The value of contingencies and schedules of reinforcement: Fundamentals of behavior analysis contributing to the efficacy of behavioral business research

Marco Tagliabue (), Ingunn Sandaker and Gunnar Ree
Additional contact information
Marco Tagliabue: Department of Behavioural Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway
Ingunn Sandaker: Department of Behavioural Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway
Gunnar Ree: Department of Behavioural Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway

Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, 2017, vol. 1, issue S, 33-39

Abstract: The effectiveness and sustainability of behavioral insights, which characterize contemporary evidence-based public policymaking and social regulations, are dependent on the establishment of a functional relationship between a desired behavior and its beneficial consequences. We address two fundamental concepts in the science of behavior analysis, namely contingencies of reinforcement and schedules of reinforcement, in order to contribute to the multidisciplinary discussion on tackling large-scale behavior change. As for many other disciplines, different conceptual frameworks may define the same phenomena. The behavioral perspective unites several disciplines. The focus of the paper is to contribute to the growing field of behavioral solutions by focusing on the consequences of behavior. Behavioral economics has contributed largely by offering the design of choice architecture: deliberately manipulating the antecedents for appropriate behaviors. This is accomplished by changing the default solutions in forms, opting in, opting out of alternatives and so on, often described under the umbrella of nudging. The contributions from our field of behavioral sciences is the selectionist perspective. This offers conceptual framework for the analysis of establishing, maintaining or changing behavior. The science of reinforcement and the effects of different schedules of reinforcement may contribute to the knowledge of why some behaviors are more easily established and are more resistant towards extinction than others, why they can be generalized over situations or how they can be influenced for lasting change. Individual behavior must come into contact with contingencies sufficiently powerful to initiate behavior change; schedules are instrumental in maintaining the change. This comprises the ultimate challenge of policy makers, for the sake of their stakeholders.

Keywords: contingencies of reinforcement; schedules of reinforcement; behavioral business; behavioral economics; choice architecture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://sabeconomics.org/journal/RePEc/beh/JBEPv1/articles/JBEP-1-S-7.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:beh:jbepv1:v:1:y:2017:i:s:p:33-39

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy is currently edited by Michelle Baddeley

More articles in Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy from Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SABE ().