Cooper Powerpoints (All).pdf

Applied Behavior Analysis All Powerpoints

John O. Cooper, Timothy E. Heron, and William L. Heward

Chapter 1: Definition and Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis

Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition

Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved

Basic Characteristic of Science • Systematic approach for seeking & organizing knowledge about the natural world • Purpose • To achieve a thorough understanding of the phenomena under study • ABA – socially important behaviors

• Seeks to discover the real truths (not those held by certain groups, organizations, etc.)



Basic Characteristic of Science • Three different types of investigations provide different levels of understanding: • Description • Prediction • Control

• Each level contributes to the overall knowledge base in a given field



Basic Characteristic of Science • Description • Collection of facts about observed events that can be quantified, classified, & examined for possible relations with other know facts • Often suggests hypotheses or questions for additional research



Basic Characteristic of Science • Prediction • Relative probability that when one event occurs, another event will or will not occur • Based on repeated observation revealing relationships between various events • Demonstrates correlation between events • No causal relationships can be interpreted • Enables preparation



Basic Characteristic of Science • Control • Highest level of scientific understanding • Functional relations can be derived • Specific change in one event (dependent variable)…. • Can reliably be produced by specific manipulations of another event (independent variable)… • And the change in the dependent variable was unlikely to be the result of other extraneous factors (confounding variables)



Basic Characteristic of Science • Control (continued) • Events can only really be “co-related” • Nearly impossible to factor out all other possible “causes”



Attitudes of Science • Science as a set of attitudes (Skinner, 1953) • Definition of science lies within the behavior of scientists, not the instruments or materials they use • Only known as science due to an overriding idea of “scientific method” • Fundamental assumptions about the nature of events



Attitudes of Science • Scientific attitudes that guide the work of all scientists include: • • • • • •

Determinism Empiricism Experimentation Replication Parsimony Philosophic doubt



Attitudes of Science: Determinism • Assumption upon which science is predicted • Presumption that the universe is a lawful and orderly place in which all phenomena occur as the result of other events • Events do not just occur at will • Events are related in systematic ways



Attitudes of Science: Empiricism • Practice of objective observation of phenomena of interest • What all scientific knowledge is built upon • “Objective” is the key to gaining a better understanding of what is being studied



Attitudes of Science: Experimentation • Basic strategy in most sciences • Experiment: • Controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (dependent variable) under two of more different conditions in which only one factor at a time (independent variable) differs from one condition to another



Attitudes of Science: Replication • The repetition of experiments to determine the reliability and usefulness of findings • Includes the repetition of independent variable conditions within experiments • Method for which mistakes are discovered



Attitudes of Science: Parsimony • The idea that simple, logical explanations must be ruled out, experimentally or conceptually, before more complex or abstract explanations are considered • Help scientists fit findings within the field’s existing knowledge base



Attitudes of Science: Philosophic Doubt • The continuous questioning of the truthfulness and validity of all scientific theory and knowledge • Involves the use of scientific evidence before implementing a new practice, then constantly monitoring the effectiveness of the practice after its implementation



A Definition of Science • Science is… • A systematic approach to the understanding of natural phenomena… • As evidenced by description, and control… • That relies on determinism as its fundamental assumption… • Empiricism as its prime directive… • Experimentation as its basic strategy… • Replication as its necessary requirement for believability… • Parsimony as its conservative value… • And philosophic doubt as its guiding conscience.



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Behavior analysis is comprise of three major branches • Behaviorism • Philosophy of the science of behavior

• Experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) • Basic research

• Applied behavior analysis (ABA) • Development of a technology for improving behavior • Can only be understood in the context of the philosophy & basic research traditions & findings



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Psychology in the early 1900’s was dominated with the study of states of consciousness, images, & other mental processes



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Watson is recognized as moving the field of psychology in a new direction • Argued that subject matter for psychology should be the study of observable behavior, not states of mind or mental processes • Early form of behaviorism known as stimulus-response (S-R) psychology (Watsonian behaviorism) • Created foundation for the study of behavior as a natural science



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • B.F. Skinner’s The Behavior of Organisms (1938/1966) • Formally began the experimental branch of behavior analysis • Summarized his laboratory research from 1930-1937 • Discussed two types of behavior • Respondent • Operant



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Respondent behavior • Reflexive behavior • Ivan Pavlov (1927/1960) • Respondents are elicited (“brought out”) by stimuli that immediately precede them • Antecedent stimulus & response it elicits form a functional unit called a reflex • Involuntary responses • Occur whenever eliciting stimulus is present • S-R model



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Operant behavior • • • •

Behavior is shaped through the consequences that immediately follow it Three term contingency S-R-S model Behaviors that are influenced by stimulus changes that have followed the behavior in the past



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) • Named as a new science by Skinner • Outlined specific methodology for its practice: • The rate or frequency of response is the most common dependent variable • Repeated or continuous measurement is made of carefully defined response classes • Within-subject experimental comparisons are used instead of designs comparing the behavior of experimental & control groups



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) • Specific methodology for its practice (continued): • Visual analysis of graphed data is preferred over statistical inference • A description of functional relations is valued over formal theory testing



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Skinner & colleagues conducted many laboratory experiments between the 1930’s -1950’s • Discovered & verified basic principles of operant behavior • Same principles continue to provide the empirical foundation for behavior analysis today



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • B.F. Skinner • Founder of experimental analysis of behavior • Wrote extensively • Very influential in the guiding practice of the science of behavior & in proposing the application of the principles of behavior to new areas • Walden Two (1948) • Science and Human Behavior (1953) • About Behaviorism (1974)

• Philosophy of science became known as radical behaviorism



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Radical behaviorism • Attempts to explain all behavior, including private behavior (e.g. thinking & feeling)

• Methodological behaviorism • Philosophical position that considers behavioral events that cannot be publicly observed to be outside the realm of the science



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Mentalism • Approach to understanding behavior that assumes that a mental or “inner” dimension exists that differs from a behavioral dimension & that phenomena in this dimension either directly cause or at least mediate some forms of behavior • Relies on hypothetical constructs and explanatory fictions • Dominated Western intellectual thought & most psychological theories (e.g. Descartes, Freud, Piaget)



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Mentalism (continued) • Relies on the premise of explanatory fiction (e.g. “knowledge) • A fictitious variable that often is simply another name for the observed behavior that contributes nothing to an understanding for the variables responsible for developing (or maintaining) the behavior • Circular view of the cause & effect



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Structuralism • Rejects all events that are not operationally defined by objective assessment • Restrict activities to descriptions of behavior • Make no scientific manipulations; do not address causal questions



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Methodological behaviorism • Rejects all events that are not operationally defined by objective assessment • Deny existence of “inner variables” or consider them outside the realm of scientific account • Acknowledge the existence of mental events but do not consider them in the analysis of behavior

• Use scientific manipulations to search for functional relationships between events • Restrictive view since it ignores major areas of importance



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Skinner did not object to cognitive psychology’s concern with thoughts & feelings (i.e. events taking place “inside the skin”) • Referred to these as “private events” • They are behavior to be analyzed with the same conceptual & experimental tools used to analyze publicly observable behavior



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Radical behaviorism (Skinner’s behaviorism) makes three assumptions about the nature of private events • Private events such as thoughts and feelings are behavior • Behavior that takes place within the skin is distinguished from other (“public”) behavior only by its inaccessibility • Private behavior has no special properties & is influenced by (i.e. is a function of) the same kinds of variables as publicly accessible behavior



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Radical behaviorism (Skinner’s behaviorism) • Includes & seeks to understand all human behavior • Far-reaching & thoroughgoing • Dramatic departure from other conceptual systems



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Fuller (1949) • One of the first studies to report the human application of operant behavior • Participant: 18-year-old boy with profound mental retardation • Arm-raising response was conditioned by injecting a small amount of a warm sugar-milk solution into participant’s mouth every time he moved his right arm



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Ayllon & Michael (1959) • “The Psychiatric Nurse as a Behavioral Engineer” • Formed the basis for branch of behavior analysis that would later be called applied behavior analysis (ABA) • Described techniques based on principles of behavior to improve the functioning of chronic psychotic or mentally retarded residents



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • 1960’s • Researchers began to apply principles of behavior in an effort to improve socially important behavior • Techniques for measuring behavior & controlling & manipulating variables were sometimes unavailable, or inappropriate • Little funding was available • No ready outlet for publishing studies • Difficult to communicate findings



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis

• Despite limitations in the 1960’s many applications of behavior principles were made • Application of behavior principles to education is a major area of impact • Provided the foundation for: • • • •

behavioral approaches to curriculum design instructional methods classroom management generalization and maintenance of learning



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • 1960’s & 1970’s • Many new university programs were developed in applied behavior analysis • Teaching & research conducted in these programs made major contributions to the rapid growth of the field



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • 1968 – Formal beginning of contemporary applied behavior analysis • Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) began publication • “Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis” (Baer, Wolf, & Risley)



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) • First journal in U.S. To deal with applied problems & gave researchers using methodology from the experimental analysis of behavior an outlet for publishing their findings • Flagship journal of ABA



Development of Applied Behavior Analysis • “Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis” (Baer, Wolf, & Risley) • Founding fathers of the new discipline (ABA) • Defined the criteria for judging adequacy of research & practice in ABA & outlined the scope of work for those in the science • Most widely cited publication in ABA • Remains standard description of the discipline



Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) recommended the following seven defining dimensions for research or behavior change programs: • • • • • • •

Applied Behavioral Analytic Technological Conceptual Effective Generality



Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Applied • Investigates socially significant behaviors with immediate importance to the participant(s) • Examples include behaviors such as: • • • • • • •


Social Language Academic Daily living Self-care Vocational Recreation and/or leisure


Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Behavioral • Precise measurement of the actual behavior in need of improvement & documents that it was the participant’s behavior that changed • The behavior in need of improvement and it is a study of behavior (not about behavior) • The behavior must be measurable • Important to note whose behavior has changed



Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Analytic • Demonstrates experimental control over the occurrence and non-occurrence of the behavior (a functional relation is demonstrated) • Functional & replicable relationships



Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Technological • Written description of all procedures in the study is sufficiently complete and detailed to enable others to replicate it • All operative procedures are identified and described in detail & clarity • Replicable technology



Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Conceptually systematic • Behavior change interventions are derived from basic principles of behavior • Better enable research consumer to derive other similar procedures from the same principle(s) • Assist in integrating discipline into a system instead of a “collection of tricks”



Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Effective • Improves behavior sufficiently to produce practical results for the participant(s) • Improvements in behavior must reach clinical or social significance • Extent to which changes in the target behavior(s) result in noticeable changes



Defining Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Generality • Produces behavior changes that last over time… • Appear in other environments (other than the one in which intervention was implemented)… • Or spread to other behaviors (those not directly treated by the intervention)



Additional Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Offers society an approach toward solving problems that is: • • • • •

Accountable Public Doable Empowering Optimistic



Additional Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Accountable • Created by the focus on • Accessible environmental variables that reliably influence behavior • Reliance on direct & frequent measurement to detect changes in behavior • Detect successes and failures • Allow changes to be made



Additional Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Public • Visible, explicit, & straightforward • Of value across a very broad spectrum of fields



Additional Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Doable • Not prohibitively complicated or arduous • Variety of individuals are able to implement principles and interventions • Does involved more that learning to do some procedures



Additional Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Empowering • Provides practitioners with real tools that work • Raises confidence • Increases confidence for future challenges



Additional Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis • Optimistic • • • •

Possibilities for each individual (Strain et al., 1992) Detect small improvements Positive outcomes yield a more optimistic attitude about future successes Peer-reviewed literature provides many examples of success



Definition of Applied Behavior Analysis • Applied behavior analysis is: • A scientific approach to improving socially significant behavior… • In which procedures derived from the principles of behavior are systematically applied to improve socially significant behavior… • And to demonstrate experimentally that the procedures employed were responsible for the improvement in behavior



Definition of Applied Behavior Analysis • Six key components: • Guided by attitudes of methods of scientific inquiry • All behavior change procedures are described & implemented in a systematic, technological manner • Only procedures conceptually derived from the basic principles of behavior are circumscribed by the field • Focus is socially significant behavior • Seeks to make meaningful improvement in important behavior • Seeks to produce an analysis of the factors responsible for improvement



Domains of Behavior Analytic Science • Four domains • • • •

Behaviorism Experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) Applied behavior analysis (ABA) Professional practice

• Behavior analysts may work in one or more of the four domains • Domains are very interrelated & influence one another



Domains of Behavior Analytic Science • Behaviorism • Theoretical & philosophical issues • Conceptual basis of behavior principles as it relates across many spectrums



Domains of Behavior Analytic Science • Experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) • Basic research • Experiments in laboratory settings with both human participants and nonhuman subjects • Goal of discovering & clarifying fundamental principles of behavior



Domains of Behavior Analytic Science • Applied behavior analysis (ABA) • Applied research • Experiments are aimed at discovering & clarifying functional relations between socially significant behavior & its controlling variables • Desire to contribute to further development of a humane & effective technology of behavior change



Domains of Behavior Analytic Science • Professional practice • Providing behavior analytic services to consumers • Design, implement, & evaluate behavior change programs that consist of behavior change tactics derived from fundamental principles of behavior • Discovered by basic researchers • Experimentally validated for their effects on socially significant behavior by applied researchers



Chapter 2: Basic Concepts



Definition of Behavior • “the behavior of an organism is that portion of an organism’s interaction with the environment that is characterized by detectable displacement in space through time of some part of the organism and that results in measurable change in at least one aspect of the environment” • Johnston & Pennypacker (1980, 1993a)



Definition of Behavior • Behavior of an organism • Portion of the organism’s interaction with the environment • Displacements in space through time • Temporal locus • Temporal extent • Repeatability

• Results in a measurable change in some aspect of the environment



Behavior or Response • Behavior in reference to a larger set or class of responses sharing certain • Physical characteristics • Functions

• Response • Specific instance of behavior



Descriptions of behavior Structural and functional • Response topography • Form • Physical characteristics

• Functional • Effects of behavior on environment

Saying the word fire while looking at the letters f-i-r-e different than saying FIRE! When smelling smoke in a crowded theater.



Response Class • A group of responses with the same function • Each response in the group produces the same effect on the environment



Repertoire • All behaviors a person can do • Set or collection of knowledge and skills a person has learned that are relevant to a particular setting or tasks • Repertoires with respect to language skills, academic tasks, everyday routines, recreation, & APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS



Environment • All behavior occurs within an environmental context; • Behavior cannot be emitted in an environmental void or vacuum



Environment • Johnston & Pennypacker (1993a) defintion • Complex, dynamic universe of events that differ from instance to instance • Stimulus • “an energy change that affects an organism through its receptor cells” • Michael, 2004, p. 7



Description of Stimulus Events • Formally • Physical features

• Temporally • Occur with respect to a behavior of interest

• Functionally • Effects on behavior



Stimulus Class • Any group of stimuli sharing a predetermined set of common elements in one of more of these dimensions • Formal dimensions of stimuli • Temporal locus of stimuli • Behavioral functions of stimulus changes



Formal dimensions of stimuli • Descriptions, measurements, manipulations based on • Size, color, intensity, etc.

• Stimuli can be • Social • Nonsocial



Temporal locus of stimuli • Behavior is affected by stimulus changes that • occur prior to (Antecedent) • Immediately after the behavior (Consequence)



Temporal locus of stimuli • Antecedent • Environmental conditions or stimulus changes that exist or occur prior to the behavior • Play a critical part in learning and motivation • Learners do not need to be aware of antecedents for antecedents to effect behavior



Temporal locus of stimuli • Consequence • Stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest • Especially those that are immediate • Relevant to current motivational states • Influence on future behavior • Other consequences have little effect



Temporal locus of stimuli – Big Idea • Consequences combine with the antecedent conditions to determine what is learned • True, whether or not individual is aware or systematically plans the consequences • It’s happening all around us!



Behavioral functions of stimulus changes • Stimulus changes are best understood through a functional analysis of their effects on behavior • Immediate control • Delayed, or no apparent effect



Behavioral functions of stimulus changes • Stimulus changes • An immediate but temporary effect of increasing or decreasing the current frequency of the behavior • A delayed but relatively permanent effect in terms of the frequency of that type of behavior in the future Michael (1995)



Stimulus Changes: Social & Nonsocial



Respondent Behavior • Behavior that is elicited by antecedent stimuli • Induced, brought out by the stimulus that precedes it • Something in your eye elicits eye blink (reflex) • Ready-made behaviors protect against harmful stimuli

• Stimulus-response relations • Reflex

• Habituation • Gradually diminishing response strength



Respondent Conditioning • Experimental demonstrations of respondent conditioning • Ivan Petrovich Pavlov • Digestive systems of dogs • Animals salivated every time lab assistant opened the cage door to feed them



Respondent Conditioning



Operant Behavior • Any behavior whose future frequency is determined primarily by its history of consequences • Selected • Shaped • Maintained by consequences

• Defined functionally, by their effects



Selection by Consequences • All forms of life, from single cells to complex cultures, evolve as a result of selection with respect to function Pennypacker, 1994, pp. 12 -13

• Ontogeny • Operates during the lifetime of the individual

• Phylogeny • Natural selection in the evolution of a species



Operant Conditioning • Process and selective effects of consequences on behavior • “Functional consequence” • Stimulus change that follows a given behavior in a relatively immediate temporal sequence and alters the frequency of that type of behavior in the future



Operant Conditioning • ‘Strengthen’ an operant • Response more probable, more frequent Skinner, 1953, p. 65

• Reinforcement has taken place when • Operant conditioning consists of an increase in response frequency



Type of Stimulus Change • Insert Figure 2-2 here



Operant Conditioning • Consequences can only affect future behavior • Consequences select response classes, no individual responses • Immediate consequences have the greatest effect



Operant Conditioning • Consequences select any behavior • Reinforcement and punishment are equal opportunity selectors • Importance of temporal relations

• Operant conditioning occurs automatically



Reinforcement • Most important principle of behavior • Key element to most behavior change programs



Reinforcement - Defined • If behavior is followed closely in time by a stimulus event and as a result the future frequency of that type of behavior increases in similar conditions, reinforcement has taken place



Stimulus Changes Functioning as Reinforcers • Positive Reinforcement (Adding) • A new stimulus added to the environment (or increased in intensity)

• Negative Reinforcement (Withdrawing) • An already present stimulus removed from the environment (or reduced in intensity)



Stimulus Changes Functioning as Reinforcers



Stimulus Changes Functioning as Reinforcers



Reinforcement – Big Ideas • Always means an increase in response rate • The modifiers positive (adding) and negative (withdrawing) • Describe the type of stimulus change operation that best characterizes the consequence

Additional information on schedules of reinforcement in Chapter 13 Principle of Extinction and its use as a behavior change tactic in Chapter 21 Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Punishment • If behavior is followed closely in time by a stimulus event and as a result the future frequency of that type of behavior decreases in similar conditions, punishement has taken place



Stimulus Changes Functioning as Punishers • Positive Punishment (Adding)

• Punishment by contingent stimulation • A new stimulus added to the environment (or increased in intensity) • Type I

• Negative Punishment (Withdrawing)

• Punishment by contingent withdrawal of a positive reinforcer • An already present stimulus removed from the environment (or reduced in intensity) • Type II



Stimulus Changes Functioning as Punishers



Stimulus Changes Functioning as Punishers



Punishment – Big Ideas • Always means a decrease in response rate • The modifiers positive (adding) and negative (withdrawing) • Describe the type of stimulus change operation that best characterizes the consequence



Principles and Behavior Change Tactics • Principle of behavior • Describes a functional relation between behavior and one or more of its controlling variables (b = fx) • • • •

Thorough generality across individual organisms, species, settings, behaviors Empirical generalization inferred from many experiments Describe how behavior works Reinforcement, punishment, extinction



Principles and Behavior Change Tactics • Behavior change tactic

• Research-based, technologically consistent method for changing behavior that has been derived from one or more basic principles of behavior

• Sufficient generality across subjects, settings, and or behaviors to warrant its codification & dissemination

• Technological aspect of ABA



Principles and Behavior Change Tactics – Big Idea • Principles

• Describe how behavior works • Lawful relationship between behavior,

• An immediate consequence, and an increased frequency of the behavior in the future under similar conditions

• Behavior change tactics

• Are how applied behavior analysts put the principles to work to help people learn and use socially significant behaviors



What kinds of stimulus changes function as reinforcers and punishers? • Unconditioned reinforcement and punishment • Function irrespective of prior learning history



What kinds of stimulus changes function as reinforcers and punishers? • Conditioned reinforcers and punishers

• Function as such based on previous pairings with other reinforcers and punishers



Motivating Operations • Function

• Alters the current value of stimulus changes as reinforcement or punishment • Satiation • Deprivation



Discriminated Operant • Occurs more frequently under some antecedent conditions than it does under others • Stimulus Control

• Differential rates of operant responding observed in the presence or absence of antecedent stimuli • Due to pairings (antecedent/consequence) in the past, antecedents acquire the ability to control operant behavior



Three-Term Contingency • Antecedent (A) – Behavior (B) – Consequence (C)

• Basic unit of analysis in the analysis of operant behavior • All ABA procedures involve the manipulation of one or more components of the 3-term contingency



The Complexity of Human Behavior • Highly complex variables governing human behavior • Human capabilities

• Large repertoires of response chains, verbal behavior

• Analysis of control complicated by

• Individual differences in histories of reinforcement • Practical, ethical, logistical, etc. issues



Chapter 3: Selecting and Defining Target Behaviors



Role of Assessment in Applied Behavior Analysis • Methods to identify and define targets for behavior change • Identify relevant factors that may inform or influence intervention



Five Phases of Assessment 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Screening Defining problem or criteria for achievement Pinpointing target behaviors Monitoring progress Following-up



Pre-assessment Considerations • Ethical considerations • Authority • Permission • Resources • Social validity



Assessment Methods • Indirect measures • Interviews • Checklists

• Direct measures • Tests • Direct Observation



Interviewing the Individual • Identify list of potential target behaviors • What and when • Avoid ‘why’

• Identify primary concerns • Verified through further data collection • Direct observation • Use of questionnaires or self-monitoring



Interviewing Significant Others • Develop behavioral descriptions • What, when, how • Avoid ‘why’ • Move from general to specific

• Determine participation



Checklists • Descriptions of specific behaviors and conditions under which each should occur • Alone or with interview



Checklists • Typically Likert-scale assessments • Ask about antecedents and consequences • Child Behavior Checklist • Adaptive Behavior Scale - School • Adaptive Behavior Scale - Residential and Community



Standardized Tests • Consistent administration • Compares performance to specified criteria • Norm-referenced

• Limitations • Do not specify target behaviors • Do not provide direct measure of behavior • Licensing requirements



Direct Observation • • • •

Direct and repeated Natural environment Identifies potential target behaviors Preferred method



Anecdotal observation • Features of ABC recording • Descriptive • Temporally sequenced • Description of behavior patterns • Full attention, 20 - 30 min

• Observations only, no interpretations • Repeat over several days



Ecological Assessment • Data on individual and environment • • • •

Physical features Interactions with others Home Reinforcement history

• Evaluate amount of descriptive data required to address current need



Reactivity • Effects of assessment on behavior being assessed • Obtrusive assessment great impact • Self-monitoring most obtrusive

• Reduce reactivity • Unobtrusive methods • Repeat observations • Take effects into account



Assessing Social Significance • Consider whose behavior is being assessed and why • Unacceptable to change behavior primarily for benefit of others

• To what extent will proposed change improve the person’s life?



Habilitation • Degree to which a person’s behavior repertoire maximizes short and long term reinforcers and minimizes short and long term punishers • Use to assess meaningfulness of behavior change



Determining Habilitation • • • • • •

Relevance of behavior after intervention Necessary prerequisite skills Increased access Impact on behavior of others Behavior cusp Pivotal Behavior



Behavior Cusp • Behaviors that open person’s world to new contingencies • Crawling, reading

• • • •

Socially valid Generativeness Competes with inappropriate responses Degree that others are affected



Pivotal Behaviors • Once learned produces changes in other untrained behaviors • Self-initiation, joint attention

• Advantages for both interventionist and client



Determining Habilitation • Age appropriateness • Normalization • Philosophy of achieving greatest possible integration of people with disabilities into society

• Replacement behaviors • Cannot eliminate or reduce a behavior without teaching a replacement



Determining Habilitation • Actual target goal or indirectly related • On-task vs. work completion

• Talk v. Behavior of interest • Primary importance is actual behavior

• Focus on behavior, not end product • Weight loss or exercise and diet?



Prioritizing Target Behaviors 1. Threat to health or safety 2. Frequency • •

Opportunities to use new behavior Occurrence of problem

3. Longevity 4. Potential for higher rates of reinforcement



Prioritizing Target Behaviors 5. Importance • •

Skill development Independence

6. Reduction of negative attention 7. Reinforcement for significant others • •

Social validity Exercise caution when considering



Prioritizing Target Behaviors 8. Likelihood of success • • • •

Research Practitioner’s experience Environmental variables Available resources

9. Cost-benefit •

Costs include client’s time and effort



Target Behavior Ranking Matrix • Numerical rating of potential target behaviors • Increase client, parent, and staff participation • Resolve conflict • Build consensus



Sample Ranking Matrix Behaviors

#1

#2

#3

Does this behavior pose a danger?

01234 01234 01234

How long-standing is this problem or deficit?

01234 01234 01234

Will changing this behavior produce higher rate of reinforcement?

01234 01234 01234

How likely is success in changing this behavior?

