Abstract
The application of the matching law has historically been limited to use as a quantitative measurement tool in the experimental analysis of behavior to describe temporally extended patterns of behavior-environment relations. In recent years, however, applications of the matching law have been translated to clinical settings and populations to gain a better understanding of how naturally-occurring events affect socially important behaviors. This tutorial provides a brief background of the conceptual foundations of matching, an overview of the various matching equations that have been used in research, and a description of how to interpret the data derived from these equations in the context of numerous examples of matching analyses conducted with socially important behavior. An appendix of resources is provided to direct readers to primary sources, as well as useful articles and books on the topic.
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We thank the inquisitive students of ABSC 509 for challenging us to better explain the matching law. Our drive to instruct them on this topic influenced the content of this manuscript. We acknowledge John Borrero and the anonymous reviewers for their feedback on previous drafts of this manuscript.
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Reed, D.D., Kaplan, B.A. The Matching Law: A Tutorial for Practitioners. Behav Analysis Practice 4, 15–24 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391780
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391780