As concerns regarding the current and future state of the planet continue to grow, the need to understand the behavioral mechanisms that underlie behaviors linked to large-scale delayed outcomes becomes more critical. Delay discounting refers to decline in the subjective value of stimuli as the delayinterval to access those stimuli increases. In this article, the relevance of delay discounting to issues of sustainability is explored, in addition to other relevant behavioral explanations of the issue. The research on delay discounting and related processes is summarized, specifically research that relates discounting and sustainability issues. Implications for behavior change and future research are discussed. KEYWORDS: delay discounting, sustainability, choice, decision-making, behavior analysis Sustainability has been generally defined as behavior "…that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). There is a pressing challenge to increase sustainable development across realms of the environment, economy, and social/political landscape, as people all over the globe struggle with poor water quality, threat of natural disasters, extreme poverty, lack of access to quality food, education, and healthcare, and an everexpanding population affecting the earth's natural resources (The Earth Institute, 2014). Underlying these sustainability issues is the impact of human behavior, including actions, inactions, communication, and decisions that have a direct effect on sustainability issues. These human behaviors include, but are not limited to, policy decisions by political leaders, production and resource allocation policies by businesses, and consumption patterns by consumers. Delay discounting, a measure of an individual's endorsement of long-term consequences as opposed to
The development of graphing skills for behavior analysts is an ongoing process. Specialized graphing software is often expensive, is not widely disseminated, and may require specific training. Dixon et al. (2009) provided an updated task analysis for graph making in the widely used platform Excel 2007. Vanselow and Bourret (2012) provided online tutorials that outline some alternate methods also using Office 2007. This article serves as an update to those task analyses and includes some alternative and underutilized methods in Excel 2013. To examine the utility of our recommendations, 12 psychology graduate students were presented with the task analyses, and the experimenters evaluated their performance and noted feedback. The task analyses were rated favorably.
This article serves as a brief primer on planaria for behavior scientists. In the 1950s and 1960s, McConnell's planarian laboratory posited that conditioned behavior could transfer after regeneration, and through cannibalization of trained planaria. These studies, the responses, and replications have been collectively referred to as the "planarian controversy." Successful behavioral assays still require refinement with this organism, but they could add valuable insight into our conceptualization of memory and learning. We discuss how the planarian's distinctive biology enables an examination of biobehavioral interaction models, and what behavior scientists must consider if they are to advance behavioral research with this organism. Suggestions for academics interested in building planaria learning laboratories are offered.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.