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Behavior Analysis and Behavioral Ecology: A Synergistic Coupling

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Abstract

Recent trends in behavioral ecology and behavior analysis suggest that the two disciplines complement one another, underscoring the desirability of an integrated approach to behavior. Three examples from the foraging literature illustrate the potential value of an interdisciplinary approach. For example, a model of natural selection for foraging efficiency—optimal foraging theory—makes several predictions consistent with an hypothesis of a more proximate phenomenon, the reduction in delay to primary reinforcement. Not only are the ecological and behavior analytic approaches to behavior complementary, but each may provide insights into the operation of controlling variables in situations usually thought of as being the other’s domain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, C-009, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Edmund Fantino

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  1. Edmund Fantino
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Additional information

Research and preparation of manuscript supported by NSF Grant BNS 83-02963 and NIMH Grant MH-20752 to the University of California at San Diego.

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Fantino, E. Behavior Analysis and Behavioral Ecology: A Synergistic Coupling. BEHAV ANALYST 8, 151–157 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393147

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