01234 01234 01234



Defining Target Behaviors • Role and Importance of Definitions • Definitions required for replication • Replication required to determine usefulness of data in other situations • Necessary for research



Importance of Definitions to Practitioner • Accurate, on-going evaluation requires explicit definition of behavior • Operational definition • Complete information

• Accurate and believable evaluation of effectiveness



Two Types of Definitions • Function-based • Designated according to effect on the environment

• Topography-based • Identifies the shape or form of the behavior



Reasons to Use Function-based Definitions • Includes all members of response class • The function of behavior is most important feature • Simpler and more concise definitions • Easier to measure accurately and reliably



Other Uses • When natural outcome is not within control of behavior analyst • Logistical, ethical, or safety reasons • E.g., Function of elopement is a lost child

• In these cases, function-based definition by proxy • More restrictive definition that keeps behavior within control of analyst



Reasons to Use Topography-based Definitions • Behavior analyst does not have direct, reliable, or easy access to functional outcomes • Cannot rely on function of behavior because each occurrence does not produce relevant outcome



Other Uses • When the relevant outcome is sometimes produced by undesirable variations of the response class • E.g., A basketball player scores with a sloppy shot from the free throw line

• Definition should encompass all response forms that produce relevant outcomes



Writing Target Behavior Definitions • • • • •

Accurate Complete Concise Inclusions Exclusions



Characteristics of Good Definitions • Objective • Refer only to the observable

• Clear • Readable and unambiguous

• Complete • Delineate boundaries of definition



Purpose of Good Definitions • • • •

Precise and concise description Reliable observation Accurate recording Agreement and replication



Testing a Definition • Can you count number of occurrences? • Should answer “Yes”

• Will a stranger know what to look for based on definition alone? • Should answer “Yes”

• Can you break the target behavior down to smaller, more specific components? • Should answer “No”



Setting Criteria for Behavior Change • Selected because of importance to clients • Increase, maintain, generalize desirable behaviors • Decrease undesirable behaviors

• Valued and meaningful behaviors have social validity



Set Criteria Before Modifying • • • • •

Setting criteria as important as defining Range of acceptability Must identify optimum range prior to modifying Must know when to terminate treatment Eliminate disagreements on effectiveness



Two Approaches for Setting Criteria • Assess performance of highly competent people • Experimentally manipulate different performance levels to determine optimal results



Chapter 4: Measuring Behavior



Definition of Measurement • The process of applying quantitative labels to observed properties of events using a standard set of rules



Researchers Need Measurement • How scientists operationalize empiricism • Without measurement, science is guesswork and opinion

• Applied behavior analysts measure behavior to answer questions • Basis for talking about behavior



Practitioners Need Measurement • To evaluate effects of intervention • Before and after treatment • During treatment

• To guide decision making • To prevent mistakes • Continue ineffective treatment • Discontinue effective treatment



Benefits of Measurement • • • • •

Optimize effectiveness Verify legitimacy of treatments Identify and end use of pseudoscience Accountability Meet ethical standards



Measurable Dimensions of Behavior • Dimensions are distinct features that can be measured • Three fundamental properties • Repeatability or countability: behavior can be counted • Temporal extent: duration • Temporal locus: when behavior occurs



Measures Based on Repeatability • Count • Number of responses emitted during an observation period

• Reported as frequency count • Measures of count alone do not provide sufficient information for analysis



Measures Based on Repeatability • Rate/Frequency • Ratio of count per observation period

• • • •

More meaningful than count alone Include counting time for reference Rate of correct and incorrect responses helpful in skill development Reported as number per standard unit of time



Guidelines for Using Rate • • • •

Take complexity of response into account Useful measure for free operants Not appropriate for responses within discrete trials Not appropriate for continuous behavior over extended period



Measures Based on Repeatability • Celeration • Measure of the change in rate of responding per unit of time

• Reported using Standard Celeration Chart • Captures behavior acceleration and deceleration



Measures Based on Temporal Extent • Duration • The amount of time a behavior occurs

• • • •

Total duration of session Duration of each occurrence Reported in standard time units Count and duration measures provide different pictures of same behavior



Measures Based on Temporal Locus • Response latency • Measure of elapsed time between onset of stimulus and initiation of response

• Typically reported as mean, median, and range



Measures Based on Temporal Locus • Interresponse time • Amount of time that elapses between two consecutive instances of a response class

• Direct measure of temporal locus and related to rate • Reported as mean, median, and range



Derivative Measures • Percentage • A ratio formed by combining the same dimensional qualities • Expresses proportional quantity

• Proportion of correct to incorrect • Proportion of observation intervals when behavior occurred



Considerations for Using Percentage • • • • •

Often misunderstood, used incorrectly Most accurate with divisor of 100 or more Percentage may be misleading Limited use because has no dimensional quantity Sets artificial limits on behavior change



Derivative Measures • Trials-to-criterion • Measure of the number of response opportunities needed to achieve a predetermined level of performance

• Other measures can be used to determine trials-to-criterion (e.g., rate) • Typically calculated post facto • Used to compare effectiveness



Definitional Measures • Topography • The physical form or shape of a behavior

• Measurable dimension • Malleable by consequences • Not a fundamental quality of behavior



Definitional Measures • Magnitude • The force or intensity with which a response is emitted

• Important parameter for some response classes • E.g., voice volume

• Not a fundamental quality of behavior



Procedures for Measuring Behavior • 1. 2. 3.

Typically involve one or a combination of these three: Event recording Timing Time sampling methods



Event Recording • Procedures for detecting and recording the number of times a behavior is observed • Devices include: • Wrist counters, digital counters, masking tape, paper clips, etc



Considerations for Event Recording • • • •

Easy to do Behavior must have discrete beginning and ending Rate must not be too high Inappropriate for behaviors with long duration



Timing • Procedures to measure duration, response latency, and interresponse time • Duration: • computer systems, stopwatch, wall clocks, tape recorder

• Response latency and interresponse time • Precise recording of duration between events of interest



Time Sampling • Variety of methods for observing and recording behavior during intervals or at specific moments in time • Observation is divided into intervals, presence or absence of behavior recorded for each interval



Time Sampling: Whole-Interval Recording • • • • •

Used to measure continuous behavior Brief intervals (5-15 seconds) At end of interval, record if behavior occurred throughout Risk of underestimation Reported as percentage of intervals when behavior occurred



Time Sampling: Partial-Interval Recording • At end of interval record if behavior occurred at any time during interval • Multiple occurrences scored as one • Does not capture duration

• Allows recording of multiple behaviors • Reported as percentage of intervals when behavior occurred



Time Sampling: Momentary Time Sampling • Record whether the behavior is occurring at the end of the interval • Does not require undivided attention • Misses much behavior • Best for continuous behavior

• Reported as percentage of intervals when behavior occurred



Time Sampling: Planned Activity Check • Variation of momentary time sampling • Measures behavior of individuals within a group

• At end of interval, measure number of students engaged in target activity



Guidelines for Time Sampling • Use a timing device to signal beginning and end of observation • Increase accuracy • Not distracted by watching a stopwatch

• Record a response for every interval (e.g., yes or no) • Prevents losing your place with blank intervals



Time Sampling Artifactual Variability • Artifact is something that appears to exist because of the way it is examined or measured • Time sampling provides estimate of actual occurrences • Different procedures produce different results • Differences produce variability in data



Measuring Behavior by Permanent Product • Measuring behavior after it has occurred by measuring its effects on the environment • Ex post facto • All previous procedures can be applied to permanent product measurement • Products can be a natural or contrived



Advantages of Permanent Product Recording • • • • •

Practitioner free to do other tasks Possible measurement of otherwise inaccessible behavior More accurate, complete, continuous Easier data collection (IOA, treatment integrity) Measurement of complex behavior



Determining Appropriate Use • Is real-time measurement needed? • Moment to moment decisions required

• Can behavior be measured by permanent product? • Each occurrence must produce same product • Product can only be produced by target behavior



Determining Appropriate Use • Will a contrived product affect the behavior? • Reactivity effects

• Cost to obtain and measure the permanent product? • Availability, cost and effort of generating the product



Computer-Assisted Measurement • Data collection and analysis software combined • Multiple systems available • Sophisticated and easy to use • Laptops, hand-held computers, PDAs

• Simultaneous recording of multiple behaviors across multiple dimensions



Chapter 5: Improving and Assessing the Quality of Behavioral Measurement



Indicators of Trustworthy Measurement • Validity • Directly measures a socially significant behavior • Measures a dimension of the behavior relevant to the question • Ensures the data are representative



Indicators of Trustworthy Measurement • Accuracy • Observed values match the true values of an event

• Reliability • Measurement yields the same values across repeated measurement of the same event



Threats to Measurement Validity • Indirect measurement • Measuring a behavior other than the behavior of interest • Requires inferences be made about the relationship between those behaviors • Must provide evidence that the behavior measured is directly related to behavior of interest



Threats to Measurement Validity • Measuring a dimension that is irrelevant or ill suited to the reason for measuring behavior • Measurement artifacts



Measurement artifacts • Misleading data that result from the way behavior is measured: • Discontinuous measurement • Poorly scheduled observations • Insensitive or limiting measurement scales



Threats to Measurement Accuracy and Reliability • Human error • Poorly designed measurement systems • Cumbersome • Difficult to use • Complex



Threats to Measurement Accuracy and Reliability • Inadequate observer training • • • •

Explicit and systematic Careful selection Train to competency standard On-going training to minimize observer drift



Threats to Measurement Accuracy and Reliability • Unintended influences on observers • • • •

Observer expectations of what the data should look like Observer reactivity when she/he is aware that others are evaluating the data Measurement bias Feedback to observers about how their data relates to the goals of intervention



Assessing the Accuracy and Reliability of Behavioral Measurement • First, design a good measurement system • Second, train observers carefully • Third, evaluate extent to which data are accurate and reliable • Measure the measurement system



Assessing the Accuracy of Measurement • Accuracy means the observed values match the true values of an event • No one wants to base research conclusions or treatment decisions on faulty data



Assessing the Accuracy of Measurement Four purposes of accuracy assessment: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Determine if data are good enough to make decisions Discovery and correction of measurement errors Reveal consistent patterns of measurement error Assure consumers that data are accurate



Accuracy Assessment Procedures • Measurement is accurate when observed values match true values • Accuracy determined by calculating correspondence of each data point with its true value • Process for determining true value must differ from measurement procedures • Accuracy assessment should be reported in research



Assessing the Reliability of Measurement • Measurement is reliable when it yields the same values across repeated measures of the same event • • • •

Not the same as accuracy Reliable application of measurement system is important Requires permanent products for re-measurement Low reliability signals suspect data



Using Interobserver Agreement to Assess Behavioral Measurement • The degree to which two or more independent observers report the same values for the same events



Benefits of Interobserver Agreement (IOA) • • • •

Determine competence of new observers Detect observer drift Judge clarity of definitions and system Increase believability of data



Requisites for IOA • Observers must: • Use the same observation code and measurement system • Observe and measure the same participants and events • Observe and record independently of one another



Methods for Calculating IOA • Percentage of agreement is most common • Event Recording methods compare: • • • •

Total count recorded by each observer Mean count-per-interval Exact count-per-interval Trial-by-trial



Methods for Calculating IOA • Timing recording methods: • Total duration IOA • Mean duration-per-occurrence IOA • Latency-per-response • Mean IRT-per-response



Methods for Calculating IOA • Interval recording and Time sampling: • Interval-by-interval IOA (Point by point) • Scored-interval IOA • Unscored-interval IOA



Considerations in IOA • • • •

During each condition and phase of a study Distributed across days of the week, time of day, settings, observers Minimum of 20% of sessions, preferably 25-30% More frequent with complex systems



Considerations in IOA • Obtain and report IOA at the same levels at which researchers will report and discuss in study results • For each behavior • For each participant • In each phase of intervention or baseline



Considerations in IOA • More conservative methods should be used • Methods that will overestimate actual agreement should be avoided • If in doubt, can report more than one calculation



Considerations in IOA • Believability of data increases as agreement approaches 100% • History of using 80% agreement as acceptable benchmark • Depends upon the complexity of the measurement system



Considerations in IOA • Reporting IOA • Narrative form • Table • Graphs

• In all formats, report how, when, and how often IOA was assessed



Assessing the Quality of Measurement • Indicators of the quality of data include: • IOA • Accuracy • Reliability

• Can report multiple indices to assess data quality



Chapter 6: Constructing and Interpreting Graphic Displays of Behavioral Data



Chapter Focus Questions •

What are the benefits of graphic display and visual analysis of behavioral data?

•

What are the fundamental properties of behavior change over time?

• •

What are the different visual formats for the graphic display of behavioral data? What are the relative strengths and limitations of each visual format? What are the basic parts of a properly constructed line graph?

•

What is the purpose of visual analysis?

•

How is a visual analysis of behavioral data conducted?



Direct and Repeated Measurement of Behavior • Data • • • •

Medium with which the behavior analyst works Results of measurement Empirical basis for decision making Plural • These data are



Direct and Repeated Measurement of Behavior • Consecutive measures, over time • Data series vs. graphic display

Number Correct Condition A Condition B 12 14 15 21 13

24

Percentage of correct responses 70, 72, 71, 87,90, 85, 73 Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Graphic Display



Graphic Display



Purpose & Benefits of Graphic Display • Graphic displays • • • •

Primary function communication Display relationships between dependent variable and independent variable Summarization of data collected Facilitates of accurate analyses



Purpose & Benefits of Graphic Display • Benefits • Immediate access to record of behavior • Variations prompt exploration • Provides judgmental aid • Relatively easy to learn, no predetermined level for determining significance of change, no mathematical properties required

• Conservative method • Encourages independent judgment & interpretation • Effective source of feedback



Fundamental Properties of Behavior Change • Level • Trend • Variability



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA • • • •

Line graph Bar graphs Cumulative record Semilogarithmic charts • Standard Celeration Chart

• Scatterplots



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Line Graph • Based on the Cartesian plane • Two-dimensional area formed by intersecting lines • Points on the plane represent relationships • Level of the dependent variable when the independent variable was in effect

• Comparisons of data points reveals the presence or absence of changes in level, trend, and/or variability



Parts of a Line Graph • • • •

Horizontal axis Vertical axis Condition change lines Condition labels • Phase and condition

• Data points • Data path • Figure Caption Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Figure 5. Rates of hits during baseline and the blocking condition for Arlo.

Figure Legend



Line Graph Variations • • • • •

Two or more dimensions of the same behavior Two or more different behaviors Measure of the same behavior under different conditions Changing values of the independent variable Same behavior of two or more participants



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Bar Graph • Based on the Cartesian plane • No distinct data points representing successive response measures through time • Functions • Displaying and comparing discrete sets of data that ARE NOT related by a common underlying dimension by which the horizontal axis can be scaled (Example) • Visual summary of participant or group performance during different experimental conditions

• Provides efficient summary of data • DOES NOT allow for analysis of variability & trends in behavior



Sample Bar Graph % Completion

Percent Completion/Accuracy

% Accuracy


Baseline

Generalization/Maintenance


Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Cumulative Record • Developed by Skinner • Primary means of data collection in EAB • Cumulative recorder • Experimental subject draws its own graph

• Shows the number of responses on the ordinate against time on the abscissa



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Cumulative Record • Number of responses recorded and added to the total number of responses recorded during previous observations • Cumulative

• Y-Axis (vertical axis) • Represents the total number of responses recorded since the start of data collection



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Cumulative Record • Display • Total number of responses at any given point in time

• Relative rates of response • The steeper the slope, the higher the response rate • Overall response rate • Local response rate



Cumulative Number Correct

Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Cumulative Record The steeper the slope, the higher the response rate

Sessions Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Cumulative Record • When to use cumulative graph over noncumulative graph • Progress toward a specific goal can be measured in cumulative units • E.g., Number of new words learned, quarters saved

• Graph is used as personal feedback • Total progress and relative rate of performance easily detected

• Target behavior can only occur once per observation period • Yes/No

• Intricate details between behavior & environmental variables are of interest • E.g., Within session analyses



Equal-interval Graphs • Distance between any two consecutive points on each axis is always the same • Increase/decrease in performance expressed by equal distances on the y-axis • Distance between sessions, days, etc. expressed by equal distance on the xaxis



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Semilogarithmic Charts • Ratio or multiply-divide charts • One axis is scaled proportionally • Double response rate 4 to 8 same as 50 to 100

• All behavior changes of equal proportion are shown by equal vertical distances on the vertical axis



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Standard Celeration Chart • Developed by Ogden Lindsley • Standardized method for • Charting & analyzing how frequency of behavior changes over time



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Standard Celeration Chart

From the Journal of Precision Teaching and Celeration, 19(1), p. 54. Copyright 2002 by The Standard Celeration Society. Used by permission. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Standard Celeration Chart • Four standard charts • Difference in scaling on horizontal axis • • • •

Daily chart (140 calendar days) Weekly chart Monthly chart Yearly chart

• What’s standard about the standard celeration chart? • Consistent display of celeration



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Standard Celeration Chart • Celeration

• Linear measure of frequency change across time • A factor by which frequency multiples or divides per unit of time • Acceleration – accelerating performance • Deceleration – decelerating performance

• Standard chart

• Six, X 10 cycles (vertical axis) • 1 per 24 hrs • 1,000 per minute

• Bottom left to top right corner

• Slope of 34° - celeration value X2



Standard Celeration Chart & Precision Teaching • Precision Teaching • Instructional decision-making system • Developed for use with standard celeration chart

• Position • Learning best measured as a change in response rate • Learning most often occurs through proportional changes in behavior • Past changes can predict future learning

• Chart uses estimations for most frequency values



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Scatterplot • Shows relative distribution of individual measures in a data set • Data points are unconnected • Depicts changes in value on one axis correlated with changes in value on the other axis • Patterns suggest certain relationships • Sometimes used to discover the temporal distribution of the target behavior



Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA Scatterplot

From “A Technology to Measure Multiple Driving Behaviors without Self-Report or Participant Reactivity” by T. E. Boyce and E. S. Geller, 2001, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, p. 49. Copyright 2001 by the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Inc. Used by permission. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Constructing Line Graphs • An effective graph presents data • • • • •

Accurately Completely Clearly Makes visual analysis as easy as possible Does not create distortion or bias interpretation



Constructing Line Graphs

Drawing, scaling, & labeling axes • Use a balanced ratio between the height and width of the axes • Relative length of the vertical axis to horizontal axis • Suggestions • 5:8; 3:4; 1:1.6 ratio y-axis to x-axis

• Horizontal axis • Mark equal intervals • Left to right chronological succession of equal time periods or response opportunities • Use regularly spaced tic marks Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Constructing Line Graphs

Drawing, scaling, & labeling axes

• Use a scale break to represent discontinuities in the progression of time

Regularly spaced tic marks

~ ~

Scale break



Constructing Line Graphs Drawing, scaling, & labeling axes • Scaling of vertical axis

• Most significant feature of the graph • Mark the origin at zero • Mark the full range of values represented in the data set

Good Practice: Plot the data set against several different vertical axis scales – • If relatively small changes in performance are socially watch for distortion that may lead to inaccurate interpretations significant • Y-Axis should reflect a smaller range of values



Constructing Line Graphs Labeling vertical axis

Hits per minute

• Brief label, printed, centered to the left and parallel to the vertical axis



Constructing Line Graphs Condition Change Lines •Vertical lines •Extend upward •Indicate change in treatment or experimental condition •Solid or dashed lines •Major changes – solid •Minor changes – dashed •Asterisks (*), arrows (à) or other symbols to indicate small changes



Constructing Line Graphs Baseline

Blocking

Condition Change Labels •Identify conditions in effect during each period of the experiment •Centered above & between condition change lines •Brief, but descriptive labels



Constructing Line Graphs Data Points & Data Paths • Place each data point in the exact coordinate of the horizontal and vertical axis • If graphing by hand - use a graph paper with appropriately spaced grid lines

• Use bold, easily discernable symbols • Use a different symbol for each set of data



Constructing Line Graphs Data Points & Data Paths • Draw data paths using a straight line • The center of each data point in a given data set to the center of the next data point in the same set



Constructing Line Graphs Data Points & Data Paths • DO NOT CONNECT DATA POINTS IF… • Points fall on either side of a condition change line • A significant span of time passed and behavior was not measured • There was a discontinuity in time in the horizontal axis (e.g., school vacation) • Data were not collected, lost, etc.

• It is follow-up or post-check data • Unless intersession time span same as original experiment

• Data points fall beyond the values described by the vertical axis



Constructing Line Graphs Data Points & Data Paths • Use different styles of lines for multiple data paths on the same graph • Clearly identify what each data path represents • Use arrows or a legend



Constructing Line Graphs Figure Caption & Printing • Figure caption • Printed below the graph • Concise, complete description of figure • Direct viewers attention to features of the graph that may be overlooked • E.g., scale changes

• Describe the meaning of any added symbols

• Print graphs in one color - black



Constructing Graphs – Using Computer Software • Use with caution • Check the range of scales available • Check the accuracy of data point plotting • Check the precision of data paths

• Further information • Carr & Burkholder (1998) • Silvestri (2003) • www.prenhall.com/cooper



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data • Visual analysis • Did behavior change in a meaningful way? • If so, to what extent can that change in behavior be attributed to the independent variable?

• Identification of • Variability • Level • Trend



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data “It is impossible to interpret graphic data without being influenced by various characteristics of the graph itself.” • Johnson & Pennypacker, 1993b, p. 320



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data • Read the graph • Figure caption • Condition & axis labels • Location of numerical value & relative significance of scale breaks

• Visually track each data path • Are data paths properly connected? • Is the graph distorted?



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data • Visual analysis • Within conditions • • • •

Number of data points Nature & extent of variability in the data Absolute & relative level of the behavioral measure Direction & degree of any trends in the data



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data • Visual analysis • Between conditions • Level • Mean or median level lines

• Trend • Stability/Variability • Across similar conditions



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data • Level • Value on the vertical axis around which a series of data points converge • Stability • When data points fall at or near a specific level

• Mean or median lines • Added to represent overall average or typical performance • Use with caution - can obscure important variability



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data • Trend • Overall direction taken by the data path • Direction • Increasing, decreasing, or zero trend

• Degree • Gradual or steep

• Extent of variability

• Trend line or line of progress • Freehand, least-squares regression equation, or split-middle line of progress



Interpreting Graphically Displayed Behavioral Data • Variability/Stability • Frequency and degree to which multiple measures of behavior yield different outcomes • High degree of variability • Little or no control over the factors influencing behavior



Chapter 7: Analyzing Behavior Change: Basic Assumptions and Strategies



Concepts & Assumptions Underlying the Analysis of Behavior • • • • •

Determinism Empiricism Experimentation Parsimony Philosophic doubt



Concepts & Assumptions Underlying the Analysis of Behavior “The overall goal of science is to achieve an understanding of the phenomena under study” In applied behavior analysis – the phenomena of interest is socially significant behavior



Concepts & Assumptions Underlying the Analysis of Behavior • Science enables various degrees of understanding at three levels • Description • Prediction • Control



Experimental Control:

The Path to and Goal of Behavior Analysis • Experimental control (defined) • A predictable change in behavior (dependent variable) can be reliably produced by the systematic manipulation of some aspect of the person’s environment (independent variable)




The Path to and Goal of Behavior Analysis • Experimental analysis (defined) • Experimentally determining the effects of environmental manipulation on behavior and demonstrating that those effects can be reliably produced • Can be achieved when • A reliable functional relation between behavior and some specified aspect of the environment has been demonstrated convincingly




The Path to and Goal of Behavior Analysis • Internal validity • The extent to which an experiment shows convincingly that changes in behavior are a function of the independent variable and not the result of uncontrolled or unknown variables • Studies without high a high degree of internal validity • Yield no meaningful statements about functional relations • Lack generality




The Path to and Goal of Behavior Analysis • Confounding variables are those variables known or suspected to exert an uncontrolled influence on the dependent variable • The effects of confounding variables must be evaluated and eliminated to demonstrate experimental control




The Path to and Goal of Behavior Analysis “ the goal of experimental design is to eliminate as many uncontrolled variables as possible and to hold constant the influence of all other variables except the independent variable, which is purposefully manipulated to determine its effects”



Behavior

Defining Features and Assumptions that Guide Its Analysis

• Defining features • Behavior is an individual phenomenon • Behavior is a continuous phenomenon

• Assumptions • Behavior is determined • Behavioral variability is extrinsic to the organism



Behavior


• Behavior is an individual phenomenon • Behavior •

a person’s interaction with the environment

• Groups of people do not behave

• Experimental strategy of ABA is based on within-subject (singlesubject) methods of analysis



Behavior


• Behavior is a dynamic, continuous phenomenon – Changes over time – Requires continuous measurement over time • Complete record of behavior as it occurs in context • Systematic repeated measurement is the “hallmark” of ABA



Behavior


• Behavior is determined – The occurrence of any event is determined by the functional relations it holds to other events – Behavior is a natural phenomenon



Behavior


• Behavioral variability is extrinsic to the organism – Variability is the result of environmental influence such as, • The independent variable under investigation • Some uncontrolled aspect of the experiment • Uncontrolled or unknown factor outside of the experiment



Behavioral Variability

Most commonly held assumptions in psychology and other social/behavioral sciences

• The assumption of intrinsic variability – An intrinsic characteristic of the organism – Distributed randomly among individuals in any given population

• Methodological implications – Attempting to experimentally control or investigate variability is a waste of time – By averaging the performance of individual subjects within large groups – the random nature of variability can be statistically controlled or cancelled out Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Behavioral Variability Assumptions of Behavior Analysts • Behavioral variability is the result of an environmental influence • Methodological implications – Experimental manipulations of the factors suspected of causing variability – Search for causal factors

• In practice – Applied behavior analysts seek treatment variables robust enough to overcome variability Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Components of Experiments in ABA • At least one – – – –

Subject or participant Behavior (dependent variable) Setting Treatment or intervention condition (independent variable)



Components of Experiments in ABA (continued) • A system for measuring the behavior and ongoing analysis of the data • Manipulations of the independent variable so that its effects on the dependent variable, if any, can be detected – Experimental design



Components of Experiments in ABA (continued) • Research question – “a brief but specific statement of what the researcher wants to learn from conducting the experiment” (Johnston & Pennypacker, 1993b, p.366)

– What are the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable • for what population & in what setting?



