BCBA Task List G- Behavior-Change Procedures

Reinforcement

Increases or maintains future behavior.

-Positive/negative reinforcement

Positive reinforcement

A stimulus presented after a response that increases that response in the future.

-Ex: Praise, tokens, food.

Negative reinforcement

A stimulus removed after a response that increases that response in the future.

-Ex: Break, reducing the demand, removing the demand.

Habilitation

A person's repertoire has been changed so that reinforcers are maximized and punishers are minimized. Trying to make the person better at interacting with their environment, contacting reinforcement and reducing punishment.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a repeated presentation of a stimulus (often related to respondent behavior).

-Ex: If you hear thunder, the first time you might jump and scream, if you hear thunder after a short period of time your reaction to the thunder is going to go down, you have been habituated.

Differential reinforcement

Reinforcing a desired behavior while withholding positive reinforcement for an undesirable behavior.

-Ex: You reinforce a child asking nicely for an apple, but put screaming on extinction.

DRI

-Differential reinforcement of incompatible ehavior.

-Replacement behavior can't occur at the same time as old behavior.

-Ex: Kevin elopes from his seat. Kevin is only reinforced if he is sitting in his seat. Kevin can't be in his seat, and out of his seat at the same time (incompatible).

DRA

-Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior.

-Replacement behavior can occur at the same time as the old behavior.

-Ex: Karen screams the answer, instead of her raising her hand, she is only reinforced when she raises her hand. Karen can scream and raise her hand at the same time (alternative behavior).

DRO

-Differential reinforcement of other behavior.

-Reinforcement occurs in the absence of the target behavior.

-Ex: Julie pulls hair. If Julie doesn't pull hair for 3 minutes she is reinforced.

FCT

-Functional communication training.

-Reinforcing functional communication in place of maladaptive behavior.

-Ex: You teach your client to ask for a break instead of eloping.

DRL

-Differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior (DRL)

-You are not eliminating the behavior. Reinforce if the behavior happens less than a specified amount. You can use IRT or a criterion and interval for DRL.

-"no more than X times per hour" and "at least Y seconds between.

-Ex: Could increase IRT or use a criterion and interval- aggression behavior can not occur more than 4 times in 2 minutes.

-Ex: If Timmy gets up less than 3 times during class, he gets a 10 minute break on the computers.

DRH

-Differential reinforcement of high rates of behavior (DRH)

-Reinforce if the behavior happens more than a specified amount after a set interval.

Ex: If your client answers more than 10 math problems within 5 minutes, they earn a cookie.

DRD

-Differential reinforcement of diminishing rates of behavior. -Lowering rates of behavior reinforced only if the behavior occurs less than a set criterion during a set interval.

-"fewer than X times this hour, fewer than Y times next hour," reducing the limit over time.

-No IRT model, just a set criterion.

-Ex: Behavior has to happen 3 or less times in 1 minute to get reinforcement.

Time-based schedules of reinforcement

-These typically deliver reinforcement at predetermined intervals regardless of the target behavior occurring or not. Think noncontingent reinforcement.

-Fixed-time schedules

Fixed-time schedules

-These work to manipulate and increase motivating operations to decrease problem behaviors. If the reinforcement is delivered before the behavior can occur then perhaps the behavior is less desirable or not as needed anymore.

-Ex: A learner receives attention every 8 minutes no matter what they are doing.

-You must measure the change in behavior after the fixed-time schedule is introduced. There is a chance you may inadvertently reinforce certain behaviors, so it is crucial that the behavior change that you want to see is actually occurring.

How do conditioned reinforcers gain their effectiveness?

Conditioned reinforcers gain their effectiveness by being paired with primary or established reinforcers.

Establishing conditioned reinforcers

Pair a neutral stimulus (tokens, tickets, or praise) with a reinforcing stimulus (snacks, breaks, food) repeatedly until the neutral stimulus itself becomes reinforcing.

-Ex: I know my client likes oreos, but I want them to not eat so many. I want to use praise instead. Now, I deliver praise, and then an oreo to my client. Praise eventually takes on reinforcing properties.

-When properly done, conditioned reinforcers can maintain and increase desired behaviors, even when primary reinforcers are not immediately accessible. They can also become generalized conditioned reinforcers.

Implementing conditioned reinforcers

Use a system like a token economy, where learners earn tokens or points for target behaviors, which they can exchange for backup reinforcers.

-Ex: A student earns a point for each completed task, and once they reach 10 points, they can trade them in for a larger reward like a toy or privilege.

Generalized conditioned reinforcers

These are reinforcers that can be used in a variety of situations and for a variety of behaviors. Tokens are maybe the most common as well as praise in ABA.

Motivating operations

-Alternating the value/effectiveness of the stimulus, object, or event (deprivation/satiation).

Ex: You haven't eaten in 12 hours. Food is a more effective reinforcer.

Ex: You just ate 30 minutes ago. Food loses its value as a reinforcer.

-Changes the value of a reinforcer, SDs signal they are available.

It is possible that an MO is present, but an SD is not and vice versa.

Ex: I may want chicken tacos because I am hungry (MO), but chicken tacos (SD) may not be present.

Antecedent interventions

Antecedents are manipulated before the behavior occurs.

-Ex: Johnny makes a huge mess with the ball pit. The ball pit is removed before the session begins.

Discriminative stimuli

A cue or stimulus that is presented when a behavior is reinforced.

-SDs signal that reinforcement is available.

Ex: "Point to red" is the SD. Client is reinforced for pointing to red (praise/token).

Stimulus delta

A stimulus in the presence of which a behavior has not produced reinforcement in the past.

-A cue in the environment that signals reinforcement is not available for a particular behavior.

-Ex: To get a child to ask for food or water you deprive them of their usual snacks and then later put different snacks or water in the view in order to evoke "asking" behavior.

Discrimination training

Involves teaching individuals to respond correctly and differently to different stimuli.

-In order to teach simple discrimination, start with just a single antecedent condition. As your learner improves and learns, introduce more conditions into the discrimination training process. Prompts are useful during discrimination training.

Discrimination

The ability to identify a stimulus amongst other stimuli.

Simple discrimination

Responding to a single antecedent stimulus.

-Ex: There is a square, circle and triangle displayed. You show a learner a picture of a square, and the learner selects a square.

Conditional discrimination

Responding is based on multiple antecedent stimuli or conditions.

-Ex: Someone asks you to get them a drink and that they want the drink with no sugar. There are multiple conditions in finding the right drink.

-Get them a drink (first antecedent stimuli), no sugar (second antecedent stimuli). You now have to discriminate between the sugar drinks and the no sugar drink

-Ex: A second stimulus (the conditional stimulus) must be present for the first stimulus (the discriminative stimulus) to control the response (e.g., point to the blue square only when the word "color" is said, but point to the red circle when "shape" is said).

Prompts

-Prompts are based on a hierarchy.

-Contains stimulus prompts and response prompts.

Stimulus prompts

Act on the stimulus being used.

-Ex: Positional prompts: Changing the shape or size of a stimulus.

Response prompts

Act on the desired response. You evoke the response you want to see.

-Ex: Verbal, modeling, gestural prompts, physical.

Errorless prompting

You block and redirect a response before the response is incorrect.

-Ex: If you say "point to blue", you would block and redirect any attempts at pointing to red.

-Useful when first teaching a skill, or for young learners.

Most to least prompting

Start with the most intrusive prompt, and slowly fade to less intrusive prompts.

-Ex: Start with physical prompts, then model, then gesture, then verbally prompt when teaching an AAC user to mand for a snack.

Least to most prompting

Start with the least intrusive prompt and increase the prompt intensive as needed.

-If the client is prone to prompt dependency, least to most is a good prompting procedure.

-Ex: Start with a verbal prompt, then a gesture prompt, then model, then a physical prompt (slowly making your way down the prompt hierarchy) when teaching a client using an AAC device to mand for a snack.

Graduated guidance

A type of physical prompting. Add as much physical prompting as needed, and then fade immediately.

-Ex: Teaching a child to brush teeth: begin with guiding their hand (full support), then move to wrist support, then elbow support, then just hovering nearby (shadowing), and finally to independence.

Prompt delay

Increases the time between the SD and the prompt. Helps fade out the prompts to transfer the control to the SD.

