Human Operant Conditioning and Behavior Modification

Book excerpt: This book provides the reader with an insight into recent developments in the theory and application of operant conditioning with people. The main aim of the contributions to this book is to convey some of these developments and to suggest new directions for future work - both in the theoretical and applied aspects of operant analysis with humans. Specifically, the contributors cover the following ground: (i) a look at future trends in operant theory and applied behaviour analysis, (ii) a detailed discussion of the role of animal and laboratory- based operant performance, (iii) the role of operant analyses in understanding human psychological phenomena and (iv) direct quantitative analyses of human operant performance. This volume is not so much a comprehensive review and summary of recent developments in human behaviour analysis, but rather a critique and source of ideas, and new techniques, for all psychologists using applied behaviour analysis methods.