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Behavioral contrast: Research and areas for investigation
Author(s) -
Boyle Megan A.,
Hoffmann Audrey N.,
Lambert Joseph M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.469
Subject(s) - contrast (vision) , psychology , context (archaeology) , reinforcement , cognitive psychology , translational research , behavioral analysis , phenomenon , developmental psychology , social psychology , epistemology , medicine , artificial intelligence , paleontology , philosophy , pathology , computer science , biology
Behavioral contrast occurs when a change in reinforcement rate in one context results in a change in behavior in the opposite direction in an unchanged context. Despite decades of study by basic researchers, behavioral contrast has remained largely an unstudied phenomenon among applied researchers. The purpose of this paper is to occasion translational and applied research on behavioral contrast with the aim of predicting and controlling socially significant behavior in unchanged contexts. We present a brief history of contrast and related definitions, review research with human and nonhuman subjects, and suggest future directions for applied and translational researchers.