The contextual analysis of behavior: Proposal of a model

Abstract

A mo del for tite con textual analysis of behavior in basic situations is presented, exempltjying its utility in several areas of .stttdy within tite experimental analysis of be­havior, sucit as: context and pairing of stimuli, con text and stimulus control, sorne ele­ments of historiad context, context and tite response-reinforcer relationship, and so on. Sorne data are presented of a contextual study on tite interaction between fixed-time and flxed-interval scitedules of reinforcement on six rats responding ono multiple scitedu­le in witich, while maintaining a fixed-tirne component, ¡ti the other component tite dependence or independence of tite response-reinforcer reIa~ionsitip was manipulo ted, as well as tite inter-reinforcement interval parameter. Witen tite variable component was manipulated in regard to tite dependence of tite response and tite interval hetween rein­forcements, there was a citange in tite ras’ response pat tern and tite postreinforcement pause distribution, respectively, in tite constant component. Finally, it is suggested that tite temporal control and tite rnaintenance ofrespondinggenerated byfixed-timeschedu­les are relative to tite temporal and contingency contextualfactors of reinforcement in witicit sucit scitedules occur.