In the behavioral sciences, a popular approach to describe and predict behavior is cognitive modeling with adjustable parameters (i.e., which can be fitted to data). Modeling with adjustable parameters allows, among other things, measuring differences between people. At the same time, parameter estimation also bears the risk of overfitting. Are…

The experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) is in trouble. Financial support for basic operant-conditioning research is difficult to obtain; teaching and research positions in colleges and universities are few; and bright undergraduates join other fields for graduate study. One reason for the difficulty is that EAB basic research does not focus…

Context: To understand and appropriately implement competency-based education (CBE) to its fullest potential in professional programs, an investigation of its evolution is required. Objective: To reveal the development of the CBE approach now dominating many professional programs in higher education, including Athletic Training Education Programs…

The gap between scientific knowledge and real world practice continues to be a major conundrum for the behavioral sciences. This paper briefly reviews the development of behavioral research and describes problems that have arisen in meeting the goal of improving behavioral interventions through science. Based on published literature and personal…

Explains how sociobiology can contribute to understanding of human behavior. Maintains that although sociobiology is not an exact paradigm of human behavior, it is more relevant than any other paradigm offered by the social sciences. (Author/DB)

This report describes the design of a Policy Research Center (PRC) for the U.S. Office of Education. The PRC was conceived as a place to produce information and to develop systematic ways of understanding complex processes that would help educational policy planners (1) make better decisions about current problems, (2) anticipate the future, and…