The authors are well-connected in behavior analysis. Greg Medden was Editor-in-Chief of the two volume APA Handbook of Behvaior Analysis, which outsold all other APA Handbooks in its first year, and is Editor-in-Chief of  Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. The text will therefore have name appeal to the target market. In addition, the majority of established texts are becoming dated and the authors do not plan new editions, so the timing is excellent. The Editors teach around 600 students per year who will use the book, and reviewer John Borreo added 400 more. The total market size is estimated at 10,000 students per yeear, of which we can expect to capture a significant share given the lack of credible, up-to-date competition. 


Behavior Analysis is a form of behaviorist psychology that uses learning principals to understand and influence behavior. It therefore focuses not on individual cognitions but on behaviors themselves, their antecedents and consequences. In pracatice, behavior analysis has widespread application in mental health treatment (especially helping people with autism spectrum disorders and informing contextual behavioral science) and in school and workplace settings. This major new text for the field is pspecifically designe for undergraduate courses in behavior analysis. It follows the basic structure of existing texts (foudded on the core materials set out by the BACB so professors dont need to undertake a major course overhaul to adopt it, but at the same time it offers a fresh persepective that is specifically designed to inspire students to learn more about the subject. In particular, it explores the relevance of behavior analysis to students' every day lives, (for example in the design of videogames and helping babies to sleep through the night) and the range of possible careers in beahvior anlysis, with case studies of individuals who have taken this path sucessfully. 

Gregory J. Madden, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Utah State University. His research foci are on impulsivity, drug-taking, pollution control, and health decision-making. He was Editor-in-Chief of the APA Handbook of Behavior Analysis and the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. 

AN INTRODUCTION TO BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS

Note: Each chapter includes several brief fill-in-the-blank reading quizzes with answers provided at the back of each chapter.

Chapter 1 - An Introduction to Behavior Analysis- page 1

What Is Behavior? 1

What Is Behavior Analysis? 3

I'm Not Buying It. I Determine My Own Behavior - 8 

What are the Determinants of Behavior? - 15 

The Activities of Behavior Analysists? - 17

Summary - 20 

Answers to Reading Questions - 20 

References - 22

Chapter 2: Understanding Behavioral Research - page 23

Variables - 24

Correlation vs. Causation - 24

Experiments - 25

Measuring Behavior - 27

Outcome Recording - 33

Event Recording - 36

Interval Recording - 39

Duration Recording - 41

Summary - 43

           

Chapter 3: Experimental Designs in Behavior Analysis- page 49

Group Experimental Designs - 49

Single-Subject Experimental Designs - 51

Comparison (A-B) Design- 52

Reversal (A-B-A) Design- 54

Multiple- Baseline Designs- 57

Did Behavior Change? - 64

Summary - 76

Answers to Reading Quiz Questions- 77

References- 80 

Chapter 4: Phylogenetic Behavior and Pavlovian Learning- page 83

Phylogenetically Select Behavior- 83

Pavlovian Learning - 86

Pavlovian Conditioning of Emotions - 89

Principles of Effective Pavlovian Conditioning - 90

What is Learned During Pavlovian Conditioning? - 93

Principles of Effective Pavlovian Conditioning- 95

Generalization - 101 

Pavlovian- Extinction-Based Therapy - 103

Extra Box 1 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military Veterans - 107 

Pavlovian Conditioning in Everyday Life - 108 

Summary - 111 

Answers to Reading Questions - 111

References - 113 

 

Chapter 5: Operant Learning I: Reinforcement- page 117 

Operant Behavior - 117 

Response- Consequence Contingencies - 119 

Noncontingent Consequences - 122

Changing Behavior with Contingent Consequences - 124 

Extra Box: Noncontingent Consequences in North Korea - 125 

Reinforcers, Reinforcement, and Rewards - 126 

The Discovery of Reinforcement- 127 

How to Tell if a Consequence Functions as a Reinforcer - 128 

From Puzzle Boxes to Skinner Boxes - 130 

Response Variability: Exploring and Exploiting - 131

Extra Box 2: Add Some Variability to Your Life - 132

The Generic Nature of Operant Behavior - 133

Not Every Consequence Functions as a Reinforcer -134

Reinforcement in Social Media and Video Games - 137 

Summary - 138 

Answers to Reading Questions - 139 

References - 141 

Chapter 6: Operant Learning II: Positive and Negative Reinforcement - page 143 

Positive and Negative Reinforcement - 143 

Positive Reinforcement - 143 

Negative Reinforcement - 146 

Extra Box: What is the Consequence in SR_A-? 151 

Positive or Negative Reinforcement, Is There Really a Difference?