Components of Experiments in ABA (continued) • Subject (s) – In single-subject research the subject is employed as his or her own control • Measures of the subject’s behavior during each phase of the study provide the basis for comparing experimental variables as they are presented or withdrawn in subsequent conditions



Components of Experiments in ABA (continued) • Behavior (s) – Dependent variable (s)

• Reasons for multiple dependent measures – Provide data patterns that can serve as controls for evaluating & replicating the effects of an independent variable – Assess the presence and the extent of the independent variable’s effects on behaviors other than the response class to which it was directly applied – Determine whether changes in the behavior of a person other than the subject occur during the course of an experiment & if such changes can explain changes in the subject’s behavior Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Components of Experiments in ABA (continued) • Setting “Control the environment and you will see order in behavior.” (Skinner, 1967, p. 399)

• Control two sets of environmental variables to demonstrate experimental control – Independent variable • Presenting, withdrawing, or varying its value – Extraneous variables • Prevent unplanned environmental variation Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Measurement System and Visual Analysis

Ongoing

• Observation & recording procedures must be conducted in a standardized manner • Standardization involves every aspect of the measurement system – Definition of the target behavior to scheduling of observations

• Behavior analysts must develop skills in the detection of changes in the level, trend, and degree of variability in behavioral data Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Intervention or Treatment: Independent Variable • Independent variable (defined) – The particular aspect of the environment that the experimenter manipulates to find out whether the it affects the subject’s behavior – The researcher controls or manipulates this variable independent of the subject’s behavior or any other event



Experimental design Defined • The particular arrangement of conditions in a study so that meaningful comparisons of the effects of the presence and absence of the independent variable can be made



Experimental design • Nonparametric study – Independent variable is either presented or absent during a time period or phase of the study

• Parametric study – The value of the independent variable is manipulated – Seeks to discover the differential effects of a range of values



Fundamental Rule • Change only one variable at a time – Experimenter can attribute any measured changes to a specific independent variable – If investigating the effects of a “treatment package” • Ensure that the entire package is presented or withdrawn each time a manipulation occurs



Some Additional Rules • Do not get locked into textbook “designs” – Often require a priori assumptions about the nature of the functional relations one seeks to investigate – May be insensitive to unanticipated changes in behavior

• Select & combine experimental tactics that best fit the research questions



Steady State Strategy & Baseline Logic • “A pattern of responding that exhibits relatively little variation in its measured dimensional quantities over a period of time” (Johnston & Pennypacker, 1993a, p. 199)

• Provides the basis for baseline logic



Steady State Strategy & Baseline Logic • Steady state strategy – Repeated exposure of a given subject to a given condition while trying to eliminate or control extraneous influences on behavior & obtaining a stable pattern of responding before introducing the next condition



Steady State Strategy & Baseline Logic • Baseline logic – Prediction – Verification – Replication



Nature & Function of Baseline Data • Serves as a control condition • Does not imply the absence of intervention – Absence of a specific independent variable

• Why? – To establish a baseline level of responding to use the subject’s performance in the absence of the independent variable as an objective basis for detecting change



Nature & Function of Baseline Data • Applied Benefits of establishing a baseline level of responding – To obtain descriptions of antecedent-behaviorconsequent correlations for the planning of an effective treatment – Valuable guidance in setting initial criteria for reinforcement – Baseline data may reveal the behavior targeted for change does not warrant intervention



Types of Baseline Data Patterns • Stable baseline (A) • Ascending baseline (B and C) • Variable baseline (D)



Types of Baseline Data Patterns



Prediction “the anticipated outcome of a presently known or future measurement. It is the most elegant use of quantification upon which validation of all scientific and technological activity rests.” (Johnston & Pennypacker, 1980)



Prediction • Prediction



Affirmation of the consequent • Affirmation of the consequent – Inductive logic • “if the independent variable were not applied, the behavior, as indicated by the baseline data path, would not change • If-A-then-B statement



Affirmation of the consequent



Verification • Verification of a previously predicted level of baseline responding by termination or withdrawal of the treatment variable



Verification



Replication “Replication is the essence of believability” (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968, p. 95)

• Replication of the experimental effect accomplished by reintroducing the treatment variable



Replication



Chapter 8: Reversal and Alternating Treatments Designs



Reversal Design • Repeated measures of behavior in given setting • Requires at least 3 consecutive phases:

• Initial baseline (A) • Intervention (B) • Return to baseline (A)



A-B-A-B Reversal • A-B-A-B preferred over A-B-A as stronger demonstration • Most powerful within-subject design for demonstrating a functional relation between an environmental manipulation and a behavior



Operation and Logic of Reversal Design • Involves prediction, verification, and replication • Independent variable is responsible for behavior change if repetition of baseline and treatment phases approximate the original phases



Variations of the A-B-A-B Design • • • • • •

Repeated reversals B-A-B reversal design Multiple treatment reversal designs NCR reversal technique DRO reversal technique DRI/DRA reversal technique



Repeated Reversals • A-B-A-B-A-B • Replications present more convincing demonstration of functional relation • Possible, however, to become redundant



B-A-B Reversal Design • • • •

Doesn’t enable assessment of effects on preintervention level Possible sequence effects May be appropriate with dangerous behaviors Ethics of withholding effective treatment



Multiple Treatment Reversal Designs • To compare effects of two or more experimental conditions with each other or baseline • Can make design decisions based on on-going assessment of data • Vulnerable to sequence effects • i.e., A-B-A-B-C-B-C, A-B-C-B-C-B-C



NCR Reversal Technique • Noncontingent reversal • Demonstrates effects of contingent reinforcement • Useful when not possible to eliminate activity used as contingent reinforcement • Deliver NCR on fixed or variable schedule independent of the behavior



DRO/DRI/DRA Reversals • DRO: Deliver reinforcement following any behavior other than the target behavior • DRI: Reinforcement following behavior that’s incompatible with target behavior • DRA: Following an alternative behavior other than the target behavior • Shows effectiveness of contingent reinforcement



The Appropriateness of the Reversal Design • Advantages: • Clear demonstration of functional relationship • Quantifies amount of behavior change • Shows need to program for maintenance

• Disadvantages: • Irreversibility • Social, educational, and ethical concerns



Irreversibility • Reversal design not appropriate when independent variable cannot be withdrawn • Level of behavior from earlier phase cannot be reproduced again under the same conditions • If suspected, consider DRO or DRI/DRA as controls or multiple baseline designs



Withdrawing Effective Interventions • Social concerns • Get full support of everyone involved

• Educational and clinical issues • Reversal phases can be very short • For ethical reasons, withdrawal of intervention may not be appropriate in harmful situations



Alternating Treatments Design • Efficient for comparing effects of 2 or more treatments • Also known as: • • • •

Multi-element baseline design Multiple schedule design Concurrent schedule design Simultaneous treatment design



Operation and Logic of Alternating Treatments Design • Alternated in a variety of ways • A distinct stimulus is often associated with each treatment • Involves prediction, verification, and replication



Operation and Logic of Alternating Treatments Design • Experimental control demonstrated with different levels of response in different treatments • Allows for quick comparison • Stress importance of evaluating individualized treatments



Variations of Alternating Treatments Design • • • •

Single phase without no-treatment control condition Single phase with one no-treatment control condition Two phase with initial baseline Three phase with baseline and final best treatment phase



Without No-Treatment Control Condition



With No-Treatment Control Condition



With Baseline and Final Best Treatment Phase



Advantages of Alternating Treatments Design • • • • • • •

Does not require treatment withdrawal Speed of comparison Minimizes irreversibility problem Minimizes sequence effects Can be used with unstable data Can be used to assess generalization of effects Intervention can begin immediately



Disadvantages of Alternating Treatments Design • • • •

Multiple treatment interference Unnatural nature of rapidly alternating treatments Limited capacity (max. of 4 conditions) Selection of treatments – should be significantly different from one another



Chapter 9: Multiple Baseline and Changing Criterion Designs



Multiple Baseline Design • Most widely used for evaluating treatment effects in ABA • Highly flexible • Do not have to withdraw treatment variable



Operation and Logic • Alternative to reversal design when target behavior is likely to be irreversible or when impractical or unethical to reverse conditions • 3 basic forms: • Multiple baseline across behaviors • Multiple baseline across settings • Multiple baseline across subjects



Prediction, Verification, and Replication • Apply independent variable to Behavior 1 when you can confidently predict that the behavior would remain the same in constant conditions • If Behaviors 2 and 3 remain unchanged after the application of the IV to Behavior 1, this verifies the prediction • If the IV changes Behavior 2 like it did Behavior 1, the effect of the IV has been replicated • The more replications, the more convincing the demonstration; most commonly 3-5 tiers Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Multiple Baseline Across Behaviors • 2 or more different behaviors of same subject • Each subject serves as his/her own control • After steady state baseline responding, independent variable is applied to 1st behavior, while other behaviors are kept in baseline conditions • When steady state responding is reached for 1st behavior, then IV is applied to next behavior



Multiple Baseline Across Settings • A single behavior is targeted in two or more different settings or conditions • After steady state baseline responding, independent variable is applied to 1st setting, while other settings are kept in baseline conditions • When steady state responding is reached for 1st setting, then IV is applied to next setting



Multiple Baseline Across Subjects • One target behavior for 2 or more subjects in the same setting • After steady state baseline responding, independent variable is applied to 1st subject, while other subjects are kept in baseline conditions • When steady state responding is reached for 1st subject, then IV is applied to next subject • Most widely used multiple baseline design



Variations of Multiple Baselines • Alternative tactics for pursuing a multiple baseline analysis: • Multiple probe design • Delayed multiple baseline design

• When extended baseline measurement is unnecessary, impractical, too costly, or unavailable



Multiple Probe Design • Analyzes relation between independent variable and acquisition of skill sequences • Instead of simultaneous baselines, probes provide basis for determining if behavior change has occurred prior to intervention • Appropriate for analyzing a shaping program



Delayed Multiple Baseline Design • Initial baseline and intervention begin and subsequent baselines are added in a delayed or staggered fashion • Effective when reversal design is not possible, limited resources preclude a full-scale design, and when a new behavior, subject, or setting becomes available • Limitations: shorter baselines and can mask interdependence of dependent variables



Assumptions and Guidelines 1. •

Select independent, yet functionally similar baselines Behaviors are functionally independent of one another

•

Behaviors share enough similarity that they will change with the application of the same independent variable

2. Select concurrent and plausibly related multiple baselines • Behaviors must be measured concurrently •

All relevant variables that influence one behavior must have opportunity to influence other behaviors



Assumptions and Guidelines 3. Do not apply the independent variable to the next behavior too soon 4. Vary significantly the lengths of multiple baselines • The more baseline phases differ in length, the stronger the design 5. Intervene on most stable baseline first • If possible, application of independent variable should be made in order of greatest stability



Multiple Baseline Design Advantages • • • •

Does not require withdrawal of an effective treatment Ideal for multiple behavior changes sought by many practitioners Useful in assessing occurrence of generalization of behavior change Relatively easy to conceptualize



Limitations • Does not demonstrate experimental control • Provides more information about effectiveness of treatment variable than function of target behavior • Can require treatment being withheld for some behaviors/settings/subjects for a long time • Required time and resources



Changing Criterion Design • Used to evaluate effects of a treatment that is applied in a graduated fashion to a single target behavior • Initial baseline phase followed by series of treatment phases that serve as baseline for increased criterion of the next phase



Operation and Logic • Prediction, replication, and verification • Variation of the multiple baseline design • Show repeated production of new rates of behavior as function of manipulations of independent variable • Flexibility of the design



Guidelines for Use • Requires careful manipulation of 3 design factors:

• length of phases • magnitude of criterion changes • number of criterion changes



Length of Phases • Each phase serves as baseline for next phase, so must be long enough to achieve stable responding • Slower to change target behaviors, therefore, require longer phases • Should vary considerably to increase design’s validity



Magnitude of Criterion Changes • Varying size of changes gives more convincing demonstration of experimental control • Must be large enough to be detectable, but not so large as to be unachievable • Smaller changes can be used with very stable levels of responding • Larger changes required to demonstrate behavior change in presence of variability



Number of Criterion Changes • The more times the behavior changes to meet new criteria, the more convincing the demonstration of experimental control • Interrelated with phase length and magnitude of criterion changes • If limited time for study, the greater the number of phases, the shorter each phase can be



Appropriateness of Changing Criterion Design • Does not require reversal of improved behavior • Only one target behavior is required • Only for use with behaviors that are already in student’s repertoire and lend themselves to stepwise modification



Appropriateness • Not appropriate for shaping behaviors • Best suited for evaluating effect of instructional techniques on stepwise changes in rate, frequency, accuracy, duration, or latency of single target behavior



Chapter 10: Planning and Evaluating Applied Behavior Analysis Research



Importance of Individual Subject • Enables applied behavior analysts to discover and refine effective interventions for socially significant behaviors • Contrasted with groups-comparison approach



Groups-Comparison Experiment • Randomly selected pool of subjects from relevant population • Divided into experimental and control groups • Pretest, application of independent variable to experimental group, and posttest



Group Data Not Representative of Individual Performance • Individuals within a group could stay the same or decrease, while the improvement of others could make it appear as overall average improvement • To be most useful, treatment must be understood at an individual level



Group Data Masks Variability • Hides variability that occurs within and between subjects • Statistical control should not be a substitute for experimental control • To control effects of any variable, must either hold it constant or manipulate it as an independent variable



Absence of Intrasubject Replication • Power of replicating effects with individuals is lost • Many applied situations in which overall performance of group is socially significant • When group results don’t represent individuals, should supplement the data with individual results



Importance of Flexibility in Design • An effective researcher must actively design each experiment so that it achieves its own unique design • Good experimental design is any independent variable manipulation that produces data that convincingly addresses the research question • The book presents analytic tactics in design form



Experimental Designs • • • •

Often designs entail a combination of analytic tactics Component analysis of elements Infinite number of possible designs with different combinations Most effective use ongoing evaluation of data from individuals to employ baseline logic of prediction, verification, and replication



Internal Validity • Experiments that demonstrate clear functional relations have high degree of internal validity • Experimental control refers to all relevant variables • Steady state responding as evidence • Confounding variables are threats to internal validity



Subject Confounds • Maturation: changes in subject over course of experiment • Repeated measurement controls and detects uncontrolled variables



Setting Confounds • Studies in natural settings are more prone to confounding variables than in controlled laboratories • If change in setting occurs, should then hold new conditions constant until steady state responding is observed



Measurement Confounds • Observer drift or bias • Keeping observers naïve to expected outcomes can reduce observer bias • Must maintain baseline conditions long enough for reactive effects to run their course and then obtain stable responding • Could use intermittent probes except when practice effects would be expected



Independent Variable Confounds • Placebo control separates effects produced by subject’s perceived expectations • Double-blind control eliminates confounding by subject expectations, teacher and parent expectations, differential treatment by others, and observer bias



Treatment Integrity • Similar to procedural fidelity • Extent to which the independent variable is implemented or carried out as planned • Low treatment integrity makes it very difficult to confidently interpret experimental results • Treatment drift: when application of independent variable in later phases differs from original application



Precise Operational Definition • A high level of treatment integrity requires a complete, precise operational definition of treatment procedures • Define in 4 dimensions: verbal, physical, spatial, and temporal



Simplify, Standardize, and Automate • Simple, precise treatments are more likely to be consistently delivered • Simple, easy-to-implement techniques are more likely to be used and socially validated • Experimenters should standardize as many aspects as possible and practical • If possible without compromise, could use an automated device to deliver independent variable



Training and Practice • Train or provide practice for individual who will conduct the experimental sessions • Could provide a detailed script, verbal instructions, modeling, or performance feedback



Assessing Treatment Integrity • Collect treatment integrity data to measure how the actual implementation of the conditions matches the written methods • Observation and calibration give the researcher the ongoing ability to use retraining and practice to ensure high treatment integrity • Reduce, eliminate, or identify the influence of as many potentially confounding variables as possible



Social Validity • Includes the social significance of the target behavior, the appropriateness of the procedures, and the social importance of the results • Usually assessed by asking direct and indirect consumers • Consumer satisfaction



Social Importance of Behavior Change Goals • To determine socially valid goals: • Assess the performance of persons considered competent • Experimentally manipulate different levels of performance to determine which produces optimal results



Social Importance of Interventions • Rating scales and questionnaires for obtaining consumers’ opinions on acceptability of interventions • Examples: • Intervention Rating Profile • Treatment Acceptability Rating Form



Social Importance of Behavior Changes • Methods for assessing outcomes: • • • • •

Compare subject’s performance to a normative sample Use standardized assessment instrument Ask consumers to rate social validity of performance Ask experts to evaluate subject’s performance Test subject’s new performance in natural environment



Normative Sample • Not limited to posttreatment comparisons • Compare subject’s behavior to ongoing probes of behavior of normative sample to provide ongoing measure of improvement and how much is still needed



Consumers and Experts • Most frequently used method for assessing social validity is to ask consumers • Experts can be called upon to judge the social validity of some behavior changes



Standardized and Real-World Tests • Example of standardized test: Self-Injury Trauma Scale (SITS) • Real-world test in the natural environment provides direct assessment of social validity • Also exposes subject to naturally occurring reinforcement, which may promote maintenance and generalization



External Validity • Degree to which a functional relation in an experiment will hold under different conditions • A matter of degree, not all-or-nothing • Those with greater degrees of generality, make greater contribution to applied behavior analysis



External Validity and Groups-Design Research • There is nothing in the results of a groups-design experiment that can have external validity • Unable to provide data that lead to improved practice in education • Groups-design is effective in large-scale evaluations



External Validity and Applied Behavior Analysis • Generality of findings in ABA is assessed, established, and specified through replication of experiments • Two major types of scientific replication: direct and systematic



Direct Replication • Duplicates exactly the conditions of an earlier experiment • Intrasubject direct replication: uses same subject to establish reliability of functional relation • Intersubject direct replication: uses different but similar subjects to determine generality



Systematic Replication • Researcher purposefully varies one or more aspects of earlier experiment • Can demonstrate reliability and external validity of earlier findings • Can alter any aspect: subjects, setting, administration of independent variable, or target behaviors



Evaluating Applied Behavior Analysis Research • Questions to ask in evaluating the quality of research in applied behavior analysis fall under 4 categories: • • • •

Internal validity Social validity External validity Scientific and theoretical significance



Internal Validity • Must decide whether functional relation has been demonstrated • Requires close examination of measurement system, experimental design, and the researcher’s control of potential confounds



Evaluating Internal Validity • • • • •

Definition and measurement of dependent variable Graphic display Meaningfulness of baseline conditions Experimental design Visual analysis and interpretation



Visual Analysis and Interpretation • Factors that favor visual analysis over tests of statistical significance in ABA: • Want to see socially significant behavior change, not statistically significant • Good for identifying variables that produce strong, large, and reliable effects • Accepting statistical analysis as evidence of functional relation may cause researcher not to experiment further • Tests of statistical significance may cause data sets to conform, losing flexibility in design



Errors • Type I error: when researcher concludes that independent variable had effect on dependent variable, when it did not • Type II error: when researcher concludes that independent variable did not have effect on dependent variable, when it did • Visual analysis leads to less Type I and more Type II errors • Statistical analysis leads to more Type I and less Type II errors



Social Validity • Independent variable should be assessed in terms of its effects on dependent variable, as well as social acceptability, complexity, practicality, and cost • Consider maintenance and generalization of behavior change in evaluation of a study



External Validity • To effectively judge external validity, compare a study’s results with those of other relevant published research



Theoretical Significance and Conceptual Sense • Evaluate a study in terms of its scientific merit • Look at its contribution to the advancement of the field • “knowledgeable reproducibility”



Need for More Thorough Analyses • Need for more conceptual understanding of the principles that underlie successful demonstrations of behavior change • Readers should consider the technological description, the interpretation of results, and the level of conceptual integrity in experimental reports



Chapter 11: Positive Reinforcement



Definition • • • •

Stimulus presented Contingent on a response Which increases the future probability of the response The future increase in the response is a critical feature in defining reinforcement



Reinforcement is Not a Circular Concept • Circular Reasoning • Faulty logic in which the name used describe the effect is also mistaken for the cause of the phenomenon • Example: Johnny has trouble learning to read (effect). Therefore, he has a learning disability (phenomenon). How do I know he has a learning disability? Because he can’t read (effect now translated into cause)



Reinforcement is Not a Circular Concept • Sometimes, people refer to “reinforcement” as a circular concept--it is not! • Example: Robbie’s studying behavior increased when he earned points for studying. • Cause (earning points) and effect (increased study behavior) are different • Points can be manipulated as an independent variable to observe effects on studying



The Role of Antecedent Stimuli • Caveat #1: Reinforcement does not increase behavior under all conditions • The temporal relation between • Antecedent variables • Responses • Consequences

is important! • These antecedent variables become discriminitive stimuli (SDs) • Thus, the response is more likely to occur in the future in the presence of these stimuli



The Discriminated Operant • AKA “The Three-term Contingency” SD Tap on faucet marked with blue dot or letter “C”

Response Turn tap with blue dot or “C”

SR+ Cold water presented

Turning tap marked with blue dot or “C” occurs more often in the future

This term is referred to as “the reinforcer”



The Role of Antecedent Stimuli • Caveat #2: Reinforcement depends on motivation • The SD will only signal the response if the individual is motivated to engage in the response • Motivating Operations (MOs) • Alter the reinforcing effectiveness of stimuli, and thus • Alter the momentary frequency of responses reinforced by those stimuli



Motivating Operations • Establishing Operations (EO) • Increases the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer • Usually involves decreased access to the stimulus (deprivation)

• Abolishing Operation (AO) • Decreases the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer • Usually involves having increased access to the stimulus (satiation)



The Four-term Contingency • The consideration of MOs are important in relation to the three-term contingency EO

SD

Response

SR+

Deprived of water for a long period of time

Tap on faucet marked with blue dot or letter “C”

Turn tap with blue dot or “C”

Cold water presented

We only expect blue tap-turning behavior when the person “wants” water (i.e., is thirsty)


Turning tap marked with blue dot or “C” occurs more often in the future when the individual has been deprived of water for periods of time


Questions About Reinforcement • Does a person have to be aware that a response is being reinforced for it to increase? • NO! The effect is automatic.

• Are certain behaviors susceptible to reinforcement and others are not? • NO! The only relevant relevant property is the temporal relation between the response and the consequence.



Immediacy of Reinforcement • It is critical that the consequence is delivered immediately following the target response • Problems with delays to reinforcement • Other behaviors occur during the delay • The behavior temporarily closest to the presentation of the reinforcer will be strengthened



Delayed Reinforcement • Does not necessarily reinforce the target behavior; rather influences it • Instructional Control/Rule Following • Rule: verbal description of a behavioral contingency • Can allow delayed consequences to influence behavior



“Rule-governed Behavior” • Indicators • No immediate consequence apparent • Response-consequence delay > 30 s • Large increase in frequency of the behavior occurs following one instance of reinforcement • No consequence for the behavior exists (including no automatic reinforcement), but rule does



Superstitious Behavior • Occurs when reinforcement “accidentally” follows a behavior that did not produce the reinforcement • Sports players who equate putting on a certain pair of socks with winning a game (leading to the “lucky socks” idea) • A teacher consoling a child who hurt himself may reinforce crying and/or hurting oneself



Automatic Reinforcement • Reinforcement that occurs independent of another person delivering it • The response, itself, produces the reinforcement • Examples • Wiggling your leg during a boring lecture to stimulate yourself and stay awake

• Note: This does not mean the behaviors are automatic (i.e., “reflexive”); rather that the consequences are delivered automatically Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Classifying Reinforcers



Reinforcers by Origin • Unconditioned Reinforcers (AKA primary or unlearned reinforcers) • Function as reinforcers due to heredity/evolution • Do not require any learning history to become reinforcers • Examples: Food, water, oxygen, warmth, sexual stimulation, human touch



Reinforcers by Origin • Conditioned Reinforcers (AKA secondary or learned reinforcers) • Neutral stimuli that begin to function as reinforcers as a result of being paired with other reinforcers (either conditioned or unconditioned) • Can also condition reinforcers through verbal analog conditioning • Examples: Yellow paper, stickers, tokens



Generalized Conditioned Reinforcers • A type of conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with many conditioned and unconditioned reinforcers • Do not depend on a specific EO to be effective • Examples: tokens, money, points



Reinforcers by Formal Properties • • • • •

Edible reinforcers (food) Sensory reinforcers (massage, tickles) Tangible reinforcers (trinkets, toys) Activity reinforcers (playing a game, recess) Social reinforcers (physical proximity, social interaction) Bear this in mind: Items that function as reinforcers are idiosyncratic across people!



Identifying Potential Reinforcers • It is important to identify reinforcers empirically • Staff, parents, teachers, and even children themselves who report what they believe to be reinforcers are often wrong

• Two strategies to use in tandem • Stimulus Preference Assessments • Reinforcer Assessments



Caveats Regarding Preference/Reinf. Assess. • Preference changes over time • Evaluate frequently

• Preference assessments do not identify the reinforcing effects of stimuli • Just because people prefer paper towels to hot-air hand dryers in public restrooms doesn’t mean they’ll work to earn paper towels!



Stimulus Preference Assessments • Identify • Stimuli a person prefers • Relevant preference values • Conditions under which these preferences hold true

• Three Categories • Asking about stimulus preferences • Observing the target person under free-operant conditions • Presenting various stimuli in a series of trial-based observation Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Asking About Stimulus Preferences • Ask the Target Person • Open-ended questions • What would you like to work for?

• Asking about specific items • How would you like to work for stickers?

• Choice format • Would you rather work for things to eat or things to do?

• Rank order format • Put these items/activities in order from which you’d like to work for most to which you’d like to work for least.



Asking About Stimulus Preferences • Offering Pre-task Choices • When you are finished working, you can play with Battleship, checkers, or the computer

• Asking Significant Others • Ask caregivers to identify preferred stimuli



Asking About Stimulus Preferences • A relatively uncomplicated procedure • Problems • Verbal reports may not correspond to actual behavior • High number of false positives and low number of false negatives



Free-Operant Observation • Observing and recording what activities the target person engages in when he/she has unrestricted choice of activities • No response requirements • All stimuli available within sight and reach • Items are never removed • Can be contrived or naturalistic



Contrived Free-Operant Observation • Just prior to observation, provide learner with noncontingent exposure to each item (for sampling purposes) • Place all items in view and within reach • Observe for a set period of time and record the duration of time target person engages with each stimulus item



Naturalistic Free-Operant Observation • Conducted in everyday environments as unobtrusively as possible (e.g., during recess) • Observe for a set period of time and record the duration of time target person engages with each stimulus item/activity



Advantages of Free-Operant Assessments • Less time consuming than some trial-based methods of preference assessment. • Less likely to produce problem behavior because preferred stimuli are never removed.



Trial-Based Methods • General Procedure

• Present selected stimuli to children in a series of trials • Measure approach (e.g., eye gaze, hand reach), contact (e.g., touch/hold), and/or engagement (e.g., interacting with stimulus) • Can categorize as high, medium, and low preference

• Many variations for procedure



Trial-based Method 1: Single Stimulus Presentation • Present stimuli, one at a time, in random order and record target person’s reaction to it • Well suited for individuals who have difficulty selecting among two or more stimuli



Trial-based Method 2: Paired Stimuli Presentation • Sometimes called “forced-choice” method • Present two stimuli simultaneously and ask the target person to choose one • Each stimulus is matched to every other stimulus in the set • Rank order from high, medium, and low preference



Trial-based Method 3: Multiple Stimulus Presentation • Extension of the paired-stimuli presentation • Present an array of 3 or more stimuli together • Two major variations: • With replacement • Stimulus selected remains in array in subsequent trials

• Without replacement • Selected stimulus is removed from the array in subsequent trials (takes about half the time to complete the procedure, and it is still fairly accurate)



Trial-based Method 3: Multiple Stimulus Presentation • Begin trial with: Which one do you want the most? • Repeat several times



Guidelines for Selecting and Using Stimulus Preference Assessments • Monitor target person’s activities prior to assessment to be aware of EOs that may affect results • Balance cost-benefits of procedures (time to do vs. level of confidence) • Balance rankings vs. no rankings with shifts of preference • When time is limited, use fewer stimuli in array • When possible, combine data from multiple assessment procedures



Reinforcer Assessment • A direct, data-based method in which • One or more stimuli are presented • Contingent on a target response, and • Observing whether an increase in responding occurs

• Allows you to verify/confirm whether a stimulus functions as a reinforcer



Concurrent Schedule Reinforcer Assessment • Pit two stimuli against each other and observe which produces the larger increase in responding • Allows you to determine differences between relative and absolute reinforcement effects



Multiple Schedule Reinforcer Assessment • Two or more component schedules of reinforcement for a single response with only one component schedule in effect at a given time • An SD signals the presence of each component schedule and is present while that component is in effect



Progressive-Ratio Schedule Reinforcer Assessment • Preferences may change when response requirements increase • Progressive-ratio schedules provide a framework for assessing relative effectiveness of a stimulus as reinforcement as response requirements increase • Response requirements are systematically increased over time until responding declines



Control Procedures for Positive Reinforcement • When evaluating the effects of reinforcement in an ABAB reversal design: • “the ideal control procedure…eliminates the contingent relation between the occurrence of the target response and the presentation of the stimulus while controlling for the effects of stimulus presentation alone” (Thompson & Iwata, 2003, p. 259).

• Perhaps a noncontingent schedule of reinforcement is the appropriate control (A) condition as a comparison for the positive reinforcement (B) condition.



Control Procedures for Positive Reinforcement • DRO may be another appropriate control procedure • May produce a reversal more quickly than the NCR schedule

• DRA could be used as a control procedure to reinforce another alternative response



Control Procedures for Positive Reinforcement • Limitations of DRO/DRA as controls • Introduce new contingencies that were not present in original experimental arrangement • Reversals may be due to • Termination of a contingency between target response and reinforcer • Introduction of reinforcement for absence of the target response or for the occurrence of a competing response



12 Guidelines for Using Reinforcement Effectively 1. Choose reinforcers relevant to current or creatable establishing operations 2. Maintain establishing operations 3. Use high-quality reinforcers of sufficient magnitude 4. Set an easily achieved initial criterion for reinforcement -criterion should be less than or equal to best performance during baseline Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


12 Guidelines for Using Reinforcement Effectively 5. 6. 7. 8.

Explain the contingency and provide prompts to respond Deliver the reinforcer immediately following behavior Reinforce each occurrence of the behavior initially Use direct rather than indirect reinforcement contingencies



12 Guidelines for Using Reinforcement Effectively 9. 10. 11. 12.

Gradually increase response-to-reinforcement delay Use varied reinforcers Use contingent praise and attention Shift from contrived to naturally occurring reinforcers



Chapter 12: Negative Reinforcement



Definition • Stimulus removed (terminated, reduced, or postponed) • Contingent on a response • Which results in an increase in the future probability of that response



Escape Contingency • Includes 4 terms • Establishing operation • Antecedent event in the presence of which escape is reinforcing • An aversive stimulus

• A discrimintive stimulus (SD) • A response • The reinforcer (termination of the EO)



Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement • How they are similar: • Both produce an increase in responding via a stimulus change

• How they are different: • The type of stimulus change that follows the behavior • Positive reinforcement produces a stimulus that was absent prior to responding • Negative reinforcement terminates a stimulus that was present prior to responding



Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement Positive reinforcement: EO

SD

Response

SR+

Absence of food for 2 hours

Teacher says “Snack time” and apples on table

“Apple, please”

Apple presented

Saying “Apple, please” when it is snack time and apples are present more likely in the future

Negative reinforcement: EO

SD

Response

SR-

Math worksheet with 20 problems on student’s desk

Teacher says “Complete 5 problems, then you don’t have to do the rest”

Completes 5 problems

Remaining problems on worksheet removed


Completing problems when math worksheet and teacher instructions present more likely in the future


A difficulty… • Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether the stimulus change was positive or negative • Turning up the heat • Adds heat • Removes cold

• Free time contingent on work completion • Adds preferred activities • Removes work



A solution… • Michael (1975) suggested the distinction is not important • Instead, define key stimulus features • Before the stimulus change • After the stimulus change

• This may provide a more complete, functional understanding of the relationship between the behavior and environment



Negative Reinforcement vs. Punishment • Often confused because: • “Positive” and “Negative” are opposites • But “positive” refers to presentation of the stimulus and “negative” refers to the termination of the stimulus

• Both involve “aversive” events • But in negative reinforcement, the aversive event is present prior to the target behavior and in punishment, the aversive event is presented contingent on the target behavior • And the effect on behavior is different (negative reinforcement produces an increase in responding; punishment produces a decrease in responding)



Negative Reinforcement vs. Punishment Negative reinforcement: EO

SD

Response

SR-

Math worksheet with 20 problems on student’s desk


Completes 5 problems

Remaining problems on worksheet removed

SD

Response

SP+


Destroys worksheet

Teacher requires student to complete all 20 problems

Punishment:

Completing problems more likely in the future when math worksheet and teacher instructions present

Destroying worksheet less likely in the future when teacher makes work request

Escape and Avoidance Contingencies • Escape Contingency

EO

SD

Response

SR-

Rain falling on your head as you walk down sidewalk

Friend says “Do you have an umbrella?”

