Commit Heresy: Stop Using "Contingency"

Alan Poling; Anita Li

doi:10.1007/s40617-019-00354-5

Commit Heresy: Stop Using "Contingency"

Behav Anal Pract. 2019 Apr 30;13(1):226-231. doi: 10.1007/s40617-019-00354-5. eCollection 2020 Mar.

Authors

Alan Poling¹, Anita Li¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008 USA.

Abstract

The term "contingency" has long been widely used by behavior analysts, but their uses of the term are inconsistent with the vernacular definition of the term. Moreover, the term is not consistently defined by behavior analysts, but is instead used to refer to a variety of relations between and among stimuli and responses. In the interest of reducing jargon and potential confusion, we argue that behavior analysts should stop using "contingency" and related terms.

Keywords: Contingency; Jargon; Public perception; Terminology.