Achieving the Positive Life Through Negative Reinforcement

Based on the three-contingency model of performance management, I make the following argument: (1) Often, we fail to behave as we should because the natural contingencies supporting appropriate behavior are ineffective; the natural contingencies involve outcomes for each individual response that are either too small, though of cumulative significance, or outcomes that are too improbable. The delay of the outcome is essentially irrelevant. The psychodynamic model of the cognitive motivational theorists provides a poor explanation for why we fail to behave as we should.

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Trait-based Personality Theory, Ontogenic Behavioral Continuity, and Behavior Analysis

Behavior analysts can and should but rarely do account for the ontogenic continuity of behavior, thus leaving the field open to the reified, biological-deterministic traits of personality theorists.

Circular Reifications

The well-written, carefully reasoned article by B Roberts (2002) pulled my chain almost as violently as did the articles by Geller and S Roberts (2002).

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Power in Organizations

This critique of Goltz and Hietapelto’s operant model of power suggests: * The definition of power and leadership are too narrow. * Powerful leaders rarely manage performance through operant contingencies. * The opportunity to manage the behavior of others is rarely the reinforcer controlling the behavior of the powerful. * The aversiveness of control by the powerful is rarely the basis for resistance to organizational change. * Much behavior-analytic extrapolation from the Skinner box is unwarranted.

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What OBM Needs is More Jewish Mothers

E. Scott Geller’s main problem is that he’s a mentalist in behavior-analyst clothing. And his main virtue is that he’s a mentalist in behavior-analyst clothing. I disagree with everything Geller (2002) and Steve Roberts (2002) wrote. But I agree with their main point. Their main point is not that we would better sell behavior analysis to mentalists, if we too became mentalists; that was just an excuse for Scott and Steve to hop on their soap box and preach mentalism in the guise of Scott’s active-caring model. Their main point is that we would be better OBMers, if we became mentalists.

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The EO in OBM

Olson, Laraway, and Austin (2001) propose an increased emphasis on the establishing operation in organizational behavior management. Their proposal raises interesting questions about theory, science, and practice. (1) What should be the role of theory in behavior analysis? (2) Should we try to find problems that match our solutions or vice versa ? (3) What is the relative importance of the establishing operation and the performance-management contingency in managing organizational behavior?

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Conceptual Behavior Analysis

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by lust for the straight semi-log transform, drilling ever deeper into the void of free-operant chaos, who floating across everyday life, attempted to perfectly fit the new king-- autistic child, striking worker, deciding executive, forcing the cool babe of conceptual analysis down the drain with the hypothetico-deductive bath water of mentalism, eager to justify, confusing analog with homologue, functional equivalent with fundamental equivalent, justifying the Skinner box in terms of applications, the applications in terms of the Skinner box

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Maintenance of Interventions: The Behavioral Research Supervisory System

E-Mail From Nadia Mullen

Hello

You may recall my contacting you previously about your studies in JOBM but in case you don't, I am a student at the University of Otago in New Zealand, completing my masters thesis in the area of intervention maintenance.

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A Review of The Courage Factor: Living People-Based Leadership by E. Scott Geller and Bob Veazie

Give this book to anyone you want to turn on to behavioral approaches to safety.

OverviewI planned to skip the fictionalized, illustrative story line and just skim for the authors’ main instructional points. But instead, their excellent writing so caught me up in the plight and emotional upheavals of Joanne Cruse, the plant safety director that

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Comments on the Dissemination of Behavioral Technology

I Agree with essentially all Shimamuune (1996) has said concerning the dissemination of behavioral technology. Furthermore, I think his observations are insightful and nontrivial; and the implementation of his proposal could do much to further the impact of B.F. Skinner in the 21st century. In this commentary, I will simply supplement what he has said, much in the same spirit of what he has said

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A Goal-Directed Model for the Design of Human Performance Systems

A Behavior systems perspective is employed to guide development of a goal-directed model for the design of human performance systems presented in this article. The goal-directed model is discussed in terms of the following: (1) its basic concepts (i.e., system, behavioral system, and behavioral systems analysis), (2) the importance and implications of identifying the ultimate goals, (3) a description of a goal-directed model for the design of systems, and (4) a specification of the criteria for defining objectives that will lead to achievement of the ultimate goals. Finally, it is suggested that use of a goal-directed model would help orgaizations move toward accomplishing their ultimate goals.

Click to read full article http://www.dickmalott.com/behaviorism/OBM/Malott_and_Garcia.pdf

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