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| Units of Measurement |
| Thursday, November 29, 2001 |
| 1:00 PM–1:50 PM |
| Bibliography Hall |
| Area: TPC |
| Chair: Emilio Ribes Inesta (University of Guadalajara) |
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| Time-, Space-, and Operandum-Correlated Contingencies: Effects on Spatial and Discrete Response Measures |
| Domain: Applied Behavior Analysis |
| EMILIO RIBES INESTA (Universidad of Guadalajara) |
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| Abstract: With few exceptions, most studies on operant behavior have used contingencies and response measures correlated with specific operands. This dominant methodological strategy has conceived behavior as varying only in time, since even response-dependent contingencies have reduced behavior to a fixed location represented by the operandum. However, since behavior consists of the organism moving in tridimensional space, changes in time should be seen as coextensive with space changes. The results of various experimental studies analyzing discrete response and spatial location changes under time-, space-, or operandum correlated contingencies suggest that looking at behavior-environment interactions in terms of correlated spatial and temporal dimensions could increase our understanding of behavioral processes. |
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| The Meme and the Operant |
| Domain: Applied Behavior Analysis |
| SANDY ALEXANDAR HOBBS (University of Paisley, Scotland), David George Cornwell (University Of Strathclyde, Scotland) |
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| Abstract: Dawkins as a cultural equivalent to the gene. Blackmore addresses such major issues as the origins of language, altruism, religion and the concept of the inner self. She argues that there are two types of reason for the success and failure of memes. One is the nature of human beings as imitators and selectors. The other is the nature of memes themselves, such as "the way they group themselves together" (p 16) and "the general processes of memetic evolution" (o 16). These, she claims, have not previously been studied by psychology. Although Blackmore states that "much of human learning is Skinnerian and not memetic" (p 45) and acknowledges Skinner's treatment of creativity and of learning as selection processes, she does not attempt any systematic examination of the relationships between her approach and behaviorist treatment of the topics she considers. This paper critically examines the concept of the meme and discusses whether Blackmore's proposals are compatible with behavior analysis. |
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