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This primer is a concise yet detailed account of the theory and principles of operant conditioning, based largely on the works of B. F. Skinner and his first- and second generation intellectual descendants. Despite the ubiquity, influence, and impact of operant principals within the fields of motivation, emotion, language, thinking, learning, and ethics, its impact and insights have gone widely unattributed; and, many of its principles are largely misunderstood. A primary purpose of this primer is to dispel those misunderstandings.
The approach to psychology advocated by the radical behaviourists was often misunderstood and frequently gave rise to controversy. Originally published in 1974, this book introduced current research in operant conditioning and explains the attempt to understand behaviour inherent in such experiments at the time. After considering the philosophical context in which behaviouristic psychology developed, the author outlines the basic characteristics of operant research by reviewing single experiments on the effects of reinforcement on behaviour. Chapters on schedules of intermittent reinforcement extend this approach to more complex situations and emphasize that behaviour can be maintained and controlled in many different ways by environmental events. The author then discusses recent work on conditional reinforcement and on the discriminative control of behaviour and shows how operant research has changed our understanding of these important concepts in psychology. Subsequent chapters review research within the operant paradigm on the effects on behaviour of punishment, anxiety, aversive stimuli and drugs, again by emphasising the special contribution to these topics made by operant conditioning techniques and methodology. The final chapters consider the general implications of operant research for educational practice and for clinical psychology, and place this approach within the context of psychology as a whole. Dr Blackman argues that it should be recognized as one important attempt to further the scientific analysis of behaviour. This book, filled a long recognized need for an undergraduate text in this area at the time, and helped students form their own evaluation. Now it should be read in its historical context.
Designed for those working in therapeutic communities as counselors to current substance abusers, this primer introduces some of the key psychological concepts relevant to working with these clients, as well as an overview of some of the most important theories in the literature.
Known for its uncompromising academic rigor and easy-to-read style and format, Klein: Learning: Principles and Applications is now in its Fifth Edition. Over the past four editions, this text has received unending praise for its accessible and thorough coverage of both classic and current studies of animal and human research. Concepts and theories are introduced within the framework of highly effective pedagogical elements, such as: chapter-opening vignettes, "Before You Go On" checkpoints, application boxes, chapter summaries, and critical thinking questions. In this new edition, the content has been updated and reorganized to reflect changes in the field, the pedagogical features have been strengthened and highlighted to continue to help students better comprehend the subject matter, and the ancillaries are all new. Key Features Chapter Opening Vignettes, and real-world examples peppered through the text, engage the reader on a personal level. Before You Go On bulleted questions emphasize mastery of key concepts throughout every chapter. End-of-chapter Critical Thinking questions help students integrate and apply chapter material. Coverage of Biological Influences on learning and memory outshines other texts. NEW! Theories of Learning and Applications are now presented in the same chapters for better continuity. NEW! A special focus on Cognition reflects new directions in the field. This text is accompanied by robust ancillaries! The Companion Student Study Site includes e-Flashcards, study quizzes, Web resources and exercises. Also included are SAGE journal articles with critical thinking questions so students can review original research that relates to the material in their textbook. Go to http://www.sagepub.com/klein5study/ to view the site. The Instructor's Resources (on CD-ROM) is available to adopters of the textbook. It includes PowerPoint slides, a computerized test bank with multiple-choice, true/false, and short answer/essay questions, suggested exercises, Web resources, and more. Contact Customer Care at 800-818-7243 for your copy.
Techniques and Basic Experiments for the Study of Brain and Behavior emphasizes the practical aspects of conducting behavioral experiments, illustrates the various fundamental methods with characteristic examples, and provides a thorough description of the techniques. This text aims to teach the basic skills of behavioral research by providing a wide range of reproducible experiments. Most of the experiments can be completed within a few hours, which makes them suitable for classroom demonstrations and laboratory courses for students. Although this book is organized into systematically arranged sections, the reader can commence with any of the experiments without studying the preceding chapters. A general knowledge of physiological psychology, along the lines outlined in Chapter 1, however, is indispensable. This book is intended for students and scientists (physiologists, psychologists, pharmacologists, biologists, and biophysicists) interested in physiological psychology.
Is it possible at present to identify a core cluster of theoretical ideas, concepts, and methods with which everyone working in the area of learning and cognition needs to be familiar? Would it be possible to make explicit the relationships that we feel do or must exist among the various subspecialties, ranging from conditioning through perceptual learning and memory to psycholinguistics, and to present these in a sufficiently organized way to help specialists and non-specialists alike in relating particular lines of research to the broader spectrum of activity? These questions were posed to a substantial number of investigators who were most active in developing the ideas and doing the research in the early 1970s. Originally published between 1975 and 1978, their response constitutes this 6-volume Handbook of Learning and Cognitive Processes. The volumes survey the research and theory on learning and cognitive processes that were rapidly developing at the time. The primary orientation was to concentrate on research and models aimed toward the development of general cognitive theory. They were up-to-date with regard to theoretical and technical developments, and sufficiently self-contained to be readable by anyone with a reasonable scientific background, regardless of their acquaintance with the technical jargon of particular specialties. Previously out of print, the Handbook is now available again, as a set or as individual volumes.
First published in 1986. The main objective of this book is to provide a hard-headed theoretical integration of several different major areas of research on learning, cognition, and motivation in humans and other mammals. By hard-headed, the author simply means that the concepts were generated from empirical data and are testable. Since an integrative theory must of necessity integrate apparent diversity, such an approach involves the identification and description of the most fundamental factors (structural processes) underlying the observed capacities of humans and animals in the domain of learning and motivation.
Methods in Behavioral Pharmacology is unique in offering a complete description and critical evaluation of most, if not all, methods available to study the effects of drugs on behavior. It stands apart in that it is not limited to the analysis of a particular class of pharmacological agents in a limited number of paradigms. Methods in Behavioral Pharmacology covers all paradigms without reference to specific pharmacological compounds. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the methodology used to study the behavioral effects of legal and illegal drugs. It also provides an in-depth presentation of dependent variables, their quantification and a critical evaluation of their advantages and disadvantages. An excellent work, contributed to by well-known experts in the different fields of behavioral pharmacology.
Volume I, entitled “Augmentation of Brain Functions: Brain-Machine Interfaces”, is a collection of articles on neuroprosthetic technologies that utilize brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). BMIs strive to augment the brain by linking neural activity, recorded invasively or noninvasively, to external devices, such as arm prostheses, exoskeletons that enable bipedal walking, means of communication and technologies that augment attention. In addition to many practical applications, BMIs provide useful research tools for basic science. Several articles cover challenges and controversies in this rapidly developing field, such as ways to improve information transfer rate. BMIs can be applied to the awake state of the brain and to the sleep state, as well. BMIs can augment action planning and decision making. Importantly, BMI operations evoke brain plasticity, which can have long-lasting effects. Advanced neural decoding algorithms that utilize optimal feedback controllers are key to the BMI performance. BMI approach can be combined with the other augmentation methods; such systems are called hybrid BMIs. Overall, it appears that BMI will lead to many powerful and practical brain-augmenting technologies in the future.