Behavioral Momentum: A Scientific Metaphor

Behavioral Momentum Theory is concerned with the persistence or resistance to change of learned behavior in relation to its history of reinforcement. The theory is sometimes invoked in relation to reinforcement-based treatments of behavioral problems in applied and clinical settings. This book describes the development of the theory in basic research with pigeons and its metaphoric origin in Newton's second law of motion. Readers are introduced to foundational concepts in behavioral research, the methods employed in research on resistance to change, and some basic quantitative techniques that are used to analyze data and develop theoretical accounts. In each chapter, the procedures and results of basic research conducted with pigeons and other animals are related to findings with human participants in comparable procedures; a final chapter concentrates on clinical applications. Much of the material presented here will be familiar to researchers in the experimental and quantitative analysis of behavior; I hope this retrospective summary of my work will prompt them to revisit unresolved questions and explore alternative interpretations. But this book is written primarily to provide some research and conceptual background for dedicated professionals and their students who are applying behavioral analyses to socially significant problems. If it helps them to implement effective, durable treatments, this book will have served its purpose.