Limits to Action
The Allocation of Individual Behavior
Published on 2. October 2013
328 pages
978-1-4832-7654-0 (ISBN)
Description
Limits to Action: The Allocation of Individual Behavior presents the ideas and methods in the study of how individual organisms allocate their limited time and energy and the consequences of such allocation. The book is a survey of individual resource allocation, emphasizing the relationships of the concepts of utility, reinforcement, and Darwinian fitness. The chapters are arranged beginning with plants and general evolutionary considerations, through animal behavior in nature and laboratory, and ending with human behavior in suburb and institution. Topics discussed include operant conditioning; the principle of diminishing returns; and issues in relation to mating strategies. Biologists, sociologists, economists, and psychologists will find the book interesting.
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01/1980
Academic Press
€42.09
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Content
ContentsList of Contributors Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Concepts of Resource Allocation and Partitioning in Plants Resource Allocation within the Plant Resource Partitioning among Species and Individuals References Chapter 2 On Uncertainty and the Law of Diminishing Returns in Evolution and Behavior The Diminishing Value of Behavior Uncertainty and Diversification The Role of Diminishing Value Uncertainty in Pollination Biology and Plant Life Histories Uncertainty and the Evolutionary Ethological Gamble Concluding Remarks References Chapter 3 On the Evolution of Alternative Mating Strategies Mating Strategies and the Concept of Stability The Models Discussion Appendix References Chapter 4 Optimality Analyses of Operant Behavior and Their Relation to Optimal Foraging Optimal Choice and Allocation of Behavior to Patches Optimal Choice and Functional Response Conclusion Appendix Glossary of Symbols References Chapter 5 Melioration and Behavioral Allocation Concurrent Variable-Ratio-Variable-Ratio (cone VR-VR) Concurrent Variable Interval-Variable Ratio Interdependent Concurrent Schedules Melioration Conclusion Appendix References Chapter 6 Behavioral Resilience and Its Relation to Demand Functions The Animal's Internal State The Optimality Criterion The Optimal Behavior When Constrained Resilience and Elasticity of Demand Elasticity and the Availability of "Substitutes" Behavior and Acclimatization Discussion Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III Appendix IV References Chapter 7 Economics and Behavioral Psychology Rational and Irrational Behavior Psychological Economics Empirical Economics Experimental Economics Maximization Cognitive Economics (Decision Theory) Is Behavioral Economics Worth Developing? Appendix : Explanation of Terms References Chapter 8 Consumer Demand Theory Applied to Choice Behavior of Rats Commodity Choice Theory Experimental Procedures Results of Income-Compensated Price Changes Results of Income-Constant Price Changes Conclusions References Chapter 9 Behavioral Economics, Token Economies, and Applied Behavior Analysis Commonalities between Token Economies and National Economies:Income, Consumption, and Savings The Use of Token Economies as Economics Laboratories Applied Benefits of Using Token Economies as Economics Laboratories Field Experiments Combining Applied Behavior Analysis and Economies References Index
