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Bono RS, White AM, Hoetger C, Lipato T, Bickel WK, Cobb CO, Barnes AJ. Expanding on cross-price elasticity: Understanding tobacco product demand and substitution from the cross-price purchase task. J Exp Anal Behav 2024; 121:175-188. [PMID: 37988256 PMCID: PMC10947944 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
We examine whether cigarettes serve as substitutes for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) among ENDS users and demonstrate methodological extensions of data from a cross-price purchase task to inform policies and interventions. During a clinical laboratory study, n = 19 exclusive ENDS users and n = 17 dual cigarette/ENDS users completed a cross-price purchase task with cigarettes available at a fixed price while prices of own-brand ENDS increased. We estimated cross-price elasticity using linear models to examine substitutability. We defined five additional outcomes: nonzero cross-price intensity (purchasing cigarettes if ENDS were free), constant null demand (not purchasing cigarettes at any ENDS price), cross-product crossover point (first price where participants purchased more cigarettes than ENDS), dual-demand score (percentage of prices where both products were purchased), and dual-use break point (minimum relative price to force complete substitution). The cross-price elasticity results indicated that cigarettes could serve as substitutes for ENDS among ENDS users on average, but this average effect masked substantial heterogeneity in profiles of demand (here, a measure of the drug's reinforcement potential). Policies and regulations that increase ENDS prices appear unlikely to steer most exclusive ENDS users toward cigarette use, as most would not purchase cigarettes at any ENDS price, but they could prompt some dual users to substitute cigarettes completely while others remain dual users. This heterogeneity in consumer responses suggests additional indices of cross-product demand are useful to characterize the anticipated and unanticipated effects of tobacco price policies more fully.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose S. Bono
- Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
- Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Population Health, Richmond VA, USA
| | - Augustus M. White
- Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
- Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Population Health, Richmond VA, USA
| | - Cosima Hoetger
- Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
- Institute for Integrative Health Care and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health/School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten, Germany
| | - Thokozeni Lipato
- Department of Internal Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond VA, USA
| | - Warren K. Bickel
- Addiction Recovery Research Center, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke VA, USA
| | - Caroline O. Cobb
- Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
| | - Andrew J. Barnes
- Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
- Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Population Health, Richmond VA, USA
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Gilroy SP. Interpretation(s) of essential value in operant demand. J Exp Anal Behav 2023; 119:554-564. [PMID: 36976960 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
The operant demand framework has achieved high levels of adoption as an approach to quantify how various ecological factors influence choice. A central goal of the framework proposed by Hursh and Silberburg (2008) was to isolate the "essential value" of reinforcers-namely, their effects on behavior given various contextual factors. The effect of reinforcers on behavior is a phenomenon that is expected to vary as a function of reinforcer magnitude/dosage (i.e., units of reinforcement), price (i.e., schedule requirements), the intensity of demand (i.e., consumption in free operant conditions), the availability of reinforcers (i.e., supply, presence of alternatives), and the individual's current and historical context. This technical report provides a historical summary of the concept, describes the quantitative basis for essential value in the framework of Hursh and Silberburg (2008), reviews prior attempts to extract a generalizable index of essential value, and presents a newer formulation using exact solution that provides a more succinct and durable index. Proofs and solutions are provided to clarify the bases for novel and existing representations of essential value. Recommendations are provided to improve the precision and accuracy of behavioral economic metrics as well as support consensus regarding their interpretation in the operant demand framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn P Gilroy
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
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Hayashi Y, Fisher NM, Hantula DA, Furman L, Washio Y. A behavioral economic demand analysis of mothers' decision to exclusively breastfeed in the workplace. J Exp Anal Behav 2022; 118:132-147. [PMID: 35607847 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The present study determined whether behavioral economic demand analysis could characterize mothers' decision to exclusively breastfeed in the workplace. Females, aged between 18 and 50 who have given birth in the past three years, completed a novel demand task with hypothetical scenarios, in which they returned to work with a 2-month-old baby. Participants rated their likelihood of breastfeeding their baby at a workplace lactation room versus formula-feeding their baby at their desk. The distance to the lactation room ranged from 10 s to 60 min. This assessment was conducted with and without hypothetical financial incentives for 6-month exclusive breastfeeding. Primary dependent measures were demand intensity and change in demand elasticity, which could conceptually represent initiation and continuation of breastfeeding, respectively. Demand for breastfeeding was more intense and less elastic (i.e., more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding) among mothers with an experience of 6-month exclusive breastfeeding and under the condition with the financial incentives. The novel demand task can potentially provide a useful behavioral marker for quantifying mothers' decision to initiate and continue exclusive breastfeeding in the workplace, informing workplace policy regarding lactation rooms, identifying risk for early cessation, and developing and individualizing an intervention to assist mothers to exclusively breastfeed in the workplace.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Hayashi
- Division of Social Sciences and Education, Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton
| | - Nicole M Fisher
- Division of Social Sciences and Education, Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton
| | | | - Lydia Furman
- Department of Pediatrics, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
| | - Yukiko Washio
- Substance Use, Gender and Applied Research, RTI International.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine
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Gilroy SP, Picardo R. Applications of operant demand to treatment selection III: Consumer behavior analysis of treatment choice. J Exp Anal Behav 2022; 118:46-58. [PMID: 35416300 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Behavior analysts and psychologists advocate for the use of therapies and strategies based on credible, scientific evidence. Researchers and clinicians regularly advocate for Evidence-based Practices (EBPs) over questionable "alternatives" because caregivers seldom choose interventions based on scientific evidence alone. This study applied methods and concepts from Consumer Behavior Analysis to conduct a reinforcer-based evaluation of the consequences that influence treatment choices. Hypothetical Treatment Purchase Tasks (HTPTs) were designed to evaluate how utilitarian (UR; i.e., the efficacy of treatment) and informational sources of reinforcement (IR; i.e., community support for treatment) jointly influence treatment-related choices. A total of 104 caregivers were recruited using the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) framework to complete two HTPTs. Results indicated that caregivers overall favored treatments with greater IR over those with greater UR, suggesting that indirect contingencies for treatment choices exerted greater overall influence than the direct contingencies of treatment choices (i.e., efficacy). This finding extends the literature on treatment choice by providing a reinforcer-based perspective on why 'fad', questionable, and pseudoscientific practices can achieve and maintain high levels of adoption by caregivers. This work concludes with a discussion of Consumer Behavior Analysis and how reinforcer-based interpretations of choice can be used to improve efforts to support and advocate for evidence-based child behavior treatments.
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