Lesson 7 - Behavioural Views of Learning

EDUC 220 - DR. LINDA ROHR - SFU

Extinction

When a behaviour decreases because reinforcement stops. If a behaviour is no longer rewarded, it will gradually disappear.

• The key idea is that when there is no reward, a behaviour fades over time.

Antecedent

Events or actions that occur before a behaviour, which can provide information about which behaviours will lead to positive/negative consequences. They act as background information about a situation to give context of what behaviours are likely to occur, and what those behaviours will result in.

• Example: you approach an intersection and see a traffic light. This gives the information of either stopping or running the light (whether it’s green or red).

Cueing

Presentation of a specific antecedent stimulus immediately before a behaviour, to prompt that behaviour.

• Example: you approach an intersection and see a red traffic light. This gives the direct information of stopping now to avoid negative consequences.

Applied Behavioural Analysis

A scientific approach which applies principles of operant conditioning to understand and modify behaviour. It is often used to help individuals develop skills, increase independence, and reduce harmful actions. This type of approach specifically uses positive reinforcement and analyzes environmental factors creating individualized plans for communication, social skills, and learning for students.

• Antecedent: “homework is due tomorrow and counts towards your grade” (background information).

• Cue: take out your planner and write this down” (immediate behaviour).

• Reinforcement: student gets praise for completing homework.

Premack Principle

Often referred to as the “grandma principle”, however got its original name from David Premack. It is a behavioural psychological concept which encourages students to complete less desirable tasks by offering enjoyable activities as a reward.

Token Reinforcement

A system which allows all students to earn tokens for both academic work and classroom behaviour. The form of a token can be through a point system, hole-punched cards, play money, etc. The students may then be able to exchange their earned tokens for desired rewards.

Functional Behaviour Assessment

A systematic process which uses data to determine the underlying cause of an individuals “challenging” behaviour, mapping the ABC’s of a situation. It tries to develop a hypothesis on why a specific behaviour occurs.