The Power of Reinforcement

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book would not have been possible without the support and help of my parents, Glenda Christine Flora and Joseph Martin Flora. Although that may sound like a cliche, as the introduction reveals, in this case the cliche holds true. Additionally, my mother served as the reader and editor of the first draft and other early drafts. After each convenient breaking point I mailed the work to her in North Carolina. Ever the outstanding English composition teacher, soon she returned the work marked with writing and grammatical corrections and other suggestions for improvement. Often she or my father included useful articles and references about the material that contributed to the richness of the work. My father offered several kind suggestions to make the work less polemic yet still remain convincing. My parents’ steady support and encouragement was invaluable. I have been fortunate to have numerous outstanding teachers (too numerous to give them all proper credit) that have been instrumental in shaping my academic accomplishments, including this book. Specifically, my major professor at the University of Georgia, William B. Pavlik, not only gave me stimulating experimental problems to work on (e.g., “rule governed behavior and reinforcement”) and opened his laboratory to me, but he also opened his office and home to me. Taking turns at the keyboard , I learned to write concisely in Dr. Pavlik’s basement. His guidance, early collaboration, and warmth set me down the path that led to this work. The first seed of this book may have been sown as an undergraduate in Dr. David Eckerman’s advanced learning course at the University of North Carolina. For my term paper in Dr. Eckerman’s class I attempted to explain the material of my social psychology class in terms of basic learnvii ing and reinforcement processes. Dr. Eckerman has remained a touchstone for me over the years and has been highly supportive of my work. Philosopher Bruce Waller was kind enough to be one of the first readers of a completed part 1. Although I had requested a harsh critical reading and marking, his feedback consisted almost exclusively of reinforcing comments. Although I did not realize it until I got it, his reinforcing support was exactly what I needed to press on and his tips lightened the load. Likewise, Molly Burdette was a supportive early reader of many parts of the book. In fact, James “Bubskiluv” and Molly Burdette kindly let their family (Brendan, Katie, Colin, Brigid) become my surrogate family during the largely solitary endeavor of writing this book. They let me in the back door, fed me, and like a stray dog I never left. Attendance at the yearly meetings of the Winter Conference on Animal Learning (first suggested by Dr. Pavlik) and the Association for Behavior Analysis have become invaluable as sources of inspiration and information. Already familiar with his work, at an early meeting of the Winter Conference I was fortunate to meet Professor Robert Eisenberger. Since that meeting he and his work have remained an inspiration. In fact Eisenberger’s work forms the basis for much of this book. Robert Eisenberger has kept me involved in the area, provided me with any information or material I needed and is an untiring source of support and kindness. Other constant supporters during the sometimes dark and stormy seas of my life during the writing of this book who deserve acknowledgment include Robert Morgan, Coreena Casey, Jane Kestner, Paul Weisbecker, and again my parents. Although I have had great editorial, grammatical, and spelling support , given my atrocious spelling and grammar skills, no one could be expected to catch all my errors. I am solely responsible for all errors that remain. I understand that the final tasks of an author before a book ends up in a reader’s hands is the proofreading of the page proofs and the compilation of the indexes. These tasks would have been brutally tedious, solitary , and frustrating for me, but Sarah Holowach’s assistance made the work humorous and fun. Thank you all. viii THE POWER OF REINFORCEMENT ...