Establishing operations, cognition, and emotion

A novel model is presented to explain human social behavior. In recent years, a cephalo-caudal directionality to behavior has been reported in a few mammals including rodents, cattle and cats. This model shows how complex human behavior also follows this rule of cephalo-caudal directionality. The positions of the lower motor neurons mediating the specific acts in the cephalo-caudal neural axis are considered to be an important correlate of the act. The model consists of a primary layer, consisting of the orienting modules – eyes, head and body and a secondary layer consisting of the six transmitting channels – the eyes, facial expression, speech, upper limbs, lower limbs and the external genitalia. The model demonstrates through multiple examples that complex human behavior also follows a cephalo caudal directionality, both in the orienting modules as well as in the transmitting channels. In this paradigm, conciliatory and agonistic communications are examined as prototypes for analysis of more complex dominant and submissive behavior as well as psychiatric conditions such as mania and depression. The model is sensitive to the social context of behavior which is without precedent in the literature. Further, the concept of ‘mobility gradient’ is applied to human behavior to understand motor behavior in depression and mania and catatonic behavior. Finally, certain issues pertinent to difficulties of behavioral description and model building in human behavior are discussed. The model emphasizes the role of objective behavioral description paradigms that borrow from concepts in comparative psychology and animal behavior.

Behavior analysis is the underclass of psychology. It is under-funded, under-taught, and underappreciated. A lot is happening that is positive, but just beneath the surface, there are grave dangers lurking that could significantly worsen our already poor status. I prefer to believe that most of these dangers are things we can control by our own behavior (itself a rather behavioral idea), and I offer this list of dangers in that spirit. As someone once said: if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. Behavior analysts need to appreciate the following six dangers and adapt to them. LOSS OF MISSION Behavior analysis was initially strategically committed to the field of animal learning, but from the beginning its ultimate purpose was an understanding of complex human behavior: importance of a science of behavior derives largely from the possibility of an eventual extension to human affairs (Skinner, Behavior of Organisms, 1938, p. 441). In the early decades that was merely a promise, but the arrival of applied behavior analysis turned it into a program. Over the years, however, both basic and applied behavior analysis have narrowed and that original vision is being lost. Applied behavior analysis is gradually becoming a subfield of developmental disabilities, as a glance at a recent issue of JABA will confirm. The depth of the risk this creates is covered over by methodological rigor and applied impact within that narrow domain. Basic behavior analysis clings largely to narrow and precise questions of self-stimulatory interest in the animal laboratory, even while animal laboratories are being closed one by one, and areas of research within behavior analysis are being opened up that require human research. The depth of the problem is covered over by the productivity of a few major behavioral laboratories and the emergence of a handful of international labs, where protection from political winds have allowed the old seeds to grow a few new sprouts. In some ways, all of the other dangers I list can be traced back to the following core concern. Behavior analysis was always a carom shot. Instead of approaching human complexity directly, it tried to develop conceptual tools based on simple behaviors in simple contexts with small non-human animals, and then to apply these to an analysis of virtually every form of complex human behavior. It was a bold and even slightly preposterous idea, and yet it was one that worked far beyond what anyone had a right to expect. Now, however, we seem to be on the verge of forgetting what the mission was in the first place. Many basic behavior analysts have begun to believe that basic behavior analysis is a subfield of animal learning or (perhaps worse) behavioral biology. Where are the experimental analyses of emotion, friendship, sexuality, health, reasoning, humor, intelligence, and so on? Interpretation is not enough--we need an experimental analysis of such behaviors. Without the basic account, applied behavior analysts either ignore these areas or build common sense approaches to them. TOOL POLISHING No field so enjoys principles as does behavior analysis. Principles of behavior are ways of speaking about the prediction and influence of the historically and currently situated actions of organisms that are precise, broadly applicable, and coherent in terms of the larger fabric of science. Principles are the intellectual tools of analysis. They are not, however, ends in themselves. Sometimes behavior analysts are like the watchmakers who decided to make a set of extremely fine tools before actually making some complicated new watches. Forgetting what the tools were for, the talented watchmakers did not build the watches and display them in a glass cabinet, but instead put the tools themselves in that cabinet, taking them out only to polish them and to show how they work. Basic behavior analysts are especially prone to this error. …

