discussed) interactions between pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments. All behavior-change articles published from 1991 through 1995 in 10 major journals were evaluated. In contrast to the results of earlier surveys, nearly 40% of studies involving participants with mental retardation provided information about medication. This change appears to represent a significant methodological improvement. Nearly 60% of articles involving persons with ADHD provided information about medication. Studies of drugs were common when participants were people with ADHD, but not when they were people with mental retardation. The psychopharmacology of mental retardation continues to be a small, but important, research area. Studies examining treatment interactions were rare, regardless of participants' characteristics. Given that pharmacological treatments may alter participants' sensitivity to nonpharmacological interventions, further research in this area is sorely needed.

The purpose of this study was to gain further information about the behavioral effects of (±) 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on schedule-controlled responding. MDMA (0.32, 0.56, 1.0, 3.2, 5.6, and 10 mg/kg) and d-amphetamine (0.32, 0.56, 1.0, 3.2, 5.6, and 10 mg/kg) were administered to pigeons performing under a multiple fixed-ratio 30 (FR 30) interresponse-time-greater-than-15-s (IRT>15-s) schedule of food delivery. In general, both drugs had no significant effect on response rates under the IRT>15-s component at doses that decreased rates under the FR component. Results of the present experiment indicate that under some conditions MDMA and d-amphetamine produce similar, and rate-dependent, effects.