Behavioral Pharmacology is a specialization of behavioral science that applies the methods and concepts of behavior analysis to explain the behavioral effects of drugs.
– Behavior Analysis is a unique natural science approach to study behavior
– Popularized by B.F. Skinner

Psychopharmacology vs. Behavioral
Pharmacology
– The distinction is not always clear.
– The term “psychopharmacology” was coined a few decades before the science of behavior analysis was developed.
Some people distinguish these specializations based on the accepted methodology to study drug effects. (i.e., a broader range of methods in psychopharmacology.)
Others distinguish them based on emphasis of research questions.
Others don’t distinguish them at all.

Environmental events are emphasized because:
– such variables clearly influence behavior
– they are directly observable
– we have the technology to study them
– they are subject to direct manipulation

What it is:
– a natural science emphasizing effects of environmental variables on behavior
– concerned with behavior in its own right, not as an indication of events at another level of analysis
– a proven practical approach to deal with a wide variety of behavioral problems (including drug use and abuse)

What it is NOT:
– S-R psychology
– unconcerned with mental events (thoughts, emotions)
– unconcerned with genetics, physiology
– dead

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Ivan Pavlov
– Respondent conditioning
– Some of Pavlov’s early work examined drug effects on respondent conditioning.
– This work preceded the formal development of
Behavioral Pharmacology.
John Watson
– Introduced Behaviorism
– First to put forth a strong natural science approach for psychology
– Attempted to explain behavior primarily in terms of respondent conditioning
– Methodological Behaviorism (deals only with publicly observable events)

Philosophical Position Adopted and
Promoted by B.F. Skinner
– conceptualizes behavior as involving both public and private events
– assigns no special status to private events
– Private events (e.g., thoughts, feelings) do not cause overt behavior: they are stimuli that function similar to directly observable stimuli they are difficult to study

Emphasizes
– Antecedents, Responses, Consequences
– Contingencies of Reinforcement
Operant Behavior
– behavior modified by its consequences
Operant Conditioning
– the process of modifying some characteristic of behavior by altering its consequences

Essential features of EAB Research
JEAB (founded in 1958) continues to be an important outlet for EAB research

Main Assumptions
– Behavior is important in its own right.
– An intensive study of a few subjects is a fruitful research strategy.
– Graphic analysis of data is desirable.
– Direct and repeated measures are invaluable.
– Variable data are best dealt with by isolating and controlling responsible extraneous variables.
– Studies of nonhuman subjects under controlled experimental conditions can be of great value to understand variables that control human behavior.

Historical Landmarks in Behavioral Pharmacology

Behavioral Loci
– what aspects of behavior are altered by the drug
(e.g., reaction time)
Behavioral Mechanisms of Action
– the stimulus functions of the drug; the effects of the drug on the capacity of other stimuli to control behavior
Variables that Modulate Drug’s Behavioral
Effects
– e.g., other stimuli, alternative reinforcers etc…