Put up umbrella

Escape rain falling on your head


Putting up umbrella more likely in the future when it’s raining and friend asks for umbrella


Escape and Avoidance Contingencies • Avoidance Contingency

EO

SD

Response

SR-

Rain outside; you are still inside--nice and dry

Friend says “Do you have an umbrella?”

Put up umbrella (prior to going outside)

Avoid rain falling on your head


Putting up umbrella more likely in the future when it’s raining and friend asks for umbrella


Characteristics of Negative Reinforcement • Any response (socially appropriate or inappropriate) can be strengthened by negative reinforcement • All are adaptive because they allow the individual to interact effectively with the environment

• A variety of stimuli can serve as negative reinforcers • Unconditioned • Conditioned



Characteristics of Negative Reinforcement • Negative reinforcement can be • Socially mediated (delivered by another person) • Automatic (is produced directly by the person’s response)



Factors Influencing Effectiveness • As with positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement is most effective when • • • •

It is delivered immediately following the target behavior The magnitude of reinforcement is large It is delivered consistently Reinforcement is unavailable for competing (nontarget) responses



Ethical Considerations • Like positive reinforcement, ethical issues arise from the severity of the EO that may need to be in place to motivate the occurrence of the behavior • The presence of particularly aversive antecedent stimuli may be problematic • These stimuli may generate undesirable competing behaviors



Chapter 13: Schedules of Reinforcement



Schedules of Reinforcement • Continuous Reinforcement (CRF) • Provides reinforcement for every occurrence of a behavior. • Advantageous for skill acquisition



Schedules of Reinforcement • Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement (INT) • Used to strengthen established behaviors • Usually necessary for the progression to naturally occurring reinforcement.



Schedules of Reinforcement • Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Ratio (instances) and Interval (time) • Ratio schedules require a number of responses before one response produces reinforcement • Interval schedules require and elapse of time before a response produces reinforcement.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Ratio Schedules • Require a number of responses before one response produces reinforcement. • A fixed number of “instances” or “occurrences” of the correct target behavior.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Interval Schedules • With an interval schedule, a specific amount of time elapses before a single response produces reinforcement • Reinforcement is contingent only on the occurrence of one response after the required time has elapsed.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Schedules • With a fixed schedule, the response ratio or the time requirement remains constant. • Fixed Ratio 4 (FR 4) – Reinforcement is delivered after every 4th correct response. • Fixed Interval 2 min (FI 2) – Reinforcement is delivered for the first response after the 2 minutes have elapsed.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Ratio and Schedule Effects • Consistency of Performance • Produces a typical pattern of responding • After the first response of the ratio requirement, subject completes required responses with little hesitation • Postreinforcement pause follows reinforcement



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Ratio (FR) and Schedule Effects • Rate of Response • Often produce high rates of response • Larger the ratio requirement, the higher the rate of response.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule Effects A = Post reinforcement pause

B

B = High rate of response “run”

A Responses

C = reinforcer delivered upon emission of nth response C

Time



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Schedules • The response ratio or the time requirement can change from one reinforced response to another. • Variable Ratio – 4 (VR 4). An average of every 4th correct occurrence • Variable Interval 2 minute (VI 2). Reinforcing the first occurrence after an averaged elapsed time of 2 minutes.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Ratio (VR) and Schedule Effects • Consistency of Performance • Produce consistent, steady rates of response • Do not produce a postreinforcement pause



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Ratio (VR) and Schedule Effects • Rate of Response • Tends to produce a quick rate of response • To a degree, the larger the ratio requirement, the quicker the rate of response.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Ratio (VR) Schedule Effects

Responses

A = High steady rate of responding B = Reinforcement delivered after a varying number of required responses are emitted

A

Schedule Effects: B

Time


Ratio requirements are completed with a very high rate of response and little hesitation between responses. Postreinforcement pauses are not a characteristic of the VR schedule. Rate of response is influenced by the size of the ratio requirements


Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Interval (FI) • Provides reinforcement for the first correct response following a fixed duration of time. • Elapse of time alone is not sufficient for reinforcer delivery.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule Effects • Consistency of Performance • Typically produce a postreinforcement pause • Gradually accelerating rate of response toward the end of the interval is called an FI scallop



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule Effects • Rate of response • Tend to produce a slow to moderate rate of response • To a degree, the larger the fixed interval requirement, the longer the postreinforcement pause



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule Effects A = Postreinforcement pause B = increase in response rates as interval progresses and reinforcer becomes available

Responses

B

C = reinforcer delivered contingent on first correct responses after interval

A

Schedule Effects: C Time


FI schedules generate slow to moderate rates of responding with a pause in responding following reinforcement. Responding begins to accelerate toward the end of the interval.


Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Interval (VI) • Provides reinforcement for the first correct response following the elapse of variable durations of time • “Average” amount of time



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Interval (VI) Schedule Effects • Consistency of Performance • Tends to produce a constant, stable rate of response. • Typically produces few hesitations between responses.



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Interval (VI) Schedule Effects • Rate of responding • Tends to produce low to moderate rate of response. • The larger the average interval, the lower the overall rate of response



Basic Schedules of Reinforcement • Variable Interval (VI) Schedule Effects A = Steady response rate; few, if any, postreinforcement pauses B = Reinforcer delivered Responses

A Schedule Effects:

B

A VI schedule generates a slow to moderate response that is constant and stable. There are few, if any, postreinforcement pauses with VI schedules

Time



Thinning Intermittent Reinforcement • One of two methods commonly used: • Gradually increasing the response ratio or the duration of the time interval • Providing instructions such as rules, directions and signs to communicate the schedule of reinforcement.



Thinning Intermittent Reinforcement • Ratio Strain • A result of abrupt increases in ratio requirements • Characteristics include: avoidance, aggression, and unpredictable pauses in responding



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Provides an intervention for behavior problems associated with rate of response. • Variation of ratio schedules



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Differential reinforcement of high rates (DRH) • Reinforcement of responses higher than a predetermined criterion.



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates (DRL) • Responses are reinforced only when they are lower than the criterion.



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Definitions • Reinforcement is available only for responses that are separated by a given duration time • Sometimes referred to as Spaced-responding DRH or Space-responding DRL



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Full Session DRH • Provides reinforcement if the total number of responses during the session meets or exceeds a number criterion



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Full Session DRL • Provides reinforcement if the total number of responses during the session is at or below a number criterion



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Interval definition for DRH & DRL • Reinforcement is available only for responses that occur at a minimum or better rate of response over short durations of time during the session.



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding • Differential Reinforcement of Diminishing Rates (DRD) • Provides reinforcement of responses at the end of a pre-determined teim interval when the number of respones is less than a criterion that is gradually decreased across time intervals based on the individuals performance.



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Progressive Schedules of Reinforcement • Systematically thins each successive reinforcement opportunity independent of the participant’s behavior. • Progressive Ratio Schedules of Reinforcement (PR) • Progressive Interval Schedules of Reinforcement (PI)



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Progressive Schedules of Reinforcement • Using Progressive Schedules for Reinforcer Assessment • Provide an assessment procedure for identifying reinforcers that will maintain treatment effects across increasing schedule requirements.



Variations on Basic Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement • Progressive Schedules of Reinforcement • Using Progressive Schedules for Intervention • Systematically increasing the ratio or interval requirements for reinforcement



Compound Schedules of Reinforcement • Combined elements of continuous reinforcement (CRF), the four intermittent schedules of reinforcement (FR, VR, FI, VI), differential reinforcement of various rates of responding (DRH, DRL), and extinction (CRF)



Compound Schedules of Reinforcement • Concurrent Schedule of Reinforcement (conc) • Occurs when (a) two or more contingencies of reinforcement (b) operate independently and simultaneously (c) for two or more behaviors.



Compound Schedules of Reinforcement • Concurrent Schedule of Reinforcement (conc) • Using Concurrent Schedules for Reinforcer Assessment • This schedule requires the participant to choose between two or more stimuli rather than indicating a preference for a given stimulus.



Compound Schedules of Reinforcement • Concurrent Schedule of Reinforcement (conc) • Using Concurrent Schedules for Intervention • Arranging two or more reinforcers for the participant to choose from contingent upon the occurrence of a target behavior.



Compound Schedules of Reinforcement • Concurrent Performances: Formalizing the Matching Law • Concurrent interval schedules – participants typically do not allocate all of their responses exclusively to the richer schedule. • Concurrent ratio schedules – participants are sensitive to the ratio schedules an tend to maximize reinforcement by responding primarily to the ratio that produces the higher rate of reinforcement.



Compound Schedules of Reinforcement • The Matching Law • Rate of responding typically is proportional to the rate of reinforcement received from each choice alternative.



Discriminative Schedules of Reinforcement • Multiple Schedules of Reinforcement (mult) • Presents two or more basic schedules of reinforcement in an alternating, usually random, sequence. • Basic schedules occur successively and independently. • A discriminative stimulus is correlated with each basic schedule and is present as long as the schedule is in effect



Discriminative Schedules of Reinforcement • Chained Schedules of Reinforcement (chain) • Similar to (mult) • Differs in three ways – • Basic schedules occur in a specific order • The behavior may be the same for all elements of the chain, or different behaviors may be required for different elements • Conditioned reinforcement for first behavior in the chain is the presentation of the second element and so on.



Non-discriminative Schedules of Reinforcement • Mixed Schedules (mix) • Identical to multiple schedules, except the mixed schedule has no discriminative stimuli correlated with the independent schedules • Example: mix FR 10 FI 1 schedule



Non-discriminative Schedules of Reinforcement • Tandem Schedules • Similar to the chained schedule except the tandem schedule does not use a discriminative stimulus • Example: FR 15 FI 2 schedule – participants makes 15 responses then reinforcement is delivered for the first response after 2 minutes of elapsed time.



Chapter 14: Punishment by Stimulus Presentation



Introduction • Learning from the consequences that produce pain or discomfort, or the loss of reinforcers, has survival value for the individual and for the species. • Punishment teaches us not to repeat responses that cause us harm



Introduction • Punishment is: • Poorly understood • Frequently misapplied • Controversial



Introduction As a principle of behavior, punishment is not about punishing the person. Punishment is a: response consequence contingency that suppresses the future frequency of similar responses.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Operations & Defining Effect of Punishment Punishment has occurred when a response is followed immediately by a stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of similar responses



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Operations & Defining Effect of Punishment Punishment is defined neither by the actions of the person delivering the consequences, nor by the nature of those consequences.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Operations & Defining Effect of Punishment A decrease in the future frequency of the occurrence of the behavior must be observed before a consequence-based intervention qualifies as punishment.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Positive Punishment & Negative Punishment Positive Punishment Presentation of a stimulus (or an increase in the intensity of an already present stimulus) immediately following a behavior that results in a decrease in the frequency of the behavior.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Positive Punishment & Negative Punishment Negative Punishment The termination of an already present stimulus (or a decrease in the intensity of an already present stimulus) immediately following a behavior that results in a decrease in the future frequency of the behavior. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Positive Punishment & Negative Punishment For a stimulus change to function as negative punishment, which amounts to the removal of a positive reinforcer, a “motivating operation for the reinforcer must be in effect, otherwise removing it will not constitute punishment.” (Michael, 2004, p.36)



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Positive Punishment & Negative Punishment Positive & negative punishment are sometimes identified as: Type I Punishment Type II Punishment



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Positive Punishment & Negative Punishment Because aversive events are associated with positive punishment and with negative reinforcement, the umbrella term aversive control is often used to describe intervention involving either or both of these two principles.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Discriminative Effects of Punishment The 3 term contingency for punishment (1) In a particular stimulus situation (S), (2) some kinds of behavior (R), when followed immediately by (3) certain stimulus changes (SP), show a decreased future frequency of occurrence in the same or in similar situations. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Discriminative Effects of Punishment If punishment occurs only in some stimulus conditions and not in others, the suppressive effects of punishment will be most prevalent under those conditions.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Discriminative Effects of Punishment The symbol adopted by Cooper, Heron, and Heward for the discriminative stimulus for punishment is SDp.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Discriminative Effects of Punishment SDp A stimulus condition in the presence of which a response has a lower probability of occurrence than it does in its absence as a result of response-contingent punishment delivery in the presence of the stimulus.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Dp

S

R

p

S

Grandma in the kitchen before dinner

Reach into cookie jar

Grandma scolds

Seagulls present at beach picnic

Leave sandwich unattended

Seagull flies away with sandwich

Effect on Future Frequency of Similar Responses D in Presence of S

Three-term contingencies illustrating positive and negative punishment of a discriminated operant: A response (R) emitted in the presence of a discriminative stimulus (SDp) is followed closely in time by a stimulus change (SP) and results in a decreased frequency of similar responses in the future when the SDp is present. A discriminated operant for punishment is the product of a conditioning history in which responses in the presence of the SDp have been punished and similar responses in the absence of the SDp have not been punished. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Recovery from Punishment When punishment is discontinued, its suppressive effects on responding are usually not permanent. Sometimes the rate of responding after punishment is discontinued will not only recover but also briefly exceed the level at which it was occurring prior to punishment Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Recovery from Punishment Permanent response suppression may occur when complete suppression of behavior to a zero rate of responding has been achieved with intense punishment.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers A punisher is a stimulus change that immediately follows the occurrence of a behavior and reduces the future frequency of that type of behavior.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers An unconditioned punisher is a stimulus whose presentation functions as punishment without having been paired with any other punishers. Product of the evolutionary history of a species (phylogeny); all biologically intact members of a species are more or less susceptible to punishment by the same unconditioned punishers.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers Unlike unconditioned reinforcers, under most conditions many unconditioned punishers will suppress any behavior that precedes their onset.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers A conditioned punisher is a stimulus change that functions as punishment as a result of a person’s conditioning history. Acquires the capability to function as a punisher through stimulusstimulus pairing with one or more unconditioned or conditioned punishers. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers If the conditioned punisher is repeatedly presented without the punisher(s) with which it was initially paired, its effectiveness as punishment will diminish until it is no longer a punisher.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers Verbal analog conditioning Previously neutral stimuli can also become conditioned punishers for humans without direct physical pairing with another punisher.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers A stimulus change that has been paired with numerous forms of unconditioned and conditioned punishers becomes a generalized conditioned punisher. Generalized conditioned punishers are free from the control of specific motivating conditions and will function as punishment under most conditions.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Unconditioned and Conditioned Punishers

- IMPORTANT point Punishers, like reinforcers, are not defined by their physical properties, but by their functions.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Factors That Influence the Effectiveness of Punishment Immediacy of punishment Intensity of punishment Schedule or frequency of punishment Availability of reinforcement for the target behavior Availability of reinforcement for an alternative behavior. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Factors That Influence the Effectiveness of Punishment Immediacy Maximum suppressive effects are obtained when the onset of the punisher occurs as soon as possible after the occurrence of a target response.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Factors That Influence the Effectiveness of Punishment Intensity The more intense the punishing stimulus is the greater it will reduce future responding.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Factors That Influence the Effectiveness of Punishment Schedule The greater the proportion of responses that are followed by the punisher is the greater the response reduction. Continuous Punishment = response suppression, but allows for rapid recovery when the punishment contingency is removed. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Factors That Influence the Effectiveness of Punishment Reinforcement for the Target Behavior The effectiveness of punishment is modulated by the reinforcement contingencies maintaining the problem behavior. To the extent that reinforcement maintaining the problem behavior can be reduced or eliminated, punishment will be more apparent. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Factors That Influence the Effectiveness of Punishment Reinforcement for Alternative Behaviors Milleson (1967) stated: If punishment is employed in an attempt to eliminate certain behavior, then whatever reinforcement the undesirable behavior had led to must be made available via a more desirable behavior. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Possible Side Effects and Problems with Punishment Elicitation of undesirable emotional response and aggression Escape and Avoidance Increased rate of the problem behavior under nonpunishment Modeling undesirable behavior Not teaching the learner what to do Overusing punishment because of the negative reinforcement it provides the punishing agent. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Definitions & Nature of Punishment Possible Side Effects and Problems with Punishment Elicitation of undesirable emotional response and aggression. Punishment, especially positive punishment in the form of aversive stimulation, may evoke aggressive behavior with respondent and operant components.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Possible Side Effects and Problems with Punishment Elicitation of undesirable emotional response and aggression. Aggressive behavior following punishment that occurs because it has enable the person to escape the aversive stimulation in the past is referred to as operant aggression.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Possible Side Effects and Problems with Punishment Escape and Avoidance Natural reactions to aversive stimulation As the intensity of the punisher increases, so does the likelihood of escape and avoidance. Can be minimized by providing alternative responses that come into contact with reinforcement and avoid the punisher.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Possible Side Effects and Problems with Punishment Behavioral Contrast Change in one component of a multiple schedule that increases or decreases the rate of responding on that component is accompanied by a change in the response rate in the opposite direction on the other, unaltered component of the schedule.



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Possible Side Effects and Problems with Punishment Punishment may involve undesirable modeling Punishment tactics may model undesirable behaviors. 2 decades of research have found strong correlation between young children’s exposure to harsh and excessive punishment and antisocial behavior and conduct disorders as adolescents and adults. (Patterson, 1982; Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992; Sprague & Walker, 2000).



Definitions & Nature of Punishment Possible Side Effects and Problems with Punishment Negative Reinforcement of the Punishing Agent’s Behavior Punishment reinforces the punisher. Punishment tends to terminate the punished behavior quickly. The punisher’s behavior tends to be negatively reinforced by the immediate cessation of the punished behavior. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Reprimands The delivery of verbal reprimands following the occurrence of misbehavior is an example of attempted positive punishment. Reprimands given repeatedly may lead to the subject habituating to the stimulus



Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Response Blocking Physically intervening as soon as the person begins to emit the problem behavior to prevent or “block” the completion of the response has been show to be effective in reducing the frequency of some problem behaviors. Suppressive effects of response blocking may be due to punishment or to extinction.



Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Response Blocking Response blocking as a treatment intervention must be approached with great care. Side effects such as aggression and resistance to the response blocking procedure have occurred in some studies.



Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Contingent Exercise An intervention in which a person is required to perform a response that is not topographically related to the problem behavior.



Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Overcorrection A behavior change tactic based on positive punishment in which, contingent on the problem behavior, the learner is required to engage in effortful behavior that is directly or logically related to the problem. 2 Forms:

Restitutional and Positive Practice



Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Overcorrection Restitutional Overcorrection Contingent on the problem behavior, the learner is required to repair or return the environment to its original state and then to engage in additional behavior to bring the environment to a condition vastly better than it was in prior to the misbehavior.



Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Overcorrection Positive Practice Overcorrection Contingent on an occurrence of the target behavior the learner is required to repeat a correct form of the behavior, or a behavior incompatible with the problem, a specified number of times.



Examples of Positive Punishment Interventions Contingent Electric Stimulation 46 studies have demonstrated that contingent electric stimulation can be a safe and highly effective method for suppressing chronic and life- threatening selfinjurious behavior (SIB). Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibiting System (SIBIS) One of the most rigorously researched and carefully applied procedures for implementing punishment by electric stimulation for self-inflicted blows to the head or face. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Select Effective and Appropriate Punishers Punishment as part of a behavior change program has nothing to do with retribution. 1. Punishment is not about threats. 2. When punishers are threatened and not delivered, the child learns that your verbal threats are not associated with the actual punishing behavior. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Select Effective and Appropriate Punishers Conduct Punisher Assessments Parallel process to a reinforcer assessment (Ch. 11). Advantages: 1. The sooner an effective punisher can be identified, the sooner it can be applied to treat the problem behavior. 2. Data from punisher assessments might reveal the magnitude or intensity of punisher necessary for behavioral suppression. Allows practitioner to determine the smallest intensity of punisher that is still affective. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Select Effective and Appropriate Punishers Consider Using Varied Punishers Varying the form of the punishing stimulus enhanced the punishing effect. It appears that by presenting a varied format of commonly used punishers, inappropriate behaviors may further decrease without the use of more intrusive punishment procedures. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Use the Least Intensity of Punishment That is Effective Ethical guidelines and the doctrine of the least restrictive alternative demand that the most effective, but least intrusive, form of punishment be used initially. Questions to answer when deciding on a form of punishment: Will this form of punishment suppress the behavior? Will this form of punishment be controlled from application to application?



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Use the Least Intensity of Punishment That is Effective Punishment is more effective when the stimulus is delivered at its optimum level initially than when its intensity is gradually increased over time.



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Experience the Punishment Personally Practitioners should experience any punisher personally before the treatment begins Doing to reminds the practitioner that the technique produces physical discomfort.



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Deliver the Punishment Immediately Every instance of the inappropriate behavior should be punished. Punishment affects most the behavior that immediately precedes the onset of punishment.



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Deliver the Punishment at the Beginning of the Response Chain As much as practical, punishment should occur early in the behavioral sequence rather than later.



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Deliver the Punishment Unemotionally Punishment should be delivered in a business-like, matter-of-fact manner. Resist statement such as, “I told you so.” “Now, you’ve gone and done i.” and “What do you have to say for yourself?” All you want to do is modify behavior, not make people atone for their sins.



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Punish Each Instance of the Behavior Punishment is most effective when the punisher follows each instance of the behavior.



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Provide Response Prompts and Reinforcement for Alternative Behavior. Punishment is most effective when the learner can make other responses for reinforcement. The more reinforcement the learner obtains by emitting appropriate behavior, the less motivate he will be to emit the problem behavior.



Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Watch for Side Effects of Punishment The suppression of one inappropriate behavior may lead to the increased expression of another or the complete suppression of all other behaviors. Decreasing episodes of self-injurious behavior bay produce increased levels of verbal noncompliance Expand observations to include collateral or parallel behaviors. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively Record, Graph and Evaluate Data Daily Data collection in the first session or two of a punishment based intervention is especially critical. Graphing the frequency of the target behavior before, during, and after the presentation of the punisher establishes the effectiveness of punishment.



Ethical Considerations Regarding the Use of Punishment Right to Safe and Humane Treatment The first ethical canon and responsibility for any human services program is to do no harm.



Ethical Considerations Regarding the Use of Punishment Least Restrictive Alternative The less intrusive procedures should be tried and found to be ineffective before more intrusive procedures are implemented. Interventions can be viewed as falling along a continuum of restrictiveness from least to most.



Ethical considerations Regarding the Use of Punishment Least Restrictive Alternative A procedure’s overall level of restrictiveness is a combined function of its absolute level of restrictiveness, the amount of time required to produce a clinically acceptable outcome, and the consequences associated with delayed intervention.



Ethical considerations Regarding the Use of Punishment Right to Effective Treatment Failing to use a punishment procedure that research has show to suppress selfdestructive behavior similar to the client’s is unethical because it withholds a potentially effective treatment and may maintain a dangerous or uncomfortable state for the person.



Ethical considerations Regarding the Use of Punishment Developing and Using a Punishment Policy can Procedural Safeguards Follow a written policy statement. Consult local, state, or professional association policy statement regarding the use of punishment.



Concluding Perspectives Recognizing Punishment's Natural and Necessary Role in Learning Behavior analysts should not shy away from punishment. Positive and negative punishment contingencies naturally as a part of everyday life.



Concluding Perspectives Punishment is a natural part of life Punishment happens! Whether punishment is socially mediated, planned or unplanned, or conducted by sophisticated practitioners, Vollmer believed that a science of behavior should study punishment.



Concluding Perspectives More Research on Punishment is Needed Many recommendations for punishment are derived from basic research conducted more than 40 years ago.



Concluding Perspectives Interventions Featuring Positive Punishment Should be Treated as Default Technologies Iwata (1988) recommended that punishment-based intervention involving the contingent application of aversive stimulation, such as SIBIS, be treated as default technologies. A default technology is on the at practitioner turns to when other methods have failed.



Chapter 15: Punishment by Removal of a Stimulus



Definition of Punishment by Removal of a Stimulus • • • •

Stimulus removed Contingent upon a response That decreases the future probability of that response The future decrease in the response is a critical feature in defining punishment



Punishment by contingent removal of a stimulus Future Frequency

Behavior is reduced


Stimulus Change Stimulus Applied

Stimulus Removed

Type I Positive Punishment

Type II Negative Punishment


Example EO

SD

Child is Adult says, participating “Let’s open in classroom our books to buddy page 12. Each activities, of you should where read the first attention paragraph to from peers (a your buddy.” positive reinforcer) is available.


Response

SR-

Child pokes his buddy

Adult places child in time out (peer attention is removed)


Poking a buddy occurs less often in the future when the teacher gives a classroom instruction and peer buddies are available.

