Module 2: Behavior Analysis - Reinforcement and Punishment Contingencies

Vocabulary flashcards generated from Module 2 lecture notes, covering core behavioral principles, operant conditioning classifications, antecedent controls, automatic vs. socially mediated contingencies, and unconditioned vs. conditioned reinforcers/punishers.

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning in which the consequences of a behavior influence its future frequency.

Positive (in Operant Conditioning)

The addition or presentation of a stimulus following a response.

Negative (in Operant Conditioning)

The removal or taking away of a stimulus following a response.

Reinforcement

A process in which a stimulus change, whether by adding or removing a stimulus, increases the future frequency of a response.

Punishment

A process in which a stimulus change, occurring after a response, decreases the future frequency of that response.

Reinforcer

A stimulus change that increases the future frequency of a response when delivered or removed contingent upon that response.

Punisher

A stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of a response when delivered or removed contingent upon that response.

Temporal Proximity

How closely in time a consequence follows a behavior, which serves as the critical property for reinforcement to be effective.

Automaticity of Reinforcement

The principle that reinforcement strengthens whatever behavior it immediately follows, without requiring an individual's awareness or a logical connection between the behavior and consequence.

Superstitious Behavior

Behaviors that are accidentally reinforced because they happened to precede a consequence, despite having no actual causal connection to the outcome.

Discriminative Stimulus (SD)

An antecedent stimulus associated with a history of reinforcement that acts as a signal that reinforcement is available.

Stimulus Control

The state in which an organism learns to behave in certain ways in the presence of a specific discriminative stimulus due to a history of reinforcement.

Motivating Operation (MO)

An antecedent condition that alters the value of a reinforcer and influences how often an individual engages in behaviors that have earned that reinforcer in the past.

Premack's Principle

A principle stating that a more probable or preferred behavior can serve to reinforce a less probable behavior.

Positive Reinforcement

A contingency where a stimulus is added after a response, resulting in an increase in the future frequency of that behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

A contingency involving the removal of a stimulus following a response, which increases the future frequency of that behavior.

Escape Contingency

A type of negative reinforcement contingency in which a behavior terminates an aversive stimulus that is already present and in contact with the organism.

Avoidance Contingency

A type of negative reinforcement contingency in which a behavior prevents or postpones an aversive stimulus before it occurs.

Discriminated Avoidance

An avoidance contingency involving a warning signal that predicts an aversive stimulus, where a response in the presence of the signal prevents the aversive stimulus.

Free-operant Avoidance

An avoidance contingency occurring without any warning signal, where a response can happen at any time to delay or prevent an aversive stimulus.

Positive Punishment

A contingency where a stimulus is introduced or increased in intensity immediately following a behavior, leading to a decrease in the future frequency of that behavior.

Negative Punishment

A contingency where a behavior is immediately followed by the removal of a stimulus, resulting in a decrease in the future frequency of that behavior.

Time-out from Positive Reinforcement

A negative punishment procedure in which positive reinforcement, or the opportunity to access positive reinforcement, is removed contingent on an undesired behavior.

Response Cost

A negative punishment procedure involving the loss or removal of previously earned reinforcers, such as tokens or privileges, contingent on a behavior.

Aversive Control

An umbrella term grouping punishment and negative reinforcement together because both processes involve aversive stimuli.

Discriminative Stimulus for Punishment (SDp)

An antecedent stimulus reliably correlated with a punisher that signals punishment is available, suppressing the behavior in its presence.

Recovery from Punishment

The phenomenon in which a previously punished behavior returns to its original or baseline level after the punishment contingency is discontinued.

Respondent Aggression

An involuntary respondent response, such as hitting or pushing, directly elicited by an aversive stimulus.

Operant Aggression

Learned aggressive behavior shaped because it has previously worked to allow an individual to escape or avoid punishment.

Behavioral Contrast

A phenomenon where punishment suppresses a behavior in one setting, causing that same behavior to increase in another setting where contingencies remain unchanged.

Socially Mediated Contingency

A consequence contingency where another person delivers, removes, or administers the reinforcement or punishment following a behavior.

Automatic Contingency

A consequence contingency that occurs directly as a natural result of the behavior itself, without any involvement or mediation from another person.

Automatic Reinforcement

A process occurring when a behavior directly produces a reinforcing consequence naturally, without social mediation by another person.

Automatic Punishment

A process occurring when a behavior directly produces a punishing consequence naturally, without social mediation by another person.

Unconditioned Reinforcer

A stimulus that naturally functions as reinforcement without requiring any prior learning or history of pairing, rooted in the evolutionary history of a species.

Conditioned Reinforcer

A previously neutral stimulus that acquires reinforcing properties through a history of pairing with unconditioned or other conditioned reinforcers.

Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer

A conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with many different unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers, allowing it to remain effective independent of specific current motivations.

Unconditioned Punisher

A stimulus that naturally reduces the preceding behavior without requiring any prior learning or pairing history, rooted in evolutionary history.

Conditioned Punisher

A consequence that acquires its punishing effects through a history of pairing with unconditioned or other conditioned punishers.

Generalized Conditioned Punisher

A type of conditioned punisher that has been paired with many different unconditioned and conditioned punishers, suppressing behavior across a wide range of contexts.

Verbal Analog Conditioning

A process by which conditioned punishers or reinforcers are established in humans through verbal instruction rather than direct physical pairing.