Learning Quiz 3

What did Green et al find in 1988

• caregiver preference did not coincide with preferred reinforcers

• better results occurred when preferences were tested prior

Types of Preference Assessments

• caregiver interview

• direct observation (free operant)

• single item (pace procedure)

• paired (forced choice)

• multiple choice with and without replacement

Pace Procedure

2 step process where a client is exposed to 16 stimuli while observers measure approach, the stimuli most frequently approached are more valuable reinforcers

Multiple Stimulus with Replacement (MSW)

pick 1 then re-enters the line-up until everything is presented an equal amount of times

Multiple Stimulus without Replacement (MSWO)

pick 1 then doesn’t re-enter line-up, kind of like picking favorite, goes from 7 choices, to 6, to 5, etc.

Punishment

when a type of behavior (R) is followed immediately by a stimulus change that decrease the future frequency of the behavior

3 Parts of Punishment

• behavior occurs

• consequence follows

• likelihood of behavior decreases

Punishment is not…

• reprimanding a child and the behavior doesn’t decrease

• defined by form or the reaction it evokes

Punisher

a stimulus change that immediately follows the occurrence of behavior and reduced the future frequency of that behavior

Positive Punishment

presentation of a stimulus that in turn decreases the behavior in the future

Negative Punishment

removal of a stimulus that in turn decreases the behavior in the future

• a MO for the reinforcer must be in place for a removal to function as a punisher

• removal of a reinforcer

S^DP

punishing discriminative stimulus

• ex. seeing a cop on the highway causes you to slow down because of previous punishment

Unconditioned Punisher

stimulus whose presentation functions as a punisher without conditioning

• ex. pain, odors, tastes, the feeling of falling

Generalized Conditioned Punisher

Stimulus change that has been paired with numerous forms of unconditioned and conditioned punishers

• ex. reprimands or social disapproval

Positive Punishment Procedures

• reprimands

• response blocking

• contingent exercise

• overcorrection

  • restitutional overcorrection

  • positive practice overcorrection

• contingent electric stimulation

Negative Punishment Procedures

• time-out

  • non-exclusion

    • planned ignoring

    • withdrawal of specific positive reinforcer

    • contingent observation

    • time-out ribbon (remove ribbon = no R+)

  • exclusion

    • time-out room

    • partition time-out

    • hallway time-out

• response cost

  • ex. being grounded, no using the car, no recess

Considerations of Response Cost

• should it include differential reinforcement procedures

• what are you removing

• is the loss immediate or delayed

• is the loss of reinforcers ethical

• practical or acceptable

Factors that Influence Effectiveness of Punishment

• immediacy

• intensity/magnitude

• schedule

• reinforcement for target behavior

• reinforcement for alternative behaviors

Possible Side Effects of Punishment

• emotional and aggressive reactions

• escape and avoidance

• behavioral contrast

• undesirable modeling

• negative reinforcement for the punishing agent’s behavior

Emotional and Aggressive Reactions

• animal research has indicated that when exposed to severe punishers, aggressive behavior may result

• in humans similar reactions may include aggression, property destruction, crying, etc

Escape and Avoidance

• punishment may result in the development of behaviors that lead to escape or avoidance of the punishing conditions

• when punishment is used, any behavior that allows for the complete avoidance of the punishing condition or the termination of a punishing consequence will be negatively reinforced

Behavioral Contrast

• the phenomena in which a 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

• Brethower & Reynolds 1962: Pigeon pecking on 2 different stimuli. The pigeon is punisher with a shock when pecking stimulus 1, pecking will increase on stimulus 2, the R+ did not change

Undesirable Modeling

• the behavior of the individual delivering punishment may be modeled by an observer or the individual of whose behavior is being punished

• for example

  • following some undesirable behavior a child is spanked by their parent

  • the next day a peer does something the child doesn’t like and the child hits their peer

Negative Reinforcement for the Punishing Agent’s Behavior

• positive punishment is negatively reinforced for the person doing the punishing

• ex. a dog owner kicks a dog to stop it from barking, this is the positive punishment, however the dog stopping barking is a negative reinforcement, encouraging the owner to kick the dog again when it is barking to make it stop

