On trekking to operant frontiers

Abstract

Only recently have psychologists begun to explore systematically the unmapped territory of validating numerous, detailed operant principles in nonclinical human populations. Several concerns question the usefulness of simplistic leverpressing tasks superficially patterned on nonhuman laboratory studies. A realistic uniform laboratory context for responding would help address some of them. Research conducted by my colleagues and me using the Star Trek computer game is proffered as an exemplar. © 1995 Psychonomic Society, Inc.