Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Inter-Method Reliability of Progression Sizes in a Hypothetical Purchase Task: Implications for Empirical Public Policy

  • Original Article
  • Published:
The Psychological Record Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Advances in behavioral economic research methodology have generated novel insights into public policy considerations regarding substance use and addiction. A major advancement toward this end was the development of hypothetical purchase tasks (HPTs) that permit modeling of consumption and demand without the need for actual purchases and lengthy human operant studies comprised of real reward deliveries. Psychometric research in the domain of behavioral pharmacology suggests that the HPT has adequate test–retest reliability, as well as construct and convergent/divergent validity. Research to date has exclusively examined pharmacological commodities, however, necessitating the need for technology transfer to other pressing societal issues. In the present study, we examined demand for recreational driving across three groups, each consisting of a different fuel price progression size in the HPT. Findings suggest that behavioral economic models of demand do not differ as a function of progression size, providing support to the inter-method reliability of this procedure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bickel, W. K., DeGrandpre, R. J., & Higgins, S. T. (1993). Behavioral economics: a novel experimental approach to the study of drug dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 33, 173–192. doi:10.1016/0376-8716(93)90059-Y.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bickel, W. K., Jarmolowicz, D. P., MacKillop, J., Epstein, L. H., Carr, K., Mueller, E. T., & Waltz, T. J. (2012). The behavioral economics of reinforcement pathologies: Novel approaches to addictive disorders. In H. J. Shaffer (Ed.), APA addiction syndrome handbook. Washington: APA Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brownell, K. D., & Frieden, T. R. (2009). Ounces of prevention—the public policy case for taxes on sugared beverages. New England Journal of Medicine, 360, 1805–1808. doi:10.1056/NEJMp0902392.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, B. L., & Tiffany, S. T. (1999). Meta-analysis of cue-reactivity in addiction research. Addiction, 94, 327–340. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.1999.9433273.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, R. L., Parks, G. A., & Marlatt, G. A. (1985). Social determinants of alcohol consumption: the effects of social interaction and model status on the self-administration of alcohol. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 189–200. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.53.2.189.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Few, L. R., Acker, J., Murphy, C., & MacKillop, J. (2012). Temporal stability of a cigarette purchase task. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 14, 761–765. doi:10.1093/Ntr/Ntr222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, L., & Freed, D. E. (1993). The substitutability of reinforcers. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 60, 141–158. doi:10.1901/jeab.1993.60-141.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Havranek, T., Irsova, Z., & Janda, K. (2012). Demand for gasoline is more price-inelastic than commonly thought. Energy Economics, 34, 201–207. doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2011.09.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R. (1980). Economic concepts for the analysis of behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 34, 219–238. doi:10.1901/jeab.1980.34-219.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R. (1984). Behavioral economics. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 42, 435–452. doi:10.1901/jeab.1984.42-435.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R. (in press). Behavioral economics and the analysis of consumption and choice. In F. K. McSweeney& E. S. Murphy (Eds.), Wiley-Blackwell handbook of operant and classical conditioning. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

  • Hursh, S. R., & Roma, P. G. (2013). Behavioral economics and empirical public policy. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 99, 98–124. doi:10.1007/s00213-008-1120-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R., & Silberberg, A. (2008). Economic demand and essential value. Psychological Review, 115, 186–198. doi:10.1037/0033-295x115.1.186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R., & Winger, G. (1995). Normalized demand for drugs and other reinforcers. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 64, 373–384. doi:10.1901/jeab.1995.64-373.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R., Raslear, T. G., Shurtleff, D., Bauman, R., & Simmons, L. (1988). A cost-benefit-analysis of demand for food. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 50, 419–440. doi:10.1901/jeab.1988.50-419.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R., Raslear, T. G., Bauman, R., & Black, H. (1989). The quantitative analysis of economic behavior with laboratory animals. In K. G. Grunert & F. Olander (Eds.), Understanding economic behavior (pp. 117–165). New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers, Theory and Decision Library.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, S. R., Madden, G. J., Spiga, R., DeLeon, I. G., & Francisco, M. T. (2012). The translational utility of behavioral economics: The experimental analysis of consumption and choice. Washington: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, E. A., & Bickel, W. K. (1999). Modeling drug consumption in the clinic using simulation procedures: demand for heroin and cigarettes in opioid-dependent outpatients. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 7, 412–426. doi:10.1037/1064-1297.7.4.412.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jain, N., Rademaker, A., & Robinson, J. K. (2012). Implementation of the federal excise tax on indoor tanning services in Illinois. Archives of Dermatology, 148, 122–124. doi:10.1001/archderm.148.1.122.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. W., & Bickel, W. K. (2006). Replacing relative reinforcing efficacy with behavioral economic demand curves. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 85, 73–93. doi:10.1901/jeab.2006.102-04.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ko, M. C., Terner, J., Hursh, S., Woods, J. H., & Winger, G. (2002). Relative reinforcing effects of three opioids with different durations of action. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 301, 698–704. doi:10.1124/jpet.301.2.698.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laibson, D. (2001). A cue-theory of consumption. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116, 81–119. doi:10.1162/003355301556356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKillop, J., & Murphy, J. G. (2007). A behavioral economic measure of demand for alcohol predicts brief intervention outcomes. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 89, 227–233. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.01.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKillop, J., Murphy, J. G., Ray, L. A., Eisenberg, D. T. A., Lisman, S. A., Lum, J. K., & Wilson, D. S. (2008). Further validation of a cigarette purchase task for assessing the relative reinforcing efficacy of nicotine in college smokers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16, 57–65. doi:10.1037/1064-1297.16.1.57.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKillop, J., O'Hagen, S., Lisman, S. A., Murphy, J. G., Ray, L. A., Tidey, J. W., & Monti, P. M. (2010). Behavioral economic analysis of cue-elicited craving for alcohol. Addiction, 105, 1599–1607. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03004.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKillop, J., Brown, C. L., Stojek, M. K., Murphy, C. M., Sweet, L., & Niaura, R. S. (2012a). Behavioral economic analysis of withdrawal- and cue-elicited craving for tobacco: an initial investigation. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 14, 1426–1434. doi:10.1093/Ntr/Nts006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKillop, J., Few, L. R., Murphy, J. G., Wier, L. M., Acker, J., Murphy, C., & Chaloupka, F. (2012b). High-resolution behavioral economic analysis of cigarette demand to inform tax policy. Addiction, 107, 2191–2200. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03991.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, G. J., & Hartman, E. C. (2006). A steady-state test of the demand curve analysis of relative reinforcer efficacy. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 14, 79–86. doi:10.1037/1064-1297.14.1.79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, G. J., & Kalman, D. (2010). Effects of bupropion on simulated demand for cigarettes and the subjective effects of smoking. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 12, 416–422. doi:10.1093/Ntr/Ntq018.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J. G., & MacKillop, J. (2006). Relative reinforcing efficacy of alcohol among college student drinkers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 14, 219–227. doi:10.1037/1064-1397.14.2.219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J. G., MacKillop, J., Skidmore, J. R., & Pederson, A. A. (2009). Reliability and validity of a demand curve measure of alcohol reinforcement. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 17, 396–404. doi:10.1037/a0017684.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J. G., MacKillop, J., Tidey, J. W., Brazil, L. A., & Colby, S. M. (2011). Validity of a demand curve measure of nicotine reinforcement with adolescent smokers. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 113, 207–214. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.08.004.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, §2702, 124 Stat. 119, 318–319 (2010).

  • Powell, L. M., Chriqui, J., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2009). Associations between state-level soda taxes and adolescent body mass index. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45, S57–S63. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.03.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard, J. (2010). Virtual rewards for driving green. Behavior Analyst, 33, 185–187.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rachlin, H., Green, L., Kagel, J. H., & Battalio, R. C. (1976). Economic demand theory and psychological studies of choice. In G. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (vol. 10, pp. 129–154). New York, NY: Academic Press.

  • Reed, D. D., Luiselli, J. K., Magnuson, J. D., Fillers, S., Vieira, S., & Rue, H. C. (2009). A comparison between traditional economical and demand curve analyses of relative reinforcer efficacy in the validation of preference assessment predictions. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 12, 164–169. doi:10.1080/17518420902858983.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, D. D., Niileksela, C., & Kaplan, B. A. (2013a). Behavioral economics: a tutorial for behavior analysts in practice. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 6, 34–54.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, D. D., Partington, S. W., Kaplan, B. A., Roma, P., & Hursh, S. (2013b). Behavioral economic analyses of demand for fuel in North American transportation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46, 651–655. doi:10.1002/jaba.64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roane, H. S., Lerman, D. C., & Vorndran, C. M. (2001). Assessing reinforcers under progressive schedule requirements. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 145–166. doi:10.1901/jaba.2001.34-145.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shafir, E. (2013). The behavioral foundations of public policy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shahan, T. A., Bickel, W. K., Madden, G. J., & Badger, G. J. (1999). Comparing the reinforcing efficacy of nicotine containing and de-nicotinized cigarettes: a behavioral economic analysis. Psychopharmacology, 147, 210–216. doi:10.1007/s002130051162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spiga, R., Martinetti, M. P., Meisch, R. A., Cowan, K., & Hursh, S. (2005). Methadone and nicotine self-administration in humans: a behavioral economic analysis. Psychopharmacology, 178, 223–231. doi:10.1007/s00213-004-2020-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sturm, R., Powell, L. M., Chriqui, J. F., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2010). Soda taxes, soft drink consumption, and children’s body mass index. Health Affairs, 29, 1052–1058. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0061.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, H. R., & Labouvie, E. W. (1989). Towards the assessment of adolescent problem drinking. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 50, 30–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, S. N. (2012). A tax on indoor tanning would reduce demand in europe. British Medical Journal, 345, e6550. doi:10.1136/bmj.e6550.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, 4048 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045-7555, USA

    Derek D. Reed & Brent A. Kaplan

  2. Institutes for Behavior Resources, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Peter G. Roma & Steven R. Hursh

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Peter G. Roma & Steven R. Hursh

Authors
  1. Derek D. Reed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brent A. Kaplan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Peter G. Roma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Steven R. Hursh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Derek D. Reed.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Reed, D.D., Kaplan, B.A., Roma, P.G. et al. Inter-Method Reliability of Progression Sizes in a Hypothetical Purchase Task: Implications for Empirical Public Policy. Psychol Rec 64, 671–679 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0076-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0076-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation