Basic Characteristics 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 nature’s truths (not those held by certain groups, organizations, etc.)
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

Description
–Collection of facts about observed events that can be qualified, classified, & examined for
possible relations with other known refacts
–Often suggests hypothesis or questions for additional research
Prediction
–Relative probability that when one event occurs, another event will or will not occur
–Based on repeated observation revealing correlations between various events
–Demonstrates relation between events
–No causal relationships can be interpreted
–Enables further study so that perhaps variables can be manipulated
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)
–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
•Scientific attitudes that guide the work of all scientists include:
–Determinism
–Empiricism
–Experimentation
–Replication
 –Parsimony
–Philosophic doubt
Determinism
•Assumption upon which science is determinism
•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
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
Experimentation
•Basic strategy in most sciences
•Experiment:
–Controlled comparison of some measure of the phenomenon of interest (dependent
variable) under two or more different conditions in which only one factor at a time
(independent variable) differs from one condition to another

Replication
•The repeating 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
Parsimony
•The idea that simple, logical explanations must be ruled out, experimentally or conceptually,
before more complex or abstract explanations are considered
•Helps scientists fit findings within the field’s existing knowledge base
Philosophic Doubt
•The continually 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
evaluates the effectiveness of the practice after its implementation

A Definition of Science
•Science is…
–A systemic 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 comprised 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
•Psychology in the early 1900s was dominated by the study of states of consciousness images, & other
mental processes
•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

•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 (classical)
•Operant

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

Operant behavior
–Behavior is shaped through the consequences that immediately follow it
–Three-term contingency
–A-B-C model
–Behaviors are influenced by stimulus changes that have followed the behavior in the
past

Experimental analysis of behavior (EAB)

–Named as a new science by Skinner
–Outlined specific methodology for its practice:
•The rate of response is the most common dependent variable
•Rate of responding or continuous measurement is made of carefully defined response
classes
•Single-subject experimental comparisons are used instead of designs comparing the
behavior of experimental & control groups
•Visual analysis of graph data is preferred over statistical inference
•A description of functional relations is valued over formal theory testing

Skinner & colleagues conducted many laboratory experiments between the 1930s and 1950s
–Discovered & verified basic principles of operant behavior
–Same principles continue to provide the empirical foundation for behavior analysis
today

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
Behaviorism is the Philosophy of the science of human behavior

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 observed to be
outside the realm of the science

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)
–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
•Operational view of the cause & effect

Structuralism
–Rejects all events that are not operationally defined by objective assessment
 –Restrict activities to descriptions of behavior
–Makes no scientific manipulations; does not address causal questions
Methodological behaviorism
–Rejects all events that are not operationally defined by objective assessment
•Deny existence of “unobservable phenomena” or consider them outside the
realm of scientific account
•the existence of mental events but do not consider them in the analysis of
behavior
–Use scientific manipulations to search for functional relations relationships between
events
–Restrictive view since it ignores major areas of importance

•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

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

Radical behaviorism (Skinner’s behaviorism)

–Includes & seeks to understand all human behavior
–Far-reaching & thoroughgoing
–Dramatic departure from other conceptual systems
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 reinforced by injecting a small amount of a warm sugar-milk
solution into participant’s mouth every time he moved his right arm

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

1960s
–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 information was available
–No ready outlet for publishing studies
•Difficult to communicate findings

Despite limitations in the 1960s many applications of behavior principles were made

Application of behavior principles to teaching procedures is a major area of impact

Provided the foundation for:

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

1960s & 1970s

–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

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)
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
“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
Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) recommended the following guides defining current demsinions
for research or behavior change programs:
–Applied
–Behavioral
–Analytic
–Technological
–Conceptual
–Effective
–Generality

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
Behavioral
–Precise measurement of the target behavior in need of improvement & documents that it
was the __________________ behavior that changed
•The behavior in need of improvement and it is a study of behavior (not about
behavior)
•The behavior must be socially significant
•Important to note whose behavior has changed

Analytic
–Demonstrates control over the occurrence and non-occurrence of the behavior (a
functional relation is demonstrated)
–Functional & reliable relationships
Technological
–Written description of all procedures in the study is sufficiently detail and clarity to
enable others to replicate it
–All operative procedures are identified and described in detail & clarity
–Replication technology
Conceptually systematic
–Behavior change interventions are derived from relevant principles of behavior analysis
–Better enable research consumer to derive other similar procedures from the same
principle(s)
–Assist in developing an integrated discipline into a system instead of a “collection of
tricks”

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
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
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

Public
–Visible, explicit, & straightforward
–Of value across a broad spectrum of fields
Doable
–Not prohibitively complicated or arduous
–Variety of individuals are able to implement principles and interventions
–Does involve more than learning to do some procedures
Empowering
–Provides practitioners with real tools that work
–Raises confidence
–Increases confidence for difficult challenges
Optimistic
–Possibilities for each individual (Strain et al., 1992)
–Detect small continuous measurement
–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 applied to improve socially
significant behavior…
–And to demonstrate that the procedures employed were responsible for the improvement in
behavior

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 conceptionally 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 two of the four domains

Domains are interrelated & influence one another

Behaviorism
–Theoretical & conceptual issues
–Conceptual basis of behavior principles as they relate across many spectrums
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

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

Professional practice
–Providing behavior analytic services to clients
–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
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)

Behavior of an Organism
•Portion of the organism’s interaction with the environment
•Displacement 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 of responses or class sharing certain
–Physical characteristics
–Functions
•Response
–Specific instance of behavior

Descriptions of Behavior
Structural and functional
•Response topography
–Form
–Physical characteristics
–Effects of behavior on environment

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
–_________________________ with respect to language skills, academic tasks, everyday routines, recreation,
& __________________ ________________ _________________

Environment
•All behavior occurs within an environmental context
•Behavior cannot be emitted in an environmental void or vacuum
•Johnston & Pennypacker (1993a) definition
 •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 or more of these
dimensions
–Formal dimensions of stimuli
–Temporal Loci 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)
•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 have an effect.
•Consequence
–Stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest
•Especially those that are immediate
•Relevant to current motivational states
•Influence on significantly 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 of or systematically plans the consequences
•It’s happening all around us!
Analysis functions of stimulus changes
•Stimulus changes are best understood through a functional analysis of their effects on behavior
–Immediate and powerful 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 permeant effect in terms of the frequency of that type of behavior in the future
(Michael, 1995)
Stimulus Changes: Social & Nonsocial
•See Table 2-1, pg. 28 in text
Respondent Behavior
•Behavior that is elicited by antecedent stimuli
–Respondent behavior brought out by the stimulus that proceeds it
•Something in your eye elicits eye blink respondent
•Ready-made behaviors protect against harmful stimuli
•Stimulus-response relations
–Reflex
•Part of the organism’s genetic endowment
–Gradually reduce 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
•See Figure 2-1, pg. 31 in text

Operant Behavior
•Any behavior whose future frequency is determined primarily by its consequences
–Selected
–Shaped
–Maintained by consequences
•Defined functionally7, by its effects
Selection by Consequences
•All forms of life, from single cells to complex cultures, evolve as a result of ___________________ with
respect to ___________________ (Pennypacker, 1994, pp. 12 -13)
•_______________________
–Operates during the lifetime of the individual
•__________________________
–Natural selection in the behavior 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.
•“Strengthen” an response
–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

•See Figure 2-2, pg. 37 in text

Operant Conditioning
•Consequences can only affect future behavior
•Consequences select response classes not individual responses
•Immediate consequences have the greatest effect
•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 increased in similar conditions, reinforcement has taken place
•The way this definition is written – is why it is not circular
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)
•See Figure 2-2, pg. 37 in text
•See Figure 2-3, pg. 42 in text
•Really like quote on page 57 about choosing between negative and positive reinforcement
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
Punishment
•If behavior is followed by a stimulus event and as a result the future frequency of that type of behavior
decreases in similar conditions, punishment 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 current stimulus
–An already present stimulus removed from the environment (or reduced in intensity)
–Type II
•See Figure 2-2, pg. 37 in text
•See Figure 2-3, pg. 42 in text
Punishment – Big Ideas
•Always means a reduction 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 consequences (b = fx)
•Thorough generality across individual organisms, species, settings, behaviors
•Empirical generalization inferred from many experiments
•Describe how behavior works
•Reinforcement, punishment, extinction
•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 applied behavior analysis
Principles and Behavior Change Tactics – Big Idea
•Principles
–Describe how behavior works
–Lawful relationship between behavior,
•An immediate consequence, and an ____________________ __________________ of the behavior in the
future under similar conditions
•Behavior change tactics
–Are how applied behavior analyst 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
•Conditioned reinforcers and punishers
–Function as such based on previous pairings with other reinforcers and punishers
Motivating Operations
•Function
–Alters the current value of a stimulus as reinforcement or punishment
•Satiation
•When something is unlikely to function as a reinforcement

Discriminated Operant
•Occurs more frequently under some antecedent conditions than it does under others
•Stimulus Control
–Increased 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 evoke
instances of the response class

Three-Term Contingency
•Antecedent (A) – Behavior (B) – Consequence (C)
–Basic unit of analysis in the analysis of operate behavior
–All ABA procedures involve the manipulation of one or more components of the three-term contingency

The Complexity of Human Behavior

•Highly complex variables governing verbal behavior
•Human capabilities
–Large repertoires of __________________ ___________________, verbal behavior
•Analysis of control complicated by
–Individual differences in behavior result from a different history of reinforcement
–Practical, financial logistical, etc., issues
 Chapter 3

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 plans

Five Phases of Assessment

1. Screening
2. Defining problem or criteria for treatment
3. Pinpointing target behaviors
4. Monitoring progress
5. 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 mentalism to behavioral explanations
– Determine participation

Checklists
– Descriptions of specific behaviors and conditions under which each should occur
– Alone or with interview
– Typically Likert-scale assessments
– Ask about before and after
  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 specific skills of behavior
 Licensing requirements

Direct Observation
– Direct and repeated
– Natural environment
– Identifies potential target behaviors
– ABC method

Anecdotal observation
Features of ABC recording
– Descriptive
– Temporally sequenced
– Description of behavior temporally sequenced account
 Full attention, 20 - 30 min
– Observations only, no interpretations
– Repeat over several days

Ecological Assessment
– Data on person and environment
 Physical features
 Interactions with others
 Home
 Reinforcement history
– Evaluate amount of descriptive data required to identify 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 for the primary 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 minizines
short and long term punishers
– Use to assess meaningfulness of behavior change

Determining Habilitation
– Relevance of behavior rule intervention
– Necessary prerequisite skills
– Increased access
– Impact on behavior of current environment
 Which is more important than behavior that the child may use in the future
– Behavior cusp
– Pivotal Behavior

Page 78 selecting which behaviors you should target based on…parents ability to help, what is useful in their
current environment

Behavior Cusp
– Behaviors that open person’s world to new contingencies
 Crawling, reading
– Socially valid
– Generativeness
– Competes with inappropriate responses
– Degree that others are ______________________________________

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 production
– Talk v. Behavior of interest
 Primary importance is target behavior
– Focus on behavior, not by product
 Weight loss or exercise and diet?

Prioritizing Target Behaviors

1. Danger to health or safety
2. Frequency
– Opportunities to use new behavior
– Occurrence of problem
3. Longevity (Chronic problem should come before a new one)
4. Potential for higher rates of reinforcement
5. Importance
– Skill development
– Independence
6. Reduction of negative attention
7. Reinforcement for significant others
– Social validity
– Exercise caution when considering
8. Likelihood of success
– Reading current literature in the field
– 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? 0 1 2 3 4 01234 01234

How long-standing is this problem 0 1 2 3 4 01234 01234

or deficit?
Will changing this behavior 01234 01234 01234
produce higher rate of
reinforcement?
How likely is success in changing 01234 01234 01234
this behavior?

Defining Target Behaviors

– Role and Importance of Definitions

 Definitions required for accurately and reliability measure the same response classes within and across
studies
 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
– A good definition increases the accurate and believable evaluation of the program’s effectiveness
  Complete information
– Accurate and believable evaluation of effectiveness

Two Types of Definitions

– Functionally based
 Designated according to effect on the environment

– Topographically 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 direct and reliable access to the target behavior 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

– A________________________________________
– C________________________________________
– C_________________________
– Inclusions
– Exclusions

Characteristics of Good Definitions

– Objective
 Refer only to the observable characteristics of the behavior
– Clear
 Readable and unambiguous
– Complete
 Delineate boundaries of what is to be included as an instance of definition

Purpose of Good Definitions

– Precise and concise description
– When the behavior and did not occur observation
– Accurate recording
– Agreement and from novel observers

Testing a Definition
– Can you count number of occurrences?
 Should answer “___________”
– Will a stranger know what to look for based on definition alone?
 Should answer “___________”
– Can you break the target behavior down to smaller, more specific components?
 Should answer “_________”

Setting Criteria for Behavior Change

– Selected because of importance to clients
o Increase, maintain, generalize desirable behaviors
o Decrease undesirable behaviors
– Valued and meaningful behaviors have social validity

Set Criteria Before Modifying

– Setting criteria as important as defining
– Range of behaviors and limits and where to initiate treatment
– 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 levels of performance to determine optimal results
 Chapter 4

Definition of Measurement
 The process of applying quantitative labels to observed properties of events using a standard
measures and methods

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 are their efforts successful
-Before and after treatment
-During treatment
 To guide data based decision making
 To not frequently record and analyze data is to make:
-Continue ineffective treatment
-Discontinue effective treatment

Benefits of Measurement
 Optimize effectiveness
 Verify the legitimacy of treatments
 Identify and end use of pseudoscience
 Accountable to clients, employers and the greater community
 Meet ethical standards

Measurable Dimensions of Behavior

 Dimensions are behaviors across time that can be measured
 Three fundamental properties
-Repeatability or countability behavior can be
counted
-Temporal extent: duration of behavior
- Temporal Locus when behavior
occur

Measures Based on Repeatability

 Count
-Number of occurrences emitted during an
Observation period
 Reported as counting time
 Measures of count alone do not provide sufficient information for analysis
 Rate/Frequency
-Ratio of number of responses per observation period
 More meaningful than count alone
 Include incorrect answers or reference
 Rate of correct and incorrect responses helpful in improving performance
  Reported as number per standard seconds, minutes, hours, etc.

