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. 1984 May;41(3):355–375. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1984.41-355

Behavior regulation and learned performance: Some misapprehensions and disagreements

William Timberlake
PMCID: PMC1348067  PMID: 16812374

Abstract

The behavior-regulation approach to learned performance has been the subject of misapprehension and disagreement concerning: (1) the nature and importance of behavior regulation, (2) the definition and role of behavioral set-points, (3) the relation of optimal schedule performance to behavioral set-points, and (4) the question of whether deviations from total responding or from response patterns are the primary determinant of molar responding under schedule constraint. After clarifying the nature and role of behavior regulation and set-points, this paper shows that the data used to question optimal schedule performance (Allison, 1981a) actually strongly support the general behavior-regulation approach. These data also indicate a role for response-pattern set-points in determining schedule behavior, but contradict the hypothesis that deviations from response-pattern characteristics are the primary determinant of molar schedule effects.

Keywords: behavior regulation, behavioral set-points, optimization, molar equilibrium, response deprivation, response-pattern set-points, fixed-ratio schedules, concurrent schedules

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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