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Stimulus Control of Covert Behaviors (Urges)

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Abstract

In order to test the homogeneity assumption, which states that overt and covert behaviors obey the same laws, four subjects who reported covert smoking urges prior to engaging in the consummatory act of smoking were recruited to self-monitor urges and smoking behavior. The data from two subjects in Experiment 1 supported the view that urges are not artifactual byproducts of consummatory response occurrence, because frequencies of urges and smoking behavior were uncorrelated when subjects were asked not to smoke on alternate days. Stimulus control of urges was demonstrated in Experiment 2; urges were more likely in a situation that was associated with smoking than in a nonsmoking situation. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that urges are reinforced by the associated consummatory act.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 48197, USA

    George S. Smith & Dennis J. Delprato

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  1. George S. Smith
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  2. Dennis J. Delprato
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Smith, G.S., Delprato, D.J. Stimulus Control of Covert Behaviors (Urges). Psychol Rec 26, 461–466 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394411

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