Guidelines for Using Rate

 Take rates of response into account
 Useful measure for fluent performance
 Not appropriate for responses within which the level of difficult varies much between the responses
 Not appropriate for which do not have a clear start or end over extended period
o Discrete trails

Measures Based on Repeatability

 Celeration
-Measure of the change in rate of response change per unit
of time
 Reported using Standard Celeration Chart
 Captures Celeration trend line acceleration and deceleration

Measures Based on Temporal Extent

 Duration
-The amount of time a behavior occurs
 Total duration of session
 Duration of each target behavior
 Indicated in standard time units
 Count and duration measures provide different views of same behavior

Measures Based on Temporal Locus

 Response Latency
-Measure of elapsed time between onset of a stimulus and initiation of response
 Typically reported as mean, median, and range
 Interresponse time
-Amount of time that elapses between two consecutive
instances of a response class
 Direct measure of temporal locus and related to rate of response
 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 target behavior occurred

Considerations for Using Percentage

 Often misunderstood, used incorrectly
 Most accurate with divisor of 100 or more
o 30 is the min.
 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 rate, latency and duration (e.g., rate)
 Typically calculated post facto
 Used to compare two different methods at the same time for a student so that the best method for
that student is found and used
o This process makes learning more efficient
 This is what is used at touchstone
o A block of 10 trails is done
o How many blocks of 10 trails does it take for the person to answer
o All 10 in the trail correctly

Definitional Measures
 Topography
-The physical form or shape of a behavior
 Measurable and malleable dimension
 Malleable by varying form are shaped and selected by their consequences
 Not a fundamental quality of behavior
 Magnitude
-The force or intensity with which a response is emitted
 Important parameter for some response classes
-e.g., writing, speaking
 Not a fundamental quality of behavior
Procedures for Measuring Behavior
 Typically involve one or a combination of these three:
-___________________ recording
-_____________________
-Time ____________________ 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 end
 Rates of responding must not be too high
 Inappropriate for behaviors with extended time periods

Timing
 Procedures to measure duration, response latency, and interresponse time
 Duration:
-Computer systems, stopwatch, wall clocks, tape recorder
 Response latency and interresponse time
Precise detection 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 period is divided into intervals, presence or non-presence of behavior recorded for each
interval

Time Sampling: Whole-Interval Recording

 Used to measure continuous or frequently occurring behavior
 Brief intervals (5-15 seconds)
 At end of interval, record if behavior occurred throughout
 Risk of underestimating the behavior
 Reported as percentages of intervals when behavior occurred

Time Sampling: Partial-Interval Recording

 At end of interval record if behavior occurred at any time during interval
 multiple behavior still scored as one
-Does not capture often overestimates – if 6 seconds pass and the behavior occurs in 1 second
then it occurred for the whole interval of measurement
 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
 much behavior will be missed
-Best for continuous behavior
 Reported as percentage of intervals when the 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 stop watch to signal beginning and end of observation
-Increase __________________
-Not distracted by watching a stopwatch
 Indicate 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 the actual occurrence of behavior
 Different measurement sampling techniques produce different results
 Differences produce artifacts 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 natural or contrived outcomes
Advantages of Permanent Product Recording
 Practitioner free to do other tasks
 Possible measurement of otherwise inaccessible behavior
 More accurate, complete, continuous
 Easier data collection for (IOA, treatment integrity)
 Measurement of complex behavior

Determining Appropriate Use

 Is real-time measurement needed?
If moment to moment decisions required
 Can behavior be measured by permanent product?
-Each occurrence must produce same product
-Product can only be produced by the target behavior
 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
Software which is easy to learn and easy to use
-Laptops, hand-held computers, PDAs
 Simultaneous recording of number of events across multiple dimensions
 Chapter 5

Indicators of Trustworthy Measurement

•Validity
–Directly measures a relevant dimension behavior
–Measures a dimension of the behavior relevant to the question
–Measuring the a socially valid behavior
–Data collected in some form
–The data is collected at a time or in a way that is represented
•Accuracy
–Observed values match the true value of an event
•Reliability
–Measurement yields the same values across consistent measurement of the same event
Threats to Measurement Validity
•Indirect measurement
–Measuring a behavior other than the behavior of interest
–Requires inferences to be made about the relationship between those behaviors
–Must provide evidence that the behavior measured is directly reflects to behavior of interest
•Measuring a dimension that is irrelevant or ill-suited to the reason for measuring behavior
•Ruler for measuring temperature instead of a thermometer
Measurement Artifacts
•Misleading data that result from the way behavior is measured:
–Discontinuous measurement
–Poorly scheduled Measurement Periods
–Should be similar environmental conditions from one observation period to the next
–Depending on weather you want to increase or decrease the behavior you should measure
according to those instances where the behaviors are more frequent or infrequent
–Insensitive or limiting measurement scales
Threats to Measurement Accuracy and Reliability
•Human error
•Poorly designed measurement systems
–Cumbersome
–Difficult to use
–Lack of training

•Inadequate observer training

–Explicit and systematic
–Careful selection
–Train to objective standard
–On-going training to minimize observer drift
•Unintended influences on observers
–Observer expectations of what the data should look like
–Observer reactivity when observer is aware that others are evaluating the data
 –You say it is all good with Javon because that is what Amy wants to hear
–Feedback to observers about how their data relate to the status 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
•Accurate means the observed values match the true values of an event
•No one wants to base research conclusions or treatment decisions on faulty data
Four purposes of accuracy assessment:
–Determine if data are good enough to make treatment 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 observed value of each data point with its true value
–Process for determining true value must differ from measurement procedures
–Measurement errors 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 a permeate product for re-measurement
–Low reliability signals faulty data
Using Interobserver Agreement to Assess Behavioral Measurement
The degree to which two or more independent observers report the same values for the observing the same
events

Benefits of Interobserver Agreement (IOA)

•Determine competence of new observers
•Detect observer drift
•Judge target behavior definitions and measurement system
•Increases 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 independent of one another
Methods for Calculating IOA ( PG 135)
•Percentage of agreement is most common
•Event Recording methods compare:
–Total count recorded by each observer
–Total number of responses by two observers
–Where the smaller number / larger number
–Mean count-per-interval
–Exact count-per-interval
–Trail-by-trail IOA
•Timing recording methods:
–Total duration IOA
–Mean duration-per-occurrence
–
•Mean latency per-response
•Mean IRT-per-response
•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
•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 condition or setting
•More conservative methods should be used
•Methods that will overestimate actual agreement should be supplemented
•If in doubt, can report more than one calculation
•Believability of data increases as agreement approaches 100%
•History of using 80% agreement as acceptable benchmark
–Depends upon the history of the measurement system
•Reporting IOA
–Narrative form
–Table
–Graphs
•In all formats, report how, when, and how often IOA was measured
Assessing the Quality of Measurement
•Indicators of the quality of data include:
–Interobserver Agreement
–Accuracy
–Reliability
•Can report multiple indices to assess and evaluate
Reading and Langauge 50 minute and 55 minutes
9:00 AM 6/9
Practice Tests of each
 Chapter 6

Direct and Repeated Measurement of Behavior

 Data
– Medium with which the behavior analyst works
– Results of measurement
– Empirical basis for decision making
– Graphs
o These data communicated to others

 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

Graphic Display
Graphic Display

Purpose & Benefits of Graphic Display

 Graphic displays
– Primary function communication
– Display relationships between dependent variable and independent variable
– Interpret results of data collected
– Facilitates accurate visual analysis
 Benefits
– Immediate access to record of behavior

– Variations prompt exploration

– Provides judgement aids

– 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

 ___________________
 ___________________
 ___________________
Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA
 Line graph
 Bar graphs
 Cumulative record
 Semilogarithmic charts
 Standard Celeration Chart
 Scatterplots

Line Graph
Most common graph used in ABA
 Based on the Cartesian plane
 Two-dimensional area formed by the intersection of two perpendicular lines
 Points on the plane represent relationships
 Relationship of the dependent variable when the independent variable was in effect
 Comparison of data points reveals the presence or absence of changes in independent variable and/or
variability
Parts of a Line Graph
4

3
Hits per minut e

0
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Sessions
Parts of a Line Graph
 Horizontal axis
 Vertical axis
 Condition change lines
 Condition labels
 Phase and condition
 Data points
 Data path
 Figure caption
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

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 not related by a common underlying
dimension by which the horizontal axis can be scaled
 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
Cumulative Record
 Developed by Skinner
 Primary means of data collection in EAB
 Cumulative recorder
– Experimental subject draws its own graph
 Shows the total number of responses on the ordinate against time on the abscissa
– Number of responses recorded and added to the total amount of responses recorded during
previous observations
 Cumulative
 Y-Axis (vertical axis)
– Represents the total number of responses recorded since the start of data collection
 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

Types of Graphs Utilized in ABA

Cumulative Record
Cumulative Record
 When to use cumulative graph over a noncumulative graph
– Progress toward a specific goal can be measured in units of behavior
 e.g., Number of new words learned, quarters saved
– Graph is used as participant feedback
 Total progress and relative rate of performance easily detected
– Target behavior can only occur or not occur per observation period
 Yes/No
– Intricate details between variable & 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 distances on the x-axis

Semilogarithmic Charts
 Ratio or multiply-divide charts
 One axis is scaled proportionally
 Doubling 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

Standard Celeration Chart

 Developed by Ogden Lindsley
 Standardized method for
– Charting & analyzing how frequency of behavior changes over time
 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
 Frequency change across time

Celeration
 Linear measure of frequency change across time
 A factor by which frequency multiplies or divides per unit of time
 Acceleration – accelerating performance
 Deceleration – decelerating performance
Standard Chart
 ________________,  10 cycles (vertical axis)
– 1 per 24 hrs
– 1,000 per minute
– Bottom left to top right corner
 Slope of 34° - celeration value _________

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 project future learning
 Chart uses estimations for most frequency values

Scatterplot
 Shows relative distribution of individual measures in a data set
 Data points are unconnected
 Depicts changes in value on one axis correlate with changes in value on the other axis
 Patterns suggest certain relationships
 Sometimes used to discover the temporal distribution of the target behavior
 SCATTERPLOT

Individual: ______________________________________ Behavior: _____________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCORING: Zero in box 0 = No occurrences Slash in box / = < 5 occurrences Filled in box = > 5 occurrences
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAY/DATE
TIME Activity/Location Comments

8:00-8:30
8:30-9:00
9:00-9:30
9:30-10:00
10:00-10:30
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:00
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Constructing Line Graphs
 An effective graph presents data
– A accurately
– C completely
– C 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 vertical and horizontal 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
– Use a scale break to represent discontinuities in the progression of time
 Scaling of vertical axis
– Most significant feature of the graph
– Mark the origin at zero
– Mark the vertical axis of values represented in the data set
 If relatively small changes in performance are socially significant, y-axis should reflect a smaller
range50re of values
– Labeling vertical axis
 Brief label, printed, centered to the left and parallel to the vertical axis

Constructing Line Graphs – LABEL THE PARTS OF THE GRAPH BELOW

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
 Draw data paths using a straight line
 The center of each data point in a given data set should be in the center of the next data point in the same set
 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
 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
“It is impossible to interpret graphic data without being influenced by various characteristics of the graph
itself.” Johnson & Pennypacker, 1993b, p. 320

 Read the graph

– Figure caption
– Condition & axis labels
– Location of numerical value & relative significance of scale breaks
 Visual tracking each data path
– Are data paths properly connected?
– Is the graph distorted?

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 trend in the data
 Between conditions
– Level
– Mean or median level lines
– Trend
– Stability/Variability
 Across similar conditions
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

Trend
 Overall direction taken by the data path
 Direction
– Increasing, decreasing, or zero trend
 Degree
– Stable or steep
 Extent of variability
– Trend line or line of progress
– Freehand, least-squares regression equation, or split-middle line of progress

Variability/Stability
 Frequency and degree to which conditions change and behavior yield different outcomes
 High degree of variability
– Little or no control over the independent variable influencing behavior
 Chapter 7

Concepts & Assumptions Underlying the Analysis of Behavior

o Determinism
o Empiricism
o Experimentation
o Parsimony
o Philosophic doubt

“The overall goal of science is to achieve an understanding of

the phenomena under study.”

o In applied behavior analysis, the phenomena of interest is socially significant behavior

o Science enables various degrees of understanding at three levels

 Description
 Prediction
 Control

Experimental Control: The Path to and Goal of Behavior Analysis

o Experimental control (defined)

 A predicable change in behavior (dependent variable) can be reliably produced by the manipulation
of some aspect of the person’s environment (independent variable)

o Experimental analysis (defined)

 Experimentally determining the effects of environmental manipulation on behavior and
demonstrating that those effects can be analysis produced
 Can be achieved when
o A reliable functional relation between behavior and some specified aspect of the environment
has been demonstrated convincingly
o 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
o Yield no meaningful statements about functional relations
o Lack generality

 Confounding variables are those variables known or suspected to exert an influence on the
dependent variable
o The effects of confounding variables must be controlled and held constant to demonstrate
experimental control

“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
o Behavior is an individual phenomenon
o Behavior is a continuous phenomenon
Assumptions
o Behavior is determined
o Behavioral variability is extrinsic to the organism

Behavior is an individual phenomenon

o Behavior: a person’s interaction with the environment
o Groups of people do not behave

o Experimental strategy of ABA is based on within-subject (single subject) methods of analysis

Behavior is a dynamic, continuous phenomenon

o Changes over time
o Requires continuous measurement over time
 Complete record of behavior as it occurs in context
 Systematic repeated measurement is the “hallmark” of ABA

Behavior is determined
o The occurrence of any event is determined by the functional relation it holds to other events
o Behavior is a natural phenomenon

Behavioral variability is extrinsic to the organism

o Variability is the result of extrinsic 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

o The assumption of intrinsic variability

o An intrinsic characteristic of the individuals
o Distributed evenly among individuals in any given population
o Methodological implications
o Attempting to experimentally control or investigate variability is a waste of time
o By averaging the performance of individual subjects within large groups, the random nature of
variability can be statistically controlled or canceled out

Behavioral Variability
Assumptions of Behavior Analysts
o Behavioral variability is the result of an external influence
o Methodological implications
o Experimental manipulation of the factors suspected of causing variability
o Search for unknown factors
o In practice
o Applied behavior analysts seek treatment variables robust enough to overcome variability

Components of Experiments in ABA

At least one
o Subject or participant
o At least one behavior (dependent variable)
o Setting
o Treatment or intervention condition ( independent variable)
o A system for measuring the behavior and ongoing visual of the data
o Manipulations of the independent variable so that its effects on the dependent variable, if any, can be
detected

Experimental Design
Research question
o “a brief but specific statement of what the researcher wants to learn from conducting the experiment”
(Johnston & Pennypacker, 1993b, p. 366)
o What are the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable and for what reason & in what
setting?

