Nevin, J.A. (2008).
Control, prediction, order, and the joys of research.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 89, 119-123.
JEAB’s first decade featured control of individual behavior by operant contingencies, where the experimenter
could interact with a subject in real time and obtain fairly immediate evidence of control, with the possibility
of direct extension to applied settings. In subsequent decades, emphasis shifted toward long-term parametric
studies with quantitative analyses of individual and group data. As a result, the reinforcers for the
experimenter shifted from controlling behavior to uncovering and describing order, often using mathematical
expressions. The same sorts of reinforcers are available for quantitative descriptions of aggregate behavioral
data that may inform public policy.
Key words: order, quantification, model of war duration