Time-out from Positive Reinforcement • • • •

The withdrawal of the opportunity to earn positive reinforcement, or The loss of access to reinforcers for a specified period of time Contingent upon the occurrence of a target behavior If the effect of these is to decrease the future probability of the behavior, then this procedure has functioned as a punisher for the behavior



Important Aspects of Time-out • The discrepancy between “time-out” and “time-in” must be great • The loss of access to reinforcement must be contingent upon a target behavior • There is a resultant decrease in the future probability of the behavior (otherwise it is likely not time out from reinforcement because the EO that preceded the behavior was not a reinforcing, “time-in” environment)



Time-out Procedures • Nonexclusion • • • •

Planned ignoring Withdrawal of a specific positive reinforcer Contingent observation Time-out ribbon

• Exclusion • Time-out room • Partition time-out • Hallway time-out



Nonexclusion Time-out • The individual is not completely removed physically from time-in setting • However, position within the environment may shift



Planned Ignoring • Social reinforcers--usually attention, physical contact, or verbal interaction--are removed for a brief period • Systematically looking away from the student • Remaining quiet • Refraining from any interaction for a specified period of time

• Planned ignoring is • Nonintrusive • Quick • Convenient Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Withdrawal of a Specific Positive Reinforcer • Some sort of positive reinforcer that is already present is removed for a brief period of time contingent upon a target behavior, and then reinstated • Can be implemented as a group contingency



Contingent Observation • The individual is repositioned within the existing setting • Observation of ongoing activities is still possible • Access to reinforcement is lost, however



Time-out Ribbon • A colored band is placed on the child’s wrist and is discriminative for receiving reinforcement • Child earns reinforcers when it is on

• Contingent upon a target behavior, the colored band is removed for a specified period of time • All social interaction is terminated • Other reinforcers are also withheld



Exclusion Time-out • The individual is removed, physically, from the environment for a specified period of time • Contingent upon the occurrence of a target behavior • Time-out room • Separated by partition • Placed in hallway



Time-out Room • A confined space outside the individual’s normal educational or treatment environment • It is devoid of any positive reinforcers; also minimally furnished • It is safe (adequate heat and light), secure (but not locked) and temporary • Near time-in setting



Advantages of Time-out Rooms • Opportunity to acquire reinforcement is eliminated or reduced substantially • After a few exposures, students learn to discriminate it from other rooms (making the time-in setting more desirable) • Decreases risk of student hurting other students



Disadvantages of Time-out Rooms Must escort students to time-out May result in resistance, emotional outbursts Access to ongoing instruction is prohibited Individuals may engage in behaviors (e.g., selfinjury) that should be stopped but go undetected • Negative public perception • • • •



Partition Time-out • Individual remains in time-in setting, but his view within the setting is restricted by a partition, wall, or cubicle • Advantage: Keeps individual in instructional setting • Disadvantages: Individual still may be able to obtain covert reinforcement, negative public perception



Hallway Time-out • Individual sits in hallway outside of classroom or treatment area • Not highly recommended strategy • Individual can obtain reinforcement from a multitude of sources • Child can escape easily



Desirable Aspects of Time-out • • • •

Ease of application (especially nonexclusion time-out) Acceptability (especially nonexclusion) Rapid suppression of problem behavior Easily combined with other procedures, such as differential reinforcement



Effective Use of Time Out • Reinforce and enrich the time-in environment • Utilize differential reinforcement to reinforce alternative and incompatible behaviors

• Clearly define the behaviors leading to time-out • All parties (including the target individual) should have explicit, observable definitions of the problem behavior



Effective Use of Time Out • Define procedures for the duration of time-out • Initial duration should be short • Longer than 15 minutes ineffective

• Define exit criteria • If individual is misbehaving when time-out ends, it should be continued until inappropriate behavior ceases



Effective Use of Time Out • Exclusion vs. nonexclusion time-out

• Consider institutional policies that may prevent exclusion time-out • Physical factors (i.e., lack of appropriate space) may prevent exclusion time-out

• Explain time-out rules to the individual • Target behaviors, duration, exit criteria

• Obtain permission

• Administrative approvals • Parental approvals



Effective Use of Time Out • Apply consistently • Evaluate effectiveness • Target behavior should decrease • Track frequency and duration of time outs • Also track collateral behaviors for side effects

• Consider other options • Consider legal and ethical issues



Response Cost • Loss of a specific amount of reinforcement • Contingent upon a target behavior • Reduces the future probability of the target behavior • Examples: reclaiming awards or stickers, “fines” (e.g., loss of tokens or money)



Example EO

SD

Response

SR-

Child has 15 minutes of recess on schedule every morning.

Adult says, “Let’s open our books to page 12. Each of you should read the first paragraph to your buddy.”

Child pokes his buddy

5 minutes of the recess time is removed



Poking a buddy occurs less often in the future when the teacher gives a classroom instruction and recess is available.

Desirable aspects of Response Cost • Produces rapid decreases in the target behavior • Convenient and easy to implement (can be incorporated into existing token or allowance programs) • Is easily combined with other approaches (such as differential reinforcement)



Methods of Response Cost • • • •

Direct fine Bonus response cost Combined with positive reinforcement Group arrangements



Fines • Directly fine a specific amount of the positive reinforcer • Consider legal and ethical appropriateness • e.g., denying access to food and free time may be unethical or undesirable • Obtain permission from human rights review committees



Bonus Response Cost • Make additional reinforcers available to the individual, specifically for removal during a response-cost contingency • This may relieve many of the legal and ethical dilemmas involved with response cost



Combining with Positive Reinforcement • Combine with point/token programs (differential reinforcement) • Advantages • If all points or tokens are not lost, they can be exchanged for back-up reinforcers • The use of reinforcers reduce the legal and ethical concerns



Combining with Group Contingencies • Contingent upon any member of a group, the entire group loses a specified amount of reinforcement



Effective Use of Response Cost • Specifically define the target behaviors that will result in response cost, as well as the fines • Establish rules for refusals to comply with the response-cost procedure, and explain these • Greater fines should be associated with more severe forms of problem behavior • Be cautious of making fines so great that the individual becomes “bankrupt”



Effective Use of Response Cost • Fines should be posed immediately • Response cost vs. bonus response cost • Use least aversive initially (bonus response cost) • Increases acceptability • Decreases emotional outbursts

• Ensure reinforcement reserve (decrease likelihood of “bankruptcy”



Effective Use of Response Cost • Be prepared for unplanned or unexpected outcomes • Response cost can reinforce rather than punish undesirable behavior • Individuals can refuse to give up positive reinforcers

• Avoid overuse • Keep records to evaluate effectiveness



Response Cost Considerations • Increased aggression may occur • Ignore emotional outbursts when possible • Either don’t use response cost if this is expected • Or be prepared to ride out the storm

• Avoidance of the person who administers response cost or the setting may occur • These become “conditioned aversive stimuli” • Make sure positive reinforcement is available for appropriate behavior to reduce the likelihood of this outcome



Response Cost Considerations • Collateral reductions of desirable behaviors may occur • Response cost may unintentionally suppress other, desirable behaviors, as well as the target problem behaviors

• Response cost calls attention to inappropriate behaviors • Be prepared for unpredictability



Chapter 16: Motivating Operations



Motivating Operations • Establishing Operations (EO) • Keller & Schoenfeld (1950) • Drive concept: relation between environmental variables

• Reintroduced (Michael 1982): any environmental variable that: • Alters the effectiveness of some object or event as a reinforcer • Alters the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus, object, or event



Motivating Operations • EO commonly used applied behavior analysis • Motivating Operation (MO) suggested to replace term EO along with the terms: • Value altering • Behavior altering Describe the defining effects in the original definition of EO



Value-altering Effects • Value-altering effects: • An increase in the reinforcing effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event • MO = EO

• A decrease in reinforcing effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event • MO = abolishing operation (AO)



Behavior-altering Effects • Behavior-altering effects: • Evocative effect • Increase in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by some stimulus, object, or event

• Abative effect • Decrease in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by some stimulus, object, or event



Behavior-altering Effects • Direct and indirect effects • Frequency of behavior result of: • Direct evocative or abative effect of the MO on response frequency • Indirect effect on the evocative or abative strength of relevant SD’s

• Value-altering effects may also occur for conditioned reinforcers conditioned MO’s



Behavior-altering effects • Dimensions of behavior-altering effects • Not limited to frequency • Other examples: • Response magnitude • Response latency • Relative frequency



Motivating Operations • Behavior-altering effects should not be interpreted as a result of the organism encountering more or less effective forms of reinforcement • Strong relating exists between MO level & responding in extinction

• MO should evoke the behavior even if it is not at first successful



Motivating Operations • Behavior-altering effects • Operate on the current frequency of the behavior • Antecedent variables (i.e. MO’s, SD’s ) • Can evoke or abate responses, but not alter them

• Function-altering effects • Operate on the future frequency of the behavior • Consequence variables (i.e. reinforcers, punishers, extinction procedure, recovery from punishment procedure) • Change repertoire of functional relations



Motivating Operations • Antecedent variables • MO’s and SD’s • Alter the current frequency of the behavior • Operant variables • Control response frequency due to their relation to reinforcing or punishing consequences



Antecedent Variables • SD • Related to the differential availability of a currently effective form of reinforcement for a particular type of behavior

• MO • Related to the differential reinforcing effectiveness of a particular type of environmental event



Motivating Operations • Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • Value-altering motivating effects that are unlearned

• Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Value-altering motivating effects that are a function of a learning history



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • UMO’s for humans: • • • •

Deprivation and satiation UMO’s UMO’s relevant to sexual reinforcement Temperature changes Painful stimulation



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • Deprivation and satiation UMO’s • Deprivation of food, water, oxygen, activity, & sleep = reinforcer-establishing & evocative effects • Ingestion of food and water, oxygen intake, engaging in activity, & sleeping = reinforcer-abolishing & abative effects



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • UMO’s relevant to sexual reinforcement • Learning plays a strong role in the determination of sexual behavior (different from nonhuman mammals), difficult to determine what is unlearned • For humans organisms: • Role of hormones & chemical attractants in unclear • Tactile stimulation of erogenous body areas • Passage of time since last sexual activity – establishing & evocative effects • Sexual orgasm – abolishing & abative effects



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) – Temperature Changes



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • Painful Stimulation • Increase establishes pain reduction as reinforcer & evokes escape behavior • Decrease abolishes effectiveness of pain reduction as a reinforcer & abates behavior that has been reinforced by pain reduction • Evokes aggressive behavior toward another organism when in the presence of that organism



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • Important considerations: • Individuals do not have “understand” anything for an MO to have valuealtering & behavior-altering effects • Relevant MO must be in effect in future circumstances if behavior is to occur



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • Weakening effects of an EO may be necessary • Reinforcer-establishing & evocative effects of UMO’s can be temporarily weakened • Reinfocer-abolishing operations • Abative operations

• Cannot permanently weaken value-altering effects of UMO’s • Behavior-altering effects are based on history of reinforcement



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • UMO’s for Punishment • Value-altering effect does not depend on a learning history • Most punishers affecting humans are conditioned – involves a learning history • UMO-CMO relation • Same MO’s for reinforcers as conditioned punishers • Reinforcer must be effective if deprivation or removal will function as a punisher



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • Behavior-altering effects are more complex in observing a punishment effect than a reinforcement effect • Must consider the status of the variable responsible for the occurrence of the punished behavior • Complex behavioral relations



Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMO’s) • Environmental events will have both • Behavior-altering effects on current frequency of the behavior • Function-altering effects (as consequences) on future frequency of the behavior that preceded the onset of the event



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Motivating variables that alter the reinforcing effectiveness of other stimuli, objects, or events, only as a result of the organism’s learning history • Alter the momentary frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced by those other events (like UMO’s)



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Three types of CMO’s • Surrogate (CMO-S) • Reflexive (CMO-R) • Transitive (CMO-T)

• All are motivationally neutral stimuli prior to their relation with another MO or to a form of reinforcement or punishment



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Surrogate CMO (CMO-S) • Accomplishes what the MO it was paired with accomplishes • Has the same value-altering and behavior altering effects as the MO it was paired with • CMO-S • Can be altered in its effects by through pairing and unpairing



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Reflexive CMO (CMO-R) • Alters a relation to itself • Acquires MO effectiveness by preceding some form of worsening or improvement • CMO-R • Exemplified by warning stimulus in a typical escapeavoidance procedure • Establishes its own offset as reinforcement and evokes all behavior that has accomplished that offset



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Transitive CMO (CMO-T) • Makes something else effective as reinforcement because of its relation or association to the unconditioned reinforcer • Environmental variable that establishes or abolishes the reinforcing effectiveness of another stimulus and evokes or abated the behavior that has been reinforced by the other stimulus • CMO-T



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Transitive CMO (CMO-T) • All variables that function as UMO’s also function as CMO-T for the stimuli that are conditioned reinforcers because of their relation to the relevant unconditioned reinforcer



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Transitive CMO (CMO-T) • Often confused with SD • Distinction between SD & CMO-T lies in the relation between reinforcer availability & presence or absence of the stimulus • SD: if reinforcer is more available in the presence than in the absence of the stimulus • CMO-T: if reinforcer is just as available in the absence as in the presence of the stimulus



Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMO’s) • Transitive CMO (CMO-T) • Practical implications • Utilization in language training • Refinement of differences between SD & CMO-T



Stimulus Control Chapter 17

What is stimulus control? • Stimulus control occurs when • The rate, latency, duration, or amplitude of a response is altered • In the presence of an antecedent stimulus

• Stimulus control is acquired when • Responses are reinforced only in the presence of a specific stimulus • Known as the discriminative stimulus (SD)

• And not in the presence of other stimuli • Known as stimulus deltas (SD)

The Development of Stimulus Control SD

Response

Telephone rings

Pick up phone and say “hello”

SD

Response

Doorbell rings


SR+

Friendly conversation

SO Friendly conversation withheld

Not to be confused with respondent conditioning UCS

Response

Meat powder

Dog salivates

Neutral S Bell rings

UCS Meat powder

Response Dog salivates

Not to be confused with respondent conditioning CS

Response

Bell rings

Dog salivates

Notice the absence of any consequence stimuli in this example. Salivating is a respondent behavior. Also notice that here control is established by pairing specific antecedent stimuli.

Stimulus Control and Motivating Operations • Similarities • Both events occur before the behavior of interest • Both events have evocative functions

• However, they are different!

Motivating Operations • Remember, a motivating operation is something that changes the value of a stimulus as a reinforcer • Establishing operation (EO) makes the reinforcer more valuable • Abolishing operation (AO) makes the reinforcer less valuable

MOs and Stimulus Control EO Difficult Worksheet

EO Difficult Worksheet

SD Teacher 1

SD Teacher 2

Response Student displays aggression

Response Student displays aggression

SRTask break provided

SO Task break withheld

Stimulus Generalization • Occurs when stimuli that share similar physical characteristics with the controlling stimulus evoke the same behavior as the controlling stimulus

Stimulus Discrimination • Occurs when new stimuli that are similar to the controlling stimulus do not evoke the same response as the controlling stimulus

Stimulus Control and Stimulus Generalization are a Continuum

Stimulus

Stimulus

Control

Generalization

Development of Stimulus Control • Stimulus discrimination training • Requires one behavior • Two antecedent stimulus conditions (the SD and the SD)

• Responses that occur in the presence of the SD are reinforced (thus, the response increases in the presence of the SD) • Responses that occur in the presence of the SDare not reinforced (this, the response decreases in the presence of the SD) • Can also result in a lesser amount or quality of reinforcement

The Development of Stimulus Control SD

Response

Telephone rings


SD

Response

Doorbell rings


SR+

Friendly conversation

SO Friendly conversation withheld

Concept Formation • Not a hypothetical construct or mental process • Complex example of stimulus control that requires • Stimulus generalization within a class of stimuli • Stimulus discrimination between classes of stimuli

Example: Concept of Red • Stimulus generalization across all red objects • Light red to dark red • Different objects (car, ball, pencil)

• Stimulus discrimination between red and other colors • Red ball vs. yellow ball • Red dress vs. blue dress

Teaching Concepts • Requires discrimination training • Antecedent stimuli representative of a group of stimuli sharing a common relationship (examples) are presented, along with… • Antecedent stimuli from other stimulus classes (nonexamples)

• So that the examples form a stimulus class

Types of Stimulus Classes • Feature stimulus class • Stimuli share common physical forms (i.e., topographical structures) • Stimuli share common relative relationship (i.e., spatial arrangements) • Developed through stimulus generalization

• Arbitrary stimulus class • Do not share a common stimulus feature • Limited number of stimuli • Developed using stimulus equivalence

Stimulus Equivalence • The emergence of accurate responding to untrained and nonreinforced stimulus-stimulus relations following the reinforcement of responses to some stimulus-stimulus relations • Useful for teaching complex verbal relations • Reading • Language arts • Mathematics

Testing for Stimulus Equivalence • Must have a positive demonstration on 3 different behavioral tests that represent the following mathematical statement: • If A = B, and • B = C, then • A = C

Tests for Stimulus Equivalence • Reflexivity • Occurs when in the absence of training and reinforcement, a participant selects a stimulus that is matched to itself (A = A) • Matching to sample

Tests for Stimulus Equivalence • Symmetry • Occurs with reversibility of the sample stimulus and the comparison stimulus (if A = B, then B = A) Teach spoken word “bicycle” = Present and participant matches to spoken word “bicycle” (as opposed to “car” or “airplane”)

Tests for Stimulus Equivalence • Transitivity • Requires demonstration of three untrained stimulus-stimulus sequences A = B relation (spoken name = picture)

“Bicycle” (spoken name presented)

(Child selects picture)

Tests for Stimulus Equivalence • Transitivity • Requires demonstration of three untrained stimulus-stimulus sequences B = C relation (picture = written word)

(picture presented)

bicycle (Child selects written word)

airplane

car

Tests for Stimulus Equivalence • Transitivity • Requires demonstration of three untrained stimulus-stimulus sequences A = C relation (spoken word = written word)

“bicycle”

bicycle (Child selects written word)

airplane

(spoken word presented)

car

Matching-to-Sample • Participant observes the sample stimulus • The comparison stimuli are then presented • Participant makes a selection response • Matches are reinforced • Nonmatches are not reinforced

Matching-to-Sample • Conditional discrimination training • Same selection must be correct with one conditional stimulus, but incorrect with one or more other sample stimuli

Factors Affecting Stimulus Control • Consistent use of reinforcers contingent upon correct responding in the presence of the SD is critical • Also important are: • Pre-attending skills • Stimulus salience • Masking and overshadowing

Pre-attending • A prerequisite skill for stimulus control • • • •

Looking at instructional materials Looking at teacher when responses are modeled Listening to oral instructions Sitting quietly for short periods of time

• These may need to be taught before stimulus control procedures are implemented

Stimulus Salience • Prominence of the stimulus in the environment • Increased saliency facilitates efficiency of instruction

Masking and Overshadowing • Increase or decrease salience of stimuli • Competing stimuli may block the evocative function of an SD • To limit the negative effects of these: • Rearrange the environment • Make instructional stimuli more intense • Consistently reinforce behavior in the presence of instructionally-relevant stimuli

Using Prompts • Supplementary antecedent stimuli used to occasion a correct response in the presence of an SD (that will eventually control behavior) • Response prompts operate directly on the response • Stimulus prompts operate directly on the antecedent task stimuli

Response Prompts • Verbal instructions • Vocal • Non-vocal (e.g., written)

• Modeling • A demonstration of the desired behavior

• Physical Guidance • Partially physically guide the student’s movements

Stimulus Prompts • Movement cues • Pointing, tapping, touching, looking at

• Position cues • Place one stimulus closer to the student

• Redundance • Stimulus or response dimensions are paired with correct choice

Transfer of Stimulus Control • Prompts should be used only during acquisition • Transfer stimulus control from prompt to naturally-existing stimuli quickly using fading

Transferring from Response Prompts • Most-to-least prompts • Physically guide participant through entire performance • Gradually reduce amount of physical assistance • Modeling • Verbal instruction • Natural stimulus

Transferring from Response Prompts • Graduated guidance • Immediately fade physical prompts • Follow participant closely with hands • Gradually increase distance between hands and participant

Transferring from Response Prompts • Least-to-most prompts • Provide participant with an opportunity to perform the response with the least amount of assistance on each trial • Participant receives greater degrees of assistance with each successive trial without a correct response

Transferring from Response Prompts • Time delay • Varying the time interval between presentation of a natural stimulus and the presentation of a response prompt • Constant time delay • Begin with a 0-sec delay • Then use a fixed delay (e.g., 3 sec)

• Progressive time delay • Begin with a 0-sec delay • Gradually and systematically increase delay (e.g., in 1-sec intervals) according to some rule

Transferring from Stimulus Prompts • Stimulus fading • Highlighting a physical dimension of a stimulus and then gradually fading that exaggerated dimension • Superimposing one stimulus on top of another and gradually fading it out

Transferring from Stimulus Prompts • Stimulus shape transformations • Use an initial stimulus shape that will prompt a correct response • This shape is gradually changed to form the natural stimulus, while maintaining correct responding

Chapter 18: Imitation



Definition of Imitation • A model stimulus is presented in an effort to evoke the imitative behavior • The imitative behavior follows immediately • The model and behavior must have formal similarity • The model must serve as a controlling variable for the imitative behavior (SD)



Types of Models • Planned models • Pre-arranged antecedent stimuli that help learners acquire new skills • Shows the learner exactly what to do

• Unplanned models • Occur in everyday social interactions



Formal Similarity • The model and the behavior physically resemble each other



Immediacy • The temporal relation between the model and the occurrence of the imitative behavior is very important • Imitation may also occur at later times and in the context of everyday life situations • However, when this occurs in the absence of a model, it is not imitation • The discriminative features of the environment are different in this context (i.e., the model is not controlling the behavior)



Controlled Relation • The controlling relation between the model and the imitative behavior is paramount • This is best evidenced when the model is novel and it still evokes an imitative response • After this first occurrence, the new behavior has a history of reinforcement • Becomes a discriminated operant



Imitation Training • Some children with disabilities require instruction in order to learn to imitate • Objective: to teach children to “do what the model does” • Generalize a rule to imitate models • Also known as generalized imitation



Steps to Imitation Training (Striefel, 1974) • • • • •

Assess and teach any prerequisite skills for imitation training Select models for training Pretest Sequence models for training Perform imitation training



Assessing/Teaching Prerequisite Skills • Prerequisite skills needed: • Attending (staying seated, keeping hands in lap, looking at teacher when name is called, looking at objects when prompted by teacher) • Problem behaviors that may interfere with training may need to be decreased



Selecting Models for Training • Begin with selecting about 25 • Include gross and fine motor examples • Movement of body parts • Manipulation of physical objects

• Use only one at a time (don’t sequence them--save sequences for later)



Pretesting • Purpose: to determine if individual already imitates some models • Procedures: Get learner in “ready” position If object to be used, please it in front of individual Say learners name, and then “do this” Present the model Immediately praise all responses with formal similarity to the model • Record learner’s response as correct or incorrect • • • • •



Sequencing the Selected Models for Training • Arrange from easiest to most difficult • First models for training are ones the individual imitated correctly on some, but not all, pretest items • Next, teach ones the learner approximated but did incorrectly on pretest • Finally, teach items the learner did not perform or performed incorrectly on pretest



Performing Imitation Training • Pre-assessment • Purpose: evaluate learner’s current performance level and determine progress in learning to respond to model • Brief pretest prior to each training session • Use first 3 models currently selected for training • Present them 3 times in random order • If learner performs them correctly 3 times, remove from training sequence



Performing Imitation Training • Training • Use repeated presentations of 1 of the 3 models in preassessment • Use model most often responded to or responded to with closest similarity during pre-assessment • Continue until learner responds correctly 5 consecutive times • Use physical guidance if necessary to prompt the response • Gradually fade prompts as quickly as possible



Performing Imitation Training • Post-assessment • Purpose: to evaluate how well learner can perform previously- and recently-learned behaviors • Present 5 previously learned models and 5 models still in training • On 3 consecutive post-assessments • If child has imitated a model incorrectly on 14 of 15 trials, remove it from training

• Physical guidance may be used



Performing Imitation Training • Probes for imitative behavior • Purpose: assesses for generalized imitation • Select 5 non-trained, novel models to check for occurrence of imitation • Do at end of each training session or intermix in training sessions • Use pre-assessment procedures (no antecedent or response prompts)



Guidelines for Imitation Training • Keep training sessions active and short (10-15 minutes, a couple times a day) • Reinforce both prompted and imitative responses • Pair verbal praise and attention with tangible reinforcers • If progress breaks down, back up and move ahead slowly • Keep a record • Fade out verbal response prompts and physical guidance



Chapter 19: Shaping



What is Shaping? • A process in which one • Systematically and differentially reinforces • Successive approximations to a terminal behavior

• Used to help learners acquire new behaviors



Differential Reinforcement • Some members of a response class are reinforced (responses that are successively closer to the terminal behavior) • Other members of that response class (responses that are not closer to the terminal behavior)



Response Differentiation • Involves two components: • Differentially reinforce behaviors that resemble the terminal behavior • Carefully changing the criterion for reinforcement

• Result • Increase in behaviors successively closer to terminal behavior • Decrease in behaviors that are not successively closer to terminal behavior



Shaping Diagrammed Ø Assume we want to teach a child to turn on the cold water tap in order to get a drink of water. Ø Assume the child already walks to sink and looks at it when he/she is thirsty. Ø Shaping might proceed like this:

EO

SD

Response

SR+



Walk to sink and look at it

Cold water presented Walking to sink and looking at it maintains

Response already in repertoire Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Shaping Diagrammed Ø Shaping step 1:

EO

SD

Response

SO



Walk to sink and look at it

Cold water withheld

EO

SD

Response

SR+



Point to tap



Walking to sink and looking at it when deprived of water decreases

Pointing to tap when deprived of water increases Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved


EO

SD

Response

SO



Point to tap

Cold water withheld

EO

SD

Response

SR+



Touch tap



Pointing to tap when deprived of water decreases

Touching tap when deprived of water increases Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved


EO

SD

Response

SO



Touch tap

Cold water withheld

EO

SD

Response

SR+



Grasp tap



Touching tap when deprived of water decreases

Grasping tap when deprived of water increases Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved


EO

SD

Response

SO



Grasp tap

Cold water withheld

EO

SD

Response

SR+



Turn tap



Grasping tap when deprived of water decreases

Terminal Behavior

Turning tap when deprived of water increases


Dimensions of Behavior that can be Shaped • Topography • Form of the behavior

• Frequency • Number of responses per unit of time

• Latency • Time between onset of antecedent stimulus and the occurrence of the behavior

• Duration • Total elapsed time for the occurrence of the behavior

• Amplitude • Magnitude Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Successive Approximations • An intermediate behavior • Prerequisite for terminal behavior or • Higher order member of the same response topography



Shaping Across and Within Response Topographies • Across response topographies • Topography of behavior changes during shaping • Behaviors are still members of the same response class

• Within response topographies • Topography of behavior remains constant • Another measurable dimension of behavior is changed (e.g., duration of the behavior)



Positive Aspects of Shaping • Teaches new behaviors • A positive approach to teaching • Can be combined with other procedures, such as chaining



Limitations of Shaping • Can be time consuming • Progress is not always linear and may be erratic • Requires a skillful trainer, who can recognize subtly closer approximations • Can be misapplied (problem or harmful behaviors can be accidentally shaped)



Shaping vs. Fading • Both change behavior gradually • Shaping via changing response requirements • Fading by changing antecedent stimuli



Increasing Efficiency of Shaping • Combine with a discriminative stimulus (e.g., a prompt) • Verbal cues • Physical guidance • Models



Guidelines for Implementing Shaping • Consider nature of behavior to be learned and resources available • How far away is current performance from terminal behavior? • This might influence how long shaping will take

• What is the availability of staff and other resources? • Remember, this is a labor intensive procedure



Guidelines for Implementing Shaping • Select the Terminal Behavior • The ultimate criterion for selecting a behavior for change: • How will the behavior change contribute to the learner’s independence in gaining reinforcement?

• Define the terminal behavior precisely • Then you’ll know when the behavior has occurred



Guidelines for Implementing Shaping • Determine Criteria for Success • How accurate, fast, long, or intensely should the behavior be performed? Under what conditions should it be performed? • Establish norms by • Consulting literature • Observing similar peer group



Guidelines for Implementing Shaping • Analyze the Response Class • Identify the approximations that might be emitted during training • Trainer is in a better position to “stay ahead of his/her subject”

• Can be done by: • • • •


Consulting experts in the field Use published literature Use videotape of peers to analyze components of a behavior Perform the target behavior yourself


Guidelines for Implementing Shaping • Identify the First Behavior to Reinforce • Behavior should already occur at some level • Behavior should be a member of the targeted response class



Guidelines for Implementing Shaping • Eliminate Interfering Stimuli • Eliminate distractions during training

• Proceed in Gradual Stages • Be prepared for decrements in performance when you increase criteria



Guidelines for Implementing Shaping • Limit the Number of Approximations at Each Level • Lest the behavior become too firmly established

• Continue Reinforcement When the Terminal Behavior is Achieved • The behavior will be lost if the terminal response is not reinforced



Chapter 20: Chaining



Definition of a Behavior Chain • A specific sequence of discrete responses • Each associated with a particular stimulus condition • When components are linked together, they form a chain that produces a terminal outcome



Components in Chain Serve Dual Functions • Each response in the chain serves as a conditioned reinforcer for the response that produced it • Each response in the chain serves as a discriminative stimulus for the next response in the chain • (Exceptions: the first and last responses in the chain)



Diagram of Response Chain EO

SD

SD Response 1

Absence of food for 2 hours

Mom says “Fix yourself a bowl of cereal.”

