From Ecological Behaviorism to Response Generalization

Abstract

The concept of response generalization is addressed, as it was discussed in a symposium at the 2001 meeting of the International Association for Behavior Analysis and presented in three articles in this journal issue. Relationships between behavioral ecology, social validity, and response generalization are examined from the perspective of behavioral community psychology, especially research conducted by the author and colleagues to increase safe driving practices. The challenge of moving beyond evaluating intervention side effects to planning for a beneficial spread of effect is entertained, including theory to predict whether treatment generality will be desirable or undesirable. The issue of whether intervention side effects should be termed “response generalization” is covered by pinpointing critical distinctions made in the preceding articles, one claiming the spread of effect discussed here is response generalization and the other two articles proclaiming it is not. These latter two presentations reject the response generalization label for very different and contradictory reasons.