George B. Kish and his contributions for Sensory Reinforcement

Abstract

George B. Kish conducted some of the pioneer studies on sensory reinforcement during the fifties and the sixties. The experiments performed by Kish constitute an important part of the demonstration that sensory stimulation may serve as a reinforcer of a wide variety of behaviors, across a wide variety of contexts. Kish compiled the existing evidence of the reinforcing function of sensory stimulation, and proposed the term sensory reinforcement to refer to this phenomenon. The present paper constitutes a historical outline of George B. Kish, focused on his work on sensory reinforcement. The importance of the concept of sensory reinforcement for the experimental analysis of behavior and applied behavior analysis is discussed.