Behavioral and Brain Sciences 23 (1):73-90 (2000) |Abstract||In
the metaphor of behavioral momentum, the rate of a free operant
in the presence of a discriminative stimulus is analogous to the
velocity of a moving body, and resistance to change measures an
aspect of behavior that is analogous to its inertial mass. An
extension of the metaphor suggests that preference measures an
analog to the gravitational mass of that body. The independent
functions relating resistance to change and preference to the
conditions of reinforcement may be construed as convergent
measures of a single construct, analogous to physical mass, that
represents the effects of a history of exposure to the signaled
conditions of reinforcement and that unifies the traditionally
separate notions of the strength of learning and the value of
incentives. Research guided by the momentum metaphor encompasses
the effects of reinforcement on response rate, resistance to
change, and preference and has implications for clinical
interventions, drug a