How to Think Like a Behavior Analyst is a revolutionary resource for understanding complex human behavior and making potentially significant quality of life improvements. Behavior analysts offer a worldview of the human condition different than almost any other professional perspective. To a behavior analyst, human behavior is largely learned and subject to change if the right variables are put into play. This is an empowering outlook, providing an opportunity for individuals to analyze the actions of those around them and an understanding of why others exhibit such behavior. Practical, clear, and direct, this book addresses basic questions such as how behavior analysis is different from psychotherapy, what analysis involves, and the meaning of evidence-based treatment. A chapter on Applications presents tips on using behavioral procedures to improve lives and deal with others, and articulates how behavioral procedures are used in community settings. In question and answer format, the text thoroughly covers 50 frequently asked questions about behavior analysis in an educational and entertaining manner. It was developed out of questions raised by students in behavior analysis classes over the last 35 years, as well as questions raised by consumers of behavior analysis services. This text is written for all professionals concerned with behavior, including undergraduate students in psychology and behavior analysis, parents, teachers, employers, and employees. The book can easily be used as a supplement to primary texts in introductory psychology courses, and the exercises that follow each question can be used to stimulate lively discussion in role-play and other active learning situations.

Reducing human stress has become a critical issue in contemporary architecture. The design of the physical environment plays an important role in the ease of wayfinding as people navigate a path through their surroundings. The goal of this project is to create an automated system that can analyze human behavior within a building, generate architectural forms based on the results, and then fabricate an optimal interior space design for facilitating the observed behaviors. The Behavioral Mapping Parametric Knitter (BMPK) juxtaposes key characteristics of biological design (modularity, robustness, homeostasis, and adaptation) with smart technologies. The BMPK Robot is an aggregated system that observes human behaviors, analyzes this behavioral data, designs parametric patterns, and then weaves spatial designs. The robot extracts data about complex human behaviors using intelligent sensors embedded within the environment. Knowledge extracted from this behavioral data is then used to design a parametric pattern. Finally, the robot employs this pattern to determine an optimal space structure to make the observed human behaviors as easy as possible. The spatial designs produced by the BMPK Robot are thus intended to help optimize the dynamic human behaviors that are already observed within the built environment. The results from this research project will lead to reduced stress and improved wayfinding among end-users. In addition, the research will produce a design tool capable of measuring the performance of different architectural forms in regard to how well they facilitate human behavior.

The production of emotional tears appears to be uniquely present in Homo sapiens. Despite the ubiquity of this human behavior, research is only just beginning to uncover the neurobiologic underpinnings of human emotional crying. In this article, we review the current state of the literature investigating the neurobiologic aspects of this uniquely human behavior, including the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and psychophysiologic findings. To set the context for this review, we first provide a brief overview of the evolutionary background and functions of tearful crying. Despite an accumulating understanding of the neurobiology of human emotional crying, the primary sources of information are currently from animal studies and observations in neurologic patients suffering from pathologic crying. Currently, most of the research on the neurobiology of crying in humans has focused on autonomic physiologic processes underlying tearful crying, which may yield essential clues regarding the neural substrates of the production of crying behavior and its effects on the crier. Further challenges in elucidating the neurobiology of crying involve the complexity of crying behavior, which includes vocalizations, tear production, the involvement of facial musculature, subjective emotional experience, emotion regulatory behaviors, and social behaviors. Future research is needed to comprehensively characterize the neurobiology of this intriguing and complex human behavior.

The authors reviewed human empirical studies from 1987–2010 in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB), Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM), and Psychological Record (PR). Out of 2286 empirical studies, the authors classified 45 as simulation research, which fell into 4 main categories including organizational, gambling, financial, and other. JOBM contained over half of the simulations, while JEAB contained two. A subsequent citation analysis found that the original simulations informed 15 service-delivery articles, across five journals. In addition, the original articles also informed 35 other behavioral simulations across 19 journals. Simulation research could be ideally placed between theory and application to facilitate empirical research and applications in complex human behavior and the development of an empirically validated, comprehensive, system of behavior analysis.