Get cereal from cupboard

SD

SD

Response 4 Get spoon from drawer

SR+

SD Response 9

Take bowl and spoon to SR+ table

SR+

SD

SD Response 2

Response 3

Get milk from refrigerator

Get bowl from cupboard

SR+

SR+

SD

SD

Response 5

Response 6

Response 7

Pour cereal into bowl

Pour milk into SR+ bowl

Put milk away SR+

SD Response 8 Put cereal SR+ away

SD Response 10

Response 11

Sit down at table

Eat

SR+

SR+

SR+ Food Presented Fixing a bowl of cereal more likely when hungry and told to “Fix yourself a bowl of cereal”

Behavior Chains and Limited Hold • A sequence of behaviors that must be performed correctly and within a specified time to produce reinforcement • Emphasizes both accuracy and proficiency



Characteristics of Behavior Chains • A series of discrete responses • Performance of behavior changes the environment such that it produces conditioned reinforcement for previous response and serves as SD for next response • Behaviors must occur in sequence and in close temporal succession



Rationale for Chaining • Teaches complex skills that allow individuals to function more independently • A way to add new behaviors to an existing behavioral repertoire • Can easily be combined with other procedures (prompting, instructions, reinforcement)



Task Analysis • Breaking a complex skill or series of behaviors into smaller, teachble units • The product of a task analysis is a series of sequentially ordered steps



Constructing a Task Analysis • Notes: • Sequence one individual may use to perform skill may not be the same as another individual • Must be individualized according to • • • •

Age Skill level Disability Prior experience

• Some task analyses have a limited number of steps, but these steps may be broken down into subtasks



Constructing a Task Analysis • Methods • Observe a competent individual perform the task • Consult with experts or persons skilled in performing the task • Perform the task yourself

• Can refine it as you use it, if necessary



Assessing Mastery Levels • Single-opportunity Method • Give cue to begin task • Record learner performance with + or - for each step • Assessment stops as soon as a step is performed incorrectly • Remaining steps are scored with a -



Assessing Mastery Levels • Multiple-opportunity Method • Give cue to begin task • Record learner performance with + or - for each step • If a step is performed incorrectly, the trainer completes that step for the learner • learner continues to next step • Do NOT co-mingle teaching with assessment



Single vs. Multiple Method? • Single-opportunity Method • • • •

More conservative Gives less information Quicker to conduct Reduces likelihood of learning taking place during assessment

• Multiple • Takes more time to complete • Provides trainer with more information • May make training more efficient by allowing trainer to eliminate instruction on already-learned steps Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Behavior Chaining Procedures • Forward Chaining • Training begins the link with the first behavior in the sequence • Training only occurs on the steps previously mastered and current step (no training on steps after that) • Advantages • Can be used to link smaller chains to larger ones • Relatively easy



Behavior Chaining Procedures • Total-task Chaining • Training is provided for every behavior in the sequence during every training session • Trainer assistance (prompting) is provided on every step



Behavior Chaining Procedures • Backward Chaining • Training begins the link with the last behavior in the sequence • Trainer performs all by last step until learner masters last step • Then trainer performs all but last two steps until learner masters last two steps, and so on… • Advantages • Natural reinforcement is produced immediately upon the learner’s response • Learner contacts these natural contingencies of reinforcement on every learning trial



Behavior Chaining Procedures • Backward Chaining with Leap Aheads • Follows same procedures as backward chaining, but not every step in the task analysis is trained • Other steps are probed • If some steps are in learner’s repertoire, they are not taught • The learner is still required to perform those steps, however



Which procedure to use? • No data to indicate one is more effective than another • Choose total-task chaining if • Learner knows many of the tasks but needs to learn how to do them in sequence • Has an imitative repertoire • Has moderate to severe disabilities • Task is not long or complex



Behavior Chain Interruption Strategy (BCIS) • Chain is interrupted at a predetermined step so that another behavior can be emitted • Interruption may cause some distress • It momentarily blocks access to reinforcement

• This is somewhat desirable because it creates motivation to learn the new behavior in the chain • As long as it is not so distressful that it causes emotional responding or self-injurious behavior



Behavior Chain Interruptioin Strategy (BCIS) • Collect baseline data • Direct person to start chain • At predetermined point, restrict learner’s ability to complete next step • Prompt learner to engage in new targeted step • Then allow the individual to proceed with the chain



Breaking Inappropriate Chains • Determine initial SD and • Substitute an alternative, or • Extend chain and build in time delays within the chain

• Examine potential sources of difficulty in the chain



Breaking Inappropriate Chains • Examining potential sources of difficulty • Re-examine SDs and responses • Is sequence arbitrary? Would rearranging sequence help?

• Determine whether similar SDs cue different responses • If so, can the sequence be rearranged to separate the two similar SDs?



Breaking Inappropriate Chains • Examining potential sources of difficulty • Analyze the job setting to identify relevant and irrelevant SDs • Do you need to implement discrimination training so that the learner can discriminate the relevant from irrelevant SDs?

• Determine whether SDs in the job setting differ from training SDs • May need to conduct some training in job setting



Breaking Inappropriate Chains • Examining potential sources of difficulty • Identify presence of novel stimuli in the environment • Discrimination training might be necessary to teach the learner to ignore novel, irrelevant stimuli



Factors Affecting Performance • Completeness of the task analysis • More complete, detailed task analyses tend to produce better learning • Time developing task analyses is well spent • Be ready/willing to modify it after it is constructed

• Length/complexity of chain • Longer chains take more time to learn



Factors Affecting Performance • Schedule of reinforcement • Must use appropriate schedule (Ch. 13) • Consider number of responses in chain when determining the schedule

• Extinction • Responses performed further from the reinforcer may become less likely • This interrupts the SD relation and can result in withering performance of the chain • Lesson: adjust reinforcement schedule accordingly (use intermittent schedules) Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Factors Affecting Performance • Stimulus variation • Introduce all variations of the stimulus items to be encountered later to increase generalization of the chain

• Response variation • Varied responses may be needed to deal with stimulus variation • This may require some retraining of responses



Chapter 21: Extinction

Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition Inc. All rights reserved

Definition of Extinction • Extinction is a procedure in which reinforcement of a previously reinforce behavior is discontinued; as a result, occurrences of that behavior decrease in the future.


Diagram of Extinction EO

SD

Response

SR+

Deprived of water for a long period of time and person has history of reinforcement for getting water when turning the “C” tap


Turn tap with blue dot or “C”

Cold water withheld

Let’s assume the tap is broken or the water has been turned off to the tap.


Turning tap marked with blue dot or “C” occurs less often in the future

Definition of Extinction • Extinction is a procedure that provides zero probability of reinforcement • The effectiveness of extinction is dependent primarily on the identification of reinforcing consequences and consistent application of the procedure • Extinction does not require the application of aversive stimuli to decrease behavior.


Definition of Extinction • The extinction procedure does not prevent occurrences of a problem behavior. • The environment is changed so that the problem behavior will no longer produce the maintaining consequences.


Procedural and Functional Forms of Extinction • Procedural forms of extinction involve “ignoring” the problem behavior. • Functional forms of extinction involve withholding the maintaining reinforcers.


Procedural and Functional Forms of Extinction • Applications of the procedural form of extinction are often ineffective. • When the extinction procedure is matched to the behavioral function, the intervention is usually effective.


Misuses of the Term “Extinction” • 1) Using extinction to refer to any decrease in behavior • 2) Confusing forgetting and extinction • 3) Confusing response blocking and sensory extinction • 4) Confusing noncontingent reinforcement and extinction


Misuses of the Term “Extinction” • Using extinction to refer to any decrease in behavior • Some use the term extinction when referring to any decrease response performance, regardless of what produced the behavior change. • Labeling any reduction in behavior that reaches a zero rate of occurrence as extinction is a common misuse of the term.


Misuses of the Term “Extinction” • Confusing forgetting and extinction • In forgetting, a behavior is weakened by the passage of time during which the individual does not have an opportunity to emit the behavior. • In extinction, behavior is weakened because it does not produce reinforcement.


Misuses of the Term “Extinction” • Confusing response blocking and sensory extinction • Response blocking is not an extinction procedure • Response blocking prevents the occurrence of the target behavior • With all extinction procedures the individual can emit the problem behavior.


Misuses of the Term “Extinction” • Confusing noncontingent reinforcement and extinction • Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) does not withhold the reinforcers that maintain the problem behavior. • Extinction diminishes behavior by changing consequence stimuli; NCR diminishes behavior by changing antecedent stimuli


Extinction Procedures • Extinction of Behavior Maintained by Positive Reinforcement • Behaviors maintained by positive reinforcement are placed on extinction when those behaviors do not produce the reinforcer.


Extinction Procedures • Extinction of Behavior Maintained by Negative Reinforcement • Behaviors maintained by negative reinforcement are place on extinction (escape extinction) when those behaviors do not produce a removal of the aversive stimulus • The individual cannot escape from the aversive situation.


Extinction Procedures • Extinction of Behavior Maintained by Automatic Reinforcement • Behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement are placed on extinction by masking or removing the sensory consequence (sensory extinction)


Extinction Procedures • Extinction of Behavior Maintained by Automatic Reinforcement • Not a recommended treatment option for problem behavior, even selfstimulatory behaviors that are maintained by social consequences or negative reinforcement.


Extinction Effects • Extinction effects have not been documented clearly in applied settings. • Practitioners should view all of the following comments on the extinction effects tentatively when the relate to behavioral interventions or applied research.


Extinction Effects • Gradual Decrease in Frequency and Amplitude • Extinction produces a gradual reduction in behavior • However, when reinforcement is removed abruptly, numerous unreinforced responses can follow


Extinction Effects • Gradual Decrease in Frequency and Amplitude • Often difficult for teachers and parents to apply because of the initial increase in frequency and magnitude and the gradual decrease in behavior.


Extinction Effects • Extinction Burst • An immediate increase in the frequency of the response after the removal of the positive, negative, or automatic reinforcement. • “an increase in responding during any of the first three treatment sessions above that observed during all of the last five baseline sessions or all of baseline.” (Lerman, Iwata, & Wallace, 1999)


Extinction Effects • Extinction Burst Before Extinction (Reinforcement)

During Extinction Extinction Burst Spontaneous Recovery


Extinction Effects • Problem behaviors can worsen during extinction before they show improvement. • Extinction bursts usually suggest that the reinforcer(s) maintaining the problem behavior was successfully identified, indicating that there is a good chance of an effective intervention


Extinction Effects • Spontaneous Recovery • The behavior that diminished during the extinction process recurs even though the behavior does not produce reinforcement • Short-lived and limited if the extinction procedure remains in effect.


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Resistance to extinction • Continued responding during the extinction process. • Behavior that continues to occur during extinction is said to have better resistance to extinction than behavior that diminishes more quickly.


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Three tentative statements describing resistance to extinction as it relates to continuous and intermittent reinforcement: • A) Intermittent reinforcement may produce behavior with greater resistance to extinction than the resistance produced by continuous reinforcement


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Three tentative statements describing resistance to extinction as it relates to continuous and intermittent reinforcement: • B) some intermittent schedules may produce more resistant than others


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Three tentative statements describing resistance to extinction as it relates to continuous and intermittent reinforcement: • C) to a degree, the thinner the intermittent schedule of reinforcement is the greater the resistance to extinction will be.


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Establishing Operations • All stimuli that function as reinforcers require a minimum level of an establishing operation (i.e., motivation must be present).


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Establishing Operations • “Resistance to extinction is greater when extinction is carried out under high motivation than under low.” (Keller & Schoenfeld, 1950/1995, p.#75)


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Number, Magnitude, and Quality of Reinforcement • The number of times a behavior produces reinforcement may influence resistance to extinction. • A behavior with a long history of reinforcement may have more resistance to extinction than a behavior with a shorter history of reinforcement


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Number of Previous Extinction Trials • Successive applications of conditioning and extinction may influence the resistance to extinction.


Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction • Response Effort • The effort required for a response apparently influences its resistance to extinction. • A response requiring great effort diminishes more quickly during extinction than a response requiring less effort.


10 Guidelines for Application of Extinction •

Withholding all reinforcers maintaining the problem behavior

•

Withholding reinforcement consistently

•

Combining extinction with other procedures

•

Using instructions

•

Planning for extinction-produced aggression

•

Increasing the number of extinction trials

•

Including significant others in extinction

•

Guarding against unintentional extinction

•

Maintaining extinction-decreased behavior

•

When not to use extinction


Using Extinction Effectively • Withholding all reinforcers maintaining the problem behavior • First step in using extinction effectively is to identify and withhold all possible sources of reinforcement that maintain the target behavior


Using Extinction Effectively • Withholding Reinforcement Consistently • All behavior change procedures require consistent application, but consistency is essential for extinction. • Consistency is the single most difficult aspect in using extinction.


Using Extinction Effectively • Combining Extinction with Other Procedures • The effectiveness of extinction may increase when it is combined with other procedures. • Differential reinforcement and antecedent procedures hold promise for reducing extinction effects such as bursting and aggression.


Using Extinction Effectively • Using Instructions • Behaviors sometime diminish more quickly during extinction when teachers describe the extinction procedure to students.


Using Extinction Effectively • Planning for Extinction-Produced Aggression • Behaviors that occurred infrequently in the past will sometimes become prominent during extinction by replacing the problem behaviors. Frequently, these side effect replacement behaviors are aggressive (Lerman et al., 1999)


Using Extinction Effectively • Increasing the Number of Extinction Trials • An extinction trial occurs each time the behavior does not produce reinforcement. • Whenever possible, applied behavior analysts should increase the number of extinction trials for the problem behaviors.


Using Extinction Effectively • Including Significant Others in Extinction • It is important that other persons in the environment not reinforce undesirable behavior. • All individuals in contact with the learner must apply the same extinction procedure for effective treatment.


Using Extinction Effectively • Guarding against Unintentional Extinction • Desirable behaviors are often unintentionally placed on extinction. • It is common practice to give the most attention to problems the squeaky wheel gets the grease and to ignore situations that are going smoothly.


Using Extinction Effectively • Maintaining Extinction-Decreased Behavior • Applied behavior analysts leave the extinction procedure in effect permanently for maintaining the extinction-diminished behavior.


Using Extinction Effectively • When Not to Use Extinction • Imitation • Extinction can be inappropriate if the behavior placed on extinction are likely to be imitated by others.

• Extreme Behaviors • Some behaviors are so harmful to self or others or so destructive to property that they must be controlled with the most rapid and humane procedure available. • Extinction as a singular intervention is not recommended in such situations.


Chapter 22: Differential Reinforcement



Definition of Differential Reinforcement • Reinforcing one response class • When dealing with reducing problem behavior, this involves • Reinforcing a behavior other than problem behavior • Reinforcing a reduced rate of problem behavior

• Withholding reinforcement for another



Diagram of Differential Reinforcement EO

SD

Response

SR+

Deprived of one-on-one attention for a period of time

“Play by your self while I wash the dishes”

Child plays with toys

Praise delivered


Response

SO

Child tantrums

Praise withheld


Playing with toys occurs more often in the future when the individual has been deprived of attention for periods of time

Tantrums occur less often in the future when the individual has been deprived of attention for periods of time

DRI • DRI: Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior • Reinforce a behavior that cannot occur with problem behavior • Withhold reinforcement for instances of problem behavior



DRA • DRA: Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior • Reinforce occurrences of desirable alternative to problem behavior but that is not necessarily incompatible • Reinforcement is withheld for problem behavior



A note on terminology… • Sometimes when reinforcer is a negative reinforcer: • DNRI • Differential negative reinforcement of incompatible behavior

• DNRA • Differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior



Guidelines for Implementing DRI/DRA • Select incompatible/alternative behavior • Already exists in repertoire • Requires equal or less effort than problem behavior • Emitted at a rate that provides sufficient opportunities for reinforcement • Likely to be reinforced in natural environment



Guidelines for Implementing DRI/DRA • Select potent reinforcers that can be controlled • Identify via stimulus preference assessment • Identify via functional behavior assessment • Use same consequence as is maintaining problem behavior for appropriate/incompatible behavior



Guidelines for Implementing DRI/DRA • Reinforce incompatible/alternative behavior immediately and consistently • Withhold reinforcement for problem behavior • Some “mistakes” may be tolerable

• Combine with other procedures



DRO • Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior • Deliver reinforcer whenever the problem behavior has not occurred for a specific time • “Reinforcement for not responding”



Forms of DRO • Fixed-interval DRO (FI-DRO) • Omission requirement is applied at the end of successive time intervals of equal duration • To apply: • Establish interval • Deliver reinforcement at end of interval if problem behavior didn’t occur during the interval • If problem behavior occurs, reset interval



Forms of DRO • Variable-interval DRO (VI-DRO) • Omission requirement is applied at the end of successive time intervals of variable and unpredictable durations • To apply: • Establish variable interval schedule • Deliver reinforcement at end of interval if problem behavior didn’t occur during the interval • If problem behavior occurs, reset interval



Forms of DRO • Fixed-momentary DRO (FM-DRO) and Variablemomentary DRO (VM-DRO) • Omission requirement is applied only at the end of successive time intervals of fixed or variable durations (contingency not in place during interval) • To apply: • Establish interval • Deliver reinforcement at end of interval if problem behavior didn’t occur at the end of the interval



What type of DRO to use? • Interval more widely used than momentary • Interval more effective for more suppressing problem behavior • Momentary may be most useful for maintaining reduced levels of problem behavior



Guidelines for Using DRO • Recognize limitations • Reinforcement provided if absence of target problem behavior. • If another, nontargeted problem behavior occurs, it is reinforced. • May need to shorten interval • May need to include other problem behaviors in definition



Guidelines for Using DRO • Recognize limitations

• With Momentary DROs, reinforcement is delivered if problem behavior is not occurring at end of interval, even if it occurred throughout the majority of the interval • Change to interval DRO • Shorten interval



Guidelines for Using DRO • Set initial DRO intervals that assure frequent reinforcement

• Calculate mean baseline interresponse time (IRT) • Set interval that is equal to or slightly less than mean IRT

• Do not inadvertently reinforce other undesirable behaviors • Make rule: must have absence of target problem behavior and other inappropriate behaviors



Guidelines for Using DRO • Gradually increase the DRO interval • Three options:

• Increase by constant duration of time • Increase intervals proportionately • Increase based on learner’s performance

• Extend to other settings and times of day • Combine with other procedures



DRL • Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates of Responding • Use to decrease the frequency of the occurrence of a behavior, but not eliminate it all together



DRL • Full-session DRL • Reinforcement is delivered at the end of a session if during the entire session, the target behavior occurred equal to or fewer times than a predetermined criterion



DRL • Interval DRL • Divide the total session into a series of equal intervals of time • Provide reinforcement at the end of each interval in which the number of occurrences of target behavior is equal to or below predetermined criterion



DRL • Spaced-responding DRL • Deliver reinforcer following an occurrence of a behavior that is separated by at least a minimum amount of time from a previous behavior • In other words, reinforcement is contingent on increasingly longer IRTs



Guidelines for Using DRL • Recognize limitations • DRL is slow and does not reduce a behavior quickly



Guidelines for Using DRL • Choose most appropriate DRL procedure • Spaced responding is the only DRL procedure that delivers reinforcement immediately following response and maintains lower rates • Use full-session and interval DRO when it is okay to have either no or low rates of target behavior • Spaced responding provides higher rates of reinforcement



Guidelines for Using DRL • Use baseline data to guide selection of initial response or IRT limits • Set at mean baseline or slightly lower

• Gradually thin the DRL schedule • Full-session DRL: set new criterion based on learner’s current performance • Interval DRL: gradually decrease number of responses per interval • Spaced-responding: adjust IRT criterion based on performance Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Guidelines for Using DRL • Provide informational feedback to the learner • Enhance effectiveness by helping learner monitor performance



Chapter 23: Antecedent Interventions



Conceptual Understanding of Antecedent Interventions • Literature has classified all antecedent-based behavior change strategies under single terms • e.g. antecedent procedures, antecedent control, antecedent manipulations, antecedent interventions • Using the same terms may cause confusion or fail to recognize the different functions



Conceptual Understanding of Antecedent Interventions • SD’s – evoke behavior due to past correlation with increased availability of reinforcement • MO’s – increase current frequency of behavior when an effective reinforcer is not available • Each has different implications for how behavior change strategies should be implemented and manipulated



Classifying Functions of Antecedent Stimuli • Categories for functions of antecedent stimuli • Contingency dependent • Contingency independent



Classifying Functions of Antecedent Stimuli • Contingency dependent • Antecedent event is dependent on the consequences of behavior for developing evocative & abative effects • All stimulus control functions • Referred to as antecedent control



Classifying Functions of Antecedent Stimuli • Contingency independent • Antecedent event is not dependent on the consequences of behavior for developing evocative & abative effects • Antecedent itself affects behavior-consequence relations • MO’s are contingency independent • Referred to as antecedent intervention



Antecedent Intervention • Antecedent interventions serve to have abolishing operations

• Used in isolation or in combination (i.e. treatment packages • Decrease the effectiveness of reinforcers that maintain problem behavior

• Effects of MO’s are temporary (Smith & Iwata, 1997)

• Will not produce permanent improvements in behavior • Can be used simultaneously to reduce problem behavior • Most often antecedent interventions serve as a component of treatment package • Produce more maintaining effects



Antecedent Intervention • Interventions with established experimental results • Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) • High-probability request sequence • Functional communication training (FCT)



Noncontingent Reinforcement • NCR is an antecedent intervention • Stimuli with known reinforcing properties are delivered on a fixed-time (FT) or variable-time (VT) schedule independent of the learner’s behavior (Vollmer et al., 1993)



Noncontingent Reinforcement • May effectively decrease problem behavior because reinforcers that maintain the problem behavior are available freely & frequently • Functions as an abolishing operation (AO) • Referred to as presenting stimuli with known reinforcing properties



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Uses three distinct procedures that identify & deliver stimuli with known reinforcing properties • Positive reinforcement • Negative reinforcement • Automatic reinforcement



Noncontingent Reinforcement • NCR with positive reinforcement • Kahng, Iwata, Thompson, and Hanley (2000) • Study demonstrated the use of positive reinforcement (i.e. attention & food) for three individuals with developmental disabilities as an antecedent intervention to decrease problem behaviors found during analysis to be maintained by the positive reinforcement



Noncontingent Reinforcement • NCR with negative reinforcement • Kodak, Miltenberger, and Romaniuk (2003) • Study demonstrated the use of negative reinforcment (i.e. break from instructional requests) for two individuals with autism as an antecedent intervention t decrease problem behaviors found during analysis to be maintained by negative reinforcement • Increased participants’ compliance & decreased problem behaviors



Noncontingent Reinforcement • NCR with automatic reinforcement

• Lindberg, Iwata, Roscoe, Worsdell, and Hanley (2003) • Study demonstrated the use of automatic reinforcement (i.e. physical manipulation of highly preferred leisure items) for two individuals with profound mental retardation to decrease SIB found during analysis to be maintained by automatic reinforcement • Demonstrated that NCR object manipulation could compete with automatic reinforcement to reduce SIB



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Using NCR effectively • Three key elements to enhance effectiveness • Amount & quality of stimuli with known reinforcing effectiveness of NCR • Inclusion of extinction with NCR interventions • Vary the available stimuli with NCR intervention to reduce problems of changing preferences

• Proper utilization of information obtained through FBA • Correct identification of maintaining contingencies of reinforcement



Noncontingent Reinforcement

• Ringdahl, Vollmer, Borrero, and Connell (2001) • Study demonstrates the importance of the schedule under which reinforcement is delivered in NCR • Similarities between baseline and initial NCR may be ineffective • Denser reinforcement (than during baseline) during initial NCR ensures discrepancy & better chances for intervention to be successful



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Ringdahl et al. (2001) suggest three procedures for emphasizing reinforcement during NCR intervention • Increase the delivery of stimuli with known reinforcing properties • Use an obviously different schedule of reinforcement at treatment onset • Combine DRO with the NCR treatment package



Noncontingent Reinforcment • Time schedules for NCR • Typically most applications use a FT schedule • Also can be done using a VT schedule • Establishing the initial schedule is crucial & can impact the overall effectiveness of the intervention • Recommendation is to start with a dense FT or VT schedule • Can be done arbitrarily • More effective to base it on the number of occurrences of problem behavior



Noncontingent Reinforcement • To determine the initial NCR schedule • Divide the total duration of all baseline sessions by the total number of occurrences of the problem behavior (during baseline) • Set the initial interval at or slightly below the quotient



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Thinning the time-based schedules • Completed by adding small time increments to the NCR interval • Best done after the initial NCR interval has produced reduction in problem behavior • Can be accomplished using three procedures • Constant time increases • Proportional time increases • Session-to-session time increase or decrease



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Constant time increases • Increase the FT or VT schedule intervals by using a constant duration of time • Decrease the amount of time the individual has access to the SCR stimuli by a constant duration of time



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Proportional time increase • Increase the FT or VT schedule interval proportionately • Each time the schedule is increased by the same amount of time



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Session-to-session time increase or decrease • Use the individual’s performance to change the schedule interval on a session-to-session basis



Noncontingent Reinforcement • Additional considerations for NCR • Establish a terminal criteria • Weigh the possible advantages against possible disadvantages before deciding to utilize NCR with any indivdual



High-Probability Request Sequence • Referred to as high-p request sequence • Delivery of a high-p request sequence involves • Presentation of a series of easy-to-follow requests for which the individual has a history of compliance (i.e. high-p requests) • When individual complies with several high-p requests, provide individual with target request (i.e. low-p)



High-Probability Request Sequence • Behavioral effects of high-p request sequence suggests the abative effects of an AO by

• Reducing the value of reinforcement for non-compliance to low-p requests • Reducing the aggression & self-injury typically associated with low-p requests

• Provides non-aversive procedure for improving compliance by diminishing escape-maintained problem behaviors • May decrease excessive slowness in responding to requests & increase time used for completing tasks Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


High-Probability Request Sequence • Apply the high-p request sequence by • Selecting 2-5 short tasks with which the individual has a history of compliance • Present the high-p request sequence immediately before requesting the target task (i.e. low-p request) • Present the low-p request following in the same manner that all high-p requests were presented



High-Probability Request Sequence • Engelmann and Colvin (1983) • One of the first formal descriptions of high-p request sequence

• Field has utilized a variety of terms to refer to this intervention • • • •

Interspersed requests (Horner et al., 1991) Pre-task requests (Singer et al., 1987) Behavioral momentum (Mace & Belfiore, 1990) Referred to by most as high-p request sequence



High-Probability Request Sequence • Using high-p request sequence effectively • • • •

Select from the current repertoire Present requests rapidly Acknowledge compliance Use potent reinforcers



High-Probability Request Sequence • Selecting from the current repertoire • Behaviors selected for the high-p request sequence should be: • In the learner’s current repertoire • Occur with regularity of compliance • Have a very short duration of occurrence



High-Probability Request Sequence • Presenting requests rapidly • High-p requests should be presented in rapid succession with short interrequest intervals • First low-p request should immediately follow reinforcer for high-p compliance (Davis & Reichle, 1996)



High-Probability Request Sequence • Acknowledging compliance • Individual’s compliance should be acknowledged immediately • Use of praise



High-Probability Request Sequence • Use potent reinforcers • Social praise may not be enough to increase compliance if motivation for escape behavior is high • Use of high-quality positive stimuli immediately following compliance may increase effectiveness of the intervention



Functional Communication Training • FCT establishes an appropriate communication behavior to compete with problem behaviors evoked by an EO • Develops alternative behaviors that are sensitive to the EO’s (in contrast to NCR and high-p request sequence)



Functional Communication Training • Application of DRA

• Develops alternative communication response an antecedent to diminish problem behavior (Fisher et al., 1998)

• Alternative response produces the reinforcer that has maintained problem behavior (Durand & Carr, 1992) • Alternative response can take a variety of forms • • • • • •

Vocalizations Signs Communication boards Words or picture cards Vocal output systems Gestures



