Abstract
Much recent research on superstitious behavior involves a procedure in which an instrumental response is pretrained and its rate of occurrence later recorded during a schedule of nonresponse-contingent reinforcement. It is argued that because this procedure fails to take into account the variety of alternative behaviors which might simultaneously be maintained by adventitious reinforcement, the data derived from such research cannot provide best evidence, whether positive or negative, for the general notion of superstitious behavior. The direct observational procedure originally employed by Skinner (1948) is proposed as being necessary for a more sensitive analysis of superstitious behavior.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Brown, P. L., & Jenkins, H. M. Auto-shaping of the pigeon’s key-peck. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1968, 11, 1–8.
Davis, H., & Hubbard, J. An analysis of superstitious behavior in the rat. Behaviour, 1972, 43, 1–12.
Herrnstein, R. J. Superstition: A corollary of the principles of operant conditioning. In W. K. Honig (Ed.), Operant behavior: Areas of research and applications. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1966.
Hodos, W., Ross, G. S., & Brady, J. V. Complex response patterns during temporally spaced responding. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1962, 5, 473–479.
Laties, V. C., Weiss, B., Clark, R. L., & Reynolds, M. D. Overt “mediating” behavior during temporally spaced responding. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1965, 8, 107–116.
Morse, W. H., & Skinner, B. F. A second type of superstition in the pigeon. American Journal of Psychology, 1957, 70, 308–311.
Neuringer, A. J. Superstitious key pecking after three peck-produced reinforcements. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1970, 13, 127–134.
Rescorla, R. A. Pavlovian conditioning and its proper control procedures. Psychological Review, 1967, 74, 71–80.
Rescorla, R. A., & Skucy, J. C. Effect of response-independent reinforcers during extinction. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 1969, 67, 381–389.
Skinner, B. F. “Superstition” in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1948, 38, 168–172.
Staddon, J. E. R., & Simmelhag, V. The “superstition” experiment: A reexamination of its implications for the principles of adaptive behavior. Psychological Review, 1971, 78, 3–43.
Zeiler, M. D. Fixed and variable schedules of response-independent reinforcement. Journal of then Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1968, 11, 405–414.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Davis, H., Hubbard, J. & Reberg, D. A methodological critique of research on “superstitious” behavior. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 1, 447–449 (1973). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334404
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334404