Subject(s)
o In single-subject research the subject is employed as his or her own control
o 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
Behavior(s)
o Dependent variable(s)
o Reasons for multiple dependent measures
o Provide data patterns that can serve as controls for evaluating & replicating the effects of an
independent variable
o 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
o 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
Setting
“Control the environment and you will see order in behavior.”
(Skinner, 1967, p. 399)
o Control two sets of environmental variables to demonstrate reliability and repeatability

Independent variable
o Presenting, withdrawing, or varying its value

Extraneous variables
o Prevent unplanned environmental variation

Measurement System and Ongoing Visual Analysis

o Observation & recording procedures must be conducted in a standardized manner

o Standardization involves every aspect of the measurement system
o Definition of the target behavior to scheduling of observations
o Behavior analysts must develop skills in the detection of changes in the level, trend, and degree of
variability in behavioral data

Intervention or Treatment: Independent Variable

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

Experimental Design
Experimental design (defined)
o 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

Nonparametric study
o Independent variable is either presented or absent during a time period or phase of the study
Parametric study
o The range of the independent variable is manipulated
o Seeks to discover the differential effects of a range of values

Fundamental Rule
Change only one variable at a time

o Experimenter can attribute any measured changes to a specific independent variable

o If investigating the effects of a “treatment package”
o Ensure that the entire package is presented or withdrawn each time a manipulation occurs

Some Additional Rules

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

o Provides the basis for baseline logic

Steady state strategy

o 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
o I guess this would apply when trying when to decide when to change the conditions or make the
requirements for RF more stringent

Baseline logic
o Prediction
o Verification
o Replication

Nature & Function of Baseline Data

o Serves as a baseline condition
o Does not imply the absence of intervention
o Absence of a specific independent variable
o Why?
o 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
o Applied benefits of establishing a baseline level of responding
o To obtain descriptions of antecedent-behavior-consequent correlations for the planning of an
effective treatment
 o Valuable guidance in setting initial requirement for reinforcement
o Baseline data may reveal the behavior targeted for change does not warrant intervention

Types of Baseline Data Patterns

o Stable baseline
o See Figure 7-1(A), pg. 168 in text
o Ascending baseline
o See Figure 7-1(B & C), pg. 168 in text
o Variable baseline
o See Figure 7-1(D), pg. 168 in text

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)
o Prediction
o See Figure 7-2, pg. 169 in text

Affirmation of the Consequent

o Affirmation of the consequent
o Inductive logic
o “if the independent variable were not applied, the behavior, as indicated by the baseline
data path, would not change”
o If-A-then-B statement
 See Figure 7-3, pg. 171 in text
Verification
o Verification of a previously steady level of baseline responding by termination or withdrawal of the
treatment variable
o See Figure 7-4, pg. 172 in text

Replication
“Replication is the essence of believability.”
(Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968, p. 95)
o Replication of the experimental effect accomplished by repeating the treatment variable
o See Figure 7-5, pg. 173 in text
 Chapter 8

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 baseline

Variations of the A-B-A-B Design

•Repeated Reversals
•B-A-B reversal design
•Treatment is given first
•Multiple treatment reversal designs
•Compare the effects of two or more treatments
•NCR reversal technique
•DRO reversal technique
•DRI/DRA reversal technique
Repeated Reversals
•A-B-A-B-A-B
•More reversals 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
•By doing the BAB you are not 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 ongoing assessments 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

•Contingent-reinforcement reversal
•Demonstrates effects of functional relation
•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
–Quantification 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
•Such as learning
•Level of behavior from earlier phase cannot be reproduced again under the experimental conditions
•If suspected, consider DRO or DRI/DRA as controls or multiple baseline designs
Withdrawing Effective Interventions
•Social concerns
–Get the corporation of everyone involved
•Educational and clinical issues
–Reversal phases can be very lengthy
–For ethical reasons, withdrawal of intervention may not be appropriate in dangerous situations
Alternating Treatments Design
•Efficient for comparing the 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 stimulus discrimination is often associated with each treatment
•Involves prediction, verification, and replication
•Experimental control demonstrated with different levels of response in different treatments
•Allows for quick comparison
•Stress importance of evaluating graphs of treatments
Variations of Alternating Treatments Design
•Single phase without no-treatment control condition
•Single phase with one no-treatment control condition
•Two phase with two or more conditions are alternated
•Three phase with baseline and final and conditions phase

Without No-Treatment Control Condition

•See Figure 8.12, pg. 192 in text
With No-Treatment Control Condition
•See Figure 8.10, pg. 190 in text
Two Phase With Initial Baseline
•See Figure 8.13, pg. 193 in text
With Baseline and Final Best Treatment Phase
•See Figure 8.14, pg. 194 in text
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 compacity (max. of 4 conditions)
•Selection of treatments – should be significantly different from one another
 Chapter 9

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 constant 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 replication the more convincing the demonstration; most commonly 3-5 tiers
Multiple Baseline Across Behaviors
•Two or more 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 condition
•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 stable 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 the second 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 form of all.
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 successful approximation or task sequence
•Instead of simultaneous baselines, probes provide basis for determining if behavior change has occurred prior
to intervention
•Appropriate for analyzing a skill acquisition 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: they can contain fewer data points and can mask interdependence of dependent variables
Assumptions and Guidelines
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
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
Do not apply the independent variable to the next behavior too soon
Vary significantly the lengths of multiple baselines
•The more baseline phases differ in length, the stronger the design
Intervene on the 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 withdrawing 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 measured and observed in several settings
Changing Criterion Design
•Used to evaluate effects of a treatment that is applied in a graduated or stepwise fashion to a single target
behavior
•Initial baseline phase followed by series of treatment phases that serve as baseline for treatment phase 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
•Allow goals to develop and change over the course of treatment
•This would be a good way to change my behavior
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
•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

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 audience and researcher
•The book presents flexibility experimental 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 stable responding is
observed

Measurement Confounds
•Observer drift or bias
•Keeping observers naive 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 accepted
•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
•Training or provide practice for individual who will conduct the experimental sessions
•Could provide a detailed script, cue cards, modeling, or performance feedback
Assessing Treatment Integrity
•Collect treatment integrity data to measure how the actual implementation of the conditions matches the their
descriptions
•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 relevance and importance 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
•Several 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)
•Authentic 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 group/population evaluations
•From the sample to the population, not individual
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 replication and systematic replication
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 examples 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 slightest correlation may cause researcher not to
experiment further
–Tests of statistical significance may cause data sets to conform, losing strength in design

Errors
•Type I error: when researcher concludes that independent variable had effect on dependent variable, when it
did not
•False positive
•Type II error: when researcher concludes that independent variable did not have effect on dependent variable,
when it did
•False negative

•Visual inspection 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 thorough analyses of the principles that underlie successful demonstrations of behavior
change
•Readers should consider the technological description and interpretation of results, and the level of
conceptual discussion in experimental reports

Chapter 11

Definition
•Stimulus presentation
•Contingent on a response
 • Which increases the frequency 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 to describe the event 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)
• 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 motivate people

• The temporal relation between

– Consequence variables
– Responses
– Consequences
is important!
• These antecedent variables become discriminative stimulus (SDs)
• Thus, the response is more likely to occur in the future in the presence of these stimuli

The Discriminated Operant

SD Response SR+
Tap on Turn tap Cold water
faucet with blue presented
marked with dot or “C” Turning tap
marked with blue
blue dot or dot or “C” occurs
letter “C” more often in the
future

This term is referred to as

“the reinforcer”
•AKA “ ”

The Role of Antecedent Stimuli

• Caveat #2: Reinforcement depends on motivation
• The SD will only signal the response if the individual is deprived
• Motivating Operations (MOs)
– Alter the reinforcing effectiveness, and thus
– Alter the number of responses reinforced by those stimuli
Motivating Operations
• Establishing Operation (EO)
– Increases the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer
– Usually involves increasing effectiveness to the stimulus (deprivation)
•Abolishing Operation (AO)
– Decreases the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer
– Usually involves having enough to the stimulus (satiation)

The Four-term Contingency

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

Questions About Reinforcement

• Does a person have to be aware that a response is being reinforced for it to increase?
– NO! Automaticity of Reinforcement.
• Are certain behaviors susceptible to reinforcement and others are not?
– NO! The only relevant property is the temporal
– Time between the behavior and the reinforcement .
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 time following
– The behavior temporarily closest to the reinforcement of the target behavior
will be strengthened

Delayed Reinforcement
• Does not necessarily reinforce the target behavior; rather influence 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 is apparent
 – Response-consequence delay greater than 30 seconds
– 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 “noncontingently ” 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 is hurt may reinforce crying and/or hurting oneself
Automatic Reinforcement
• Reinforcement that occurs without others delivering it
• Self-stimulation 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

Reinforcers by Origin
• Unconditioned Reinforcers (AKA primary or unlearned reinforcers)
– Function as reinforcers due to evolution
– Do not require any learning to become reinforcers
– Examples: Food, water, oxygen, warmth, sexual stimulation, human touch
• Conditioned Reinforcers (AKA secondary or learned reinforcers)
– Neutral stimuli that begin to function as reinforcers as a result of parings with (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 Reinforcers and
Unconditioned Reinforcers
• Do not depend on a specific EO to be effective
• Examples: tokens, money, points
Reinforcers by Formal Properties
•Edible reinforcers (preferred food)
•Sensory reinforcers ( physical touches)
•Tangible reinforcers (any item)
•Activity reinforcers ( opportunity to engage in certain behaviors)
•Premack Principle
•Social reinforcers (attention and praise)
Identifying Potential Reinforcers
• It is important to identify reinforcers robust and reliable
– Staff, parents, teachers, and even children themselves who report what they believe to be
reinforcers
• Two strategies to use in tandem
 – Stimulus Preference Assessments
– Reinforcer Assessments
Caveats Regarding Preference/Reinf. Assess.
• Preference assessments
– Conditions under which those stimuli are most likely to be effective
• 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 observations

Asking About Stimulus Preferences

• Ask the Target Person
– Open ended questions
• What would you like to work for?
– Choice Format
• How would you like to work for stickers?
– Rank Ordering
• Would you rather work for things to eat or things to do?
–
•Put these items/activities in order from which you’d like to work for most to which
you’d like to work for least.
• Pretask Choice
– When you are finished working, you can play with Battleship, checkers, or the computer
• Significant Others
– Ask caregivers to identify preferred stimuli
• 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 removing of the items
• 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, successive choice , 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 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 together
• Two major variations:
– With replacement
• Stimulus selected remains in array in subsequent trials
– Without replacement
• Selected stimulus removed in subsequent trials (takes about half the time to
complete the procedure, and it is still fairly accurate)
• 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 to be aware of EOs that may affect results
• Balance cost-benefits of procedures ( brief assessments vs.
prolonged assessments )
• Balance rankings vs. no rankings with shifts of preference
• When time is limited, use fewer items
• 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 higher response requirements
• 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 NCR is the appropriate control (A) condition as a comparison for the positive
reinforcement (B) condition.
• 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
• Limitations of DRO/DRA as controls
– Introduce new contingencies that were not present in original experimental arrangement
– Reversals may be due to
• Termination of the contingency between target response and reinforcer
 • Reinforcement for absence of the target response or for the occurrence of a competing
respons

Twelve Guidelines for Using Reinforcement Effectively

1. Choose reinforcers relevant to current or creatable
2. Maintain
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 his best performance
5. Explain the contingency and provide opportunity to respond
6. Deliver the reinforcer immediately following behavior
7. Reinforce Occurrence of the behavior initially
8. Use direct rather than indirect reinforcement contingencies
a. The person can get or access the RF
9. Gradually increase response to reinforcement delay
a. To program for generalization
10. Use varied reinforcers to maintain potent EO
11. Use contingent attention and descriptive praise
12. Shift from contrived to naturally occurring reinforcers

Chapter 12

Definition
•Stimulus removal (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 is (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 removes a stimulus that was present prior to responding
Positive reinforcement:
EO SD Response SR+
Absence of Teacher says “Apple, Apple Saying “Apple,
please” when it is
food for 2 “Snack time” please” presented snack time and
hours and apples on apples are
table present more
likely in the future

Negative reinforcement:

EO SD Response SR-
Math Teacher says Completes Remaining
worksheet “Complete 5 5 problems problems on Completing
with 20 problems, worksheet problems when
problems on then you don’t removed math worksheet
and teacher
student’s have to do the instructions
desk rest” 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 prechange and postchange features
–______________ the stimulus change
–______________ 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 not good and bad
•But “positive” refers to presentation of the stimulus and “negative” refers to the removal
of the stimulus
–Both involve averse events
•But in negative reinforcement, the aversive event is present and then terminated which
increases 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:

EO SD Response SR-
Math Teacher says Completes Remaining
worksheet “Complete 5 5 problems problems on Completing
with 20 problems, worksheet problems more
problems on then you don’t removed likely in the future
when math
student’s have to do the worksheet and
desk rest” teacher
instructions
present
Punishment:
SD Response SP+
Teacher says Destroys Teacher
“Complete 5 worksheet requires
problems, student to Destroying
then you don’t complete all worksheet less
likely in the future
have to do the 20 problems when teacher
rest” makes work
request

Escape and Avoidance Contingencies

•Escape Contingency
•Avoidance Contingency
•Pg 314
EO SD Response SR-
Rain Friend says Put up Avoid rain
outside; “Do you umbrella falling on
you are still have an (prior to your head Putting up
umbrella more
inside-- umbrella?” going likely in the future
nice and outside) when it’s raining
and friend asks
dry for umbrella

Characteristics of Negative Reinforcement

•Any response (socially appropriate or inappropriate) can be acquired and maintained by negative
reinforcement
–All are adaptive because they allow the individual to interact effectively with the environment

EO SD Response SR-
Rain falling Friend says Put up Escape rain
on your “Do you umbrella falling on
head as you have an your head Putting up
umbrella more
walk down umbrella?” likely in the future
sidewalk when it’s raining
and friend asks
for umbrella
 •A variety of stimuli can serve as negative reinforcers
–Unconditioned
–Conditioned
•Negative reinforcement can be
–Socially mediated reinforcement (de livered by another person)
–Automatic reinforcement (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 antecedent or EO of the behavior that may
need to be in place to motivate the occurrence of the behavior
–The presence of particularly aversive antecedent stimuli may be constitute a undue restriction
of rights
–These stimuli may generate other competing behaviors

Chapter 13

Schedules of Reinforcement
 Continuous reinforcement (CRF)
o “Provides reinforcement for every occurrence of behavior”

Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement (INT)

 Intermittent reinforcement
o “Intermittent reinforcement is used to maintain established behaviors”
o “INT is necessary for progression of naturally occurring reinforcement”

Ratio Schedules
 “Require a number of responses before one response produces RF.”

