ABSTRACT
John A. (Tony) Nevin studied engineering at Yale and received a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia. He recently retired from the University of New Hampshire and now does a bit of sailing. He has combined his two disciplines and developed an analysis of operant behavior he calls behavioral momentum (Nevin, 1992). The concept of momentum derives from a combination of response rate, as generated by schedules of reinforcement, and the behavioral dynamic of resistance to change, both of which are important dimensions of operant behavior and analogous to velocity and mass in physics. When response rate, corresponding to velocity, is steady under constant conditions, the fact that it is difficult to change even when the schedule is changed indicates a certain amount of momentum. Behavior that is resistant to change in the presence of stimulus conditions that were present during reinforcement corresponds to the concept of mass. So, behavioral momentum refers to behavior persisting in the presence of a particular stimulus despite disruptive factors. The response rate declines more slowly relative to its baseline level, in the presene of a signal for high-density reinforcement than in the presence of a signal for low-density reinforcement (Shull, Gaynor, & Grimer, 2002). If you are working at the computer, and you keep working even though you are called to dinner, that is an example of behavioral momentum. Also, if you have a tendency to do some specific activity, despite alternative sources of reinforcement, that too shows behavioral momentum.
