How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Replication Failures

Abstract

Worries about the reproducibility of experiments in the behavioral and social sciences arise from evidence that many published reports contain false positive results. Misunderstanding and misuse of statistical procedures are key sources of false positives. In behavior analysis, however, statistical procedures have not been used much. Instead, the investigator must show that the behavior of an individual is consistent over time within an experimental condition, that the behavior changes systematically across conditions, and that these changes can be reproducedand then the whole pattern must be shown in additional individuals. These high standards of within-and betweensubject replication protect behavior analysis from the publication of false positive findings. When a properly designed and executed experiment fails to replicate a previously published finding, the failure exposes flaws in our understanding of the phenomenon under studyperhaps in recognizing the boundary conditions of the phenomenon, identifying the relevant variables, or bringing the variables under sufficient control. We must accept the contradictory findings as valid and pursue an experimental analysis of the possible reasons. In this way, we resolve the contradiction and advance our science. To illustrate, two research programs are described, each initiated because of a replication failure.

Single‐case experimental designs for behavioral neuroscience

“…Failures to replicate the effect of an independent variable manipulation may lead one to conclude that previous demonstrations of effect were anomalies and/or due to chance. However, as discussed by Perone (2019), if effects were demonstrated convincingly in other subjects or in previous conditions, such a conclusion would be unjustified. Rather, if a manipulation can be demonstrated to produce a reliable effect for an individual but does not yield the same outcomes for another individual (or in later conditions for the first individual), what is revealed is a lack of understanding and/or control of all relevant variables.…”

Editorial: Behavior Science for the Public Welfare

“…The first issue of Perspectives on Behavior Science (PoBS) of 2019 was dedicated to replication and reliability in research. The articles in that issue covered topics from an overview of the "replication crisis" (Hales, Wesselmann, & Hilgard, 2019) to its implications for behavior science and analysis (Branch, 2019;Kaplan, Gilroy, Reed, Koffarnus, & Hursh, 2019;Kyonka, 2019;Lanovaz, Turgeon, Cardinal, & Wheatley, 2019;Laraway, Snycerski, Pradhan, & Huitema, 2019;Perone, 2019;Tincani & Travers, 2019). The articles in this special issue are not meant to be the final word on replication and reliability in research, but rather a call for a conversation (Hantula, 2019) as our scientific community works out its responses to the replication crisis and incorporates them into our culture.…”

Propriedades Aversivas Em Contingências De Reforçamento Positivo: Evidências Empíricas

“…Contudo, o termo original "pausa pós-reforço" continua sendo usado em publicações recentes (exemplo, Young, Foster, & Bizo, 2017) e, por isso, será mantido aqui. 4 O termo transição está sendo entendido como o período entre o final de um componente (liberação do reforço) e a primeira resposta do novo componente (Perone, 2019). quando tais componentes eram sinalizados, ou seja, no esquema múltiplo, mas não no misto.…”