Calculating contingencies in natural environments: issues in the application of sequential analysis.
Analysis and interpretation of behavior-environment relations are increasingly being conducted with data that have been derived descriptively. This paper provides an overview of the logic that underlies a sequential analytic approach to the analysis of descriptive data. Several methods for quantifying sequential relations are reviewed along with their strengths and weaknesses. Data from descriptive analyses are used to illustrate key points. Issues germane to contingency analysis in natural environments are discussed briefly. It is concluded that the conceptual distinctions among contiguity, contingency, and dependency are critical if the logic of sequential analysis is to be extended successfully to a behavior-analytic account of reinforcement in natural environments.
McComas
Jennifer J
JJ
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. jmccomas@umn.edu
Moore
Timothy
T
Dahl
Norm
N
Hartman
Ellie
E
Hoch
John
J
Symons
Frank
F
D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods*