behavior anything a person says or does

(activity, action, response, performance)

products of behavior the result of the behavior

(losing 10 lbs, getting an A)

overt behavior public events

observable, measurable, recordable

covert behavior private events or private self-talk

internal thoughts, feelings, motivation
cannot be observed directly

dimensions of behavior 1. duration - the time it lasts

2. frequency - instances per time period
3. intensity/force - physical effort or energy

cognitive behaviors private self-talk

covert behaviors

behavior modification systematic application of learning principles and techniques

to assess and improve an individual's covert & overt behaviors to enhance daily
functioning

behavior deficit too little behavior of a particular type

behavior excess too much of a behavior of a particular type

context the setting in which the behavior occurs

(determines if it is a behavior deficit or excess)


environment the area around the person and all it contains

stimuli the physical variables in a person's environment

(people, objects, events)

symptoms of a disorder occur because... inappropriate learning occurred OR

appropriate learning failed to occur

learning model the symptom is the disorder

cure the error in learning and cure the disorder

disease model
(medical model) psychological disorders are symptoms of underlying causes
cure the cause to treat the symptoms

psychotherapy use of psychological principles to ease emotional responses or

behavioral disorders

traditional psychotherapy talk therapies

(not based on behavioral psychology)

early behaviorists focused on overt behaviors that could be

1) operationally defined
2) observed directly
3) counted or measured with high interobserver reliability

cognitive behaviorists measure private/covert events

behavior modification's

most important characteristic measures behavior to judge whether or not the

individual's behavior has been improved in a program

behavior modification's
first important characteristic 1) ALTER ENVIRONMENT - treatment procedures and
techniques are ways of altering an individual's current environment

behavior modification's
second important characteristic 2) PRECISE DESCRIPTIONS - methods and rationales
can be described precisely, making it easier to teach

behavior modification's
third important characteristic 3) EVERYDAY USEFULNESS - applied by individuals' in
everyday life

behavior modification's
fourth important characteristic 4) RESEARCH BASED - techniques are from basic and
applied research based on operant and Pavlovian conditioning

behavior modification's
fifth important characteristic 5) JUDGES EFFECTIVENESS - emphasizes scientific
demonstration that a particular intervention was responsible for change

behavior modification's
sixth important characteristic 6) ACCOUNTABILITY - everyone involved must be
accountable (staff, clients, administrators, consultants)

applied behavior analysis techniques to establish more desirable behaviors

* behaviors must be socially-significant
* focuses on OPERANT conditioning
* must show that program was responsible for change
* requires generalizable long-lasting improvements


behavior modification
vs. applied behavior analysis behavior modification INCLUDES applied behavior
analysis,
but is a broader term including covert and overt behaviors
(includes applied behavior analysis, behavior therapy, and cognitive behavior
therapy)

forces that revolutionized persons with intellectual disabilities 1) new technology

2) civil rights and education
3) pc terminology, mentally retarded vs. intellectual disabilities
*** new emphasis on helping people live "normalized" lives

autism techniques early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI)

social skills, language, self-care

schizophrenia techniques reduce/eliminate hallucinations

self-care

behavioral assessment
functional analysis isolating through experimentation the causes of the problem
behavior and removing/reversing them

how functional analysis is used 1) identify and describe target behavior

2) identify possible causes of the behavior
3) guide selection of treatment
4) evaluate treatment outcome

target behavior behaviors to be improved

(studying 2 hours/week)

behavior therapy
(a type of psychotherapy) acquisition of desirable behaviors or responses and the
extinction of undesirable ones

behavioral model psychogenic disorders result from inappropriate learning

goal of behavior therapy use the principles of learning to extinguish inappropriate

responses while promoting appropriate ones

schedule reinforcement procedures

operant behavior behaviors that operate on the environment to generate

consequences and are in turn influenced by those consequences

negative reinforcement/ escape conditioning

(procedure) not having to deal with unpleasantness
(nagging)

positive reinforcer
(event) stimulus presented immediately following a behavior that causes the
behavior to increase in frequency
MUST COME AFTER BEHAVIOR and STRENGTHEN THE RESPONSE

positive reinforcer
types 1) consumable
2) activity
3) manipulative
4) possessional
5) social

noncontingent reinforcer

(event) presented regardless of preceding behavior at a particular time

may increase attendance, but not performance

contingent reinforcement
(procedure) specific behavior must occur prior to reinforcement being presented;
contingent on behavior
(earn the reinforcer)

natural reinforcer reinforcers that follow behavior in the everyday environment

(where the person carries out everyday activities)

programmed reinforcer arranged systematically by psychologists, teachers, and

others; arbitrary and contrived

adventitious reinforcement behavior accidentally reinforced by a fun, pleasant

reinforcer

superstitious behavior behavior accidentally reinforced by adventitious

reinforcement

motivating operations (MOs) things that temporarily alter the effectiveness of a

reinforcer
(feeding a child salt to increase thirst and desire for water)

motivational variable affects the likelihood and direction of behavior

unconditional MOs inborn needs and desires

behaviorism focuses on observation

defines events objectively so that every observer agrees on whether or not the
event occurred

principle of positive reinforcement if, in any given situation, somebody does

something followed by a positive reinforcer that person is likely to do the same
thing again when he/she encounters a similar situation