Heavyweight Class

The role of cognition in complex human behavior: A contextualistic perspective

Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior.

<p><em>The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing, Volume I: Development</em> introduces the many voices necessary to better understand the act of singing—a complex human behaviour that emerges without deliberate training. Presenting research from the social sciences and humanities alongside that of the natural sciences and medicine alike, this companion explores the relationship between hearing sensitivity and vocal production, in turn identifying how singing is integrated with sensory and cognitive systems while investigating the ways we test and measure singing ability and development. Contributors consider the development of singing within the context of the entire lifespan, focusing on its cognitive, social, and emotional significance in four parts:<br> </p> <ul> <li>Musical, historical and scientific foundations</li> <li>Perception and production</li> <li>Multimodality</li> <li>Assessment</li> </ul> <p>In 2009, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded a seven-year major collaborative research initiative known as Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS). Together, global researchers from a broad range of disciplines addressed three challenging questions: How does singing develop in every human being? How should singing be taught and used to teach? How does singing impact wellbeing? Across three volumes, <em>The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing</em> consolidates the findings of each of these three questions, defining the current state of theory and research in the field. <em>Volume I: Development</em> tackles the first of these three questions, tracking development from infancy through childhood to adult years.</p>

Emotions play a very vital role in human life. Emotions originate in human brain due to biological, neurological and psychological effects and influence our behavior and decision-making. This study explores the effect of environment on human emotions and behavior using questionnaire data and by applying multi-output regression. Situation based script questionnaires have been prepared to collect the responses from the participants. Questionnaires collect the demographic information, Age group, gender, and their current work in the hand at the time of responding the questions. For every question, participants have to choose one of the suitable emotions classes out of the five classes. After collecting the responses from 95 participants on five emotional classes, analysis has been conducted using three techniques i.e. descriptive analysis, single class using support vector machine and multiple classes using multi regression algorithm. Experiment results of the proposed system achieved 80% accuracy in SVM for a single class. In multi classes, results compare with different classes like emotions class with environment, emotions with age and with demographic data for multi-output regression, random forest and decision tree classifiers. Experimental results show that the proposed system performs well as compared to the entire existing system available in literature.

This article considers an approach to the radical behaviorist interpretation of complex human social behavior. The chosen context is consumer psychology, a field currently dominated by cognitive models of purchase and consumption. The nature of operant interpretation is considered, and several levels of operant analysis of complex economic behavior in affluent marketing-oriented economies are developed. Empirical evidence for the interpretation is considered, and a case is made for the qualified use of the hypothetico-deductive method in the appraisal of operant interpretations of complex behaviors.

Decision fiascoes such as escalation of commitment, the tendency of decision makers to "throw good money after bad," can have serious consequences for organizations and are therefore of great interest in applied research. This paper discusses the use of behavior analysis in organizational behavior research on escalation. Among the most significant aspects of behavior-analytic research on escalation is that it has indicated that both the patterns of outcomes that decision makers have experienced for past decisions and the patterns of responses that they make are critical for understanding escalation. This research has also stimulated the refinement of methods by researchers to better assess decision making and the role reinforcement plays in it. Finally, behavior-analytic escalation research has not only indicated the utility of reinforcement principles for predicting more complex human behavior but has also suggested some additional areas for future exploration of decision making using behavior analysis.

For thousands of years, societies actively practiced the oppression, persecution, and dehumanization of sexual and gender minority (SGM) people (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals). Rekers and Lovaas'(1974) study is part of that history within behavior analysis. Following requests for retraction, the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and LeBlanc (2020) issued a formal Expression of Concern about the work. Continued conversation and debate have followed. First, we contextualize debate around retraction of Rekers and Lovaas and the history of behavior analysts' work on SGM issues. Second, we propose 5 steps that leaders in behavior analysis can take with relative immediacy, and we describe 5 research areas that individual behavior analysts could pursue. We conclude that behavior analysts can contribute much toward the liberation of SGM individuals if we begin to bring our science to bear on pressing, socially significant issues facing SGM communities.

Learning is the developmental process and behavior analysis has a lot to say about complex human behavior: A review of Novak and Pelaez's (2004) Child and adolescent development: A behavioral systems approach.