Psychology
Timothy Hackenberg
Professor of Psychology
Behavior analysis, comparative cognition, behavioral economics
Curriculum Vitae
Learning & Adaptive Behavior Laboratory
Contact Information
Psychology Department
Reed College
3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.
Portland, OR 97202
hack@reed.edu
(503) 459-4623
Education and Professional Positions
1982, B.A., Psychology, University of California—Irvine
1987, Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, Temple University
1988-90, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota
1990-2009, Assistant, Associate, Full Professor, University of Florida
2009-present, Professor, Reed College
Recent Projects and Positions
Associate Editor, Handbook of Behavior Analysis, to be published by APA Books, 2012.
Guest Editor, Special Issue on Behavioral Economics, to be published by the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2012.
Science Board Director, Association for Behavior Analysis International, 2008-2011.
Conference Chair, Behavioral Economics: From Demand Curves to Public Policy, Chicago, March 2011.
Principal Investigator, NIH Grant: Behavioral Economics in a Laboratory-Based Token Economy, 2010-2015.
Teaching
I teach courses in learning and comparative cognition; or, how evolution and life experience combine to produce psychological process, including remembering, problem solving, decision making, categorizing, symbolic and relational learning, and communicating. I take a strong comparative and evolutionary approach, trying to understand general principles of adaptive behavior that cut across species and habitats, while at the same time, appreciating the unique adaptations of a given animal in its world. (Follow link to course desciption for additional details.)
PSY 373 Learning
PSY 330 Comparative Cognition
PSY 415 Research Methods in Learning & Comparative Psychology
Research
Work in my lab is concerned broadly with cross-species analysis of adaptive behavior. One line of research centers on adaptive decision making, including self-control and risky choice. A second line of research concerns comparative cognition, exploring the cross-species generality of complex behavior, including self-awareness, counting, symbolic behavior, and problem solving. A third line of research centers on behavioral economics, aimed at characterizing relationships between economic behavior (demand, substitution, savings, preference) and economic variables (prices, wages, taxes, interest, framing). In addition to these empirical pursuits, I am also interested in the history and philosophy of science; in particular, how psychological principles can help us to understand science as a social process.
Visit the Learning & Adaptive Behavior Laboratory website
Recent Publications
See CV for complete publications list [PDF]
Lagorio, C. H., & Hackenberg, T. D. (2010). Risky choice in pigeons and humans: A cross-species comparison. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 93, 27-44.
Hackenberg, T. D. (2009). Token reinforcement: A review and analysis. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 91, 257-286.
Hackenberg, T. D. (2009). Realism without Truth: A review of Giere’s Science without Laws and Scientific Perspectivism. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. 91, 391-402.
Locey, M., Pietras, C. J., & Hackenberg, T. D. (2009). Human risky choice: Delay sensitivity depends on reinforcer type. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 35, 15-22.
Kangas, B. D., Berry, M. S., Cassidy, R. N., Dallery, J., Vaidya, M., & Hackenberg, T. D. (2009). Concurrent performance in a three-alternative choice situation: Response allocation in a Rock/Paper/Scissors game. Behavioural Processes, 82, 164-172.