Behavior systems and reinforcement: an integrative approach.
Most traditional conceptions of reinforcement are based on a simple causal model in which responding is strengthened by the presentation of a reinforcer. I argue that reinforcement is better viewed as the outcome of constraint of a functioning causal system comprised of multiple interrelated causal sequences, complex linkages between causes and effects, and a set of initial conditions. Using a simplified system conception of the reinforcement situation, I review the similarities and drawbacks of traditional reinforcement models and analyze the recent contributions of cognitive, regulatory, and ecological approaches. Finally, I show how the concept of behavior systems can begin to incorporate both traditional and recent conceptions of reinforcement in an integrative approach.
Timberlake
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Psychology Department, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001527:Behaviorism; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D010856:Columbidae; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004463:Ecology; D007858:Learning; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology