Abstract
Behavior-analytic terminology concerning the so-called inhibitory effect of operant antecedents lacks precision. The present paper describes the problem with current nomenclature concerning the effects of antecedent events that reduce operant responding and offers a solution to this problem. The solution consists of adopting a new term, abative, for the effect in question. This paper suggests that the new term has several advantages over terms currently used and that adopting this term will yield a variety of practical and theoretical benefits, including, but not limited to, a more consistent vocabulary to describe antecedent—behavior relations.
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Laraway, S., Snycerski, S., Michael, J. et al. The Abative Effect: A New Term to Describe the Action of Antecedents that Reduce Operant Responding. Analysis Verbal Behav 18, 101–104 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392974
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392974