Multiscale behavior analysis and molar behaviorism: An overview
Watch whole, long activities instead of tiny responses—evolution already does.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Baum (2018) wrote a theory paper. He asked: what if we stop counting single button presses?
Instead, he said, track whole activities that stretch across minutes, hours, and days. He called this view molar behaviorism.
He built the idea on evolution science. Behavior, like bodies, is shaped over long time spans.
What they found
The paper does not give new data. It gives a new lens.
The lens groups actions by their function, not their shape. "Eating lunch" becomes one unit, not ten bites.
This shift makes room for biology, culture, and context inside one story.
How this fits with other research
Cao et al. (2026) already do this in mice. Their PERCS model breaks persistence into five time-stretched parts. It shows the molar view can be measured.
Hobson (1984) asked for more theories, not just Skinner’s. Baum answers with an evolutionary scale that adds one big tent.
van den Bos et al. (2013) also push past old models. They dump hyperbolic discounting; Baum dumps the single response. Both moves widen the data we watch.
Why it matters
Next time you write a program, zoom out. Track the whole play routine, not each toy touch. Graph it across days. If the child stays engaged longer, your intervention is working at the molar level. This paper gives you permission—and a map—to look big.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In the context of evolutionary theory, behavior is the interaction between the organism and its environment. Two implications follow: (a) behavior takes time; and (b) behavior is defined by its function. That behavior takes time implies that behavioral units are temporally extended patterns or activities. An activity functions as an integrated whole composed of parts that are themselves smaller-scale activities. That behavior is defined by its function implies that behavior functions to change the environment in ways that promote reproductive success. Phylogenetically important events (PIEs) are enhanced or mitigated by activities they induce as a result of natural selection. Induction explains all the phenomena that have traditionally been explained by reinforcement. This multiscale view replaces discrete responses and contiguity with multiscale activities and covariance. A PIE induces operant activity as a result of covariance in the form of a feedback relation between the activity and the PIE. A signal (conditional inducer) induces PIE-induced activities as a result of covariance between the PIE and the signal. In an ontological perspective, behavior is a process, and an activity is a process individual. For example, ontological considerations clarify the status of delay and probability discounting. A true natural science of behavior is possible.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2018 · doi:10.1002/jeab.476