The substitutability of reinforcers
- PMID: 16812696
- PMCID: PMC1322151
- DOI: 10.1901/jeab.1993.60-141
The substitutability of reinforcers
Abstract
Substitutability is a construct borrowed from microeconomics that describes a continuum of possible interactions among the reinforcers in a given situation. Highly substitutable reinforcers, which occupy one end of the continuum, are readily traded for each other due to their functional similarity. Complementary reinforcers, at the other end of the continuum, tend to be consumed jointly in fairly rigid proportion, and therefore cannot be traded for one another except to achieve that proportion. At the center of the continuum are reinforcers that are independent with respect to each other; consumption of one has no influence on consumption of another. Psychological research and analyses in terms of substitutability employ standard operant conditioning paradigms in which humans and nonhumans choose between alternative reinforcers. The range of reinforcer interactions found in these studies is more readily accommodated and predicted when behavior-analytic models of choice consider issues of substitutability. New insights are gained into such areas as eating and drinking, electrical brain stimulation, temporal separation of choice alternatives, behavior therapy, drug use, and addictions. Moreover, the generalized matching law (Baum, 1974) gains greater explanatory power and comprehensiveness when measures of substitutability are included.
Similar articles
-
A model for discriminating reinforcers in time and space.Behav Processes. 2016 Jun;127:62-73. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.03.010. Epub 2016 Mar 22. Behav Processes. 2016. PMID: 27016156 Review.
-
Control by reinforcers across time and space: A review of recent choice research.J Exp Anal Behav. 2016 Mar;105(2):246-69. doi: 10.1002/jeab.200. J Exp Anal Behav. 2016. PMID: 27002686 Review.
-
The generalized matching law as a predictor of choice between cocaine and food in rhesus monkeys.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2002 Oct;163(3-4):319-26. doi: 10.1007/s00213-002-1012-7. Epub 2002 Mar 1. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2002. PMID: 12373433
-
An analysis of reinforcer substitutability using object manipulation and self-injury as competing responses.J Appl Behav Anal. 1997 Spring;30(1):21-41. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1997.30-21. J Appl Behav Anal. 1997. PMID: 9103985 Free PMC article.
-
Economic substitutability of electrical brain stimulation, food, and water.J Exp Anal Behav. 1991 Mar;55(2):133-43. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1991.55-133. J Exp Anal Behav. 1991. PMID: 2037823 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Resurgence Following Higher or Lower Quality Alternative Reinforcement.J Exp Anal Behav. 2024 Mar;121(2):246-258. doi: 10.1002/jeab.904. Epub 2024 Feb 8. J Exp Anal Behav. 2024. PMID: 38329150
-
Cocaine and heroin interact differently with nondrug reinforcers in a choice situation.Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2024 Apr;32(2):158-172. doi: 10.1037/pha0000674. Epub 2023 Aug 3. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2024. PMID: 37535523
-
Social familiarity and reinforcement value: a behavioral-economic analysis of demand for social interaction with cagemate and non-cagemate female rats.Front Psychol. 2023 May 12;14:1158365. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1158365. eCollection 2023. Front Psychol. 2023. PMID: 37251070 Free PMC article.
-
Valuation of future alcohol in cross-commodity delay discounting is associated with alcohol misuse/consequences.Psychol Addict Behav. 2023 Feb;37(1):166-176. doi: 10.1037/adb0000863. Epub 2022 Jun 23. Psychol Addict Behav. 2023. PMID: 35737549 Free PMC article.
-
Quantifying value-based determinants of drug and non-drug decision dynamics.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2021 Aug;238(8):2047-2057. doi: 10.1007/s00213-021-05830-x. Epub 2021 Apr 10. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2021. PMID: 33839902 Free PMC article.
References
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources