Abstract
A number of prominent writers have suggested that in light of recent anomalous findings we greatly modify or abandon entirely the traditional “paradigms and laws” of learning. The data to which they refer are troublesome only to very simple-minded and literal interpretations of traditional paradigms, such as appear in typical textbook treatments. Current interpretations of the reinforcement paradigm can easily include such “anomalous” data. Once we recognize that reinforcers may never be considered independently of behaviors to be reinforced and conditions under which specific effects are viewed, these and other problems diminish in importance. As a means for advancing our understanding of behavior, the paradigms and laws of learning are better viewed as approximations, rather than as inviolate laws.
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Preparation of this manuscript was supported by Grant No. MH-24997 from the National Institute of Mental Health, USPHS. I thank W. S. Verplanck and W. H. Calhoun for their comments and criticisms of an earlier version of this paper.
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Malone, J.C. The “Paradigms” of Learning. Psychol Rec 25, 479–489 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394340
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394340