What are we doing when we translate from quantitative models?

Abstract

Although quantitative analysis (in which behavior principles are defined in terms of equations) has become common in basic behavior analysis, translational efforts often examine everyday events through the lens of narrative versions of laboratory-derived principles. This approach to translation, although useful, is incomplete because equations may convey concepts that are difficult to capture in words. To support this point, we provide a nontechnical introduction to selected aspects of quantitative analysis; consider some issues that translational investigators (and, potentially, practitioners) confront when attempting to translate from quantitative models; and discuss examples of relevant translational studies. We conclude that, where behavior-science translation is concerned, the quantitative features of quantitative models cannot be ignored without sacrificing conceptual precision, scientific and practical insights, and the capacity of the basic and applied wings of behavior analysis to communicate effectively.

The Matching Law: A Tutorial for Practitioners

“…quantitative description of an organism's pattern of behavior over large time spans (see Critchfield & Reed, 2009), which permits the behavior analyst to more thoroughly understand and predict the organism's interactions with the environment. Such understanding may ultimately give rise to more efficient and effective behavior change solutions.…”

Predicting the Effects of Interventions: A Tutorial on the Disequilibrium Model

“…1 and 2) quantifies what practitioners already know: The arrangement of discrepancies between what a client usually does (O i /O c ) and what a client is required to do during intervention (I/C) will result in a change in behavior. Although intuitive in its narrative form, the disequilibrium model goes further in that it formalizes that intuition by quantifying it and providing a means to predict a likely result (see Critchfield &Reed, 2009 andMazur, 2006, for the benefits of quantification over narration). In formalizing reinforcement and punishment, the disequilibrium model specifies some of the necessary conditions that factor into the success of a particular intervention: A contingency that produces a response deficit will increase behavior whereas a contingency that produces a response excess will decrease behavior.…”

Explanatory Flexibility of the Matching Law: Situational Bias Interactions in Football Play Selection

“…That is, in the domain of football the GML appears to show a measure of explanatory flexibility, something that has been examined in few previous translational studies. We assert that such mapping of theoretical construct to face-valid everyday effects -in essence, determining whether what is special about the matching law relates to what is special about an everyday domain like football -is a key a frontier in translational investigations that are grounded in operant choice theory (Critchfield and Reed 2009 …”