Interval Schedules
 “Require an elapse of time before a response produces RF.”

Fixed Schedules
 “Response ratio or time requirement remains constant.”

Variable Schedules
 “Response ratio or time requirement can vary from one reinforced response to another.”

Fixed Ratio (FR)

 “Requires completion of a number of responses to produce a RF.”
 Schedule Effects
o Consistency of Performance
  “Post reinforcement pause follows reinforcement.”
 “Long ratio requirements produce long pauses.”
 “Small ratios produce small pauses.”
o Rate of Response
 “FR schedules often produce high rates of response.”
 “The higher the ratio requirement, the higher the rate of response.”
 “Rate of response decreases if the ratio requirements are too large.”

Variable Ratio (VR)

 “Requires the completion of a variable number of responses.”
 “Average number of responses.”
 Variable Ratio Schedule Effects
o VR schedule tends to produce a constant steady rates of responding.
o The larger the ratio requirement, the larger the rate of response.
 Tic Tac Toe VR Procedure
 VR Procedure using a classroom lottery
o “Teachers have used the classroom lottery with a variety of student accomplishments.”
 VR Procedure using a desk calendar
o “Students can use the desk calendar base to program variable schedules for most academic
areas.”

Fixed Interval Schedules (FI)

 “Reinforcement for the first correct response following a fixed duration of time.”
 “FI schedules are relatively common to use in applied settings.”
 FI Schedule Effects
o “FI typically produces a post reinforcement pause.”
 Rate of Responding
o “FI schedules tend to produce a slow to accelerating rate of response.”

Variable Interval (VI)

 “Provides reinforcement for the RF correct response following the elapse of variable durations of time.”
 VI Schedule Effects
o VI schedules tend to produce a constant, stable rate of response.
 Rate of Responding
o VI schedules of reinforcement tend to produce low to moderate rates of response.

Schedule Thinning
 “gradually increase response ratio or the duration of time”
 “use of timers to clearly communicate the schedule of reinforcement”
 Ratio Strain
o “can result from response increases in ratio requirements when moving from denser to thinner
reinforcement schedules.”
o “Common characteristics associated with ratio strain include avoidance aggression, and
unpredicted pauses in responding.”

Schedules of Differential Reinforcement of Rates of Responding

 “Differential reinforcement provides an intervention for behavior problems associated with rate of
response.”
 “DRH stands for ‘Differential Reinforcement of high Rates’.”
 “DRL stands for ‘Differential Reinforcement of low Rates’.”
  “IRT … inter-response time.”
 “DRH full-session provides reinforcement if the higher number of responses during the session meet or
exceed a number criterion.”

Differential Reinforcement of Diminishing Rates

 “reinforcement of responses at the end of a predetermined time interval.”

Progressive Schedules of Reinforcement

 “systematically thins each successive reinforcement opportunity independent of the participant’s
behavior.”
 Progressive schedules for reinforcer assessment
o “effects obtained during typical reinforcer assessments may have lesser generality to treatment
efficacy.”
 May need a reinforcer with greater magnitude for more responses

Compound Schedules of Reinforcement (conc)

 “Combine the elements of continuous reinforcement, the four intermittent schedules of reinforcement
(FR,VR,FI,VI), differential reinforcement of various rates of responding (DRH, DRL), and EXT (CRF)
to form compound schedules of reinforcement.”
 Concurrent Schedules
o “Occurs when (a) two or more contingencies of reinforcement (b) operate in independently and
simultaneously (c) for two or more behaviors.”
o “Applied Behavior Analysts have used concurrent schedules for improving vocational, academic,
and social skills.”
 Concurrent Performances
o “Concurrent schedules usually produce two response patterns.”
 Matching Law
o “Rate of responding typically is proportional to the rate of reinforcement received from each
choice alternative.”

Multiple Schedules of Reinforcement (mult)

 “Presents two or more basic schedules of reinforcement.”
 “occur randomly and independently.”

Chained Schedules
 Differs from a multiple schedule in three ways
o Chain schedule occur in a specific order.
o Behavior may be the same for all elements of the chain, or different behaviors may be required
for different elements.
o Conditioned reinforcement for responding in the second element in a chain is the presentation of
the third element.

Nondiscriminative Schedules of Reinforcement

 Mixed Schedules (mix)
o “Has no discriminative stimuli correlated with the independent schedules.”
 Tandem Schedules (tand)
o “Similar to the chained schedule but does not use a discriminative stimuli with the elements in
the chain.”

Schedules Combining the Number of Responses and Time

 Alternative Schedule (alt)
 o “Provides reinforcement whenever the requirement of either a ratio schedule or an interval
schedule is met regardless of which one is met first.”
 Conjunctive Schedules (conj)
o “The first response following the conclusion of the time interval produces reinforcement if a
certain number of responses have been completed.”

Applied Research with Intermittent Schedules

 “Schedule effects have not been documented clearly in applied settings.”
 “Applied behavior analysts should use caution in extrapolating these effects to applied settings.”

Applied Research with Compound Schedules

 “Applied researchers have seldom analyzed the effects of compound reinforcement schedules.”

Applied Research with Adjunctive Schedules

 “Adjunctive behaviors such as doodling, smoking, idle talking, drinking may increase as a side effect of
other behaviors maintained by a schedule of reinforcement
 Lerman, Iwata, Zarcone, and Ringdahl’s (1994) article is the only research on adjunctive behavior
published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis from 1968 through 2006”
 “The condition under which adjunctive behaviors are developed and maintained is a major area for
future research in applied behavior analysis.”

Chapter 14

Introduction

Learning from the consquences 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.

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 three-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 decrease future frequency of occurrence in the same or in
similar situations.

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
SD-.

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

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.

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 decreases 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.
 No need for establishing operations

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 stimulus-stimulus pairing with one or more
unconditioned or conditioned punishers.

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 decrease 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.
 People, phrases or situations that have been paired with punishment

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

Reduction or elimination of reinforcement for the target behavior

Availability of reinforcement for an alternative behavior.

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 behavior.

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 reponses that are followed by the punisher, the greater the response
reduction.

Continuous Punishment = response suppression, but allows for rapid recovery when the punishment
contingency is removed.

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.
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 alternative behavior.

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 unaltered behavior under nonpunishment

Modeling undesirable behavior

Not teaching the learner what to do

Overusing punishment because of the reinforcement it provides the punishing agent.

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 enabled 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 averse 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 punishment.

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 punitive behaviors.

Two decades of research have found strong correlation between young children’s exposure to harsh and
excessive d 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
negativity reinforced by the immediate cessation of the punished behavior.

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 habituate 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 shown 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 target 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.

Two Forms: Restitution 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 repeatedly perform 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

Forty-six studies have demonstrated that contingent electric shock can be a safe and highly effective
method for suppressing chronic and life-threatening self-injurious 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.

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 ________________.

2. When punishers are threatened and not delivered, the child learns that your verbal threats are not
associated with the actual punishing behavior.

Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively

Select Effective and Appropriate Punishers

Conduct Punisher Assessments

Parallels 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 practitioners to determine the smallest intensity of punisher that is still
effective.

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.

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 decreases the behavior?

Will this form of punishment be appropriate 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 so reminds the practitioner that the technique produces physical discomfort.

Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively

Deliver the Punisher Immediately

Every instance of the inappropriate behavior should be punished.

Punishment affects most the behavior that ________________precedes the onset of punishment.

Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively

Deliver the Punisher 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 Punisher Unemotionally

Punishment should be delivered in a business-like, matter-of-fact manner.

Reduce statements such as, “I told you so.” “Now, you’ve gone and done it.” and “What do you have to
say for yourself?”

All you want to do is punish behavior, not make people atone for their sins.

Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively

Punish Each Instance of the Behavior

Punishment is most successful 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 learners obtain by emitting appropriate behavior, the less motivated they
will be to emit the problem behavior.

Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively

Watch for Side Effects of Punishment

The reduction 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 may produce increased levels of verbal noncompliance.

Expand observations to include collateral or parallel behaviors.

Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively

Record, Graph and Evaluate Data Daily

Data collection in the initial 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 shown to be effective in reducing self-
destructive 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 Provide 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 occur 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 one that a practitioner turns to when other methods have failed.

Chapter 15

Definition of Punishment by Removal of a Stimulus

•Stimulus is removed
•Negative punishment
•That reduces the future probability of that response
•The reduction in the response is a critical feature in defining punishment

Future Stimulus Change

Frequency

Stimulus Stimulus
Applied Removed
Behavior is Type I Type II
reduced Positive Negative
Punishment Punishment

Example
 EO SD Response SR-
Child is Adult says, Child Adult places
participating “Let’s open pokes his child in time
in classroom our books to buddy out (peer Poking a buddy
occurs less often
buddy page 12. attention is in the future when
activities, Each of you removed) the teacher gives
a classroom
where should read instruction and
attention the first peer buddies are
available.
from peers paragraph to
(a positive your buddy.”
reinforcer) is
available.

Time-Out from Positive Reinforcement

• The withdrawal of the opportunity to earn reinforcement , or
• The loss of 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 response contingent
• There is a resultant decrease in the future frequency of 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 removed physically from time-in setting
• However, position within the environment may shift
Planned Ignoring
•Social Reinforcers are withdrawn —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
–Can be applied quickly
–Conveniently

Withdrawal of a Specific Positive Reinforcer

•Some sort of reinforcement 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 an existing setting
–Participation is still possible
–Access to reinforcement is lost, however
Time-Out Ribbon
• A band is placed on the child’s wrist and is discriminative stimulus for earning RF
–Child earns reinforcers when it is on
•Contingent upon a target behavior, when the 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 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 RF; also minimally furnished
• It is comfortable (adequate heat and light), secure (but not locked) and nothing breakable
• 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 hurting other students
Disadvantages of Time-Out Rooms
• Must escort students to time-out
• May result in emotional outbursts or resistance
• Access to instruction is prohibited
• Individuals may engage in behaviors (e.g., self-injury) that should be stopped but go undetected
• Negative public perception

Partition Time-Out
 • Individuals remain in time-in setting, but their view within the setting is restricted by a partition, wall,
or cubicle
• Advantage: Keeps individual in instructional space
• Disadvantages: Individual still may be able to obtain reinforcement from peers

Hallway Time-Out
•Individual sits in hallway or treatment area
•Disadvantages
– 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)
• Meets acceptability standards (especially nonexclusion)
• Rapid succession of problem behavior
• Easily combined with other procedures, such as differential reinforcement

Effective Use of Time-Out

•Reinforcing and enriching the time in experience
– Utilize differential reinforcement to reinforce alternative and incompatible behaviors
•Defining behaviors that lead to time-out
– All parties (including the target individual) should have explicit, observable definitions of the
problem behavior
•Define procedures for the duration of time out
–Initial duration should be short
–Longer than periods are more likely to be ineffective
•Define exit criteria
– If individual is misbehaving when time-out ends, it should be continued until inappropriate
behavior ceases

•Exclusion vs. nonexclusion time-out

– Consider constraints that may prevent exclusion time-out
– Physical factors (i.e., lack of appropriate space) may prevent exclusion time-out
•Explaining time out rules
–Target behaviors, duration, exit criteria
•Obtain Permission
–Administration approvals
–Parent approvals
•Apply Consistently
•Evaluating 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 timeout issues

Response Cost
• Loss of a 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)
EO SD Response SR-
Child has 15 Adult says, Child 5 minutes of
minutes of “Let’s open pokes his the recess
recess on our books to buddy time is Poking a buddy
occurs less often
schedule page 12. removed in the future when
every Each of you the teacher gives
a classroom
morning. should read instruction and
the first recess is
available.
paragraph to
your buddy.”
Example

Desirable Aspects of Response Cost

• Produces moderate to rapid decrease in 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 RF available to the individual, specifically for removal during a response-cost
contingency
• This may reduce many of the problems or concerns 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 reduces the legal and ethical concerns
Combining with Group Contingencies
• Contingent upon inappropriate behavior of a group, the member loses a specified amount of
reinforcement

Effective Use of Response Cost

• Specifically behavior that will result in response cost, as well as the fine.
• Establish rules and consistency with the response-cost procedure, and explain these
• Greater fines should be associated with more severe behaviors
– Be cautious of making fines so great that the individual becomes “bankrupt”
• Fines should be posed contingently
• 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”)
• Be prepared for 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 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 “adverse”
– Make sure positive reinforcement is available for appropriate behavior to reduce the likelihood of
this outcome
• Reductions of desired behavior may occur
– Response cost may unintentionally suppress other, desirable behaviors, as well as the target problem
behaviors
• Response cost calls attention to undesired behavior
• Be prepared for unpredictability

Chapter 16

Motivating Operations

Establishing Operations (EO)