Functional Communication Training

• Carr and Durand (1985) defined FCT as a two-step process • Completing a functional behavior assessment to identify the stimuli with known reinforcing properties that maintain problem behavior • Using those stimuli as reinforcers to develop an alternative behavior to replace the problem behavior

• Very effective for problem behavior maintained by social attention



Functional Communication Training • FCT interventions typically

• Involve several behavior change strategies in addition to teaching the alternative communication response • • • • • •


Response prompting Time-out Physical restraint Response blocking Redirection Extinction of problem behavior


Functional Communication Training • Effective use of FCT includes • • • •

Dense schedules of reinforcement Decreased use of verbal prompts Behavior reduction procedures Schedule thinning



Functional Communication Training • Dense schedules of reinforcement • Alternative communication response should produce the reinforcers that maintain the problem behavior on a continuous schedule of reinforcement at first



Functional Communication Training • Decreased use of verbal prompts • When the alternative communication response is being taught initially verbal prompts are often used • After the response is in the individual’s repertoire the verbal prompts should be reduced and eliminated (if possible) • Assists in removing any prompt dependence



Functional Communication Training • Behavior reduction procedures • Effectiveness of FCT can be increased with the use of other procedures (in a treatment package to enhance the reduction of the undesired (problem) behaviors • Extinction procedure • Time-out procedure



Functional Communication Training • Schedule thinning • Thinning of the schedule on which the established communication response is reinforced is an important part of FCT • Should only be done after the alternative communication response is firmly in the individual’s repertoire



Functional Communication Training • Schedule thinning (continued)

• Guidelines for schedule thinning are NOT the same as those for NCR • Alternative communication response must remain sensitive to evocative function of the EO to compete with problem behavior • Recovery of problem behavior could occur

• Hanley et al. (2001) recommended using a procedure for schedule thinning • Used dense FI schedule of reinforcement during initial teaching of alternative communication response • After the response is established, gradually thin the FI schedule • Suggest use of external cues to indicate when reinforcement is available



Chapter 24: Functional Behavior Assessment



Functions of Problem Behavior • Positive Reinforcement • “Getting something”

• Negative Reinforcement • “Getting out of something”

• These functions can be • Socially mediated • Non-socially mediated (automatic)



Positive Reinforcement • Social • Attention from others • Access to tangible stimuli

• Automatic • Physical Stimulation



Negative Reinforcement • Social • Escape from aversive or difficult tasks

• Automatic • Escape from aversive stimulation



Function vs. Topography • Topography = form of the behavior • Function = function of the behavior • Different topographies of problem behavior • Can serve the same function • Can serve different functions

• Similar topographies of problem behavior • Can serve the same function • Can serve different functions

• Function is more important for intervention than form Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


FBA and Intervention • When the function of problem behavior has been identified, intervention can consist of: • Altering antecedent variables • Altering consequent variables • Teaching alternative behaviors



Altering Antecedent Variables • Change and/or eliminate • Motivating operation for problem behavior • Discriminative stimuli that trigger problem behavior



Altering Consequent Variables • Place problem behavior on extinction • Withhold identified reinforcer when problem behavior occurs



Teaching Alternative Behaviors • Select appropriate behaviors that serve the same function • Provide reinforcer that previously maintained problem behavior contingent upon the new, alternative behavior



FBA and Default Technologies • Default Technologies • Intrusive, coercive, or punishment-based interventions • Often selected arbitrarily

• Understanding why a behavior occurs suggests how it can be changed • Conducting FBAs and understanding why a behavior occurs decreases reliance on default technologies



FBA and Prevention of Problem Behavior • When default technologies are used, other problem behaviors may emerge • The use of FBA for developing intervention may avoid the development of new problem behaviors

• FBA may identify conditions that pose risks for the development of future problem behaviors



Continuum of FBA Methods

Level of Difficulty

Level of Precision

Analog functional analysis Direct observation in natural routine

Indirect Assessments Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Functional (Experimental) Analysis • Antecedents and consequences are arranged so that their separate effects on problem behavior can be observed and measured • Often referred to as analog • Similar to what is occurring in natural routine, but more systematic • Allows for better control



Typical Conditions • • • • •

Contingent attention Contingent escape Alone Control (e.g., “free play”) These are presented one at a time until a pattern of problem behavior emerges



Interpreting Functional Analyses: Attention Function



Interpreting Functional Analyses: Escape Function



Interpreting Functional Analyses: Automatic Reinforcement



Interpreting Functional Analyses: Undifferentiated Pattern



Advantages of Functional Analysis • Yields a clear demonstration of the variable(s) that relate to the occurrence of problem behavior • Serve as the standard to which all other forms of FBA are evaluated • Enable the development of effective reinforcement-based treatment



Limitations of Functional Analysis May temporarily strengthen the problem behavior May result in the behavior acquiring new functions Acceptability may be low Difficult to use for serious, low frequency behaviors If conducted in contrived settings, may not identify idiosyncratic variables related to problem behavior • Requires time, effort, and professional expertise • • • • •



Descriptive FBA • Direct observation of problem behavior under naturally occurring conditions • Events are NOT arranged in a systematic manner • Different Forms • ABC Continuous Recording • ABC Narrative Recording • Scatterplot



ABC Continuous Recording • Record • • • •

Occurrences of targeted problem behaviors and Selected environmental events Within the natural routine During a specified period of time



Sample ABC Continuous Recording Form



Advantages of ABC Continuous Recording • Uses precise measures • Provides useful contextual information and correlations regarding environmental events and the problem behavior, which can provide useful information for later functional analyses • Does not require disruption of the individual’s routine



Limitations of ABC Continuous Recording • Often, antecedents and consequences do not reliably precede and follow problem behavior, making correlations difficult to detect • May use conditional probabilities • Proportion of occurrences of problem behavior preceded by a specific antecedent • Proportion of the occurrence of problem behavior followed by a specific consequence

• These may be misleading, however



ABC Narrative Recording • Data are collected only when behavior(s) of interest are observed • Recording is open-ended • Thus, it is less time-consuming than continuous recording



Sample Narrative Recording Form



Limitations of ABC Narrative Recording • Utility in identifying behavioral function not established • May yield false positives because data are collected only when problem behavior occurs • The same antecedent and consequent events may be present when problem behavior is absent



Limitations of ABC Narrative Recording • Reliability may be low • Unless trained, observers may report “inferred states” rather than events • It is often difficult to discriminate which environmental events actually occasion the problem behavior



Scatterplot • Procedure for recording the extent to which a target behavior occurs more often at particular times than others • Divide day into blocks of time (e.g., a series of 30min segments) • For each time period, enter a symbol to indicate whether problem behavior occurred a lot, some, or not at all • Analyze for patterns to identify temporal distributions of behavior and events that occur at that time Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Sample Scatterplot



Advantages of Scatterplots • Identify time periods during which the problem behavior occurs • Can be useful for pinpointing periods of the day when more focused ABC assessments can be conducted



Limitations of Scatterplots • Utility of scatterplots is unknown • Subjective in nature



Indirect FBA • • • • •

Structured interviews Checklists Rating scales Questionnaires These are all considered “indirect” because they do not involve observing the behavior; rather they involve soliciting another’s recollection of the behavior



Structured Behavioral Interviews • Goal: to obtain clear and objective information about the problem behavior(s), antecedents, and consequences, as well as a plethora of other information • Several published examples • Interview significant others • Interview student him/herself



Behavior Rating Scales • Ask informants to estimate the extent to which behavior occurs under specified conditions • Hypotheses about function of behavior are based on scores associated with each condition • Those conditions with the highest score are hypothesized to be related to the problem behavior



Advantages of Indirect FBA • Useful source of information for guiding subsequent, more objective assessments • Contribute to hypothesis development regarding the variables that may occasion or maintain problem behavior • Very convenient because they do not require direct observation of behavior



Limitations of Indirect FBA • Informants may not be accurate • Informants may be biased • Little research exists to support the reliability of information obtained from indirect assessments • Not recommended as principal means of identifying functions of behaviors. Best used for hypothesis development.



Conducting an FBA • Gather information via indirect and descriptive assessments • Interpret information and formulate hypotheses • Test hypotheses using functional analysis • Develop intervention options based on the function of problem behavior



Gathering Information • Conduct functional assessment interview with individual’s care providers • Use this information to define target problem behaviors, identify and define potential antecedents and consequences, and to determine what other assessments are warranted

• Conduct direct observations of the problem behavior within the natural routine • Use this information to confirm/disconfirm information obtained in interviews



Interpreting Information and Formulating Hypotheses • Write hypothesis statements in ABC format Antecedent

When Tonisha is prompted to wash her hands in preparation for lunch,

Behavior

she screams and tantrums, which is followed by…

Consequence

termination of hand washing and lunch by being sent to time-out.

Hypothesized function = escape from hand washing or lunch Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Testing Hypotheses • Conduct a functional analysis • Always include a control condition • Select additional conditions depending upon hypotheses • If positive reinforcement (attention) is a hypothesis, conduct contingent attention • If negative reinforcement is a hypothesis, conduct contingent escape • If automatic reinforcement is a hypothesis, conduct alone condition

• Alternate conditions in counterbalanced fashion until a pattern emerges



Brief Functional Analyses • Conducting a functional analysis in a short period of time • Procedure • Implement one session of the control condition • Implement one session of each test condition • Implement a contingency reversal



Contingency Reversal • Used to confirm hypothesis by: • Providing reinforcement for an alternative behavior • Problem behavior no longer produces reinforcement



Sample Brief Functional Analysis with Contingency Reversal Control

4

Cont. Attn.

Cont. Esc. for Cont. Esc. Esc. Req.

Esc. for Req.

Requests

3 2 1

Problem Behavior

0 1 Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition

2

3 Sessions

4

5


6

Developing an Intervention • FBA does NOT identify the interventions that will be effective • DOES identify powerful reinforcers that can be used in intervention



Functional Equivalence • Intervention must match the function of the problem behavior • If problem behavior = escape function • Intervention should provide escape for alternative behavior • OR alter task demands to make escape less reinforcing



Functional Equivalence • Intervention must match the function of the problem behavior • If problem behavior = gain function • Intervention should provide desired outcome (access to attention or tangibles) for alternative behavior • OR alter antecedent conditions to make attention and/or tangibles less reinforcing



Alter the ABC Contingency Antecedent When Deshawn is left alone with toys or work…


Behavior He hits others, which is followed by…


Consequence Attention in the form of a reprimand and discussion.

Alter the Antecedent Antecedent When Deshawn is left alone with toys or work…

Deshawn is provided with a peer buddy during work/play periods


Behavior

Consequence

He hits others, which is followed by…

Attention in the form of a reprimand and discussion.

These are irrelevant because problem behavior is avoided.


Alter the Behavior Antecedent When Deshawn is left alone with toys or work…


Deshawn is prompted to ask a peer or adult to play/help, which is followed by… Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition



Attention in the form of socialization and help.

Alter the Consequence Antecedent When Deshawn is left alone with toys or work…



Neutrally blocking the hitting and ignoring Deshawn.



Summary • Prior to intervention • Identify the function • Escape • Gain (attention/tangible) • Automatic

• When designing intervention • Modify the ABC contingency



Summary • Assessment continues after intervention begins • Monitor effectiveness • Changes in function over time



Chapter 25: Verbal Behavior



Verbal Behavior and Properties of Language Form and Function of Behavior The formal properties of language involve the topography (i.e., form, structure) of the verbal response The functional properties involve the causes of the response.



Verbal Behavior and Properties of Language • Form and Function of Behavior • Formal descriptions of language

(a) phonemes (b) morphemes (c) lexicon (d) syntax (e) grammar (f) semantics



Verbal Behavior and Properties of Language • Form and Function of Behavior The formal description of a language can be accomplished also by classifying words as nouns, verbs, prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and articles.



Verbal Behavior and Properties of Language • Form and Function of Behavior A common misconception about Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior is that he rejected the formal classifications of language. He did not find fault classifications or descriptions of the response, but rather with the failure to account for the “causes” or functions of the classifications.



Verbal Behavior and Properties of Language Theories of Language Theories of language can be classified into three categories: biological, cognitive, and environmental.



Verbal Behavior and Properties of Language Theories of Language The basic orientation of the biological theory is that language is a function of physiological processes and functions.



Verbal Behavior and Properties of Language Theories of Language Proponents of the cognitive approach to language propose that language is controlled by internal processing systems that accept, classify, code, encode, and store verbal information. Spoken and written language are considered to be the structure of thgouht.



Development of Verbal Behavior Skinner published Verbal Behavior in 1957. Skinner believed that Verbal Behavior would prove to be his most important work. Noam Chomsky, an MIT Linguist who had published his own account of language the same year as Skinner’s Verbal Behavior was an outspoken critic. Skinner never responded to Chomsky’s review because the reviews condescending tone and Chomsky’s clear misunderstanding of Skinner’s behaviorism. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Defining Verbal Behavior Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned behavior, and that it is acquired, extended, and maintained by the same types of environmental variables, and principles that control nonlanguage behavior (i.e., stimulus control, motivating operations, reinforcement, extinction). Verbal Behavior – behavior that is reinforced through the mediation of another person’s behavior. Verbal behavior involves a social interaction between speakers and listeners.



Defining Verbal Behavior The Speaker and Listener Verbal behavior involves social interaction between speakers and listeners, whereby speakers gain access to reinforcement and control their environment though the behavior of listeners. Skinner’s verbal behavior is primarily concerned with the behavior of the speaker.



Defining Verbal Behavior The Speaker and Listener The listener must learn how to reinforce the speakers' verbal behavior, meaning that listeners are taught to respond to words, and interact with speakers.



Defining Verbal Behavior Verbal Behavior: A Technical Term Verbal behavior has acquired a new meaning, independent from Skinner’s usage. In the field of Pathology verbal behavior has become synonymous with vocal behavior. In Psychology the term nonverbal communication was contrasted with the term verbal behavior, implying that verbal behavior was vocal communication and nonverbal behavior was non-vocal communication



Defining Verbal Behavior Verbal Behavior: A Technical Term The term verbal has also been contrasted with quantitative as in GRE and SAT tests. Verbal behavior includes vocal-verbal behavior and nonvocal-verbal behavior.



Defining Verbal Behavior Unit of Analysis The unit of analysis of verbal behavior is the functional relation between a type of responding and the same independent variables that control nonverbal behavior, namely: (a) motivating variables (b) discriminative stimuli (c) consequences Skinner (1957) referred to this unit as a verbal operant. A set of such units of a particular individual is considered a verbal repertoire. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


The Elementary Verbal Operants Skinner (1957) identified six different types of elementary verbal operants: Mand Tact Echoic Intraverbal Textual Transcription



The Elementary Verbal Operants Mand The mand is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker asks for (or states, demand, implies, etc.) what he needs or wants. The mand is a verbal operant for which the form of the response is under the functional control of motivating operations (MO’s) and specific reinforcement. Mands are the first verbal operant acquired by a human child. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


The Elementary Verbal Operants Mand Skinner pointed out that the mand is the only type of verbal behavior that directly benefits the speaker, meaning that the mand gets the speaker reinforcers such as edibles, toys, attention, or the removal of aversive stimuli. Mands often become strong forms of verbal behavior because of specific reinforcement, and this reinforcement often satisfies an immediate deprivation condition or removes some aversive stimulus.



The Elementary Verbal Operants Tact The tact is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker names things and actions that the speaker has direct contact with through any of the sense modes. The tact is a verbal operant under the functional control of nonverbal discriminative stimulus, and it produces generalized conditioned reinforcement.



The Elementary Verbal Operants Echoic The echoic is a type of verbal operant that occurs when a speaker repeats the verbal behavior of another speaker. Repeating the words, phrases, and vocal behavior of others, which is common in day-to-day discourse, is echoic also. The echoic operant is controlled by a verbal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with the response.



The Elementary Verbal Operants Echoic Formal similarity occurs when the controlling antecedent stimulus and the response or response produce (a) share the same sense mode (e.g., both stimulus and response are visual, auditory, or tactile) and (b) physically resemble each other. The ability to echo the phonemes and words of others is essential for learning to identify objects and actions.



The Elementary Verbal Operants Copying a Text Skinner also presented copying a text as a type of verbal behavior in which a written verbal stimulus has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with a written verbal response. Because this relation has the same defining features as echoic and imitation as it relates to sign language, the three will be treated as one category, echoic.



The Elementary Verbal Operants Intraverbal The intraverbal is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker differentially responds to the verbal behavior of others. Intraverbal responses are also important components of many normal intellectual repertoires, such as saying “Sacramento” as a result of hearing “What is the capital of California?”



The Elementary Verbal Operants Intraverbal The intraverbal operant occurs when a verbal discriminative stimulus evokes a verbal response that does not have point-to-point correspondence with the verbal stimulus. Like all verbal operants except the mand, the interverbal produces generalized conditioned reinforcement.



The Elementary Verbal Operants Collectively, mands, tacts, and intraverbals contribute ot a conversation in the following ways: (a) a mand repertoire allows a speaker to ask questions (b) a tact repertoire permits verbal behavior about an accutally present

object or event that is

(c) a intraverbal repertoire allows a speaker to answer questions and to talk about (and think about) objects and events that are not physically present. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


The Elementary Verbal Operants Textual Textual behavior is reading, without any implications that the reader understand what is being read. The textual operant has point-to-point correspondence but not formal similarity, between the stimulus and the response product.



The Elementary Verbal Operants Transcription Transcription consists of writing and spelling words that are spoken. Skinner also refers to this behavior as taking dictation. Transcription is a type of verbal behavior in which a spoken verbal stimulus controls a written, typed, or finger-spelled response. There is point-to-point correspondence but no formal similiarity.



The Role of the Listener A verbal episode requires a speaker and a listener. The listener not only plays a critical role as a mediator of reinforcement for the speaker’s behavior, but also becomes a discriminative stimulus for the speaker’s behavior. In functioning as a discriminative stimulus, the listener is a audience for verbal behavior. An audience is a discriminative stimulus in the presence of which verbal behavior is characteristically reinforced and in the presence of which, therefore, it is characteristically strong.



The Role of the Listener Verbal stimulus control may also evoike a listener’s nonverbal behavior. Skinner (1957) identified this type of listener behavior as understanding. The listener can be said to understand a speaker if her simply behavior in an appropriate fashion.



Identifying Verbal Operants 1.

Does an MO control the response form? If yes, then the operant is at least part mand.

2.

Does an SD control the response form? If yes, then:

3.

Is the SD nonverbal? If yes, then the operant is at least part tact.

4.

Is the SD verbal? If yes, then:

5.

Is there point-to-point correspondence between the verbal SD and the response? If not, then the operant is at least part intraverbal. IF there is point-to-point correspondence, then:

6.

Is there formal similarity between the verbal SD and the response. If yes, then the operant must be echoic, imitative, or copying a text. If not, then the operant must be textural or transcription.



Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Automatic Reinforcement Some behavior is strengthened or weakened, not be external consequences, but by its response products which have reinforcing or punishing effects. Skinner used the terms automatic reinforcement and automatic punishment.



Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Automatic Reinforcement Verbal behavior can produce automatic reinforcement, and it has a significant role in the acquisition and maintenance of verbal behavior. 2 stage conditioning history: 1. A neutral verbal stimulus is paired with an existing form of unconditioned reinforcement.

conditioned or

2. A vocal response as either random muscle movement of the vocal cords or reflexive behavior produces an auditory response that on occasion may sound somewhat like someone’s words, intonations, and vocal pitches. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Tact Extensions Generic Extension: The novel stimulus shares all of the features of the original stimulus.

relevant or defining

Metaphorical extension: the novel stimulus shares some but not all of the relevant features associated with the original stimulus.



Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Tact Extensions Metonymical extension: verbal responses to novel stimuli that share none of the relevant features of the original stimulus configuration, but some irrelevant but related feature has acquired stimulus control. Solistic extension: occurs when a stimulus property that is only indirectly related to the tact relation evokes substandard verbal behavior such as malaprops.



Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Private Events What is commonly referred to as “thinking” involves overt stimulus control and private events (e.g., covert stimulus control). The analysis of private stimulation and how it acquires stimulus control is complex because of two problems: (a) The participant can directly observe the private stimuli, bu thte applied behavior analyst cannot and (b) private stimulus control of verbal episodes in the natural environment will likely remain private. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Private Events Public Accompaniment Public accompaniment occurs when an observable stimulus accompanies a private stimulus.



Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Private Events Collateral responses Caregivers also teach young persons to tact their private stimuli by using collateral responses (i.e., observable behavior) that reliably occur with private stimuli.



Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Private Events Common Properties Common properties also involve public stimuli, but in a different way. A speaker may learn to tact temporal, geometrical, or descriptive properties of objects and then generalize those tact relations to private stimuli.



Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior Private Events Response Reduction Most speakers learn to tact features of their own bodies such as movements and positions. The kinesthetic stimuli arising from the movement and positions can acquire control over the verbal responses. Then movements shrink in size (become covert), the kinesthetic stimuli may remain sufficiently similar to those resulting from the overt movement that the learner’s tact occurs as an instance of stimulus generalization.



Multiple Control Convergent Multiple Control Identifies when the occurrence of a single verbal response is a function of more than one variable.



Multiple Control Divergent Multiple Control Multiple control also occurs when a single antecedent variable affects the strength of many responses.



Multiple Control Thematic and Formal Verbal Operants Thematic verbal operants are mands, tacts, and intraverbals and involve different response topographies controlled by a common variable. Formal verbal operants are echoic (imitation, copying a text), and textual (and transcription,) and are controlled by a common variable, with point-to-point correspondence.



Multiple Control Multiple Audiences Different audiences may evoke different response forms. A positive audience has special effects, especially a large positive audience (e.g., as in a rally for a certain cause) as does a negative audience.



Multiple Control Elaborating Multiple Control Multiple sources of control can be any combination of thematic or formal sources, even multiple sources from within a single verbal operant, such as multiple tacts or multiple intraverbals.



Autoclitic Relation Autoclitic relations identify when a speaker’s own verbal behavior functions as an SD or an MO for additional speaker verbal behavior. Verbal behavior about a speaker’s own verbal behavior.



Autoclitic Relation Primary and Secondary Verbal Operants Primary (level 1) MO’s and /or SD’s are present and affect the primary verbal operant. The speaker has to something to say. Secondary (Level 2) The speaker observes the primary controlling variables of her own verbal behavior and her disposition to emit the primary verbal behavior.



Autoclitic Relation Autoclitic Tact Relations Informs the listener of the type of primary verbal operant the autoclitic accompanies. Autoclitic tact relations informs the listener of some nonverbal aspect of the primary verbal operant and is therefore controlled by nonverbal stimuli.



Autoclitic Relation Autoclitic Mand Relations Speaker’s use autoclitic mands frequently to help the lstener present effective reinforcers. A specific MO controls the autoclitic mand, and its role is to mand the listener to react in some specific way to the primary verbal operant.



Autoclitic Relation • Developing Autoclitic Relations • Speakers develop autoclitic relations in several ways. • Skinner (1957) points out, “An auoclitic affects the listener by indicating either a property of the speaker ’s behavior or the circumstances responsible for that property” (p. 329). • “In the absence of any other verbal behavior whatsoever autoclitics cannot occur. It is only when [the elementary] verbal operants have been established in strength that the speaker finds himself subject to the additional contingencies which establish autoclitic behavior ” (p.330).



Applications of Verbal Behavior Language Assessment Although information rendered from language assessments are helpful in may ways, the tests do not distinguish among the mand, tact, and intraverbal repertoires, and important language deficits cannot be identified.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Language Assessment The behavior analyst should examine the current effectiveness of each verbal operant. - Obtain information about the child’s mand repertoire. - What behavior does the child engage in to obtain the reinforcement? - When the reinforcement is provided, does the mand behavior cease? - What is the frequency and complexity of the various mand units? Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Applications of Verbal Behavior Language Intervention Skinner’s analysis suggests that a complete verbal repertoire is composed of each of the different elementary operants, and separate speaker and listener repertoires. Individual verbal operants are then seen as the bases for building more advanced language behavior.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Mand Training Mands allow the subject to control the delivery of reinforcers when those reinforcers are most valuable. If mands fail to develop in a typical manner, negative behavior such as tantrums, aggression, social withdrawal, or self-injury that serve the mand function commonly emerge.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Mand Training During mand training, responses needs to be under the functional control of the relevant MO. The easiest mands to teach in an early language intervention program are usually mands for items for which the MO is frequently strong for the child and satiation is slow to occur (e.g., food, toys, videos).



Applications of Verbal Behavior Mand Training Mand training should be a significant part of any intervention program designed for children with autism or other severe language delays.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Echoic Training For an early language learner the ability to repeat words when asked to do so plays a major role in the development of other verbal operants. Many children with autism and other language delays are unable to emit echoic behavior, special training procedures are required to develop the echoic repertoire.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Echoic Training Goals of Echoic Training 1. Teach the child to repeat the words and phrases emitted by teachers when asked to do so.

parents and

2. Establish a generalized repertoire the child can repeat novel combinations.

words and

3. Transfer the response form to other verbal operants. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Applications of Verbal Behavior • Echoic Training • Initial Echoic Stimulus Control • The most common is direct echoic training in which vocal stimulus is presented and successive approximations to the target response are differentially reinforced. • Involves a combination of prompting, fading, shaping, extinction, and reinforcement techniques.



Applications of Verbal Behavior • Echoic Training • Initial Echoic Stimulus Control • Placing an echoic trial within a mand frame. • The MO is a powerful independent variable in language training and can be temporally used to establish other verbal operants.



Applications of Verbal Behavior • Echoic Training • Initial Echoic Stimulus Control • Increasing any vocal behavior may facilitate the ultimate establishment of echoic control. • Directly reinforce all vocal behaviors.



Applications of Verbal Behavior • Echoic Training • Initial Echoic Stimulus Control • Automatic reinforcement procedures can be used by pairing a neutral stimulus with an established form of reinforcement, the neutral stimulus can become a conditioned reinforcer.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Tact Training A child must learn to tact objectws, actions, properties of objects and actions, prepositional relations, abstractions, private events, and so on. The goal is to bring a verbal response under nonverbal stimulus control.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Tact Training A mand frame can be used to establish tacting Teaching tacts of actions requires that the nonverbal stimulus of movement be present and a response such as “jump” be brought under the control of the action of jumping. Teaching tacts involving prepositions, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, and so on, also involves the establishment of nonverbal stimulus control. Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Applications of Verbal Behavior Intraverbal Training Many children with autism, developmental disabilities, or other language delays suffer from defective or nonexistent intraverbal repertoires, even though some can emit hundreds of mands, tacts, and receptive responses. In general, verbal stimulus control over verbal responding is more difficult to establish than nonverbal control.



Applications of Verbal Behavior Intraverbal Training Formal training on intraverbal behavior for a language delayed child should not occur until the child has well established mand, tact, echoic, imitation, receptive, and matching-to-sample repertoires.



Applications of Verbal Behavior • Additional Aspects of Language Training • Although beyond the scope of this chapter, there several other components of a verbal behavior program and curriculum such as: • • • • • • • • •

receptive language training matching-to-sample mixing and varying trails multiple response training sentence construction conversation skills peer interaction reading writing



Chapter 26: Contingency Contracting, Token Economy, and Group Contingencies



Contingency Contract • AKA: Behavioral Contract • Definition: • A document that specifies a contingent relationship between • The completion of a specific behavior and • Access to a specified reinforcer



Contingency Contract • Components • Description of the task • • • •

Who will perform the task/receive reward What is the task to be performed When the task must be completed How well the task must be completed



Contingency Contract • Components • Reward • • • •

Who will judge task completion What is the reward When the reward will be delivered How much of the reward the person will receive



Contingency Contract • Components • Task Record • A place to record progress • Sets occasion for regular review of the contract • Helps individual remain focused and gives feedback on performance



Contingency Contract • How do they work? • Typically a package that involves: • Reinforcement • Rules • Response prompting

• Can even be a self-contract



Contingency Contract • Steps to developing one • Hold a meeting to discuss how contracts work, goals, etc. • Identify tasks individuals can and already do perform • Identify potential contracting tasks • Identify potential rewards • Write the contract



Contingency Contract • Things to consider • Is the behavior already in the learner’s repertoire? • Does the behavior result in a permanent product? • What is the reading ability of the learner?



