How research in behavioral pharmacology informs behavioral science

Behavioral pharmacology is a maturing science that has made significant contributions to the study of drug effects on behavior, especially in the domain of drug-behavior interactions. Less appreciated is that research in behavioral pharmacology can have, and has had, implications for the experimental analysis of behavior, especially its conceptualizations and theory. In this article, I outline three general strategies in behavioral pharmacology research that have been employed to increase understanding of behavioral processes. Examples are provided of the general characteristics of the strategies and of implications of previous research for behavior theory. Behavior analysis will advance as its theories are challenged.     

Digital filters in behavioral research

Behavioral control is almost always less than perfect. Rate of response is rarely as constant as it could be even when the greatest care is given to experimental procedures. Experimenters should always attempt to identify the causes of variation. Some fluctuations in response rate will be random, i.e., sometimes positive and sometimes negative, usually small but occasionally large. Digital filters are objective methods for reducing or eliminating such unsystematic “noise” components while preserving the systematic changes in response rate under study. Digital filters function in a manner that is strictly analogous to electronic filters. The major purpose of this technical note is to describe digital filters and to provide an example of their usage.     

Interface systems in behavioral research

The methods and criteria to be used for the design of a general interface system are evaluated in the light of the number, variety, and variability of the data points in behavioral experimentation. A simple and flexible interface scheme is presented that should satisfy the needs of a behavioral research laboratory.     

Some aspects on behavioral teratology research

A compelling question in teratology research is whether the experimental model used allows for extrapolation from laboratory animals to man. Our thesis is that behaviors that are biologically relevant for the animal are more likely to reveal the relationship between the behavior and its substrate than are non-specific behaviors. Applying this reasoning to the study of the ontogenesis of the behavior, we plead for including the use of species-typical behaviors in testing for teratogenic effects. Our further discussion is focussed upon the different levels at which an analysis of teratogenic effects may be carried out. At one level, the analysis is directed towards the behavioral effects of a given treatment; at another level to specify the function that is impaired by the treatment.     

Mediation of artifacts in behavioral research

An integrative artifact model is developed from a combination of role theory and McGuire's information-processing theory of social influence. The main extraneous sources of systematic error are reduced to three conjoint mediators, the end product of which determines the likelihood that a subject will positively or negatively react to demand characteristics. Conditions thought to affect the mediating variables are noted, and the practical advantage of this combinatory view is discussed as it applies to estimating the inferential validity of experimental findings in psychology.     

Computerized process control in behavioral science research

A general approach to the design and development of real-time operating systems is discussed. Operating system design for small to medium scale laboratory computers is described at a moderately elementary level. Analysis of system design as a supervisory control hierarchy is presented in an attempt to bridge the gap between an elementary general understanding of computer operation and the more sophisticated understanding assumed by the writers of most computer systems operator’s manuals. PROSS, a programming language developed at Indiana University, is presented as an example of the highest level of supervisory control.     

Some unsettled problems in behavioral neuroscience research

The goal of behavioral neuroscience is to map psychological concepts onto physiological and anatomical concepts and vice versa. The present paper reflects on some of the hidden obstacles that have to be overcome in order to find unique psychophysiological relationships. These are, among others: (1) the different status of concepts which are defined in the two domains (ontological subjectivity in psychology and ontological objectivity in physiology); (2) the distinct hierarchical levels to which concepts from the two domains may belong; (3) ambiguity of concepts, because—due to limited measurement resolution or definitional shortcomings—they sometimes do not cover unique states or processes; (4) ignored context dependencies. Moreover, it is argued that due to the gigantic number of states and state changes, which are possible in a nervous system, it seems unlikely that neuroscience can provide exact causal explanations and predictions of behavior. Rather, as in statistical thermodynamics the transition from the microlevel of explanations to the macrolevel is only possible with probabilistic uncertainty.     

Real-time clocks for microcomputers in behavioral research

Real-time clock strategies are described for microcomputers in behavioral research. Software-oriented and hardware-oriented counters are described in both free-running and strobed modes. An example of a clock using the Intel 8253 is given, along with driving software in 8080 assembly code and hardware for the S-100 bus.     

An improved video multiplexer for behavioral research

Wellens and Revert (1979) described a solid-state circuit that allowed two sources of video information to be multiplexed and recorded using one videotape machine. On playback, the demultiplexed video signal allowed the original video channels to be viewed independently on separate television monitors. Recent changes in videocassette recorder technology have improved the playback quality of recorded images but disrupt the demultiplexing process when freeze frame or search options are selected. Improved multiplexing techniques that overcome these limitations are described.     

Data management and accountability in behavioral and biomedical research.

Regulations recently enacted by the Public Health Service and the National Science Foundation to address misconduct in scientific research were designed primarily to curtail deliberate forms of misconduct, such as fabrication or falsification of findings; however, researchers may also be held accountable for inadvertent deficiencies in data management. This article examines some of the problems in data quality control, documentation, and data retention that can occur when computers are used in scientific research. It focuses on deficiencies that could make it difficult to verify the integrity of research data or to reproduce statistical analyses. Strategies for prevention of data management problems are recommended.     

The rabbit as a subject in behavioral research

Domestic rabbits were exposed to a wide variety of variables employed in behavioral research. It was found that: (1) Although food could be used as a reinforcer, the long periods of severe deprivation required to reduce body weight made its use impractical. (2) Water was an efficient reinforcer in that it maintained high rates of behavior after 22 hr of deprivation. (3) Except that rates of responding were higher, fixed-ratio and variable-interval schedules of reinforcement produced patterns of behavior similar to those demonstrated by rats and pigeons. (4) Although the duration of the post-reinforcement pause was a function of the duration of the interval under fixed-interval schedules, scalloping, as defined as a gradually increasing rate of responding between reinforcement, was not evident. (5) When provided with the means to both turn on and turn off intracranial stimulation, the duration of the stimulation and the frequency with which it was turned on and off was a function of the intensity of the stimulation. (6) Electric shock could suppress behavior and maintain escape responding, but would maintain avoidance responding only in a few subjects.