| OCCURRENCE | SINGLE INSTANCES | MULTIPLE INSTANCES |
|---|---|---|
| occurrence in time (when?) | t1 t2 T | N N/T iTi iSi |
| measures of occurrence in space (where?) | l1 l2 D | No measures have been developed other than increases in N of loci and statistics based on these. (But, a caveat.) |
| measure (what?) | M I | Mmin Mmax dM dMt Here, stimulus measures become identical with parameters of stimulus operations. |
| t1 | time of onset of S | N | number of presentations |
| t2 | time of offset of S | N/T | rate of presentation |
| T | duration (t2-t1) of S | iTi | interstimulus period lapse of time between t1 of Sn and Sn+1 |
| iSi | interstimulus interval lapse of time between offset of Sn and onset of Sn-1 | ||
| l1 l2 D | locus of object or individual 1 locus of object or individual 2 distance (l2-l1) angular measure of the line l2-l1 with respect to a specified set of coordinates whose origin is at l1 or l2 | ||
| M | magnitude | Mmin | M of lowest S of series |
| I | Intensity | Mmax | M of highest S of series |
| dM | step interval; Mn+1-M1 | ||
| dMt | change in magnitude; Mt2-Mt1 (M at t2-M at t1) |
These are basic measures. Further measures have been developed and used that incorporate these measures.When repeated measures have been made, descriptive statistics may be calculated and reported. (e.g. M, S.D., etc.)
| CLASS OF RESPONSE | SINGLE INSTANCE MEASURES |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPERANTS | TR P M Z |
| L1 L2 |
| ||||
| RESPONDENTS | T P M Z | N N/Ns N/N0 L1 L2 f(N,T) | ||||||
| LOCOMOTIONS | D T V Z | Measurement Methodology dependent on particulars of apparatus. Research needed. | L1 | Measurement Methodology will evolve with research on env. control of stops, starts, etc. | ||||
| N | number | l | locus in space (coordinates) |
| NR | no. of occurrences of response | l1 | locus of transient or stator |
| NS | no. of occurrences of stimuli | l2 | locus of individual |
| NO | no. of occurrences, other responses | D | distance = L2 - L1 |
| incidence = no. of units of observation period in which one or more responses occurred | distance in running wheel: N rev. x circ. wheel | ||
| Nb | burst-length | V | velocity = D/T |
| angular direction of locus with respect to a fixed l | |||
| T | duration of time | t | point in time |
| TS | duration of stimulus | L1 | latency (t, onset of R - t, onset of S) |
| TR | duration of response | L2 | afterdischarge (t, offset of R - t, offset of S) |
| TO | duration of observation period | IRT | interresponse time, same R (t, onset R - t, offset of preceding R) |
| summed duration of responses | interresponse time, diff. R (t, onset | ||
| Tb | burst-duration | P | precision, relative to a chosen standard |
| TT | total duration | M | magnitude |
| f(N,T) | some function of response no. and total duration: product of response topography, e.g., body weight, N pellets hoarded | Z | specific topographic measures, e.g., A: amplitude, such as 1. drops of saliva 2. angle of excursion 3. physical work 4. amount of food eaten |
Further measures, e.g., various "discrimination indices," "% correct," are derived from these. When repeated measures have been made, descriptive statistics may be calculated and reported (e.g., M, S.D.).
| responding | prepotency |
| orienting temporal | competition |
| temporal summation | blending |
| spatial summation | algebraic summation |
| habituation | classical conditioning |
| extinction | concept acquisition |
| imprinting | choosing |
| facilitation | conflict |
| response compatibility | distracting |
| light adaptation | dark adaptation |
| Pavlovian conditioning | respondent conditioning |
| "errors" of anticipation | mimicry |
| attacking | social facilitation |
| threatening | imitating |
| disinhabition | fatigue |
| approaching | adaptation |
| withdrawing | following |
| concept identification | external inhibition |
| paired associate learning |
The reader is invited to identify or spell out the stimulus operation that yielded it. The list is by no means exhaustive; its terms are presented in no particular order.
This list includes many terms for processes for which the stimulus operations are identical (of which all but one are thus superfluous); redundancies abound. The word coinages stem from ideology, theories, undergraduate training, bias,... you name it. None relates to the operations that yield the phenomenon labeled. In some of these cases, choice of a term proves to depend on the observer/experimenter's neglect to observe any of the subject's activities except a single response.
*Note that with repeated presentation of the stimulus of a "reflex" response habituation occurs if the usual environmental consequence of (response to) the response is precluded. "Habituation" and "extinction" of an operant are most probably a single process, the distinction based on whether the behavior of the unmanipulated environment or the experimental environment present the consequent stimulus.
| Class of Response-dependent Stimulus | Dependent Stimulus Operation |
| Stimuli necessarily previously presented dependently preclude, omit, withhold | Stimuli necessarily previously presented independently preclude, omit, withhold | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 onset reinforcement ("operant cond") | 2 __________ ___________ | 3 extinguish, habituate extinction, habituation | 4 not investigated | ||||||
| 5 onset reinforcement ("operant cond") | 6 offset punishment* reduction in Rmeas | 7 extinguish, habituate extinction, habituation | 8 not investigated | |||||||
| 9 onset punishment suppression | 10 __________ ____________ | 11 extinguish extinction | 12 avoidance training avoidance conditioning | ||||||
| 13 onset punishment suppression | 14 offset reinforcement escape cond. | 15 extinction extinction | 16 avoidance training avoidance | |||||||
| 17 not investigated | 18 | 19 not investigated | 20 not investigated | ||||||
| 21 not investigated** | 22 not investigated | 23 not investigated | 24 not investigated | |||||||
*c.f. "loss," "cost"
**If the reader, you, will scratch your head each time you see a person with whom you are conversing give an instance of a single response which you have identified, e.g., an eyeblink, a recurrent "uh," or "you understand," your "neutral" head scratch will most probably be responded to, and show itself to be an aversor... "Stop doing that!"
There are several synonyms, and a variety of quasi-synonymous words and phrases for both reinforcer and aversor, each with its own swarm of connotations, and each used in differing social, linguistic, and theoretical contexts, for which reason, they are to be avoided. Here are some of them:
REINFORCER AVERSOR positive reinforcing stimulus negative reinforcing stimulus reinforcing stimulus aversive stimulus positive reinforcer negative reinforcer satisfier punisher reward penalty gain loss goal pleasure pain pleasantness unpleasantness cathected object drive-reducer drive-stimulus repellor attractant avoidant hit miss right wrong end correct incorrect payoff paycheck deduction positive outcome negative outcome purpose success failure satisfaction dissatisfaction
(1) Identities:
Planner of research
Data collector ("change-agent"; rat-runner)
Data Analyst
(2) Antecedent "pilot" research for this investigation
(3) Subject:
Recruiting
Selecting
Assignment Conditions
Maintenance
(4) Apparatus
(5) Response Production
(6) Experimental Conditions
Process relevant operations
(7) Procedural variables
Setting Operations
(8) Process operations (repeated paradigmatic operations; S, RS, SRS,
or R)
(9) Measurement operations:
Baseline
Pre-probe
T probe
(10) Data Treatment
Presentation
(11) Outcomes
(12) Purpose
(13) Evaluative Comment
Evaluative comment:
Note: This identification and classification of Categoric Operations has evolved with use of successive analyses; it may be expected to evolve further.