Contingency Contract • Evaluating Contracts • Focus on the objective measure of the target behavior



Token Economy • Definition • A behavior change system with three major components • Specified list of behaviors to reinforce • Tokens or points for emitting those behaviors • A menu of back-up reinforcers for which the learner can exchange tokens/points (Effectiveness of tokens as reinforcers depends upon the power of the back-up reinforcers)



Token Economy • Designing a Token Economy • • • • • •

Select tokens Identify target behaviors/rules Select menu of back-up reinforcers Establish ratio exchange Specify when/how tokens will be dispensed and exchanged Field test



Token Economy • Select Tokens • Washers, checkers, coupons, poker chips, tally marks, holes punched in cards… • Considerations • • • • • •


Safe Control counterfeiting and bootlegging Durable Accessible Cheap Token should not be a desirable object


Token Economy • Identify Target Behaviors and Rules (see Ch. 3) • • • • •

Select measurable/observable behaviors Specify criteria for task completion Start with a small number of behaviors Ensure learners possess prerequisite skills It is okay to individualize…rules don’t have to be the same for everybody



Token Economy • Select a Menu of Back-up Reinforcers • • • •

Use naturally-occurring activities when possible Privileges Tangibles and edibles can be used as well Follow ethical and legal rules



Token Economy • Establish a Ratio of Exchange • Initial ratio should be small • After that, adjust ratio for maintenance

• Procedure for Dispensation • May need storage containers

• Procedure for Exchange • Usually a “store” of some sort • Initially, have store open frequently • Over time, this can be more intermittent Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Token Economy • Field Test the System • Tally tokens you would have given without actually giving them • Analyze data to determine if the system seems appropriate



Token Economy • Tips • Avoiding “Battles” • Be matter of fact when learners don’t earn tokens; don’t nag • Stay neutral; avoid confrontation about tokens

• Response cost included? • • • •

Most do include response cost Learners need to be aware of behaviors resulting in response cost/procedures Make the cost fit the severity of behavior Avoid having learners go “in the hole”



Token Economy • Implementation • Initial training • Describe the procedure to learners • Model the procedure for token delivery • Model the procedure for token exchange

• Ongoing training • Booster sessions may be needed occasionally

• Management issues • Teach students how/where to store tokens (secure location) • Discourage hoarding and encourage savings in some students • Chronic rule breakers deserve special consideration



Token Economy • Implementation • Withdrawing the token economy • • • • • • •

Plan for maintenance and generalization Pair tokens with social approval Gradually increase number of responses required to earn tokens Gradually decrease length of time it is in place Gradually increase number of “natural” reinforcers and fade out use of contrived reinforcers Systematically increase price of more desirable items Fade physical evidence of token over time



Token Economy • Considerations • • • •

Can be intrusive and difficult to implement Can be cumbersome Can be so rewarding to interventionist that he/she doesn’t want to remove it Ensure it doesn’t run counter to Federal mandates



Group Contingencies • Definition • A common consequence is contingent on the behavior of • An individual member of the group, • Part of the group, or • Everyone in the group



Group Contingencies • Rationale • Can be a time saver • Can be more practical • Capitalizes on peer influence and peer monitoring (can also be potentially harmful)



Group Contingencies • Applications • Independent group contingency • A contingency is presented to all members of a group, but reinforcement is only delivered to those individuals who meet the criterion outlined in the contingency • Often combined with contracts or token systems



Group Contingencies • Applications • Dependent group contingency, AKA “Hero Procedure” • The reinforcer for the group is dependent on the performance of an individual student or small group of students



Group Contingencies • Applications • Interdependent group contingency • All of the individuals in a group must meet the criterion of the contingency before any member earns reinforcement • Total group meets criterion • Group average meets criterion • Good Behavior/Good Student games (competitions)



Group Contingencies • Implementation • Choose a powerful reinforcer • Determine the behavior to change and collateral behaviors that might be affected • Set appropriate performance criteria • Combine with other procedures • Select the most appropriate group contingency • Monitor individual and group performance



Chapter 27: Self-Management



“Self” as Controller of Behavior • Radical behaviorism causes of behavior are found in the environment • When causal variables are not readily apparent in the immediate environment, tendency to point to internal causes of behavior becomes stronger



“Self” as Controller of Behavior • Skinner was the first to apply philosophy & theory of radical behaviorism to actions typically considered to be controlled by the self • Self-control • Two-response phenomenon • Controlling response • Controlled response



“Self” as Controller of Behavior • Self-management • Target behavior the person wants to change (i.e. “controlled response”) • Self-management behavior (i.e. “controlled response”)



Definition of Self-Management • Self-management • Personal application of behavior change tactics that produces a desired change in behavior • Descriptive definition only

• Broad & functional definition • Encompasses one time & long running self-management events • Desired change in target behavior must occur for self-management to be demonstrated



Definition of Self-Management • Self-management: • Is a relative concept • Occurs on a continuum • When used or implemented, all procedures should be described in detail

• Terminology • Self-control vs. Self-management



Applications of Self-Management • • • •

Live a more effective & efficient daily life Break bad habits & replace with good ones Accomplish difficult tasks Achieve personal goals



Advantages & Benefits of Self-Management • • • •

Influence behaviors not accessible to external change agents External change agents can miss important instances of behavior Promote generalization & maintenance of behavior change Small repertoire of self-management skills can control many behaviors



Advantages & Benefits of Self-Management • People with diverse abilities can learn self-management skills • Some people perform better under self-selected tasks & performance criteria • People with good self-management skills contribute to more efficient & effective group environments



Advantages & Benefits of Self-Management • Teaching students to use self-management skills provides meaningful practice for other areas of school curriculum • Ultimate goal of education • Benefits society • Helps a person feel good • Feels good



Antecedent-Based Self-Management Tactics • Primary feature is the manipulation of events of stimuli antecedent to the target (controlled) behavior • Environmental planning • Situational inducement



Antecedent-Based Self-Management Tactics • Manipulating MO’s to make a desired (or undesired) behavior more (or less) likely • Providing response prompts • Performing initial steps of a behavior chain • Removing materials required for an undesired behavior • Limiting undesired behavior to restricted stimulus conditions • Dedicating a specific environment for a behavior



Manipulating Motivating Operations • General strategy: • Behave in a way (controlling behavior)… • that creates a certain state of motivation that, in turn… • increases (or decreases as desired) the subsequent frequency of the target behavior (controlled behavior)



Providing Response Prompts Wide variety of forms (e.g. visual, auditory, textual, symbolic) Generic response prompt Specific response prompt Prompt repeated performance of a behavior in a variety of situations & settings • Supplemental response prompts (provided by others) • • • •



Performing the Initial Steps of a Behavior Chain • Behaving in a manner that ensures being confronted later with a SD that reliably evokes the target behavior • Performing part of a behavioral chain (the selfmanagement response) at one point in time, a person has changed his environment with an SD that will evoke the next response in the chain & will lead to the completion of the task (self-management response)



Removing Items Necessary for an Undesired Behavior • Alter the environment so that an undesirable behavior is less likely or impossible to emit



Limiting Undesired Behavior to Restricted Stimulus Conditions • Decrease the frequency of an undesired behavior by limiting the setting or stimulus conditions under which the person engages in the behavior



Dedicating a Specific Environment for a Desired Behavior • Reserve or create an environment where the person will only engage in that behavior • Special stimulus arrangement that ban be turned on & off in a multipurpose setting



Self-Monitoring

• Procedure whereby a person observes his behavior systematically & records the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a target behavior • Also called self-recording or self-observation • Originally conceived as a method of clinical assessment • For behaviors only the client could observe & record • Became a major therapeutic intervention because of the reactive effects



Self-Monitoring • Wide variety of applications in research • Difficult to isolate self-monitoring as a procedure – usually entails other contingencies



Self-Evaluation • Comparison of person’s performance by himself with a predetermined goal or standard • Involves the use of self-monitoring with goal setting • Also called self-assessment



Self-Monitoring with Reinforcement • Self-monitoring may be part of an intervention package that includes reinforcement • For achieving self selected goals • For achieving teacher selected goals

• Reinforcer may be • Self-administered • Teacher delivered



Why does Self-Monitoring Work? • Behavioral mechanisms that account for its effectiveness are not fully understood • Much of self-monitoring consists of covert behaviors • Confounded by other variables (e.g. part of a package with other contingencies)

• Some hypotheses: • Evokes self-evaluative statements that serve either to reinforce desired behaviors or punish undesired behaviors • Guilt control (Malott, 1981) • Target behavior is strengthened through R- by escape & avoidance of the guilty feelings that occur when one’s behavior is “bad”



Guidelines & Procedures for Self-Monitoring • • • • •

Provide materials that make self-monitoring easy Provide supplementary cues or prompts Self-monitor the most important dimension of the target behavior Self-monitor early & often Reinforce accurate self-monitoring



Materials that Make Self-Monitoring Easy • Materials should facilitate easy & efficient self-monitoring • Variety of mechanisms can be utilized to measure the target behavior • Paper & pencil • Wrist counters • Pennies in different pockets



Supplementary Cues or Prompts • Variety of stimuli can prompt self-recording (e.g. auditory, visual, & tactile) • Auditory: prerecorded tones or signals • Visual: written instruction or symbols • Tactile: Motivaider® – signals through vibration



Most Important Dimension of the Target Behavior • A person should self-monitor the target behavior dimension that, should desired changes in its value be achieved, would yield the most direct and significant progress toward the person’s goal for the selfmanagement program



Self-Monitor Early & Often • Each occurrence of the target behavior should be self-recorded as soon as possible • Act of self-monitoring should not disrupt the occurrence of the target behavior • Self-monitoring should occur more often at the beginning of a behavior change program • Frequency of monitoring can decrease if performance improves



Reinforce Accurate Self-Monitoring • Accurate self-monitoring as a desired behavior • Especially when participants are utilizing self-recorded data for self-evaluation & self-administered consequences



Self-Administered Consequences • Self-reinforcement should not be considered synonymous with the principle of operant behavior (Skinner, 1953) • Performance-management contingencies are best viewed as rulegoverned analogs of reinforcement & punishment contingencies • Response-to-consequence delay is too great



Self-Administered Consequences • Self-administered consequences that increase desired behavior • Self-management analogs of R+ • Self-management analogs of R-

• Self-administered consequences that decrease undesired behavior • Self-management analogs of P+ • Self-management analogs of P-



Recommendations for Self-Administered Consequences • • • • •

Select small, easy-to-deliver consequences Set a meaningful but easy-to-meet criterion for reinforcement Eliminate “bootleg reinforcement” Put someone else in control of delivering consequences (if necessary) Keep it simple



Other Self-Management Tactics • • • •

Self-instruction Habit reversal Self-directed systematic desensitization Massed practice



Self-Instruction • Self-generated verbal responses, covert or overt, that function as response prompts for a desired behavior • Often used to guide a person through a behavior chain or sequence of tasks



Habit Reversal • Typically implemented as a multiple-component treatment package • Self-awareness • Response direction • Procedures for identifying events that precede & trigger the response

• Competing response training • Motivation techniques • Self-administered consequences • Social support systems • Procedures for promoting generalization & maintenance



Self-Directed Systematic Desensitization • Substituting one behavior (generally muscle relaxation) for the unwanted behavior (fear/anxiety) • Hierarchy of situations of least to most fearful is developed • Gradual exposure to each situation is then accomplished • First imagining each situation • Then actual real life (in vivo) situation



Massed Practice • Forcing oneself to perform an undesired behavior again and again • Sometimes decreases the future frequency of the target behavior



Conducting an Effective Self-Management Program • • • • • •

Specify a goal & define the behavior to be changed Begin self-monitoring the behavior Contrive contingencies that will compete with natural contingencies Go public with your commitment to change your behavior Get a self-management partner Continually evaluate your self-management program & redesign it as necessary



Chapter 28: Generalization and Maintenance of Behavior Change



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Generality of behavior change as one of the seven defining characteristics of ABA (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968) • Generalization again defined and stressed three important facets (i.e. time, settings, & behaviors) (Stokes & Baer, 1977)



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Response maintenance • Extent to which a learner continues to perform the target behavior after a portion or all of the intervention responsible for the behavior’s initial appearance in the learner’s repertoire has been terminated



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Setting/situation generalization • Extent to which a learner emits the target behavior in a setting or stimulus situation that is different from the instructional setting



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Instructional setting

• Total environment where instruction occurs, including any aspects of the environment, planned or unplanned, that may influence the learner’s acquisition and generalization of the target behavior

• Generalization setting • Any place or stimulus that differs in some meaningful way from the from the instructional setting and in which performance of the target behavior is desired



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Response generalization • Extent to which a learner emits untrained responses that are functionally equivalent to the trained target behavior



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Generalized behavior change is a relative concept • Exist along a continuum • Some interventions produce a great deal of generalized behavior change • Some interventions produce a small amount of generalized behavior change



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • The three forms of generalized behavior change can occur: • Isolation of one another • In combination with each other



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Overgeneralization • Outcome in which the behavior has come under the control of a stimulus class that is too broad (descriptive term) • Learner emits the target behavior in the presence of stimuli that, although similar in some way to the instructional examples or situation, are inappropriate occasions for the behavior



Generalized Behavior Change: Definitions and Key Concepts • Faulty stimulus control • Target behavior comes under the restricted control of an irrelevant antecedent stimulus



Other Types of Generalized Outcomes • Stimulus equivalence

• Emergence of accurate responding to untrained and nonreinforced stimulus-stimulus relations following the reinforcement of responses to some stimulus-stimulus relations

• Contingency adduction • Process by which a behavior that was initially selected and shaped under one set of conditions is recruited by a different set of contingencies and takes on a new function in a person’s repertoire



Other Types of Generalized Outcomes • Generalization across subjects • Changes in the behavior of people not directly treated by an intervention as a function of treatment contingencies applied to other people • Also called vicarious reinforcement, ripple effect, & spillover effect



Other Types of Generalized Outcomes • Generalization map • Combination of four basic types of generalized treatment effects • • • •

Across time (i.e. response maintenance) Across settings (i.e. setting/situation generalization) Across behaviors (i.e. response generalization) Across subjects



Planning for Generalized Behavior Change • Generalized outcomes requires planning • Selecting target behaviors that will meet natural contingencies of reinforcement • Specifying all desired variations of the target behavior and the settings/situations in which it should (and should not) occur after instruction has ended



Planning for Generalized Behavior Change • Target behaviors should be selected carefully • Numerous criteria have been suggested • Example: age appropriateness of a skills & degree to which it represents normalization

• Most important criterion • A behavior is only functional to the extent that it produces reinforcement for the learner • Behaviors that are not followed by reinforcers on at least some occasions will not be maintained



Planning for Generalized Behavior Change • Relevance-of-behavior rule (Ayllon & Azrin, 1968) • Choose only those behaviors to change that will produce reinforcers in the postintervention environment

• Baer (1999) rule for practitioners: • A good rule is to not make any deliberate behavior changes that will not meet natural communities of reinforcement…



Planning for Generalized Behavior Change • Naturally existing contingency • Any contingency of reinforcement (or punishment) that operates independent of the behavior analyst’s or practitioner’s efforts • Includes contingencies that operate without social mediation and socially mediated contingencies contrived and implemented by other people in the generalization setting



Planning for Generalized Behavior Change • Contrived Contingency • Any contingency of reinforcement (or punishment) designed and implemented by a behavior analyst or practitioner to achieve acquisition, maintenance, and/or generalization of a targeted behavior change



Planning for Generalized Behavior Change • List all the behaviors that need to be changed • List all the settings & situations in which the target behavior should (or should not) occur • Pre-intervention planning • Six stated possible benefits (Baer, 1999)



Strategies and Tactics for Promoting Generalized Behavior Change • Teach the full range of relevant stimulus conditions & response requirements • Make the instructional setting similar to the generalization setting • Maximize the target behavior’s contact with reinforcement in the generalization setting • Mediate generalization • Train to generalize



Teach the Full Range of Relevant Stimulus Conditions and Response Requirements • • • •

Teach sufficient stimulus examples Teach sufficient response examples General case analysis Negative teaching examples



Teach the Full Range of Relevant Stimulus Conditions and Response Requirements • Teach every desired form of a target behavior in every setting/situation in which it may be needed • Would eliminate need to program for response generalization & setting/situation generalization • Seldom possible & never practical



Teach the Full Range of Relevant Stimulus Conditions and Response Requirements • Teaching sufficient examples • Teaching the learner to respond to a subset of all of the possible stimulus & response examples then assessing the learner’s performance on untrained examples (referred to as a generalization probe)



Teach Sufficient Stimulus Examples • General rule: more examples used during instruction, more likely the learner will respond correctly to untrained examples or situation • Actual number of examples needed varies as a function of: • Complexity of the target behavior • Teaching procedures employed • Learner’s opportunities to emit the target behavior under various conditions • Naturally existing contingencies of reinforcement • Learner’s history of reinforcement for generalized responding Cooper, Heron, and Heward Applied Behavior Analysis, Second Edition


Teach Sufficient Response Examples • Practice with a variety of response topographies helps to ensure that acquisition of desired response forms & promotes response generalization in the form of untrained topographies • Multiple exemplar training • Usually incorporates both stimulus & response variations



General Case Analysis • A systematic method for selecting teaching examples that represent the full range of stimulus variations & response requirements in the generalization setting • Also referred to as general case strategy



Negative Teaching Examples • Explicit teaching of where and when not to use the target behavior may also be necessary • “Don’t do it” teaching examples provides practice for discriminating stimulus situations in which the target behavior should not be emitted • Sharpens stimulus control



Instructional Setting Similar to the Generalization Setting • Program common stimuli • Including typical features of the generalization setting into the instructional setting

• Teach loosely • Randomly varying noncritical aspects of the instructional setting within and across teaching sessions



Programming Common Stimuli • Benefits/advantages: • Conducting instruction in natural settings is not always possible or practical • Community-based training may not expose learners to the full range of examples they are likely to encounter later in the same setting • Instruction in natural settings may be less effective & efficient than classroom instruction because the trainer cannot halt natural flow of events to contrive variety of training trials • Instruction in simulated settings can be safer



Programming Common Stimuli • Two step process • Identify salient stimuli that characterize the generalization setting(s) • Incorporating those stimuli into the instructional setting



Teaching Loosely • Benefits/advantages: • Reduces the likelihood that a single or small group of noncritical stimuli will acquire exclusive control over the target behavior • Including a wide variety of noncritical stimuli during instruction increases the probability that the generalization setting will include at least some of the stimuli that were present during instruction



Teaching Loosely • Suggestions (Baer, 1999): • • • • • • • •

Use two or more teachers Teach in two or more places Teach from a variety of positions Vary your tone of voice Vary your choice of words Show stimuli from a variety of angles Have others present sometimes Vary the reinforcers



Teaching Loosely • Suggestions continued (Baer, 1999): • • • • • • •

Teach in varying lighting conditions Teach in varying noise level conditions Vary decorations, furniture, & their locations Vary times of day for training sessions Vary the temperature of the training settings Vary the smells in the training settings Vary the content of what’s being taught (within limits possible)



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Teach behavior to levels required by natural contingencies • Program indiscriminable contingencies • Intermittent schedules of reinforcement • Delayed rewards

• Set behavior traps • Ask people in the generalization setting to reinforce the behavior • Teach the learner to recruit reinforcement



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Indiscriminable contingency • A contingency in which the learner cannot discriminate whether the next response will produce reinforcement • Reinforcement is contingent on some, but not all, occurrences of the target behavior in the generalization setting • The learner is unable to predict which responses will produce reinforcement



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Intermittent schedules of reinforcement • Behaviors that have a history of intermittent schedules of reinforcement often continue to be emitted for relatively long periods of time after reinforcement is no longer available • All indiscriminable contingencies of reinforcement involve intermittent schedules, but not all schedules of intermittent reinforcement are indiscriminable



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Intermittent schedules and delayed reward are similar in that • Reinforcement is not delivered each time the target behavior is emitted • There is no clear stimuli to signal the learner which current responses will produce reinforcement



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Classroom applications of indiscriminable contingencies involving delayed rewards (also features interdependent group contingency) • • • •

Spinners and dice Story fact recall game Numbered heads work together Intermittent grading



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Success of using delayed rewards depends on • The indiscriminability of the contingency • The learner understanding the relation between emitting the target behavior at an earlier time and receiving a reward later



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Guidelines for programming indiscriminable contingencies • Use CRF during initial acquisition or when strengthening little-used behaviors • Systematically thin the schedule of reinforcement based on the learner’s performance • Gradually increase the response-to-reinforcement delay when using delayed rewards • Explain what the reward is for when using delayed rewards



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Behavior traps • Interrelated community of contingencies of reinforcement that can be especially powerful, producing substantial and long-lasting behavior changes • Relatively simple response is necessary to enter the trap, yet once entered, the trap cannot be resisted in creating general behavior change



Maximize Contact with Reinforcement • Effective behavior traps share four features • “Baited” with virtually irresistible reinforcers that “lure” the learner to the trap • Only a low effort response already in the learner’s repertoire is necessary to enter the trap • Once inside the trap, interrelated contingencies of reinforcement motivate the learner to acquire, extend, & maintain targeted academic and/or social skills • Remains effective for a long time because learners show few, if any, satiation effects



Mediate Generalization • Arranging for some thing or person to act as a medium that ensures the transfer of the target behavior from instructional setting to the generalization setting • Contrive a mediating stimulus • Teach self-management skills



Mediate Generalization • Contrive a mediating stimulus • Must be made functional for the target behavior during instruction • Functional if it reliable prompts of aids the learner in performing the target behavior

• Must be transported easily to the generalization setting • Transportable if it easily goes with the learner to all important generalization settings



Mediate Generalization • Teach self-management skills • The learner is one element that is always present in every instructional and generalization setting • If the learner is taught a behavior (in this case a controlling response) that serves to prompt or reinforce the target behavior in all the relevant settings, at all appropriate times, and in all of its relevant forms, then the generalization of the target behavior is ensured



Train to Generalize • Reinforce response variability • Emitting a variety of responses; valued behavior, viewed as novel or creative • Lag reinforcement schedule: reinforcement contingent on a response different in some defined way from the previous response

• Instruct the learner to generalize • Tell the learner about the possibility of generalization • Ask the learner to perform the behavior



Modifying and Terminating Successful Interventions • Withdrawal of a successful intervention should be carried out in a systematic & careful fashion • When deciding how soon or how swiftly to withdraw intervention components consider • Complexity of the intervention • Ease or speed with which the behavior changed • Availability of naturally existing contingencies of reinforcement for the new behavior



Modifying and Terminating Successful Interventions • Shifting from intervention conditions to postintervention can be accomplished by modifying one or more parts of the three-term contingency • Antecedents, prompts, or cue-related stimuli • Task requirements and criteria • Consequences or reinforcement variables



Guiding Principles for Promoting Generalized Outcomes Minimize the need for generalization as much as possible Conduct generalization probes before, during, and after instruction Involve significant others whenever possible Promote generalization with the least intrusive, least costly tactics possible • Contrive intervention tactics as needed to achieve important generalized outcomes • • • •



Chapter 29: Ethical Considerations for Applied Behavior Analysts



Ethics • Behaviors, practices, and decisions that address three fundamental questions: • What is the right thing to do? • What is worth doing? • What does it mean to be a good behavior analyst?

• End goal: Further the welfare of the client



What is the right thing to do? • Personal history influences our decision making • • • •

Personal experiences Cultural/religious beliefs Professional training and experiences To ensure that personal experiences and cultural/religious beliefs don’t take over: • Consult research literature, case studies, supervisors, colleagues



What is worth doing? • Social validity • Are the goals acceptable for the planned behavior change intervention? • Are the procedures acceptable and aligned with best treatment practices? • Do the results show meaningful, significant, and sustainable change?



What is worth doing? • Cost-Benefit Ratio • Does the potential benefit to the individual justify the short- and long-term cost for providing the service? • Decisions should be made by committee • Person with highest stake in outcome should be given greatest consideration



What is worth doing? • Existing Exigencies • Behaviors that are more serious warrant intervention consideration before behaviors that are less problematic • Must still consider long-term ramifications for treatments that result in quick change



The good behavior analyst… • Follows the Golden Rule • Is self-regulating • Calibrates decisions over time to meeting changing cultural values and contingencies



Professional Standards • Written guidelines or rules of practice that provide direction for the practices associated with an organization



Professional Standards • See… • APA: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct • ABA: The Right to Effective Behavioral Treatment and The Right to Effective Education • BACB: Guidelines for Responsible Conduct for Behavior Analysts and The BCBA and BCABA Behavior Analyst Task List



Ensuring Professional Competence • Academic training that includes: • Formal coursework • Supervised practica • Mentored professional experience

• Certification and licensure • Behavior Analyst Certification Board

• Keep practice within your area of competence



Maintaining and Expanding Professional Competence • • • •

Continuing Educational Unit credits (CEUs) Attending and presenting at conferences Professional reading Oversight and peer review opportunities



Making and Substantiating Professional Claims • Avoid making unsubstantiated claims (e.g., “I am certain I can help your son”) • Maintain a healthy dose of humility

• Only present yourself with valid credentials (never claim to have certifications, licenses that you don’t have)



Informed Consent • The potential recipient of services or a participant in a research study gives his or her explicit permission before any assessment or treatment is provided • Permission must follow full disclosure and information has been provided



Three Tests for Informed Consent • Person must demonstrate capacity to decide • Person’s decision must be voluntary • Person must have adequate knowledge of all salient aspects of treatment



Capacity to Decide • The person must have • Adequate mental process or faculty by which he/she acquires knowledge • Ability to select and express his or her choices • Ability to engage in a rational process of decision making

• These are often fluid concepts



Surrogate/Guardian Consent • When a person is deemed incapacitated, consent may be obtained through a surrogate or guardian • Surrogate: a legal process by which another individual is authorized to make a decision for the person deemed incompetent • Guardian: legal custodian of the individual



Voluntary • Consent is given in the absence of coercion, distress, or undue influence • Consent can be revoked at any time



Knowledge of Treatment • Treatment must be presented in clear, nontechnical language • All important aspects of treatment • All potential risks/benefits • All potential alternative treatments



Treatment Without Consent • Life-threatening emergency • Imminent risk of serious harm • Cannot be done when parents simply refuse; have recourse through legal system



Confidentiality • Information regarding an individual receiving services may not be discussed with or made available to third parties (unless explicit permission has been given) • Limits • Abusive situations • Imminent, severe harm to the individual



Protecting Dignity, Health, and Safety • Do I honor choices? • Do I help the client select outcomes and behavior change targets?

• Do I provide adequate space for privacy? • Do I look beyond the disability and treat the person with respect?



Advocating for the Client • Is the problem amenable to behavior treatment? • Ensure the problem is not medical • Ensure the problem is the client’s and that there is, indeed, a problem • Ensure other interventions have been attempted and that the problem can’t be solved informally or by another discipline



Advocating for the Client • Is the proposed intervention likely to be successful? • • • • •

Client, caregivers willing to participate Research support for treatment Public support for treatment Behavior analyst skilled in treatment Contingencies of reinforcement can be controlled



Embracing the Scientific Method • “In science keeping an open mind is a virtue, but not so open that your brains fall out” (James Oberg) • When selecting interventions, behavior analysts should rely on • Peer-reviewed scientific reports published in reputable outlets • Direct and frequent measures of behavior



Conflict of Interest • Occurs when a principal party, alone or in connection with family, friends or associates, has a vested interest in the outcome of the interaction • Direct and frequent observations puts behavior analysts in close contact with the client and family members in natural settings • Must be cautious not to develop personal relationships that cross professional boundaries



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