-Ex: Might first go SD> immediately to the prompt. Then SD> and wait 4 seconds and then provide the prompt.

Prompt fading

Removing the prompt systematically to transfer control to the real SD. Prevents prompt dependency.

-Ex: Starting with full hand-over-hand guidance (physical prompt) and gradually fading to a light touch, then a gesture, then nothing.

Stimulus fading

A technique to teach independence by gradually reducing prompts or cues, shifting a behavior from being controlled by an exaggerated helper stimulus (like a bright color or large shape) to the natural, real-world stimulus (like standard text or a regular object).

-Ex: Teaching a child to read "BALL" by starting with a large, bright word next to a picture of a ball, then slowly making the picture lighter/smaller until only the word remains, making the word the new control.

Modeling

A planned and contrived systematic way to demonstrate a target behavior. It is a teaching strategy where a therapist, peer, or video demonstrates a desired skill or behavior, and the learner imitates it to acquire new abilities. Modeling is directly tied to imitation.

Designing modeling procedures

Identify your target behavior. Train the model to perform the behavior with accuracy. Have the model focus on critical aspects of the behavior. Includes as many verbal and physical characteristics as possible.

-Use reinforcement/extinction/punishment as necessary and as designed when using modeling procedures for imitation and observational learning purposes.

What to check for before using modeling

Can your learner attend to a model? Does your learner copy a model? Does your learner accurately copy the model and immediately copy the model?

Observational learning

Observational learning involves observing "another person's behavior and its consequence(s) and using that information to determine whether or not to imitate the behavior

-Ex: My daughter is four and my son is two. He watches everything that she does and copies most of her behaviors. Sometimes, if they are running around and being wild, she gets hurt. My son will then choose not to copy what she just did, because he witnessed the injury that occurred afterwards. This is observational learning.

Imitation

Imitation involves a learner copying the behavior of an instructor.

-Ex: A parent holds up a toy cow to their young child. "Moo!" they say. "Moo!" says the child back.

-Ex: A jiu jitsu instructor demonstrates a scissor sweep on one student. The other students in the class try it out with their partners.

Instructions and rules

Instructions and rules both inform a learner of what they should or shouldn't be doing. Instructions and rules can be vocal, written, typed.

Instructions

A response prompt that tells you what to do. Use developmentally appropriate language. Include expectations and non-examples.

-Ex: Instructions on the back of a brownie box.

-Ex: Instructions on a worksheet.

Rules

A verbal statement of a contingency. Behavior is not maintained by the actual consequence, but rather the stated contingency. State the consequence out loud if possible.

-Ex: Wait 30 minutes before going in the pool after you eat or you will get sick.

Shaping

Using differential reinforcement on successive approximations of behavior. Shaping is excelled for functional communication training.

Successive approximations

Steps or smaller responses that lead to a final or terminal response. The final response is what we are teaching.

Ex: If I am teaching the word firetruck, I would first reinforce the sound "fi", then I would only reinforce for "fire", then only "firetr", and finally "firetruck."

As the skill builds, put earlier versions of the skill on extinction. Only reinforce versions closer to the terminal behavior.

Shaping across topographies

Used when you want to change the form of a behavior into something new to reach your terminal behavior.

-Ex: Teaching the word green. You start with "g" then "gr" then "green."

Shaping within topographies

Used when you want to change a dimension (magnitude, frequency, etc.) of a behavior but not the form.

-Changing the form of the behavior and how it actually appears.

-Ex: The learner needs to say the word "green" louder or less often.

Behavior chain

A behavior chain is created using a task analysis

Task analysis

A task analysis breaks down a complex behavior intro steps which creates the behavior chain.

Three ways to conduct a task analysis

Observe someone competent performing the sequence.

Consult with experts or persons skilled in performing the task.

Perform the behavior yourself.

Forward chaining

Teaching and reinforcing the first step first, and prompting through the rest of the chain. Teach and reinforce starting from the beginning.

-Ex: Hand washing: I first teach you to turn on the water, and reinforce for that. I prompt through the rest of the steps.

Backward chaining

Teaching and reinforcing the last step first, and prompting the other steps. Teach and reinforce from the end.

-Ex: Shoe tying: I prompt you through the process, and reinforce for pulling the strings tightly (last step).

-Escape often functions as the reinforcer here.

Total task chaining

Performing the entire chain, and only teaching specific steps. The therapist provides prompts and support only on steps the learner struggles with, reinforcing completion of the whole task.

-Useful when most of the chain is known, or the ability level is high for the client.

-Ex: Making a sandwich, but the client forgets the cheese which is the middle step, the therapists prompt this step.

Behavior chain interruption strategy

Purposely changing or interrupting a chain in order to evoke a new or novel response.

-Ex: If steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 are mastered, we might go in between steps 1 and 2 and say something or move something in the environment to interrupt the chain, forcing the learner to engage in a new step (3a).

Behavior chain with a limited hold

A behavior chain that involves one or more steps that must be completed within a certain amount of time (the limited hold).

-Ex: We have step 1 and 2, and for step 3 you have 20 seconds to complete the step or step 4 cannot be done.

Discrete trial teaching (DTT):

A traditional ABA teaching with a clear beginning, middle and end, trial based.

-SD> prompt (if necessary)> response>consequence>pause>reintroduce SD

-DTT is great for teaching and strengthening behaviors.

-Many targets can be run very quickly.

-Not great for generalizing skills.

Distraction trial

One target, two unknown choices.

Random rotation

One mastered target and one trial target.

Maintenance

Run mastered targets

Naturalistic teaching

Taking advantage of naturally occurring teaching opportunities.

-Also known as incidental teaching.

-Great for generalization.

-Use the environment to your advantage (people, places, things).

Free-operant teaching

No SD is necessary for the response to occur. The response can happen multiplied times. This is considered "child-led" training where you are reacting to what the child is doing.

Group contingencies

Involves one person in the group, the whole group, or each individual in the group as a behavior management strategy where consequences (rewards/punishments) are used.

-Can be dependent, independent, and interdependent

Dependent group contingency

This group contingency is met when one person, or a select few people, engage in the target behavior. This is often called the "hero" contingency.

-Can lead to bullying and other negative social implications.

Independent group contingency

This group contingency rewards each individual in the group when they engage in the target behavior. They do not rely on other members of the group.

-If the person doesn't care about the reinforcer, there might be no motivation.

Interdependent group contingency

This group contingency rewards the group when the entire group engages in the target behavior. This hinges on the whole group performing the response.

-Individuals who meet the criteria may not get rewarded.

Generalization

Generalization is performing a skill in an untrained environment.

-Generalization is essential to good ABA practice.

How to promote/plan/teach stimulus and response generalization

-General case analysis

-Train loosely

-Use indiscriminable contingencies

-Use multiple exemplars

-Program common stimuli

-Use natural contingencies

Train loosely

Noncritical aspects of the environment are varied. We don't want noncritical aspects to develop stimulus control over the behavior.

-Ex: Keep the environment unstructured and ever-changing.

-Ex: You might change posters on the wall in a classroom or certain seats.

Use indiscriminable contingencies

The learner does not know when the reinforcement will come, therefore they have to keep engaging in the response (variable reinforcement).

-Ex: Fade reinforcement schedules, keep schedules thin.

Use multiple exemplars

Practice with many different stimuli and response variations.

-You are training a bunch of examples, you are using examples that are relevant that might occur.

-Ex: The client says their phone number to many different people, and can also write it, or text it.

Program common stimuli

Make the teaching setting similar to the generalized setting. Specific examples to the environment.

-Ex: Make the home similar to the classroom.

Use natural contingencies

Use contingencies that occur naturally.

-Ex: Natural consequences. Asking for help, a teacher helps the student.

General case analysis

Systematic process for identifying and selecting teaching examples that represent the full range of what the generalization setting might contain. Happens first when you go into the natural environment and identify teaching examples.

-Ex: If you are teaching grocery shopping, you go to the grocery store and identify critical components of that environment and then you can start to intervene.

Maintenance

The continued ability to engage in the target response even after teaching is withdrawn.

-Uses fading prompts, instructions, and other antecedent manipulations.

-Thinning reinforcement schedules, or removing contrived consequences entirely.

