Behavior Momentum Theory and Humans: A Review of the Literature
- PDF / 677,151 Bytes
- 13 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 52 Downloads / 252 Views
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Behavior Momentum Theory and Humans: A Review of the Literature Cary E. Trump 1
&
Jessica L. Herrod 2 & Kevin M. Ayres 2 & Joel E. Ringdahl 2 & Lauren Best 2
# Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020
Abstract Behavioral Momentum Theory (BMT) is often described as analogous to Newton’s (1687) laws of motion. That is to say, similar to an object in motion continuing in motion unless acted upon by a force, responses occurring in a static environment will continue to occur at the same rate, unless presented with a disruptor (Nevin, Tota, Torquato, & Shull, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 53, 359–379, 1990). When evaluating response rates through a behavioral momentum framework, responding continuing after a change in reinforcer conditions is said to persist. Previous research conducted with nonhuman animals indicates greater response persistence following conditions with either higher reinforcer rates or higher reinforcer magnitudes (Nevin, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 21(3), 389–408, 1974; Nevin et al., Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 53, 359–379, 1990). Although BMT’s implications extend across human and nonhuman species, this literature review attempts to provide practitioners and researchers information regarding response persistence across various conditions with human participants. Keywords Behavioral Momentum Theory . response persistence . response strength . disruptors . behavioral mass
Much of the Behavior Momentum Theory (BMT) literature compares Newton’s first and second laws of motion (Newton, 1687) to the behavior of organisms (Nevin et al., 1990). Newton’s first law of motion states that an object in motion remains in motion unless acted upon by an external force. The second law states an object’s acceleration, or deceleration, is proportional to the relation between the object’s mass and the force applied. Regarding Newton’s first law, BMT suggests the object in motion described in Newton’s laws is analogous to the response rate of a particular behavior, and the external force equates to the presentation of a disruptor (e.g., satiation or extinction). BMT also compares Newton’s second law to increased
A portion of this research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award 2R01HD069377. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. * Cary E. Trump [email protected] 1
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, McKee 40, Campus Box 141, Greeley, CO 80639, USA
2
University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
or decreased response rates inversely related to the magnitude of obtained reinforcement and the disruptor. Thus, greater magnitudes of reinforcement (i.e., history of reinforcement) result in greater resistance to change (i.e., responses persistence) following the presentati
Data Loading...
