Abstract
Over the past few years, developmental and community theorists have begun speculating about and researching transactional and ecological processes. Rather than just focus on individual-unit phenomena, the transactional theorists point to reciprocal effects of different systems such that people are influenced and influence others over long periods of time. Ecological theorists have identified interrelationships between different systems or ecologies. Although behavioral investigators frequently study more attribute-type phenomena, methods invented to capture behavior change could be used to analyze transactional and ecological processes. In this paper, an attempt is made to explain the behavioral methodologies that could be used to help investigators better understand transactions and ecological processes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barker, R. G. (1968).Ecological Psychology, Stanford CA: Stanford University.
Bednarz, D., Douglas, J., & Jason, L. A. (1978). Secondary prevention: Home notes, group contingencies, and other behavioral strategies with school children. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Association of Behavior Analysis, Chicago.
Bogat, G. A., & Jason, L. A. (in press). Dogs bark at those they do not recognize. Towards an integration of behaviorism and community psychology. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.).Handbook of Community Psychology. New York: Plenum.
Douglas, J. A., & Jason, L. A. (1986). Building social support systems through a babysitting exchange program.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56, 103–108.
Evans, I. M., Meyer, L. H., Kurkjian, J. A., & Kishi, G. S. (1988). An evaluation of behavioral interrelationships in child behavior therapy. In J. C. Witt, S. N. Elliott, & F. M. Gresham (Eds.).Handbook of behavior therapy in education. (pp. 189–215). New York: Plenum.
Fawcett, S. B., Matthews, R. M., & Fletcher, R. K. (1980). Some promising dimensions for behavioral community technology.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 505–518.
Fawcett, S. B., Seekins, T., & Jason, L. A. (1987). Policy research and child passenger safety legislation: A case study and experimental evaluation.Journal of Social Issues, 43(2), 133–148.
Jason, L. A. (1977). Modifying parent-child interactions in a disadvantaged family.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 6, 38–40.
Jason, L. A., Betts, D., Johnson, J., Smith, S., Krueckeberg, S., & Cradock, M. (1989). An evaluation of an orientation plus tutoring school based prevention program.Professional School Psychology, 4, 273–284.
Jason, L. A., Christensen, H., & Carl, K. (1982). Programmed versus naturalistic approaches in enhancing study-related behavior.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 11, 249–254.
Jason, L. A., Douglas, J., Nair, D., & Billingham, S. (1984). Altering social support dimensions using behavioral strategies.Techniques: A Journal for Remedial Education and Counseling, 1, 113–127.
Jason, L. A. Ferone, L., & Soucy, J. (1978). Evaluating a school primary prevention program. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto.
Jason, L. A., & Liotta, R. F. (1982). Reduction of cigarette smoking in a university cafeteria.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 15, 573–577.
Jason, L. A., Neal, A. M., & Marinakis, G. (1985). Altering contingencies to facilitate compliance with traffic light systems.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 95–100.
Jason, L. A. & Nelson, T. (1980). Investigating relationships between problem behaviors and environmental design.Corrective and Social Psychiatry, 26, 53–57.
Jason, L. A. Robson, S. D., & Lipshutz, S. A. (1980). Enhancing sharing behaviors through the use of naturalistic contingencies.Journal of Community Psychology, 8, 237–244.
Jason, L. A. & Savio, D. (1978). Reducing cigarette smoke in an office setting.Health Values, 2, 180–185.
Jason, L. A. & Smith, T. (1980). The behavioral ecological matchmaker.Teaching of Psychology, 7, 116–117.
Jason, L. A., Weine, A. M., Johnson, J. H., Warren-Sohlberg, L., Fillipelli, L. A., Turner, E. Y., & Larden, C. (1992).Helping transfer students: Strategies for educational and social readjustment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Jason, L. A., & Zolik, E. S. (1985). Stimulus control and modelling strategies for controlling urban dog litter.Urban Ecology, 9, 63–73.
Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L. (1966).The social psychology of organizations. New York: Wiley.
Kelly, J. G. (1968). Towards an ecological conception of preventive interventions. In J. W. Carter (Ed.)Research contributions from psychology to community mental health. (pp. 76–97). New York: Behavioral.
Kelly, J. G. (1969). Naturalistic observations in contrasting social environments. In E. P. Willems & H. L. Raush (Eds.).Naturalistic viewpoints in psychological research. (pp. 183–199). New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Kelly, J. G. (1975). Community psychology: Some priorities for the immediate future.Journal of Community Psychology, 3, 205–209.
Kelly, J. G. (1977). The search for ideas and deeds that work. In G. W. Albee & J. M. Joffe (Eds.).Primary prevention of psychopathology. Volume 1: The Issues. (pp. 1–17). Hanover, New Hampshire: University of New England.
