The history and present status of the law of effect.

Postman, Leo

doi:10.1037/h0057716

Cited by 113 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 302 publications

(455 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…With rare exceptions (Ni [41]; Young [42]; Postman [43]), the work of Yerkes and Dodson and the law it spawned were largely ignored in the first half of the twentieth century. Five decades passed from the formation of the Yerkes-Dodson law before it was first tested by Broadhurst [44] with modern techniques and statistical data analyses.…”

Section: Flashbulb Memories and Vicissitudes Of Thewell-cited Butmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At about this time, Postman [43] provided an exhaustive review of animal and human research conducted in the first half of the twentieth century on emotion and learning. He cited the findings of Yerkes and Dodson when he stated that “relatively severe punishment (intensive shock) is most effective in learning simple habits such as black-white discrimination … and relatively mild punishment is optimal in the case of difficult tasks, such as complex types of discrimination” (page 507).…”

Section: Flashbulb Memories and Vicissitudes Of Thewell-cited Butmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson Law

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We have reviewed research on the effects of stress on LTP in the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) and present new findings which provide insight into how the attention and memory-related functions of these structures are influenced by strong emotionality. We have incorporated the stress-LTP findings into our “temporal dynamics” model, which provides a framework for understanding the neurobiological basis of flashbulb and traumatic memories, as well as stress-induced amnesia. An important feature of the model is the idea that endogenous mechanisms of plasticity in the hippocampus and amygdala are rapidly activated for a relatively short period of time by a strong emotional learning experience. Following this activational period, both structures undergo a state in which the induction of new plasticity is suppressed, which facilitates the memory consolidation process. We further propose that with the onset of strong emotionality, the hippocampus rapidly shifts from a “configural/cognitive map” mode to a “flashbulb memory” mode, which underlies the long-lasting, but fragmented, nature of traumatic memories. Finally, we have speculated on the significance of stress-LTP interactions in the context of the Yerkes-Dodson Law, a well-cited, but misunderstood, century-old principle which states that the relationship between arousal and behavioral performance can be linear or curvilinear, depending on the difficulty of the task.

show abstract

Section: Flashbulb Memories and Vicissitudes Of Thewell-cited Butmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Flashbulb Memories and Vicissitudes Of Thewell-cited Butmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson Law

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition to the references given earlier, fuller discussions of behaviorism and the law of effect can be found in Boring (1957), Hearst (t979), Postman (1947), Wilcoxon (1969), the volumes edited by Koch (e.g., 1959), and a collection of theoretical reviews by Estes et al (1954). See also Baum (1994) and Richelle (1995) for sympathetic accounts of Skinnerian behaviorism and Staddon (2001a) for a critical account.…”

Section: Recent History Of Reinforcement Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Behavior and Learning

Staddon

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Every day at about 4:30, Jazz, a Hungarian Vizsla dog, leaps up on the sofa and looks out for his owner who always comes home at 5:00. He doesn't need an internal clock because he has an acute sense of smell that allows him to measure how long his master has been absent. Explaining complex behavior in simple ways, this book is a fascinating exploration of the evolution, development and processes of learning in animals. Now in its second edition, there is increased emphasis on development, evolution and dynamics; new accounts of taxic orientation, reflex induction, habituation and operant learning in organisms; more discussion of spatial learning and the processes underlying it; expanded chapters on choice and completely new chapters on molar laws, classical conditioning theories and comparative cognition. J. E. R. Staddon provides a definitive summary of contemporary theoretical understanding suitable for graduates and advanced undergraduates.

show abstract

“…Because these terms are measured independently, the relation between them is immune to the charges of tautology that have often been leveled against the Law of Effect (see, e.g., Postman 1947). As we have shown, response rate depends on response-reinforcer relations, whereas resistance to change is determined primarily by stimulus-reinforcer relations.…”

Section: Parallels With Behavioral Momentummentioning

confidence: 99%

Happiest thought: Dynamics and behavior

Marr¹

2000

Behav. Brain Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the metaphor of behavioral momentum, the rate of a free operant in the presence of a discriminative stimulus is analogous to the velocity of a moving body, and resistance to change measures an aspect of behavior that is analogous to its inertial mass. An extension of the metaphor suggests that preference measures an analog to the gravitational mass of that body. The independent functions relating resistance to change and preference to the conditions of reinforcement may be construed as convergent measures of a single construct, analogous to physical mass, that represents the effects of a history of exposure to the signaled conditions of reinforcement and that unifies the traditionally separate notions of the strength of learning and the value of incentives. Research guided by the momentum metaphor encompasses the effects of reinforcement on response rate, resistance to change, and preference and has implications for clinical interventions, drug addiction, and self-control. In addition, its principles can be seen as a modern, quantitative version of Thorndike's (1911) Law of Effect, providing a new perspective on some of the challenges to his postulation of strengthening by reinforcement. Figure 2. Average response rates of pigeons in two components of a multiple VI VI schedule with 60 reinforcers per hour in one component and 20 per hour in the other, showing the effects of the rate of free food presentations during time-out periods between components. The upper panel shows response rates during the last hour of baseline training and the first hour of disruption by time-out food across four conditions. In the lower panel, these data are re-expressed as log ratios of response rates with free food to response rates in the immediately preceding baseline and plotted as functions of time-out food rate. Adapted from Nevin (1974, Experiment 1). Nevin & Grace: Law of Effect 78 BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2000) 23:1Figure 3. Left panel displays average baseline response rates on the right key in three multiple-schedule components. In Component A, reinforcer rate for right-key responses was 15/hour, with 45 reinforcers per hour available concurrently for left-key responses. In Component B, reinforcer rate for right-key responses was 15/hour, and in Component C it was 60/hour; no reinforcers were given for leftkey responses in Components B and C. The right panel displays the slopes of functions characterizing resistance to satiation, resistance to prefeeding, and resistance to extinction in these three components. Standard errors are indicated by the error bars. Adapted from . D'Amato et al. (1958) and several subsequent researchers (see, e.g., vom Saal 1972) have shown that animals respond Nevin & Grace: Law of Effect Abstract: Nevin & Grace's behavioral-momentum model accommodates a large body of data. This commentary highlights some experimental findings that the model does not always predict. The model does not consistently predict resistance to change when response-independent food is delivered simultaneously wit...

show abstract

The history and present status of the law of effect.

Cited by 113 publications

References 302 publications

The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson Law

The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson Law

Adaptive Behavior and Learning

Happiest thought: Dynamics and behavior

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About