Ch 7: Instrumental Conditioning: Motivational Mechanisms

The preferred distribution of an organism's activities before an instrumental conditioning procedure is introduced that sets constraints and limitations on response allocation.

A theory that assumes that species-typical consummatory reponses (eating, drinking, and the like) are the critical features of reinforcers.

The relation between how much of a commodity is purchased and the price of a commodity.

A principle that assumes that reinforcement depends on how much more likely the organism is to perform the reinforcer response than the instrumental response before an instrumental conditioning procedure is introduced. The greater the differential probability of the reinforcer and instrumental responses during baseline conditions, the greater is the reinforcement effect of providing opportunity to engage in the reinforcer response after performance of the instrumental response. Also known as the Premack principle.

Model used in applied behavioral analysis that assumes that reinforcement effects are produced by restricting access to the reinforcer response below the rate of this response during a nonconstrained free baseline period. (Similar to the response deprivation hypothesis).

The degree to which price influences the consumption or purchase of a commodity. If price has a large effect on consumption, elasticity of demand is high. If price has a small effect on consumption, elasticity of demand is low.

A model of instrumental behavior, according to which participants respond to a resonse-reinforcer contingency in a manner that gets them as close as possible to their behavioral bliss point.

A principle that assumes that reinforcement depends on how much more likely the organism is to perform the reinforcer response than the instrumental response before an instrumental conditioning procedure is introduced. The greater the differential probability of the reinforcer and instrumental responses during baseline conditions, the greater is the reinforcement effect of providing opportunity to engage in the reinforcer response after performance of the instrumental response. Also known as differential probability principle.

An explanation of reinforcement according to which restricting access to a response below its baseline rate of occurrence (response deprivation) is sufficient to make the opportunity to perform that response an effective positive reinforcer.