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THE APPLIED IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH ON THE MATCHING LAW
Author(s) -
Pierce W. David,
Epling W. Frank
Publication year - 1995
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.1995.28-237
Subject(s) - matching (statistics) , relevance (law) , matching law , psychology , extension (predicate logic) , cognitive psychology , social psychology , law , computer science , statistics , mathematics , reinforcement , political science , programming language
In this essay, we evaluate the applied implications of two articles related to the matching law and published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior , May 1994. Building on Mace's (1994) criteria for increasing the applied relevance of basic research, we evaluate the applied implications of basic research studies. Research by Elsmore and McBride (1994) and Savastano and Fantino (1994) involve an extension of the behavioral model of choice. Elsmore and McBride used rats as subjects, but arranged a multioperant environment that resembles some of the complex contingencies of human behavior. Savastino and Fantino used human subjects and extended the matching law to ratio and interval contingencies. These experiments contribute to a growing body of knowledge on the matching law and its relevance for human behavior.