Is Matching Law "BS". An Analysis of the Real World Applicability of Matching Law belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter case conceptualization, intervention design, staff training, and literature-informed problem solving.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan
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Join Free →During my 2020 BAAM presentation I made an offhanded comment that Matching Law was BS. While I meant this as a bit of an exaggeration to get the audience's attention, I had several attendees ask for more information on the shortcomings of a principle they had always accepted as fact. I had intended on presenting this the following year but the pandemic shut us down a couple weeks later. The purpose of this presentation is not really to discuss whether Herrnstein's Matching relation is a worthwhile and proven principle in our field (though there is some discord due to other labs failing to replicate his results), but rather to discuss if it is appropriate to attribute patterns of behavior to the Matching Law when there are other variables involved that may account for these patterns (fluctuations in motiving operations, competing contingencies, lack of clear parameters for undermatching and overmatching, etc.).
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
Dr. Steven P. Sparks received his Masters in Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University in 2012 under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Malott, and completed his Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis at Western Michigan University in 2016 under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Van Stratton. Dr. Sparks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with the doctoral designation, a licensed behavior analyst, and has years of experience in early childhood intervention for autism, the assessment and treatment of severe aberrant behavior, parent training, and consulting in inpatient, outpatient, school, and organizational settings. Dr. Sparks’ research interests include the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, verbal behavior, and the theoretical and conceptual analysis of behavior. Dr. Sparks began consulting on severe problem behavior for community mental health agencies in the State of Michigan in 2012 and started Sparks Behavioral Services LLC. in 2016, H.O.M.E.S. Residential Care in the Spring of 2024, and cooperantlearning,com in the Fall of 2024.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.