Further analysis of the matching law to describe two- and three-point shot allocation by professional basketball players.
The matching law was used to analyze whether the proportion of shots taken from two- or three-point range would match the proportional reinforcement rates produced by those shots when the reinforcement rate of three-point shooting was changed. Rule changes in 1994 and 1997 altered the distance of the three-point line in the National Basketball Association, which created a quasiexperimental reversal design, thereby naturally changing three-point reinforcement rates. The present data partially confirmed predictions made by the matching law, in that increases in the relative rate of three-point shots attempted corresponded to increases in the relative rate of three-point shots made.
Romanowich
Paul
P
University of Florida, USA. promanowich@ucsd.edu
Bourret
Jason
J
Vollmer
Timothy R
TR
D001490:Basketball; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012107:Research Design