| Sumario: | When an organism acquired a discrimination, behavioral contrast, and peak shift were demonstrated as consequences (by-products) of that process. Goldstein, Jackson & Mischey (1974) stated that distal shift was distinct from, but related to, behavioral contrast and peak shift. Distal shift was defined as an avoidance response characterized by a spatial change in preference for an area of reinforcement situated away from an area of nonreinforcement. Specifically, in a three-choice discrimination learning paradigm (e.g., S- S+ S+), where S- represented nonreinforcement and the two S+s represented reinforcement, distal shift was demonstrated by significant responding to the S+ farthest from S-. Their research also demonstrated that errorless discrimination learning prevented the formation of distal shift; just as it did behavioral contrast and peak shift. Although distal shift research has been investigated primarily in animal studies, Agostino (1975) examined distal shift in a cognitive task using elementary school students. Distal shift presented as an intriguing area of study; however, there is a paucity of research in this area. The necessary and sufficient conditions for distal shift are not fully understood and should continue to be investigated.
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