Behavioral momentum is a theory in quantitative analysis of behavior and is a behavioral metaphor based on physical momentum. It describes the general relation between resistance to change (persistence of behavior) and the rate of reinforcement obtained in a given situation.
B. F. Skinner (1938) proposed that all behavior is based on a fundamental unit of behavior called the discriminated operant. The discriminated operant, also known as the three-term contingency, has three components: an antecedent discriminative stimulus, a response, and a reinforcing or punishing consequence. The organism responds in the presence of the stimulus because past responses in the presence of that stimulus have produced reinforcement.