Are you familiar with the 6 Attitudes of Science? If so, you’ll know one of them is determinism – the belief that everything in our lives happen based on what came before! The principle of the matching law applies really well to this because we make decisions daily based upon the density of reinforcement available to us.
The matching law is sometimes confused with behavioral contrast, but the biggest difference is matching law requires concurrent schedules of reinforcement for two or more behaviors. Behavioral contrast involves two separate schedules of reinforcement across two separate environments for one behavior.
Some people think science is boring and prefer watching sports, but behavioral analysis can merge the two!. Like a study from <citation>, this graphic uses a fun sports example of basketball players and the kinds of shots they take. Statistically, players make two-point shots more often than they make three-point shots. As a result, most players will attempt more two-point shots because they are more likely to make that shot – the rate of reinforcement is higher! Whereas players may not attempt as many three-point shots because the likelihood of success (reinforcer) is lower.
Another example I use frequently involves a student in school who may yell or raise his hand while in the classroom. When the student yells, the teacher reprimands him about every other time. However, when the student raises his hand, the teacher calls upon him about once every six times. If attention is the reinforcer, yelling will occur more often than hand-raising based on the matching law.
If you’re a sports fan, think about the matching law next time you watch a game. You’ll see it in all aspects of sports from football to basketball. If you love traveling, think about the different routes you take. Which one yields more frequent reinforcers? The long, scenic route or the quick, interstate route? The matching law describes our decisions every day!
Brad Winn, BCBA.
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