Using Reinforcement to Positively Influence Behavior - 153

Reinforcement in the Workplace - 156 

Three Objections to Reinforcement - 157 

Theories of Reinforcement - 162

Summary - 165 

Answers to Reading Questions- 165 

References - 166 

Chapter 7: Extinction and Differential Reinforcement- page 169 

Operant Extinction Following Positive Reinforcement - 170 

Operant Extinction Following Negative Reinforcement - 171 

How Quickly Will Operant Extinction Work? - 174 

Spontaneous Recovery of Operant Behavior - 175 

Extra Box: How Extinction Informs Theories of Reinforcement - 177 

Other Effects of Extinction -179 

We Tried It At Home - 183

Using Extinction to Positively Influence Behavior - 184

Differential Reinforcement - 187 

Summary - 193 

Answers to Reading Quiz Questions - 194 

References - 195 

 

Chapter 8: Primary and Conditioned Reinforcement, and Shaping-  page 200

Primary Reinforcers - 201 

Conditioned Reinforcers - 202 

The Token Economy - 204 

Arranging Effective Conditioned Reinforcers - 207 

Clicker Training with Humans - 211

Shaping - 213

Automating Shaping: Percentile Schedules of Reinforcement - 222

Summary - 224

Answers to Reading Quiz Questions - 225 

References - 226 

 

Chapter 9: Motivation, Reinforcer Efficacy, and Habit Formation - page 226 

Everyday Concepts of Motivation - 230 

From Motivation to Motivating Operations- 232

Extra Box: The Cost of Mentalistic Reasoning - 236 

Identifying Effective Reinforcers: The “Liking” Strategy - 237 

Extra Box: Avoiding Circularity – The Premack Principle - 241 

Measuring Reinforcer Efficacy - 243 

Dimensions of Effective Reinforcers - 245 

Summary - 248 

Habit Formation - 248 

Summary - 252 

Answers to Reading Questions - 253 

References - 254 

Chapter 10: Punishment - page 258 

Punishers and Punishment - 259 

Two Kinds of Punishment – Both Decrease Behavior - 261 

When Should We Punish? - 264 

Extra Box: Punishment is the Norm – Using it Effectively is Humane - 266 

Six Characteristics of Effective Punishment Interventions - 266 

Primary and Conditioned Punishment - 272 

Some Commonly Used Punishers’ - 274 

The Watchful Eye of the Punisher - 277 

The Role of Reinforcement in the Act of Punishing - 279 

Summary - 281 

Answers to Reading Quiz Questions - 282 

References - 283 

Chapter 11: Complex Contingencies of Reinforcement- page 289 

Schedules of Reinforcement - 290 

Ratio Schedules of Reinforcement - 291 

Interval Schedules of Reinforcement - 302 

Why Study Schedules of Reinforcement? - 308 

Extra Box: Contingency Management - 309 

Schedule Thinning - 310 

Scheduling Reinforcers to Enhance Human Performance and Happiness - 313 

Summary - 313 

References - 316 

 

Chapter 12: Antecedent Stimulus Control - page 321

Phylogenetic and Pavlovian Stimulus Control - 322 

Discriminated Operant Behavior - 322

Discrimination Training - 330 

Extra Box: Direct Instruction of Reading Skills - 333

Generalization - 335 

Stimulus-Response Chains - 340 

Extra Box: Consciousness - 343 

Summary - 345 

 

Chapter 13: Choice - page 351 

What is Choice? - 352 

Four Variables Affecting Choice - 353 

The Rich Uncle Joe Experiment - 356 

Choosing Between Uncertain Outcomes - 357 

Extra Box: The Matching Law, Terrorism, and White Nationalism - 366 

Extra Box: What Substitutes for Drug Reinforcers? - 367 

Impulsivity and Self-Control - 372 

Summary - 380 

Answers to Reading Questions - 381 

References - 385 

 

Chapter 14: Verbal Behavior, Rule-Following, and Clinical Behavior Analysis

Behavioral Approaches to Language - 391 

Rules and Rule-Governed Behavior - 401 

Breaking the Rules in Clinical Psychology - 408 

Extra Box: If thoughts are important, prepare to suffer - 410 

Further Reading - 413 

Summary - 414 

Answers to Reading Questions - 415 

References - 417