The final piece to a complete science of behavior: Behavior development and behavioral cusps.

Abstract

In order understand the complex behavior of an individual, that individual has learned must be understood. Unfortunately, behavior analysis and psychology in general have not studied the cumulative effects of the learning principles. However, there are concepts in behavior analysis that, although not well researched, address this area. These concepts are basic behavioral repertoires, cumulative hierarchical learning, behavioral cusps, generative instruction, and pivotal areas of functioning. The importance of these concepts for assessment, the selection of target behaviors, and curriculum design is described. Keywords: behavior development; behavioral repertoires; cumulative hierarchical learning; behavioral cusps, generative instruction ********** Michael's 1993 text, Concepts and Principles of Behavior Analysis, contains an outline of the science of behavior that is organized from the viewpoint of considering everything need know in order predict, control, or interpret the behavior of an organism. (p.1) The logically organized categories allow see the substantial progress and knowledge base that has been achieved and also areas need further research. The outline is broken into the following five broad categories: 1. Stimulus: we need know what stimuli can affect the (p. 1) 2. Response: have know how that organism can affect the environment (p.1) 3. Unlearned behavior: It is also important know environment-behavior relations make up the organism's or built-in repertoire (p. 1) This section describes reflexes and more complex types of behavior, such as fixed action patterns. 4. Learning and Motivation: one must understand how the organism is modified by its interaction with the environment, how new environment-behavior relations are learned or unlearned (p. 1) Habituation, respondent functional relations, and operant functional relations make up this category. 5. What a specific organism learns: to understand any particular organism must know not only those functional relations that are common all members of that species, its repertoires and how it learns, but also it has learned. (p. 1) Physiological psychologists and psychophysicists dominate research in the first two areas. Much is understood about human receptors and effectors. For humans, research in the third area has identified many human reflexes but more complex forms of behavior have been more difficult prove. Michael points out that the fourth area has been the major area of study within behavior analysis. The study of reinforcement, punishment, extinction, stimulus discrimination, stimulus generalization, schedules of reinforcement, and many others all fall within this category. Decades of research have demonstrated the importance of these principles for understanding, predicting, and controlling human behavior. Michael says, [The] fifth category has not been a major focus of interest for behavior analysts ... (p. 1) Michael argues for the importance of this fifth category by saying: An understanding of the principles of learning and motivation, no matter how complete, will tell us little about the significant personal differences that are of such practical importance. We are all susceptible respondent and operant conditioning, but understand individual differences it is further necessary know for each of us stimuli have become conditioned stimuli, behaviors have been increased in frequency by kinds of reinforcers, and so on. (p. 17) The present paper will argue that it is this fifth category that now deserves special consideration. The cumulative effects of the learning principles outlined in the fourth area need be studied in order understand complex human behavior. …