Reinforcement Is Not Enough: Learned Expectancies and Infant Behavior

Comments that J. L. Gewirtz and M. Peláez-Nogueras (see record 1993-12989-001) should be congratulated for reminding infant researchers of the methodological and conceptual debt owed to B. F. Skinner and for highlighting the contributions that behavior analysis offers for an understanding of infant behavior and development. It is contended that the concept of reinforcement, although a powerful process in infant behavior and development, is incapable of explaining many of the findings of infant researchers, including those who rely on operant conditioning as their paradigm of choice. The concept of expectancy is suggested as an adjunct to reinforcement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)