Kelly, J. G. (1985). The concept of primary prevention: Creating new paradigms.Journal of Primary Prevention, 5, 269–272.
Kelly, J. G. (April, 1987). Beyond prevention techniques: Generating social settings for a public's health. Paper presented at the Tenth Erich Lindemann Memorial Lecture. Harvard medical School, Boston, Mass.
Kelly, J. G. (1990). Changing contexts and the field of community psychology.American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 769–792.
Kelly, J. G., Dassoff, N., Levin, I., Schreckengost, J., Steltzner, S. P., & Altman, B. E. (1988).A guide to conducting prevention research in the community: First steps. New York: Haworth.
Kelly, J. G., Munoz, R. F., & Snowden, L. R. (1979). Characteristics of community research projects and the implementation process. In R. F. Munoz, L. R. Snowden, & J. G. Kelly (Eds.).Social and psychological research in community settings. (pp. 343–363). San Francisco, C.A.: Jossey-Bass.
Kelly, J. G., Snowden, L. R., & Munoz, R. F. (1977). Social and community interventions.Annual Review of Psychology, 28, 223–261.
Kingry-Westergaard, C., & Kelly, J. G. (1990). A contextualist epistemology for ecological research. In P. Tolan, C. Keys, F. Chertok, & L. Jason (Eds.)Researching community psychology. Issues of theory and methods. (pp. 23–31). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Krasner, L. (1980).Environmental design and human behavior: A psychology of the individual in society. Elsmford, New York: Pergamon.
Lewin, K. (1951).Field theory in social science. New York: Harper & Row.
Liotta, R. F., Jason, L. A., Robinson, L., LaVigne, V. (1985). A behavioral approach for measuring social support.Family Therapy, 12, 285–295.
Lorion, R. P. (1990). Developmental analyses of community phenomena. In P. H. Tolan, C. Keys, F. Chertok, & L. A. Jason (Eds.).Researching community psychology: Integrating theories and methodologies. (pp. 32–41). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Mann, P. A. (1978).Community psychology. Concepts and applications. New York: The Free Press.
McDowell, J. J. (1982). The importance of Herrnstein's mathematical statement of the law of effect for behavior therapy.American Psychologist, 37, 771–779.
Moos, R. H. (1984). Content and coping: Toward a unifying conceptual framework.American Journal of Community Psychology, 12, 5–25.
Patterson, G. R. (1982).Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
Quattrochi-Tubin, S., & Jason, L. A. (1980). Enhancing social interactions and activity among the elderly through stimulus control.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 159–163.
Rogers-Warren, A., & Warren, S. F. (1977).Ecological perspectives in behavior analysis. Baltimore: University Park.
Sameroff, A. J. (1977). Concepts of humanity in primary prevention. In G. W. Albee & J. M. Joffe (Eds.).Primary Prevention of Psychopathology. (pp. 42–63). Hanover, New Hampshire: University Press of New England.
Sameroff, A. J. (1987). Transactional risk factors and prevention. In J. A. Steinberg & M. M. Silverman (Eds.).Preventing mental disorders: A research perspective. (pp. 74–89). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Pub. No. 87-1492). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Sameroff, A. J., & Chandler, M. J. (1975). Reproductive risk and the continuum of caretaking casualty. In F. D. Horowitz, M. Hetherington, S. Scarr-Salapatek, & G. Siegel (Eds.).Review of Child Development Research, Vol. 4 (pp. 187–244). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Sarason, S. B., Carroll, C., Maton, K., Cohen, S., & Lorentz, E. (1977).Human services and resource networks. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Seekins, T., Fawcett, S. B., Cohen, S. H., Elder, J. P., Jason, L. A., Schnelle, J. F., & Winett, R. A. (1988). Experimental evaluation of public policy: The case of state legislation for child passenger safety.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 233–243.
Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367.
Trickett, E. J., Kelly, J. G., & Vincent, T. (1985). The spirit of ecological inquiry in community research. In E. Susskind & D. Klein (Eds.),Community research: methods, paradigms, and applications. (pp. 5–38). New York: Praeger.
Trickett, E. J. & Mitchell, R. E. (in press). An ecological metaphor for research and intervention in Community Psychology. In M. S. Gibbs, J. R. Lachenmayer, & T. Siegel (Eds.),Community psychology: Theoretical and empirical approaches, 2nd edition. New York: Gardner.
Wahler, R. G., & Fox, J. J. (1981). Setting events in applied behavior.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 14, 327–338.
Willems, E. P. (1974). Behavioral technology and behavioral ecology.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 7, 151–165.
Winett, R. A. (1985). Ecobehavioral assessment in health lifestyles: Concepts and methods. In Karoly (Ed.),Measurement strategies in health psychology, New York: Wiley.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jason, L.A. Eco-transactional behavioral research. J Primary Prevent 13, 37–72 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01341780
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01341780