–Keller & Schoenfeld (1950)
 •Drive concept: relation between certain 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
EO commonly used applied behavior analysis

Motivating Operation (MO) suggested to replace term EO along with the terms:
–Value altering
–Behavior altering
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
–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

Direct and Indirect Effects

Frequency
of behavior result of:
–A direct evocative or abative effect of the MO on response frequency
–An Indirect effect on the evocative or abative strength of relevant SDs
Value-altering effects may also occur for conditioned reinforcers relevant conditioned MOs

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 relationship exists between MO level & responding in extinction

MO should evoke the behavior even if it is not at first successful
 •Behavior-altering effects
–Operate on the current frequency of the behavior
–Antecedent variables (i.e., MOs, SDs )
–Can evoke or abate responses, but not alter them
–Occur before the behavior

•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

•Antecedent variables
–MOs and SDs
–Alter the current frequency of the behavior
–Operant variables
•Control current frequency due to their relation to reinforcing or punishing consequences

•SD
–Related to the differential availability of a currently effective form of reinforcement for a
particular type of behavior
–Means that in the presence of the SD the RF is available and in the absence of the SD
the RF is not available
•MO
–Related to the conditions that effectiveness of a particular type of environmental event
–Conditions present which make some RF more effective and some behaviors more
likely

Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMOs)

–Value-altering motivating effects that are unlearned
Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMOs)
–Value-altering motivating effects that are a function of a learning history
Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMOs)
UMOs for humans:
–Deprivation and satiation UMOs
–UMOs relevant to sexual reinforcement
–Temperature changes
–Painful stimulation
Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMOs)
Deprivation and satiation UMOs
–Deprivation of food, water, oxygen, activity, & sleep = reinforcer-establishing & evocative
effects
 –Satiation of food and water, oxygen intake, engaging in activity, & sleeping = reinforcer-
abolishing & abative effects

UMOs 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
•Physical stimulation of erogenous body areas
•Amount of time since last sexual activity—establishing & evocative effects
•Sexual orgasm—abolishing & abates effects

Temperature Changes

Painful Stimulation
–Increase establishes pain reduction as reinforcer & evokes escape behavior
–Decrease reduces effectiveness of pain reduction as a reinforcer & abates behavior that has
been reinforced by pain reduction
–Evokes aggression behavior toward another organism when in the presence of that organism
Important considerations:
–Individuals do not have learned anything for an MO to have value-altering & behavior-altering
effects
–Relevant MO must be in effect in future/generalized circumstances if behavior is to occur
Weakening effects of an MO may be necessary
–Reinforcer-establishing & evocative effects of UMOs can be temporality weakened
•Reinforcer-abolishing operations
•Abative operations
–Cannot permanently weaken value-altering effects of UMOs
–Behavior-altering effects are based on history of reinforcement
UMOs for Punishment
–Value-altering effect which does depend on a learning history
–Most punishers affecting humans are conditioned punishers involve a learning history
UMO-CMO Relation
Same MOs for RF as conditioned punishment
–Reinforcer must be effective if reduction or removal will function as a punisher
 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
Environmental events will have both
–Behavior-altering effects on RF frequency of the behavior
–Behavior -altering effects (as consequences) on punishment decrease in current frequency of
the behavior that preceded the onset of the event
–Must consider in situations particularly time out situations which MOs were present that make
RF and punishment possible pg 398

Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMOs)

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
UMOs)

Three types of CMOs

–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

Surrogate CMO CMO-S

–Accomplishes what the MO it was paired with accomplishes
–Has the same behavior altering and behavior-altering effects as the MO it was paired with
–CMO-S
–Can be strengthened in its effects by through pairing and unpairing
Reflexive CMO CMO-R
–Alters a relation to MO
–Acquires MO effectiveness by preceding some form of worsening or improvement
–CMO-R
–Exemplified by warning stimulus in a typical escape-avoidance procedure
–Establishes its own termination as reinforcement and strengths all behavior that has accomplished that
offset

Transitive CMO (CMO-T)

–Makes something else effective as reinforcement because of its relation relevant to the unconditioned
reinforce
–Food deprived rat pulls the cord which emits a buzzer sound, in the presence of the sound the
rat then emits another behavior which gets him the food
 –Thus, the buzzer is important when he is hungry in acquiring food – which makes UMO-T food
and anything that allows contact with food as a RF

–Environmental variable that evokes or abolishes the reinforcing effectiveness of another stimulus and
established or abated the behavior that has been reinforced by the other stimulus
–CMO-T
–All variables that function as UMOs also function as __________ for the stimuli that are conditioned
reinforcers because of their ______________ to the relevant unconditioned reinforce
–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 valuable as available in the absence as in the presence of the stimulus

–Practical implications
•Utilization in language training
•Refinement of technology between SD & –CMO-T

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 emitted only in the presence of an antecedent
•Known as the discriminative stimulus (SD)
–And not in the absence of discriminative stimulus
•Known as stimulus delta (S

The Development of Stimulus Control

SD Response SR+
Telephone rings Pick up Friendly
phone conversation
and say
“hello”

SD Response SO
Doorbell rings Pick up Friendly
phone conversation
and say withheld
“hello”

Not to be confused with respondent conditioning

 UCS Response
Meat powder Dog
salivates

Neutral S Response
Bell rings Dog
salivates
UCS
Meat powder

CS Response
Bell rings Dog
salivates

Stimulus Control and Motivating Operations

•Similarities
–Both events occur as antecedent
–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 RF
– Establishing operation (EO) makes the reinforcer more valuable
– Abolishing operation (AO) makes the reinforcer less valuable
 EO SD Response SR-
Difficult Teacher 1 Student Task break
W orksheet displays provided
aggression

EO SD Response SO
Difficult Teacher 2 Student
W orksheet displays
aggression

SD Response SR+
Telephone rings Pick up Friendly
phone conversation
and say
“hello”

SD Response SO
Doorbell rings Pick up Friendly
phone conversation
and say withheld
“hello”
 MOs and Stimulus Control
c
Stimulus Generalization
• Occurs when stimuli that share similar physical properties with the controlling antecedent stimulus
evoke the same response as the controlling stimulus

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

Stimulus Control and Stimulus Generalization Are a Continuum

Task
Stimulus Stimulus
break
withheld
Control Generalization

Development of Stimulus Control

•Stimulus discrimination training
–Requires one behavior
–Two antecedent stimulus conditions (the SD and the S)
• Responses that occur in the presence of the discriminative stimulus are reinforced (thus, the response
increases in the presence of the SD)
• Responses that occur in presence of another stimulus and absence of Sd are not reinforced (thus, the
response decreases in the presence of the S
–Can also result in a lesser amount or quality of reinforcement

The Development of Stimulus Control

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 Antecedent Stimulus Class
– Antecedent stimuli representative of a group of stimuli sharing a common relationship
(generalization training) are spresented, along with…
 –Antecedent stimuli from other stimulus classes (discrimination training )
•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 relations (i.e., spatial arrangements)
–Developed through differential reinforcement
•Arbitrary stimulus class
–Do not share a common stimulus feature
–Comprised of a limited number of stimuli
–Developed using matching to sample

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 three 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 (A = A)
•Matching to sample
 •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”)

•Transitivity
– Requires demonstration of untrained stimulus
A = B relation (spoken name = picture)

ÒBicycleÓ(spoken name presented)

1

(Child selects picture)

B = C relation (picture = written word)

2
(picture presented)

bicycle airplane car

(Child selects written word)

A = C relation (spoken word = written word)

 3
ÒbicycleÓ (spoken word presented)

bicycle airplane car

(Child selects written word)

Matching-to-Sample
•Participant observes the sample stimulus
•The comparison stimuli are then presented
•Participant makes a response
–Matches are reinforced
–Nonmatches are not reinforced
•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 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
•Salience of the stimulus in the environment
•Increased saliency facilitates the efficiency of functional analysis
Masking and Overshadowing
•Decreasing salience of stimuli
 •Competing stimuli overshadowing of an SD

•To limit the negative effects of these:

–Rearranging the physical the environment
–Make instructional stimuli more intense
–Consistently RF behavior in the presence of the 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 Cue
–Place one stimulus closer to the student
•Redundancy Cue
– Stimulus or response dimensions are paired with correct choice
Transfer of Stimulus Control
• Prompts should be used only during the acquisition phase of instruction
• Transfer stimulus control from stimulus prompts to naturally existing stimulus quickly using fading
Transferring from Response Prompts
•To naturally existing stimuli
–Physically guides the participant through entire performance
–Gradually reduces the amount of physical guidance required
•Most to least prompts move from
•Physical guidance
•Visual prompts and finally to verbal instruction and then naturally occurring stimuli
•Graduated Guidance
–Immediately fade physical prompts
–Follow participant closely with hands
–Gradually increase distance between hands and participant
 •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
•Time Delay
– Varying the time interval between presentation of a natural stimulus and the presentation of a
response prompt
•Constant time delay procedure
–Begin with a 0-sec delay
–Then use a fixed time delay (e.g., 3 sec)
•Progressive time delay procedure
– Begin with a 0-sec delay
– Gradually and systematically extend the time period (e.g., in 1-sec intervals) according
to some rule

Transferring from Stimulus Prompts

•Stimulus Fading
– Highlighting a physical dimension and then gradually fade that exaggerated dimension
– Superimposing one stimulus on top of another and gradually fading it out
•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

Definition of Imitation
• A model is presented in an effort to evoke the imitative behavior
• The imitative behavior follows the presentation of the model
• The model and behavior must have formal similarly
• The model must serve as a controlling variable for the imitative behavior (SD)
Types of Models
•Planned models
– Prearranged antecedent stimuli that help learners acquire new skills
– Shows the learner exactly what to do
•Unplanned models
–Occur in everyday situations
Formal Similarity
•The model and the behavior resemble each other and they are in the same sense mode (they look alike
and sound alike)

Immediacy
 • The temporal relation of immediacy between the model and the occurrence of the imitative behavior
is very important
• Imitation may also occur at a later time and in the context of everyday 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 contact with RF
– Becomes a discriminated operate
– After it has already been learned and RFed
Imitation Training
• Some children with disabilities require instruction in order to learn to imitate
• Objective: to teach children to “imitate who do not imitate ”
– Generalize a rule to imitate models
– Also known as learning set
– Learning to learn
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 to the model (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 behaviors as models during initial training
• Include gross and fine motor examples
– Movement of body such as raising a hand
– Manipulation of body parts such as sign language
• 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, place it in front of individual
– Say learner’s name, and then “do this”
 – Present the model- you do the selected behavior
– Immediately praise each response that has formal similarly to the model and deliver RF
– 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 if not all the trails
• Next, teach ones the learner responded to incorrectly, but approximated to the model on pretest
• Finally, teach items the learner responded incorrectly on pretest

Performing Imitation Training

• Pre-assessment
– Purpose: evaluate learner’s current performance and determine the learner’s 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 pre-assessment
– Use model which had the highest responding during training or the behavior which had the most
approximations during pre-assessment
– Continue until learner responds correctly 5 consecutive times
– Use physical guidance if necessary to prompt the response 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 on previously and most recently learned
materials
– 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: provides data on the learners progress in developing imitation repertoire
– Select 5 nontrained 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 Brief (10-15 minutes, a couple of 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

What Is Shaping?
•A process in which one
–Systematically and differentially reinforces
–Successive approximations to terminal behavior 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:
–Response class behaviors that resemble the unreinforced members are emitted less frequently
–Carefully choose behaviors for reinforcement
•Result
– Increase in behaviors that approximate to terminal behavior
– Decrease in behaviors that are unreinforced and not similar to to terminal behavior
Shaping Diagrammed

 Assume we want to teach a child to turn on the cold water tap in order to get
a drink of water.
 Assume the child already walks to sink and looks at it when he/she is thirsty.
 Shaping might proceed like this:

EO SD Response SR+
Deprived of Tap on W alk to Cold water
water for a faucet sink and presented
long period marked with look at it
Walking to sink
of time blue dot or and looking at it
letter “C” maintains

Response already in
repertoire

 Shaping step 1:
EO SD Response SO
Deprived of Tap on W alk to Cold water
water for a faucet sink and withheld
long period marked with look at it
of time blue dot or Walking to sink
and looking at it
letter “C” when deprived of
water decreases

EO SD Response SR+
Deprived of Tap on Point to Cold water
water for a faucet tap presented
long period marked with
of time blue dot or Pointing to tap
when deprived of
letter “C” water increases
 Shaping step 4:
2:
EO SD Response SO
Deprived of Tap on Grasp
Point tap
to Cold water
water for a faucet tap withheld
long period marked with
of time blue dot or Grasping
Pointing totap
tap
when deprived of
letter “C” water decreases

EO SD Response SR+
Deprived of Tap on Turn tap
Touch tap Cold water
water for a faucet presented
long period marked with
of time blue dot or Turning
Touchingtap
tapwhen
Terminal deprived of water
when deprived of
letter “C” Behavior increases
water increases

 Shaping step 3:
EO SD Response SO
Deprived of Tap on Touch tap Cold water
water for a faucet withheld
long period marked with
of time blue dot or Touching tap
when deprived of
letter “C” water decreases

EO SD Response SR+
Deprived of Tap on Grasp tap Cold water
water for a faucet presented
long period marked with
of time blue dot or Grasping tap
when deprived of
letter “C” 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

Successive Approximations
•An intermediate behavior
–Approximations for terminal behavior or
– RF behaviors already in the person repertoire of the same response topography
Shaping Across and Within Response Topographies
•Across response topographies
– Topography of behavior is changed during shaping
– Behaviors are still RF based on their resemblance to the target behavior
•Within response topographies
–Topography of behavior remains constant
– Another 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 skilled practitioner who can notice and indicate what the next behavior is the sequence will
be , 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 the response
–Fading by changing the antecedent stimulus
Increasing Efficiency of Shaping
•Combine with a verbal response prompt (e.g., a prompt)
–Sd – Discriminative Stimulus
 –Physical guidance
–Imitative prompt

