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THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT: A QUASI‐EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL POLICY
Author(s) -
Agras W. Stewart,
Jacob Rolf G.,
Lebedeck Melissa
Publication year - 1980
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 - 10.1901/jaba.1980.13-561
Subject(s) - stimulus (psychology) , stimulus control , bay , psychology , multiple baseline design , engineering , civil engineering , cognitive psychology , intervention (counseling) , neuroscience , psychiatry , nicotine
The effect of fines for failure to conserve water during the California drought of 1976 to 1978 was evaluated in a retrospectively arranged multiple‐baseline design across three San Francisco Bay area cities. The data indicated that, on a community level, significant savings of water occurred regardless of whether fines were introduced or not. However, on an individual level, fines appeared to have an effect on private, as opposed to commercial or industrial, consumers who had received at least one fine. The limitations imposed on these conclusions by the quasi‐experimental nature of the design were highlighted. Possible reasons for water conservation in the absence of fines were discussed within the framework of stimulus control. It was suggested that an area for future research should be the delineation of stimulus parameters involved in producing behavior change in entire communities.