Schedule thinning

The gradual reduction of the availability of reinforcement or an increase in the response effort/requirements.

-When transferring to naturally occurring reinforcers you might go from tokens or candy to social praise or self-delivered consequences.

-Use your generalization strategies in conjunction with fading strategies to promote maintenance. You also want to check for maintenance occasionally.

Self-management

The personal application of behavior change that produces a change in behavior. Sometimes referred to as "self-control."

Self-control

Delaying gratification by engaging in a response that will produce a larger reward later on a delayed schedule or behavior in a certain way to change subsequent behavior.

Self-monitoring

A person observes and responds to their own behavior they are trying to change.

Self-evaluation

A person evaluates their own performance relative to another standard.

Self-instruction

Self-talk, an individual prompts themselves to engage in a response.

-Mass practice

Mass practice

Performing the undesired behavior repeatedly in an effort to reduce the behavior.

Habit reversal

Has to do with identifying behaviors as they occur and stopping them before they continue. Uses competing responses (like clenching fists instead of picking), and support to replace unwanted habits (tics, skin-picking, nail-biting) with acceptable actions.

-Goal is to reduce or eliminate unwanted repetitive behaviors (URBs) like tics, hair pulling, or skin picking.

-Ex: If you have a behavior chain that is 5 steps long, habit reversal would be identifying the behavior at step two and then stopping it before you get to steps 3, 4, and 5.

Desentiziation

Gradually exposing someone to a feared/aversive situation (like loud noises or doctor visits) while teaching relaxation to build tolerance and reduce anxiety.

-Desensitization focuses on tolerating the trigger.

-Goal is to reduce fear, anxiety, or avoidance of specific situations or stimuli.

Punishment

Reduces the future occurrence of behavior. Punishment is not permanent.

Time out

Temporary removal or restriction to a reinforcer.

Exclusionary time out

The child is removed from the environment all together.

Non-exclusionary time out

The child stays in the environment, but the reinforcement is removed.

Partition time out

Exclusion procedure where the person remains within the setting, but stays behind a wall, shield, or barrier that restricts the view.

Time out ribbon

A child wears a ribbon or wristband that becomes discriminative for receiving reinforcement.

Response cost

Removing reinforcement in the presence of a maladaptive behavior.

-Ex: You remove a token when your clients protest their work.

Positive practice overcorrection

Have the client practice the correct behavior repeatedly after engaging in the maladaptive behavior.

Ex: Your client throws their plate in the trash. You have them practice throw the plate in the sink.

Negative practice overcorrection

Have the client perform the maladaptive behavior repeatedly after engaging maladaptive behavior.

Restitution overcorrection

Have the client return the environment to a better condition than before the behavior was displayed.

What emotional and elicited effects can interventions/behavior-change lead to?

Interventions can lead to emotional responses including aggression, anxiety, frustration, or other outbursts. This is more common with extinction and punishment.

-We must account for these responses even if they are not necessarily "observable" and "measurable."

-We acknowledge that they exist and that they impact the clients. Remain ethical.

Emotional responses

Extinction and punishment induced aggression, anxiety, and frustration may occur due to the presentation or repeated presentation of aversives. You must account for this and adapt quickly.

Elicited behavior

Reflexes like crying, motor movements (hand flapping), sweating, or an increase in heart rate can occur as a result of behavior change. This is more common with punishment and extinction.

-Refers to an automatic, unlearned responses. Respondent conditioning.

Evoked behavior

To intentionally trigger or bring out a specific learned (operant) action by changing the environment, often using a discriminative stimulus (Sd) or antecedent cue, so that the behavior can then be reinforced, making it more likely to happen again.

-Operant conditioning.

Emergent relations

Are when untrained responses develop based on learned associations or concepts --Emergent stimulus relations are stimulus-stimulus relations that a learner demonstrates that have not been directly taught or reinforced (but which similar relations have previously been taught and reinforced). In other words, they are untrained stimulus-stimulus relations such as reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity -Ex: Teaching a client to manipulate objects, they can add two objects and they get three objects, then they can go on and say well if I have 3 objects and I subtract 2 objects, then that equals 1 object. The response of subtraction has emerged.