Drive-reduction theory is an explanation for motivation that focuses on maintaining homeostasis, or a sense of equilibrium.

This theory was developed by psychologist Clark Hull and suggests that imbalances, such as being over- or under-aroused, create needs. As a result, we experience drives to fulfill these needs in order to return to a state of balance. Examples include thirst and hunger. Since these states are unpleasant, we seek to satisfy the drive by fulfilling the need. In other words, when we are thirsty, we drink; when we are hungry, we eat. Hull also believed that reducing these drives serves to reinforce the behavior. As a result, we are more likely to engage in the behavior again in the future.

Two-factor learning theory is re-examined in the light of research on secondary reinforcement and the proprioceptive control of behavior. The result is a modification of the position which makes it more compatible with field-type theories than before. The concept of habit is given a new meaning which makes it more like positive feedback than a motive-behavior bond. The article concludes with some criticisms of the position and possible resolutions of them
A contiguity is a continuous mass, or a series of things in contact or in proximity. In a different meaning, [1] contiguity is the state of being contiguous. The concept was first set out in the Law of Contiguity (one of Aristotle's Laws of Association) which states that things that occur near each other in time or space are readily associated.

Biology[edit source | editbeta]

A cluster of genes which are close to one another at a chromosome locus are called contiguous. Contiguous gene disorders result from deletions or duplications of a chromosome segment that cause a contiguous gene imbalance. Also, Contiguity refers to the way Taxonomy is ordered and formed after Charles Darwin wrote Theory of the Origins of Species in 1859. Before then, scientists used a more strict taxonomy based upon an organism's locomotion and mobility. Now science bases taxonomy on contiguity, tracking changes in an organism's anatomy over eons to show contiguous shaping over time.

Computer science[edit source | editbeta]

Memory elements are contiguous if adjacent and apparently connected (but they may, in fact, be disconnected). A computer file or other data stored on a mass storage system, particularly hard diskbased, is said to be contiguoussometimes, ungrammatically, to be composed of one fragmentif the file data is in one continuous region without intervening extraneous data. A non-contiguous file is said to befragmented, and can usually be defragmented with a software utility.

Geography[edit source | editbeta]

Political or geographical land divisions that, as a group, are not interrupted by other land or water is contiguous. In the United States, for example, the "48 contiguous states" excludes Hawaii and Alaska, [2] which do not share borders with other U.S. states.

Two or more contiguous municipalities can be consolidated into one, or one municipality can consist of many noncontiguous elements. For example, the Financially Distressed Municipalities Act allows the commonwealth of Pennsylvania to merge contiguous municipalities to reduce financial distress. Geographic contiguity is important in biology, especially animal ranges. For a particular species, its habitat may be a 'contiguous range', or it might be broken, requiring periodic, typically seasonal migrations; (see: Disjunct distribution). The same concept of contiguous range is true for human [3] transportation studies in an attempt to understand census geography. It also comes into play with [4] electoral geography and politics.

Interaction design
Contiguous data is recognized by the fact that it must be in a particular order to keep its meaning. If you [5] scramble letters or words in a text, meaning is lost.

Management
The concept of close operational context is an approach to determine the co-operation of entities, e.g. persons or persons with equipment, to monitor the usage of equipment just by an fuzzy metrics for lateral distance, as else the events of coooperation or, in healthcare, especially the events of service by staff to [6] patients.

Mathematics
The ideas of closeness are inherent in the concept of a contiguity space or proximity space. See also Law of Continuity. In addition, the Law of Continuity can be applied to conceptual computational abstract ideas.

Philosophy
Philosophers speak of contiguity when they assume two events or objects lying directly side by side in [7] space and time without being connected by causality or any other principle.

Physics
Contiguity is a metallurgical property used to characterize microstructure of materials. It is computed by finding the ratio of solidsolid length to the sum of solidsolid and solidliquid length of the microstructure.

Probability theory
The contiguity of a pair of sequences of probability measures is a property that relates to the commonality of the sets that have zero measure as the index in the sequence increases. Social learning theory is a perspective that states that people learn within a social context. It is [1] facilitated through concepts such as modeling and observational learning. People, especially children, learn from the environment and seek acceptance from society by learning through influential models. Social learning theory is a perspective that states that social behavior (any type of behavior that we display socially) is learned primarily by observing and imitating the actions of others. The social behavior is also influenced by being rewarded and/or punished for these actions.