SABA Experimental Fellowship Recipients
2009: Patrick Johnson, University of Kansas
Patrick Johnson became interested in behavior analysis as an undergraduate at the University of Florida, where he received his B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Anthropology. Working under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Hackenberg and his graduate student colleagues, Patrick completed an honors thesis investigating human risky choice for video clip reinforcers viewable after fixed and mixed delays. This study closely approximated nonhuman methods of studying choice and results indicated risk-prone choice like that observed in other species. From these initial experiences, Patrick developed an appreciation for the role of basic research in our understanding of human behavior.
Upon graduating, Patrick entered the Applied Behavioral Science doctoral program at the University of Kansas, where he continues to pursue his research and teaching interests as a junior colleague to Dr. Gregory Madden. Patrick’s research interests at KU focus broadly on nonhuman decision-making processes. A primary line of research is inspired by recent clinical reports linking the dopaminergic drug pramipexole to emergent impulsive behavior (e.g., pathologic gambling) in Parkinson’s patients prescribed the drug. For his master’s degree project, Patrick studied the effects of pramipexole on rats’ choices for gambling-like behaviors or predictable schedules of reinforcement in an animal model of gambling. He found that pramipexole significantly increased preference for gambling-like outcomes relative to saline when administered under a baseline of low gambling preference. To determine if pramipexole influences other forms of impulsivity (e.g., delay discounting), Patrick is examining drug effects on preference for large versus small reinforcers as delivery of the large reinforcer becomes increasingly delayed within a session.
Patrick is also engaged in an innovative line of behavioral economic research designed to explore conditions under which pigeons are likely to earn and save conditioned reinforcers (buttons on a touch-sensitive monitor) in exchange for food. His current and future studies are aimed at determining whether pigeons will spend conditioned reinforcers on gambling opportunities that probabilistically result in wins of additional conditioned reinforcers.
Upon earning his Ph.D., Patrick hopes to obtain a faculty position that will allow him to continue his research related to decision-making in both humans and nonhumans, as well as teach courses in basic behavior analysis.
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