Associate Professor of Psychology 

Dr. McDevitt’s research interests are in the basic learning processes of operant and Pavlovian conditioning. Some of her current research focuses on behavioral contrast, delayed reinforcement, and how information affects the optimality of choice behavior.

Contact Dr. McDevitt if you would like more information about research opportunities in the McDaniel College animal laboratory.

Courses

• Introduction to Psychology
• Psychology of Learning
• Behavior Modification
• Radical Behaviorism
• Psychology of Women

Publications

• McDevitt, M. A., & Bell, M. C.  (in press).  Discrete-Trial vs. Continuous Free-Operant Procedures in Assessing Whether Reinforcement Context Affects Reinforcement Value.  Behavioural Processes.
• McDevitt, M. A. (2007).  The Surprising Influence of Delayed Primary Reinforcement on Choice.  The Behavior Analyst Today, 8, 89-102.
• Bell, M. C., McDevitt, M. A., & Goldenberg, M. (2007).  The Influence of ITI Food on Extinction and Devaluation in Chain Schedules.  Journal of General Psychology, 134, 133-151.
• McDevitt, M.A. & Williams, B. A. (2003).  Arousal, Changeover Responses, and Preference in Concurrent Schedules.  Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 80, 261-272.
• Williams, B. A., & McDevitt, M. A. (2002)  Inhibition and superconditioning.  Psychological Science, 13, 454-459.
• Williams, B. A. & McDevitt, M. A.  (2001)  Competing determinants of stimulus value in anticipatory contrast.  Animal Learning & Behavior.  29, 302-310.
• McDevitt, M. A. & Williams, B. A., (2001).  Effects of signaled versus unsignaled delay of reinforcement on choice.  Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 75, 165-182.
• Williams, B. A., & McDevitt, M. A., (2001).  Testing the comparator theory account of probability of reinforcement in Pavlovian conditioning.  Learning and Motivation, 32, 115-127.
• McDevitt, M. A., Spetch, M. L., & Dunn, R. (1997). Contiguity and conditioned reinforcement in probabilistic choice.  Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 68, 317-327.
• McDevitt, M. A., & Fantino, E. (1996). Visual stimulus compounding with pigeons.  Behavioural Processes, 38, 265-275.
• McDevitt, M. A., & Fantino, E. (1993). Establishing operations and the discriminative stimulus.  The Behavior Analyst, 16, 225-227.