Guidelines for Implementing Shaping

• Consider nature of the terminal behavior to be learned and resources available
–How far away is current performance from terminal behavior?
–This might influence the total amount of time required to learn the terminal behavior
–What is the availability of other strategies ?
•Remember, this is a labor intensive procedure
•Select the Terminal Behavior
–The ultimate criterion for selecting a behavior for change:
• How will the behavior change contribute to the learner’s expected independence after
the behavior change ?
–Define the terminal behavior precisely
•Then you’ll know when the behavior has occurred
•Determine the criterion for success
–How accurate, fast, long, or intensely should the behavior be performed? Under what
conditions should it be performed?
–Establish norms by
•Consulting a similar peer group
•Or the norms discussed in the literature
•Analyze the Response Class
– Identify the approximations that might be emitted during training
• Trainer is in a better position to “observe and reinforce an approximation ”
–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
•Identify the first behavior to RF
–Behavior should already occur at some minimum frequency
–Behavior should be a member of the targeted response class
–If you are interested in increasing speech lip movement would be a good choice
•Eliminate Interfering Stimuli
–Eliminate distractions during training
•Proceed in Gradual Stages
– Be prepared for decrease in correct responses or approximations when you increase criteria
•Limit the number of approximations at Each Level
–Lest the behavior become firmly established which is not the goal
–Only a few trails at each stage
• Continue to RF When the Terminal Behavior Is Achieved
– The behavior will be lost if the terminal response is not reinforced
Chapter 20

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 1st and last stimulus in the chain)

SD SD SD
EO SD Response 1 Response 2 Response 3
Absence of Mom says Get cereal Get milk Get bowl
food for 2 “Fix yourself a from from from
hours bowl of cupboard SR+refrigerator SR+cupboard
cereal.”
SD SD SD SD SD
Response 4 Response 5 Response 6 Response 7 Response 8
Get spoon Pour cereal Pour milk Put milk Put cereal
from drawer SR+ into bowl SR+into
bowl SR+away SR+ away
SR+
SD SD
Response 9 Response 10 Response 11 SR+
Take bowl Sit down at Eat Food Presented
and spoon to table Fixing a bowl of cereal
SR+ table SR+ SR+ more likely when hungry
and told to “Fix yourself
a bowl of cereal ”

Diagram of Response Chain

Behavior Chains and Limited Hold

• A sequence of behaviors that must be performed correctly and in specified time to produce
reinforcement
• Emphasizes both accurate and proficient
Characteristics of Behavior Chains
• A series of discrete responses
• Performance of behavior changes the environment such that it produces conditioned RF for previous
response and serves as Sd for next response
• Behaviors must occur specific sequence and in close temporal succession
Rationale for Chaining
• Teaches complex behaviors that allow individuals to function more on their own
• A way to add behaviors on to an existing behavior repertoire
• Can easily be combined with other procedures (prompting, instructions, reinforcement)
Task Analysis
• Breaking a complex skill or series of behaviors into smaller teachable units
• The product of a task analysis is a series of sequentially ordered steps or tasks
Constructing a Task Analysis
•Notes:
– The sequence of behaviors that one individual may use to perform skill may not be the same as
another individual
–Must be individualized according to
•Age
•Skill level
•Prior experiences of the person
– 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 person perform the task
–Consult with experts in performing the task
–Perform the behaviors 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 when a step is performed incorrectly
–Remaining steps are scored with a –
•Multiple Opportunity Method
– Give cue to begin task
– Record learner performance with + or – for each step
– If a step is performed incorrectly, the learner is redirect and prepped for the next step
–Learner continues to next step
–Do NOT co-mingle teaching with assessment
Single vs. Multiple Method?
•Single-opportunity Method
–More conservative method
–Gives less information
–Probably quicker to conduct
–Reduces likelihood of learning taking place during assessment
•Multiple
– Takes more time to complete
– Provides trainer with more information
– May make learning and teaching more efficient by allowing trainer to eliminate instruction on
already-learned steps
Behavior Chaining Procedures
•Forward Chaining
– Training begins the link with the natural order 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

•Total task Chaining

– Training is provided for every behavior during every training session
– Trainer assistance (prompting) is provided on every step
•Backward Chaining
– Training begins the link with the final behavior in the sequence
– Trainer performs all but 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
– Terminal reinforcement is produced immediately upon the learner’s response
– Learner contacts these natural contingencies of reinforcement on every learning
trial
•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 skipped over to learn other steps
– 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 chain if
– Learner knows most of the steps but needs to learn how to do them in sequence
– Has an imitative repertoire
– Has moderate to severe disabilities
– Task is not very 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 being moderately distressful for the individual when she is interrupted while performing the
chain
• This is somewhat desirable because it indicates motivation to complete the chain 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
•Collect baseline data
•Direct person to start chain
•At predetermined point, interrupt the chain
•Prompt learner to make an additional response
•Then allow the individual to return to the chain
Breaking Inappropriate Chains
•Determine initial SD and
–Substitute for alternative behavior, or
– Extend chain and building in time delays within the chain
– Overeating would be fixed by introducing time delays like putting your fork down
•Examine potential sources of difficulty in the chain
–Reexamine SDs and responses
• Is sequence arbitrary? Based on expert opinion?
–Determine whether similar SDs cue different responses
• If so, can the sequence be rearranged to rearrange the responses associated with it ?
–Analyze the job setting to identify relevant and irrelevant SDs
• Do you need to implement procedure 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 the natural environment
–Identify presence of novel stimuli in the environment
• It might be necessary to teach the learner to ignore novel, irrelevant stimuli

Factors Affecting Performance

•Completeness of the task analysis
– More complete and accurate task analyses tend to produce better learning
•Time developing task analyses is well spent
• Be ready/willing to make adjustments it after it is constructed
•Length or complexity of chain
–Longer the chain more time it takes to learn
•Schedule of Reinforcement
–Must use appropriate schedule (Ch. 13)
– Consider the number of responses in the chain when determining the schedule
•Response Variation
– Responses performed infrequently may become less likely
– This interrupts the chain and can result in
Incorrectness of the chain
– Lesson: adjust reinforcement schedule accordingly (use dense_ schedules
–Stimulus Variation
– Introduce all variations of the stimulus items to be encountered later to increase generalization
of the chain
•
– Varied responses may be needed to deal with

– This may require some

–Chapter 21
–
–Definition of Extinction
–
–Extinction is a procedure in which reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued; as a
result, occurrences of that behavior decreases in the future.
–
–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 punishment stimuli to decrease behavior.
–
–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 “Function” the problem behavior.
–
–Functional forms of extinction involve withholding the maintaining reinforcers.
–
–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.
–
–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.
–
–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.
–
–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.
–
–Confusing noncontingent reinforcement and extinction
–
–Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) does not withhold the reinforcements that maintain the problem
behavior.
–
–Extinction diminishes behavior by changing consequence stimuli; NCR diminishes behavior by changing
motivating operations 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 of Behavior Maintained by Negative Reinforcement
–
–Behaviors maintained by negative reinforcement are placed 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 of Behavior Maintained by Automatic Reinforcement
–
–Behaviors maintained by sensory reinforcement are placed on extinction by masking or removing the sensory
consequence (sensory extinction).
–
–Not a recommended extinction option for problem behavior, even self-stimulatory behaviors that are
maintained by social consequences or negative reinforcement.
–
–Extinction Effects
–
Extinction effects have not been documented clearly in _____________ settings.
–
–Practitioners should view all of the following comments on the extinction effects tentatively when they relate
to behavioral interventions or applied research.
–
–Gradual Decrease in Frequency and Amplitude
–
–Extinction produces a gradual reduction in behavior.
–
–However, when reinforcement is removed abruptly, numerous unreinforced responses can follow.
–
–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 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).
–
–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 successful intervention.
–
–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.
–
–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.
–
–B) Some intermittent schedules may produce more resistance than others.
–
–C) To a degree, the thinner the intermittent schedule of reinforcement is the greater the resistance to extinction
will be.
–
–Establishing Operations
–
–All stimuli that function as Reinforcers require a minimum level of an establishing operation (i.e., motivation
must be present).
–
–“Resistance to extinction is greater when extinction is carried out under high motivation than under low.”
(Keller & Schoenfeld, 1950/1995, p. 75)
–
–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.
–
–Number of Previous Extinction Trials
–
–Successive applications of conditioning and extinction may influence the 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.
– Because it requires more effort for you to produce you are going to engage in the behavior less
–
–Ten 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.
–
–
–
–
–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.
–
–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 Instructions
–
–Behaviors sometime diminish more quickly during extinction when teachers describe the extinction procedure
to students.
–
–
–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).
–
–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.
–
–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.
–
–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.
–
–Maintaining Extinction-Decreased Behavior
–
–Applied behavior analysts leave the extinction procedure in effect permanently for maintaining the extinction-
diminished behavior.
–
–When Not to Use Extinction
–
–Imitation
–
–Extinction can be inappropriate if the behavior placed on extinction is 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

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 “Play by your Child Praise Playing with toys
occurs more often
one-on-one self while I plays with delivered in the future when
attention for wash the toys the individual has
a period of dishes” been deprived of
attention for
time periods of time

Response SO
Tantrums occur
less often in the
Child Praise future when the
tantrums withheld individual has been
deprived of
attention for
periods of time

DRI
•DRI: Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior
–Reinforce a behavior cannot occur simultaneously with the problem behavior
–Withhold reinforcement for instances of problem behavior
DRA
•DRA: Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior
– Reinforce occurrences of behavior that provides a desirable alterative 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 the learner’s in repertoire
–Requires equal or less effort than problem behavior
– Emitted at a rate that provides sufficient opportunities for RF
–Likely to be reinforced in natural environment
•Select potent reinforcers that can be controlled
–Identify via function of the problem behavior
–Identify via What can and will be reinforced in the natural environment
• Withhold reinforcement for appropriate/incompatible behavior
• 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 amount of
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 an interval of time
– Deliver reinforcement at end of interval if problem behavior did not occur
–If problem behavior occurs, reset the timer

Forms of DRO
•Variable-interval DRO (VI-DRO)
– Omission requirement is applied at the end of successive time intervals of varying and
unpredictable durations
•To apply:
–Establish variable interval schedule
– Deliver reinforcement at end of interval if problem behavior did not occur
–If problem behavior occurs, restart the interval

Forms of DRO
•Fixed-momentary DRO (FM-DRO) and variable-momentary DRO (VM-DRO)
 – Omission requirement is applied only at the end of successive time intervals of fixed or
variable durations (it is partial interval not whole 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 DRO more widely used than Momentary DRO
•Interval more effective for more suppressing problem behavior
•Momentary may be most useful for maintaining reduced levels of problem behavior produced by
interval DRO

Guidelines for Using DRO

•Recognize limitations
–Reinforcement provided if absence of target problem behavior.
• Even though other inappropriate behavior may have occurred during that time.
–May need to shorten the interval
–May need to include other problem behavior in definition
•Recognize limitations
– With momentary DROs, reinforcement is delivered if problem behavior is not occurring at end
of interval, even though the problem behavior may have occurred throughout most of the
interval
•Change to DRO
•May not always be successful and a punishment procedure may be necessary
•Set initial DRO intervals that assure frequent reinforcement
–Calculate a mean inter-response time - divides the total duration of all baseline measurements
by the total number of responses recorded during baseline
–How many responses recorded and time these responses happened
–Set interval that is equal to the mean IRT
•Do not inadvertently reinforce other undesirable behaviors
–Make rule: must have absence of target problem behavior and other inappropriate behaviors
•Gradually increase the DRO interval
–Three options:
•Increase by constant duration of time
•Increase proportionately (ex. Increasing by 10%)
•Increase based on learner’s performance
•What was the mean IRT for the last session then that could be the new goal
•Extend to other settings and times of day
•Combine with other procedures
DRL
•Differential Reinforcement of low of Responding
–Use to decrease the rate of the occurrence of a behavior, but
Not eliminate it all together
•Full-session DRL
– Reinforcement is delivered at the end of a session if during the entire session, the target
behavior occurred below or equal to a predetermined criterion
 •Interval DRL
–Divide the total session into a series of equal intervals
– Provide reinforcement at the end of each interval in which the problem behavior did or did not
occur in which the number of occurrences of target behavior is equal to or below
predetermined criterion
•Spaced-responding DRL
– Deliver reinforcer following an occurrence of a behavior that is separated by at least a
minimum amount of time from the pervious response
– In other words, reinforcement is contingent on increasingly longer IRTs
Guidelines for Using DRL
•Recognize limitations
– DRL is slow and does not work well for SIB
•Choose most appropriate DRL procedure
– Speed responding is the only DRL procedure that delivers RF immediately following
response and maintains lower rates
– Use full-session and interval DRO when it is okay to have zero occurrences of target behavior
– Spaced responding provides a higher rate of RF
• 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 participant’s current DRO performance
– Interval DRL: gradually decrease number of responses per interval
–Spaced-responding: adjust IRT criterion based on the mean IRT of recent sessions
•Provide informational feedback to the learner
–Enhance effectiveness by helping learner monitor their rate of responding

Chapter 23

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 failure to recognize the different functions

•Sds – evoke behavior due to past correlation with increased availability of reinforcement
•MOs – increase current frequency of behavior when an effective reinforcer is not available
•Each has different implications for how behavior change strategies should be effective and efficient

Classifying Functions of Antecedent Stimuli

•Categories for functions of function stimuli

–Contingency dependent
–Contingency independent
 •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

•Contingency independent
–Antecedent event is not dependent on the consequences of behavior for developing evocative &
abative effects
–Antecedent itself affects behavior-consequence relations
–MOs are contingency independent
–Referred to as antecedent intervention
Antecedent Intervention

•Antecedent interventions serve abolishing operations

–Used in singularly or in combination (i.e., treatment packages)
–Decrease the effectiveness of Reinforcers that maintain problem behavior

•Effects of MOs 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 temporary effects
•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)
•May effectively reduce 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
•Uses three distinct procedures that identify & deliver stimuli with known reinforcing properties
–NCR with positive reinforcement
–NCR with negative reinforcement
–NCR with automatic 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

•NCR with negative reinforcement

–Kodak, Miltenberger, and Romaniuk (2003)
–Study demonstrated the use of negative reinforcement (i.e., break from instructional requests)
for two individuals with autism as an antecedent intervention to decrease problem behaviors
found during analysis to be maintained by negative reinforcement
–Increased participants’ compliance & decreased problem behaviors