Premack Principle if the opportunity to engage in a behavior has a high probability

of occurring is made contingent on a behavior that has a low probability of
occurring, the low-probability behavior will be strengthened (positive affirmation
and urination)

experimenting to see if an item is a reinforcer 1) choose an occassional behavior not

followed by a reinforcer
2) record behavior
3) present immediately following the behavior several times
4) if behavior increases, it is a reinforcer

definition of a reinforcer an object or event is a reinforcer only because of its effect

on behavior; it is the individual's performance that indicates the effectiveness of a
reinforcer

factors that influence the effectiveness of reinforcement 1) select the behavior to be

increased - must be specific
2) choose reinforcers - must be effective
3) motivating operations - must have deprivation of the reinforcer, not be satiated
4) reinforcer size - must be large enough
5) instructions - helpful, but not necessary
6) reinforcer immediacy - increased frequency when immediate
7) contingent vs. noncontingent or superstituous behaviors for adventitious
reinforcers
8) weaning the learner from the program and switching to natural reinforcers - must
be continued in some form

direct-acting effects increased frequency, because IMMEDIATELY follows behavior

indirect-acting effects reinforced, but by a DELAYED reinforcer


five pitfalls of positive reinforcement 1) misused by someone unaware of using it
2) partial knowledge leads to misuse (noncontingent reinforcements for example)
3) inaccurately used to explain a change in behavior (oversimplified)
4) people label others without looking at the reinforcers for the behavior
5) some procedures aren't applied because people have to have specialized
knowledge and training

conditional reinforcer
(secondary/learned reinforcer) learned by experience
paired or associated with other reinforcers
praise, picture of a loved one, book, tv show, chothes

unconditional reinforcer
(primary/unlearned reinforcer) stimuli/events necessary for survival or biological
functioning
no prior learning necessary
food, water, warmth, sex, physical contact

generalized conditioned reinforcer more than one back-up reinforcer

(adult attention for a baby or $ for an adult, gift certificate)

simple conditioned reinforcer conditioned reinforcer with a single back-up reinforcer

(bell and ice cream, airmiles, subway token)

praise as a conditioned reinforcer normally children receive praise as a conditioned

reinforcer that lasts through adulthood

back-up reinforcement the back-up reinforcer gives the conditioned reinforcer its
strength
conditioned reinforcer: given immediately, clicking, points

back-up reinforcer: fish, paired at first then delayed/occasional

back-up reinforcer when a stimulus becomes a conditioned reinforcer through

deliberate association with other reinforcers

token system conditioned reinforcers that can be accumulated/exchanged for backup reinforcers are part of a behavior modification program

benefits of tokens can be delivered immediately

conditioned punishment no & stop that paired with punishment because

punishment follows if words are not heeded

two pitfalls of conditioned reinforcement 1) pair conditioned reinforcer & punishing

stimuli (child seeks negative attention)
2) lack of back-up reinforcers (students earning stars)

back-up reinforcers
factors that influence effectiveness 1) strength of back-up reinforcers - the power of
a conditioned reinforcer depends on the power of the back-up reinforcers
2) variety of back-up reinforcers available for the conditioned reinforcers - have a
menu if possible
3) the number of pairings with a back-up reinforcer
4) loss of value of conditioned reinforcer - must have strong, variable back-up
reinforcers

six guidelines for effective use of conditioned reinforcement 1) should be easy to

implement
2) conditioned reinforcers that can be encountered naturally, tokens = $, praise
3) early on match conditional and back-up reinforcers
4) use generalized conditioned reinforcers whenever possible
5) avoid competition between students or members of a token economy
6) also follow all the guidelines for positive reinforcers


John B. Watson environmentalism - give me 12 infants and I'll train them to become
any type of specialist

life - poor student/ farm boy, went to Furman University

taught at John Hopkins Univ. - experimental/comparitive psych
studied behaviorism in animals/children
dismissed heredity & philosophy
went into advertising after affair and termination

B.F. Skinner valued genetics, heredity

life - father was a lawyer, went to Hamilton college - writer

Harvard Psych - played with equipment

showed what happened AFTER bar was pressed

behavior operated on the environment and was controlled by its effects

behavioral analysis scientific study of laws that govern the behavior of humans and
animals

community behavioral analysis organizational behavior management (OBM)

sports psychology

critics of reinforcements reinforcements undermine intrinsic motivation

not valid, motivation is motivation