ABSTRACT
The rule describing the dessert contingency specified the SD (any time before dinner), the response (a bowel movement), and the outcome (dinner dessert). True, often the delayed delivery of reinforcers does influence or control the people actions. The behavior occurs not just because of the contingency but because someone has stated the rule. Throughout the book, the authors have discussed several basic behavioral procedures, procedures that involve direct-acting contingencies—for example, the procedure of reinforcement by the presentation of reinforcers. True, a contingency that is not direct acting can’t reinforce a response; yet a rule describing such a contingency might control the relevant response, especially if it’s an analog to discriminated avoidance, like Todd’s dessert contingency. However, even when the rule is what controls the behavior, the analog contingency might influence the extent to which the rule controls the behavior.
