Integrating basic and applied research and the utility of Lattal and Perone's Handbook of research methods in human operant behavior.

Schmitt (2000) is a short editorial. It tells readers to open the Lattal & Perone handbook. It also lists older JABA papers that used human lab methods.

The goal is to help applied workers steal tricks from basic operant work.

The paper finds that useful procedures already sit on the shelf. You just need to look.

It says the handbook plus past JABA articles give clear, ready-to-copy setups.

Gold (1993) made the same plea earlier. It told readers to mine JEAB articles instead of a handbook. Schmitt (2000) keeps the idea but swaps in a book and JABA examples.

Mace (1994) drew a three-step chain: animal lab, human lab, then real setting. Schmitt (2000) fits step two. It shows the human lab part is already inside JABA.

Ingvarsson et al. (2023) picks up the baton decades later. It reviews response-independent schedules and warns that some effects may not be operant. This extends R’s call by adding a caution: test mechanism, don’t just copy.

You can save hours by borrowing well-tested lab layouts. Flip through the handbook or the old JABA papers R lists. Pick a schedule, a token method, or a choice setup. Plug it into your next assessment or intervention. You get tighter control and new ideas without reinventing the wheel.