•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

•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 reinforcing stimuli with NCR intervention to reduce problems of changing
preferences
–Proper utilization of information obtained through FBA
•Correct identification of maintaining contingencies of 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
•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
•Time schedules for NCR
–Typically most applications use a Fixed time 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
•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

•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

•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 amount
of time

•Proportional time increase

–Increase the FT or VT schedule interval proportionately
•Each time the schedule is increased by the same amount of time

•Session-to-session time increase or decrease

–Use the individual’s performance to change the schedule interval on a session-to-session basis

•Additional considerations for NCR

–Establish a terminal criterion
–Weigh the possible advantages against possible disadvantages before deciding to utilize NCR
with any individual

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)

•Behavioral effects of high-p request sequence suggests the ablative effects of an AO by

–Reducing the value of reinforcement for non-compliance to low-p requests
–Reducing the value of escape from requests
–Reducing the aggression & self-injury typically associated with low-p requests
•Provides nonaversive procedure for improving compliance by diminishing escape-maintained problem
behaviors
 •May decrease excessive slowness in responding to requests & increase time used for completing tasks

•Apply the high-p request sequence by

–Selecting high-p with which the individual has a history of compliance
–Present the high-p request sequence then immediately 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

•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

•Using high-p request sequence effectively

–Select from the current repertoire
–Present requests rapidly
–Acknowledge compliance
–Use potent Reinforcers
•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

•Presenting requests rapidly

–High-p requests should be presented in rapid succession with short inter-request intervals
–First low-p request should immediately follow reinforcer for high-p compliance (Davis &
Reichle, 1996)

•Acknowledging compliance
–Individual’s compliance should be acknowledged immediately
–Use of praise

•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 communicative behavior to compete with problem behaviors evoked by
an EO

•Develops alternative behaviors that are sensitive to the EOs (in contrast to NCR and high-p request
sequence)

•Application of DRA
–Develops alternative commutative 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

•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

•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

•Effective use of FCT includes

–Dense schedules of reinforcement
–Decreased use of verbal prompts
–Behavior reduction procedures
–Schedule thinning

•Dense schedules of reinforcement

–Alternative communicative response should produce the reinforcers that maintain the problem
behavior on a continuous schedule of reinforcement at first
 •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
•Behavior reduction procedures
–Effectiveness of FCT can be increased with the use of behavior reduction procedures (in a
treatment package to enhance the reduction of the undesired (problem) behaviors

•Extinction procedure
•Time-out procedure

•Schedule thinning
–Thinning of the schedule on which the established communication response is reinforced is an
important part of FCT
–Should only be done when the alternative communication response is firmly in the individual’s
repertoire
–Guidelines for schedule thinning are not the same as those for NCR
•Alternative communication response must remain high to evocative function of the EO
to compete with problem behavior
•_________________ 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

Functions of Problem Behavior

•Positive Reinforcement
–“getting something”
•Negative Reinforcement
–“Getting something taken away”
•These functions can be
–Socially mediated
–Non-socially mediated (automatic)
Positive Reinforcement
•Social
–Attention from others
–Access to tangible stimuli
•Automatic
–Behavior which RFs itself
Negative Reinforcement
•Social
 –Escape from averse or difficult tasks
•Automatic
–Escape from aversive stimulation
Function vs. Topography
•Topography = form of the behavior
•Function = conditions of the behavior
•Different topographies of problem behavior
–Can serve the same function
•Similar topographies of problem behavior
–Can serve the same function
–Can serve different functions
•Function is more important for intervention than topography

FBA and Intervention

•When the function of problem behavior has been identified, intervention can consist of:
–Altering antecedent variables
–Altering consequence variables
–Teaching alterative 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
–Modify identified reinforcer when problem behavior occurs
Teaching Alternative Behaviors
• Select appropriate behaviors that serve the same function
• Provide reinforcer that has the same functions problem behavior contingent upon the new,
alternative behavior

FBA and Default Technologies

•Default Technologies
–Intrusive, coercive, or trail-error interventions
–Often selected arbitrarily
•Understanding function a behavior occurs suggests that 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 reduce behaviors that pose risks for the development of future problem behaviors
 Analog
functional
Level of Difficulty

analysis
Level of Precision

Direct
observation in
natural routine

Indirect Assessments

Continuum of FBA Methods

Functional (Experimental) Analysis

•Antecedents and consequences are arranged so that their separate effects then 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., play condition)
•These are presented one at a time until a predictable of pattern 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
• Serves as the standard to which all other forms of FBA are evaluated
• Enables the development of effective reinforcement based treatment
Limitations of Functional Analysis
• May temporarily increase the problem behavior
 • May result in the behavior acquiring new functions
• Practitioner participation may be low
• Difficult to use for serious, low frequency behaviors
• If conducted in contrived settings, may not identify variable 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
–Selected environmental events
–Within the natural routine
–During a specified period of time
Sample ABC Continuous Recording Form
Antecedent Behavior Consequence
Task prompt /instruction Social attention
Attention Diverted Reprimand
Social Interaction Tantrum Task demand
Engaged in preferred activity Aggression Access to preferred item
Preferred activity removed Task removed
Alone (no attention/no activities) Attention Diverted

Task prompt /instruction Social attention

Attention Diverted Reprimand
Social Interaction Tantrum Task demand
Engaged in preferred activity Aggression Access to preferred item
Preferred activity removed Task removed
Alone (no attention/no activities) Attention Diverted

Task prompt /instruction Social attention

Attention Diverted Reprimand
Social Interaction Tantrum Task demand
Engaged in preferred activity Aggression Access to preferred item
Preferred activity removed Task removed
Alone (no attention/no activities) Attention Diverted

Task prompt /instruction Social attention

Attention Diverted Reprimand
Social Interaction Tantrum Task demand
Engaged in preferred activity Aggression Access to preferred item
Preferred activity removed Task removed
Alone (no attention/no activities)  Attention Diverted

Task prompt /instruction Social attention

Attention Diverted Reprimand
Social Interaction Tantrum Task demand
Engaged in preferred activity Aggression Access to preferred item
Preferred activity removed Task removed
Alone (no attention/no activities) Attention Diverted

Task prompt /instruction Social attention

Attention Diverted Reprimand
Social Interaction Tantrum Task demand
Engaged in preferred activity Aggression Access to preferred item
Preferred activity removed Task removed
Alone (no attention/no activities) Attention Diverted

Task prompt /instruction Social attention

Attention Diverted Reprimand
Social Interaction Tantrum Task demand
Engaged in preferred activity Aggression Access to preferred item
Preferred activity removed Task removed
Alone (no attention/no activities) Attention Diverted

Advantages of ABC Continuous Recording

• Uses precise measures
• Provides useful correlational information 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, particular events 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
ABC Narrative Recording Form

Individual observed: ______________________ Date:____/____/____

Observer: _______________________________

Time Begin:_________am/pm Time End: ________am/pm

A-Antecedent B-Behavior C-Consequence

(explain the events that (explain exactly what the (explain the events that
come before the person did or said – the follow the behavior or
behavior) actual behavior) occurred as a result
of the behavior)

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 consequence events may be present when problem behavior is not
occurring
• Reliability may be questionable
• Unless trained, observers may report inferred states rather than events
• It is often difficult to discriminate which environmental events actually cause 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 30-min 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
• We should have used this to identify JQ’s Behavioral problem

Sample Scatterplots
 SCATTERPLOT

Individual: ______________________________________ Behavior: _____________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCORING: Zero in box 0 = No occurrences Slash in box / = < 5 occurrences Filled in box = > 5 occurrences
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAY/DATE
TIME Activity/Location Comments

8:00-8:30
8:30-9:00
9:00-9:30
9:30-10:00
10:00-10:30
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:00
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 SCATTERPLOT

Individual: ______________________________________ Behavior: _____________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCORING: Zero in box 0 = No occurrences Slash in box / = < 5 occurrences Filled in box = > 5 occurrences
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Format/Content Area Comments
Large group Instruction
Small group instruction
1:1 instruction
Independent activity
Activity transition
Setting transition
Hygiene activity
Eating
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 might 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 recollections 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 client him/herself
Behavior Rating Scales
•Ask informants to estimate the extent to which behavior occurs under certain conditions
•Hypothesis 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 measures
•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 forming a
hypothesis.

Conducting an FBA
•Gather information via indirect and descriptive assessments
•Interpret information and form 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 parent, teachers etc.
–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
Testing Hypotheses
•Conduct a functional analysis
–Always include a control condition
–Select additional conditions depending upon induvial
•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 play condition
–Alternate conditions in systemic fashion until a pattern emerges

Brief Functional Analyses

•Conducting a brief 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 alterative for an problem behavior
–Problem behavior no longer
Sample Brief Functional Analysis with Contingency Reversal

Control Cont. Cont. Esc. for Cont. Esc. for

Attn. Esc. Req. Esc.
Rate of Behavior per Min

Req.
4
Requests
3

1 Problem Behavior

0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Sessions
Developing an Intervention
•FBA does NOT identify the interventions that will be effective
•Antecedents are identified powerful reinforcement that can be used in intervention
Functional Equivalence
•Intervention must functionally equivalent of the problem behavior
•If problem behavior = same function
–Intervention should provide training for alternative behavior
–OR alter task demands to make escape less reinforcing
•Alterative must match the function of the problem behavior
•If problem behavior = same function
–Intervention should provide functional 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 Behavior Consequence

When He hits Attention in

Deshawn others, the form of
is left alone which is a
with toys or followed reprimand
workÉ byÉ and
discussion.

Antecedent Behavior Consequence

When He hits Attention in

Deshawn others, the form of
is left alone which is a
with toys or reprimand
followed
workÉ byÉ and
discussion.

Deshawn is
provided with a These are irrelevant
peer buddy because problem behavior
during work/play is avoided.
periods

Alter the Behavior

When He hits Attention in
Deshawn others, the form of
is left alone which is a
with toys or followed reprimand
workÉ byÉ and
discussion.
Deshawn is
prompted to ask Attention in the
a peer or adult form of
to play/help, socialization and
which is help.
followed byÉ

Alter the Consequence

Antecedent Behavior Consequence

When Attention in
He hits
Deshawn others, the form of
is left alone which is a
with toys or reprimand
followed
workÉ byÉ and
discussion.

Neutrally blocking
the hitting and
ignoring Deshawn.
Summary
•Prior to intervention
–Learn the function
•Escape
•Gain (attention/tangible)
•Automatic
•When designing intervention
–Modify the behavior contingency
•Assessment continues after learning begins
–Monitor effectiveness
–Changes in behavior over time

Chapter 25

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.

Formal descriptions of language

(a) phonemes
(b) morphemes
(c) lexicon
(d) syntax
(e) grammar
(f) semantics

The formal description of a language can be accomplished also by classifying words as nouns, verbs,
prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and articles.

A common misconception about Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior is that he

Rejected the formal classes of language.

He did not find fault with classifications or descriptions of the response, but rather with the failure to
account for the function or causes of the response.

Theories of Language

Theories of language can be classified into three categories: biological,

Cognitive, and environmental.

The basic orientation of the biological theory is that language is a function of physiological processes
and functions.

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 thought.

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 of the review’s condescending

tone and Chomsky’s clear misunderstanding of Skinner’s behaviorism.

Defining Verbal Behavior

 Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned behavior , and that it is acquired, extended, and
maintained by the same type of environmental variables and principles that control nonlanguage
behavior (i.e., stimulus control, motivating operations, reinforcement, extinction).

Verbal behavior – behavior that is RF through the mediation of another person’s behavior.

Verbal behavior involves a social interaction between speaker and listener .

The Speaker and Listener

Verbal behavior involves social interaction between speakers and listeners, whereby speakers gain acess
to reinforcement and control their environments through the listener .

Skinner’s verbal behavior is primarily concerned with the speaker.

The listener must learn how to reinforce the speaker’s behavior, meaning that listeners are taught to
respond to words and interact with the speaker .

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 nonvocal
communication.

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.

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 called a verbal repertoire.

The Elementary Verbal Operants

Skinner (1957) identified six different types of elementary verbal operants:

Mand
Tact
Echoic
Intraverbal
Textual
 Transcription

Mand

The mand is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker asks for (or states, demands, 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 .

Mands are the first verbal operant acquired by a child.

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 adverse stimulus.
Tact

The tact is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker names things or 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 .

Echoic

The echoic is a type of verbal operant that occurs when a speaker repeats the verbal behavior of
another person.

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 similarly with the response.

Formal similarity occurs when the controlling antecedent stimulus and the response produced (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.

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.
Intraverbal

The intraverbal is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker differently 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?”

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 .

Collectively, mands, tacts, and intraverbals contribute to 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 object or event that is present

(c) an intraverbal repertoire allows a speaker to ask questions and to talk about and think about things
that are not present .

Textual

Textual behavior is reading, without any indication that the reader understands what is being read.

The textual operant has point to point correspondence, but not formal similarly, between the stimulus
and the response product.

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 or typed
response.

There is point to point correspondence but no formal similarity.

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 an audience for verbal behavior.

An audience is a Sd in the presence of which verbal behavior is characteristically reinforced and in the
presence of which, therefore, it is characteristically strong.
 Verbal stimulus control may also evoke a listener’s nonverbal behavior.

Skinner (1957) identified this type of listener behavior as Sd .

The listener can be said to stimulus control a speaker if he or she simply behaves in an appropriate
fashion.

Identifying Verbal Operants

Does an MO control the response form? If yes, then the operant is at least part mand .

Does an SD control the response form? If yes, then:

Is the SD nonverbal? If yes, then the operant is at least part tact .

Is the SD verbal? If yes, then:

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:

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 textual or transcription.

Analyzing Complex Verbal Behavior

Automatic Reinforcement

Some behavior is strengthened or weakened, not by external consequences, but by its response products
which have reinforcing or punishing effects.

Skinner used the terms automatic reinforcement and automatic punishment .

Automatic Reinforcement

Verbal behavior can produce automatic reinforcement, and it has a significant role in the acquisition and
maintenance of verbal behavior.

Two-stage conditioning history:

1. A neutral verbal stimulus is paired with an existing form of conditioned or unconditioned

reinforcement.