Guidelines for Using Punishment Effectively

• select effective and appropriate punishers

  • conduct a punisher assessment

  • use punishers of sufficient quality & magnitude

  • use varied punishers

• deliver punisher at the beginning of a behavioral sequence

• punish each instance of behavior

• use mediation with response-to-punishment delay

• supplement punishment with complementary intentions

  • fair pair rule

Ethics of Punishment

• everyone has a right to safe and humane punishment

• least restrictive alternatives should be used first

• everyone has a right to effective treatment

• be aware of punishment policy and safeguards

• choose aversive stimuli carefully

• collect data

• consider the function of the behavior

• informed consent

• prevent misuse or overuse

• train and supervise

• implement reinforcement in conjunction with punishment

When to use Punishment

• dangerous behavior to self or others

• when least restrictive alternatives (LRA) have failed

Factors to Consider when Punishing

• immediacy

• magnitude

• MO

• ethics

  • LRA

  • informed consent

  • item being removed

  • social stigmatism

  • cost

• consistency/practicality

• data

• behavioral function

• fair pair

MOs - Establishing

• makes a consequence more effective as a punisher

• negative punishment - deprivation

• positive punishment - satiation

MOs - Abolishing

• makes a consequence less effective as a punisher

• negative punishment - satiation

• positive punishment - deprivation

Extinction

• procedure in which behavior that used to be reinforced is no longer reinforced and then goes away

• the environment is changed so that the problem behavior will no longer produce the maintaining consequences

Extinction’s effectiveness is primarily dependent on…

the identification of reinforcing consequences and consistent application of the procedure

Extinction doesn’t…

• require the application of aversive stimuli to decrease behavior

• prevent occurrences of problem behavior

Extinction is not…

• any decrease in behavior

• response blocking

Procedural form of extinction

• involves ignoring problem behavior

• are often ineffective

• the behavior doesn’t change

Functional form of extinction

• involves withholding the maintaining reinforcers

• are often effective

• the behavior does change

Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement

behavior doesn’t produce reinforcers

• tangibles

• attention

Extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement

behavior maintained by this reinforcement doesn’t produce the removal of the aversive stimulus

• escape extinction

Extinction of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement

behaviors maintained by this reinforcement are placed on extinction by masking or removing the sensory consequence (not response blocking)

Extinction effects

have not been documented clearly in applied settings like schools

Extinction Effects

• gradual decrease in frequency and amplitude

• extinction burst

• spontaneous recovery

Gradual decrease in frequency and amplitude

• extinction produces a gradual reduction

• however when reinforcement is removed abruptly, numerous unreinforced responses can follow

• difficult for teachers and parents to apply because of the initial increase in frequency and magnitude and the gradual decrease in behavior

Extinction burst

• immediate increase in frequency of the response after removal of reinforcement (positive, negative, or automatic)

• problem behaviors can worsen during extinction before they show improvement

• usually suggest that the reinforcer maintaining the problem behavior was successfully identifies, indicating that there is a good chance of an effective intervention

Spontaneous recovery

• the behavior that diminished during the extinction process recurs even though the behavior doesn’t produce reinforcement

• short-lived and limited if the extinction procedure remains in effect

Resistance to extinction

• continued responding during the extinction process

• behavior that continues to occur during extinction is said to have better [term] than behavior that diminishes more quickly

Resistance to extinction is greater when…

extinction is carried out under high motivation than under low

Number 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 repeated 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

Variables affecting resistance to extinction

• establishing operations

• number and quality of reinforcement

• number of previous extinction trials

• response effort

10 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

• knowing when not to use extinction

When not to use extinction

• imitation

  • extinction can be inappropriate if the behaviors placed on extinction are 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

Fair Pair Rule

whenever you target an unwanted or challenging behavior for reduction or elimination, you must simultaneously teach and reinforce a functional, socially appropriate replacement behavior

Restitutional overcorrection

After an individual commits a disruptive or damaging act, they must fix the immediate damage caused by their behavior and must improve it to a better condition than it was originally

Positive practice overcorrection

When an individual exhibits a maladaptive or undesirable behavior, they are immediately required to perform the correct, alternative behavior repeatedly in a row