3- Term Contingency and Reinforcement

ABC

Antecedent Behavior Consequence

antecedent

stimulus that occurs right before a behavior

behavior

a response that can be observed and measured

consequence

something that happens right after a response to make it more or less likely to happen again

continuous reinforcement

behavioral schedule is a reward for EVERY single desired behavior

intermittent reinforcement

reward is delivered unpredictably and only some of the time rather than every time desired behavior is observed

what is the 3- term contingency?

the ABC’s of aba

is all reinforcement positive?

no. it’s possible to accidentally reinforce undesired behavior by responding inappropriately or not following the treatment plan properly.

immediacy - (dimensions of reinforcement)

be clear what learner is being rewarded for

magnitude - (dimensions of reinforcement)

make it worth it. the reward should be equal to the desired response. this can include a learner receiving more of the reinforcer for completing difficult tasks, and it should be a reward preferred by learner.

Quality - (dimensions of reinforcement)

give them something they actually want

Rate - (dimensions of reinforcement)

give the reinforcer often enough to keep the going (follows the reinforcement schedule

reinforcement schedule

a rule or plan that states which specific occurrences of behavior will be reinforced broken into 4 combined schedules ( fixed ratio FR, variable ratio VR, fixed interval FI, and variable interval VI)

Ratio - FR

reward is given after an exact, set number of responses

Interval - VI

reward is given after an unpredictable, average number of responses

Fixed - FI

reward is given after a set amount of time (desired behavior for exactly 5 minutes)

Variable - VI

reward is given after an unpredictable amount of time (desired behavior within 5 minute period)