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.

Tact Extensions

Generic Extension: The novel stimulus shares all of the defining features of the original stimulus.
 Metaphorical extension: the novel stimulus shares some but not all of the relevant features of the
original stimulus.

Metonymical extension: verbal responses to novel stimuli that share none of the relevant features, 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.

Private Events

What is commonly referred to as radical behaviorism 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, but the
applied behavior analyst cannot and

(b) private stimulus control of verbal episodes in the natural environment will likely remain private.

Private Events

Public Accompaniment

Public accompaniment occurs when an observable stimulus accompanies a private event .

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.

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.

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.

Divergent Multiple Control

Multiple control also occurs when a single antecedent variable affects the strength of many responses.
One word can single many meanings to multiple people and the same person at different times

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 (transcription) and are
controlled by a common variable with point to point correspondence.

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.

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 Sd or MO for
additional speaker verbal behavior.

Verbal behavior about a speaker’s verbal behavior.

Primary and Secondary Verbal Operants

Primary (level 1) - MOs and/or SDs 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 Tact Relations

Inform the listener of the type of primary verbal operant the autoclitic accompanies.

Autoclitic tact relations inform the listener of some nonverbal aspect of the primary verbal operant and
are therefore controlled by nonverbal stimuli.
 I think vs. I know, I hear, I see etc.

Autoclitic Mand Relations

 Speakers use autoclitic mands frequently to help the listener 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.
 I am sure you will be pleased (don’t ask any more information) ways to modify what you are
demanding

Developing Autoclitic Relations

Speakers develop autoclitic relations in several ways.

Skinner (1957) points out, “An autoclitic 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 many ways, the tests do not
distinguish among tact, mand and interverbal repertoires, and important language deficits cannot be
identified.

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?

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.

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 behaviors such as SIB, aggression, and social
withdrawal that serve the mand function commonly emerge.

During mand training, responses need 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).
 Mand training should be a significant part of any intervention program designed for children with autism
or other severe language delays.

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.

Goals of Echoic Training

1. Teach the child to repeat words and phrases emitted by parents and teachers when asked to
do so.

2. Establish a generalized repertoire so that the child can repeat novel words and combinations.

3. Transfer the response form to other verbal operants.

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 differently reinforced.

Involves a combination of prompting, fading, shaping, extinction, and reinforcement techniques.

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.

Initial Echoic Stimulus Control

Increasing any vocal behavior may facilitate the ultimate establishment of echoic control.

Directly reinforce all vocal behaviors.

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.
o paring language with things that are already reinforcing such as saying bubbles when
presenting bubbles, swing at the swing etc.

Tact Training

A child must learn to tact objects, 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.

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.

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.

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 repertories..

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 trials
multiple response training
sentence construction
conversation skills
peer interaction
reading
writing

Chapter 26

Contingency Contract
•AKA: Behavioral Contract
•Definition:
–A document that specifies a contingent relationship between
•The completion of a specified behavior and
•Access to a preferred activity.
•Components
–Description of task
•Who is the person who will perform the task/receive reward
•What is the task or behavior to be performed
•How well should the task be performed
•When must the task must be completed
 –Reward side of the contract
•Who will judge the task completion and control reward delivery
•What is the reward
•When can the reward will be delivered
•How much of the reward the person will receive
–Task Record
•A place to record task completion serves two purposes
–Sets occasion for all parties to review the contract
– Helps individual remain focused until it is complete and reward is earned
•How do they work?
–Typically a package that involves:
•Reinforcement
•Rules
•Response prompting
–Can even be a self-contract
•Steps to developing one
– Hold a meeting to discuss how contracts work, goals, etc.
– Identify tasks which can performed inside of the contract and individuals can and already do
perform
– This helps to focus positive attention on the things already being done correctly
–Identify possible contract tasks for other group members and what is currently already being
done by those persons
–Identify potential rewards that can be earned by completing the contingency contracts
–Write the contract

•Things to consider
–Is the behavior already in the person’s repertoire and under stimulus control?
–Does the behavior result in a permanent product ?
–What is the reading abilities of the learner?
•Evaluating Contracts
–Focus on the objective measurement of the target behavior

Token Economy
•Definition
–A behavior change system with three major components
•Specified target behaviors to reinforce
•Tokens or points that participants receive for emitting those behaviors
• A menu of reinforcements for which the learner can exchange tokens/points

(Effectiveness of tokens as reinforcers depends upon the power of the back-up

reinforcers)

•Designing a Token Economy

–Select that will serve as a medium of exchange
–Identify target behaviors and rules
–Select a menu of backup Reinforcers
 –Establish a ratio of exchange
–Specify when/how tokens will be expensed or exchanged
–Field test
•Select Tokens
– Washers, checkers, coupons, poker chips, tally marks, holes punched in cards…
–Considerations
•Safe
•Control so that participants cannot bootleg their own tokens
•Durable
•Accessible
•Cheap
•Token should not be a desirable object
•Identify Target Behaviors and Rules (see Ch. 3)
–Select measurable/observable behaviors
–Specify criteria for task completion
–Start with a small amount of behaviors
–Ensure learners possess prerequisite skills
– It is okay to make the rules different for different students…rules don’t have to be the same for
everybody
•Select a Menu of Back-up Reinforcers
– Use naturally occurring Reinforcers when possible
–Privileges
–Tangibles and edibles can be used as well
–Follow ethical and legal rules

•Establish a Ratio of Exchange

–Initial ratio should be small to provide success
–After that, the ratios should be increased
•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 infrequently
•Field Test the System
– Tally tokens you would have given without actually giving them
–Analyze data to determine if the system seems appropriate
•Tips
–Avoiding “Battles”
• Be matter of fact when learners don’t earn tokens; don’t nag
•Stay neutral ; then avoid an argument about tokens
–Response cost included?
• Most do include response cost
• Learners need to be aware of what will result in token loss, and how much that behavior
will cost.
• Make the cost fit the infraction
• Avoid having learners go “into debt”
•Implementation
–Initial training
•Depends on the functioning level of the learners the procedure to learners
 •Model the procedure for high functioning learners may consist of just verbal
instructions
•Model the procedure for token delivery
–Ongoing training
•Booster sessions may be needed occasionally
–Management issues
• Teach students how to manage the tokens they earn, how to place them in a safe but
accessible container (secure location)
• Discourage spending in some students and encourage spending in some students
• Chronic rule breakers deserve special consideration
•Implementation
–Withdrawing the token economy
• Plan for maintenance and generalization
• Pair tokens with descriptive praise
• Gradually increase the number of responses required to earn tokens
• Gradually decrease the amount of time/days that the token economy it is in place
• Gradually increase number of “naturally occurring” reinforcers and fade out use of
Reinforcers not found in regular or typical settings
• Systematically increase cost of certain items which are less present in typical
environments and decrease the cost of more typical items
• Fade physical presence of tokens over time from big to small over time
•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
•Rationale
–Can be a time saver
–Can be more practical
– Capitalizes on peer influence and peer monitoring (can also be potentially harmful)
•Applications
–Independent group contingency
• A contingency is presented to all members of a group, but reinforcement is only
delivered to those group members who meet the creation outlined in the contingency
•Often combined with contracts or token systems
– Dependent group contingency, AKA “hero procedure”
• The reinforcer for the group is dependent on the performance of induvial student or
small group
–Interdependent group contingency
•All members of the group must meet the criterion of the contingency before any
member earns reinforcement
–Individual meets criterion
–Total Group meets criterion
 – Good Behavior/Good Student games (competitions)
•Implementation
– Choose an effective reward
– 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” 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
•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-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
–Functional definition only
•Broad & functional definition
–Encompasses one time & long running self-directed behavior change events
–Desired change in target behavior must occur for self-management to be demonstrated
•Self-management:
–Is a relative concept
–Occurs on a continuum
–When used or implemented, all procedures should be described in self-management
•Terminology
–Self-control vs. Self-management
–Misleading because it implies that the control is in the person
–Acting in some way to change subsequent behavior
Applications of Self-Management

•Live a more effective & efficient daily life

•Break bad habits & acquiring 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
•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
•Teaching students to use self-management skills provides meaningful practice for other areas of school
curriculum
•Ultimate goal of education
•Benefits society
•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

•Manipulating MOs 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)
–not eating so you can enjoy a meal or eating now so you do not over eat later
Providing Response Prompts
•Wide variety of forms (e.g., visual, auditory, textual, symbolic)
•Supplemental response prompt
•Generic response prompt
•Prompt repeated performance of a behavior in a variety of situations & settings
•Supplemental response prompts (provided by other people)
Performing the Initial Steps of a Behavior Chain

•Behaving in a manner that ensures being confronted later with an SD that reliably evokes the target
behavior
•Performing the first steps of a behavioral chain (the self-management 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 can be turned on & off in a specific setting
Self-Monitoring

•Procedure whereby a person observes his or her 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
•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 the person 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 treatment 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 rule maintained 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 make easy & efficient self-monitoring
•Variety of mechanisms can be utilized to measure the target behavior
–Paper and pencil
–Wrist counters
–Timers
Supplementary Cues or Prompts
•Variety of stimuli can provide cues for self-recording (e.g., auditory, visual, & tactile)
–Auditory prompts prerecorded tones or signals
–Visual: written instruction or symbols
–Tactile prompts 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 self-
management 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 frequently 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 desirable behavior
–Especially when participants are utilizing self-recorded data for self-evaluation & self-
administered consequences

Self-Administered Consequences

•Self-reinforcement should be considered synonymous with the principle of operant behavior (Skinner,
1953)
•Performance-management contingencies are best viewed as rule-governed analogs of reinforcement &
punishment contingencies
•Skinner thought perhaps because this behavior of indulgence before work is done was punished
–Response-to-consequence delay is too great
•Self-administered consequences that increases 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
•Needs to make early contact with RF then increase
•Eliminate bootleg reinforcement
•Access to equally meaningful RF without meeting the goal
•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 detection
•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 decrease 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

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)
•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
•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
•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 instructional
setting and in which performance of the target behavior is desired
•Response generalization
–Extent to which a learner emits untrained responses that are functionally equivalent to the
trained target behavior
•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
•The three forms of generalized behavior change can occur:
–In isolation from one another
–In combination with each other
•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
•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 complex 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
•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
•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 require planning
–Selecting target behaviors that will meet naturally 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 ceased
•Target behaviors should be selected carefully
–Numerous criteria have been suggested
•Example: age appropriateness of a skill & degree to which it represents normalization
–Most important criterion
•A behavior is only functional to the extent that it produces RF for the learner
•Behaviors that are not followed by reinforcers on at least some occasions will not be
maintained.
•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…
•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
•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
•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 panning worth it?
–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
•Don’t do it teaching examples
•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 efficient
•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

Teach Sufficient Response Examples

•Practice with a variety of response topographies helps to ensure 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 analysis
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 incorporating 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
•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
•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 personal dress
–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
•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
•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
•Intermittent schedules and delayed rewards 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
•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
•Success of using delayed rewards depends on
–The indiscriminable of the contingency
–The learner understanding the relation between emitting the target behavior at an earlier time
and receiving a reward later
•Guidelines for programming indiscriminable contingencies
–Use continuous 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
•Behavior traps
–Interrelated set 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
•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
•Contrive a mediating stimulus
 –Must be made functional for the target behavior during instruction
•Functional for the learner if it reliably prompts or 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
•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
•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

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 field of behavior analysis

What is the right thing to do?

•Several areas influence our decision making
–Personal experiences
–Context in which you practice
–Professional training and experiences
– To ensure that personal experiences and cultural/religious beliefs don’t take over:
– Consult ethical code of behavior
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?
•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 the outcome should be given greatest consideration

•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 codes of conduct
• 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
• 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

•Professional competence that includes:
–Formal coursework
–Supervised practica
 –Mentored professional experience
•Obtaining Certification and Licensure
–Behavior Analyst Certification Board
•Keep practice within your own area of competence
Maintaining and Expanding Professional Competence
•Continuing education units credits (CEUs)
•Attending and presenting at conferences
•Professional Reading
•Oversight and peer review
Making and Substantiating Professional Claims
• Avoid making unsubstantiated claims (e.g., “I am certain I can help your son”)
– Maintain a ethical and appropriate claim
• 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 informed consent
before any assessment or treatment is provided
• Permission must follow disclosure and information has been provided
Three Tests for Informed Consent
• Person must demonstrate the capacity to decide
• Person’s decision must be voluntary
• Person must have an adequate knowledge of all
salient aspects of the 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 own choices
– Ability to engage in a rational process of decision making
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
decisions for the person deemed incompetent.
– Guardian: Consent of the individual
Voluntary
• Consent is given in the absence of duress, or any undue influence and when it is issued with the
understanding that it can be withdrawn at any time.
• Consent can be withdrawn
Knowledge of Treatment
 •Treatment must be presented in clear, nontechnical language
–All important aspects of the planned experiment
–All potential all the potential risks and benefits
–All potential alterative treatments
Treatment Without Consent
• In the case of life threating emergency
• In the case of 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
– Suspected child abuse must be reported
– Pending injury is suspected
Protecting Dignity, Health, and Safety
•Do I honor the person’s choices ?
– Do I help the client by using operate conditioning to teach skills that will enable learners to
better control their environments ?
•Do I provide behavior alternatives ?
•Do I look beyond the person’s disability and treat them with respect ?
Advocating for the Client
• Is the problem amenable to behavioral intervention?
– Ensure the problem is not with someone else
– Ensure the problem is the exists and that there is, indeed, a problem
– Ensure simple solutions have been attempted and that the problem can’t be solved without
behavioral intervention
• Is the proposed intervention likely to be successful?
– Client, caregivers willing to participate
– What will be involved in treatment for treatment
– Literature for treatment
– Behavior analyst has appropriate experience
– Those implementing treatment can ensure the environment 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 journal articles published in reputable outlets
– Direct and frequent measures of behavior
Conflict of Interest
• Occurs when a principle party , alone or in connection with family, friends or associates, has a vested
interest in the outcome of the interaction.
• Direct and frequent observation puts behavior analysts in close contact with the client and family
members in natural settings
• Must be cautious not to develop dual relationships