Loss aversion in behavior analysis

In psychology and behavioral economics it is accepted that “Bad is stronger than Good” (Baumeimser, Bratlavsky, Finkernauer and Vohs, 2001). This tendency for people to dislike losses more than they like equal gains is called Loss aversion (Kahneman, 2011) and is one of the biases the “Behavior Revolution” is concerned with (Thaler and Sunstein, 2009). Why is it then that experiments using concurrent schedules of negative- and positive reinforcement don’t show the superiority of negative reinforcement (e.g. Magoon and Chritsfield, 2008; Ruddle, Bradshaw, Szabadi and Foster, 1982)? This presentation will address the similarities and differences in definitions and experimental procedures in order to shed light on the extent to which one tradition can be informed by the other.