Chapter 10 - Prompting & Transfer of Stimulus Control

How do you teach behavior?

• EO → SD → behavior → reinforcer

• Shaping might be necessary if teaching novel behavior and you cannot use verbal behavior (rules).

• A more direct approach is prompting.

What is a prompt?

• Prompts increase the likelihood that a person will engage in the correct behavior at the correct time.

• Like a hint, cue or assistance.

• Helps the person learn to engage in the correct behavior in the presence of the discriminative stimulus (SD) to contact reinforcement.

  • They can be given before or during the performance of a behavior.

  • Makes teaching or training more efficient.

    • Compared to trial-and-error process.

What are response prompts?

• Behavior of another person that evokes the desired response in the presence of the SD.

• Added assistance from another person.

• Verbal (least intrusive) → telling learner what to do vocally, a spoken hint.

• Gestural → pointing, nodding, looking to the correct answer.

• Modeling → teacher demonstrates the behavior first then the learner imitates it.

• Physical (most intrusive) → teacher physically guides the learner through the response, hand-over-hand.

What are stimulus prompts?

• Some change in a stimulus, or the addition or removal of a stimulus, to make a correct response more likely.

• Within-stimulus prompt → changing the SD (ex. a worksheet says: cat, dog, and bird. Dog is the correct answer, so you make dog larger, darker, or bolder. Now the correct answer stands out - the stimulus was modified).

• Extrastimulus prompt → adding another stimulus or cue to the SD (ex. a worksheet says: cat, dog, and bird. Dog is the correct answer, so you drew an arrow pointing to the dog. You added something extra that wasn’t a part of the original SD - an extra cue).

What is the transfer of stimulus control?

• Once prompts reliably evoke the correct response, we need to transfer stimulus control to the SD using fading.

• Fading = gradual elimination of the prompt as the behavior continues to occur in the presence of the SD.

  • Can be used to transfer control from prompts to the SD, or from one SD to another SD.

What is an example of fading?

• Teaching a child to write their name.

• Initial prompt = the child traces over an outline of their name.

• Fading procedure = gradually lighten the lines until the child writes their name independently in response to a blank line (the SD).

What is prompt fading?

• Prompt fading = gradually using less of the prompt to generate behavior.

• Least-to-most prompting → used if learner may not need a physical prompt to engage in the correct behavior and to provide the opportunity to engage in the correct response (aka starting with the least amount of help and increasing assistance only if needed).

  • Vocal → gestural → model → physical

  • Ex. think about teacher touching head prompt.

• Most-to-least prompting → used if learner may need a physical prompt to engage in the correct behavior.

  • Behavior might be novel.

  • Physical ability may be limited

  • Physical → model → gestural → vocal

  • Ex. think about teacher turning water prompt.

What is prompt delay?

• Prompt delay = waiting a certain amount of time after giving the SD before providing a prompt.

  • Gives the learner the opportunity to respond independently in the presence of the SD.

What is stimulus fading?

• Stimulus fading = involves the transfer of control by changing physical dimensions of a controlling stimulus until the target SD controls behavior.

  • Gradually changing the prompt until only the natural SD remains.

What are three strategies for transferring stimulus control?

• Prompt fading.

• Prompt delay.

• Stimulus fading.

What is verbal behavior?

• We use prompting and transfer of stimulus control when teaching verbal behavior.

• Verbal behavior = behavior that is reinforced through the mediation of another person.

  • Includes spoken words, gestures, written communication, and other symbolic language forms.

  • Requires a listener!

Describe the four verbal categories?

• Vocal verbal = making sounds with vocal musculature to affect another person - talking to someone.

• Vocal nonverbal = coughing, yawning, making meaningless sounds with vocal musculature (but may be verbal sometimes).

• Nonvocal verbal = writing, gesturing, signing (ASL), finger spelling, braille writing: to affect another person.

• Nonvocal nonverbal = walking, picking something up, opening a door, turning lights on, putting a key in a lock.

• REMEBER!!!

• VOCAL/NONVOCAL = IS IT USING YOUR VOCAL CORDS?

• VERBAL/NONVERBAL = IS IT AFFECTING ANOTHER PERSON?

Describe the four verbal operants?

• Echoic = repeating what someone else says (“juice” after parent says “juice”).

• Mand = requesting for something (“I want water”).

• Tact = labeling things in the environment (“that’s a dog!”).

• Intraverbal = responding to others (“it’s hot out” → “yup”).

What are the main features of the mand relation?

• A verbal operant in which the response form controlled by a motivating operation is and reinforced by a characteristic consequence.

• Antecedent controlling variable:

  • Motivating operation = what the speaker wants from the listener.

• Characteristic consequence: something specific to that mand: attention (“hey, pardon me, etc.”); objects (“water”); actions (“come here”).

• EO: hungry for a cookie → SD: mom is present and can provide cookie → response: child says “cookie” → SR: child receives cookie

Describe the teaching of mands?

• Mands are taught first because:

  • The mand is a unique type of language that directly benefits the child.

  • Let’s their caretakers know exactly what they want at that particular moment.

• There must be an establishing operation at strength to conduct mand training.

  • EOs vary in strength across time, and the effects may be temporary.

  • EOs must be either captured or contrived to conduct mand training.

What are the main features of the tact relation?

• A verbal operant with the response form controlled primarily by an immediately prior nonverbal SD.

  • In everyday language, a tact is a “label” evoked by a nonverbal stimulus.

• Antecedent controlling variable: non-verbal stimulus.

  • Things tacted: objects, object properties, actions, relations, etc.

• Characteristic consequence: generalized reinforcement (approval), speaker knowing that the listener has been helped in some way.

  • “Doggy” (“good girl”)

  • “It’s raining” (“thanks, I’ll get an umbrella”).

• SD: cookie → response: “cookie” → SR: “that’s right!”

What are the contrasts between mand and tact?

• Mand

  • Permit speakers to alter the environment through listeners’ behavior (thus extending the power of the speaker to affect the environment)

    • In other words, the speaker uses language to get someone else to do something.

  • Permit listeners to infer something about the condition of the speaker regardless of external conditions.

    • In other words, the listener can infer something about your condition. If you ask for water, the listener knows you’re probably thirst.

• Tacts

  • Permit listeners to react to stimuli that are affecting the sense organs of speakers (thus extending the sensory capacity of the listener).

    • In other words, a tact tells another person about something you are experiencing.

  • For example, “toothache”.

    • In other words, you’re labeling or describing a toothache - an internal condition you’re experiencing.

What are the main features of the intraverbal relation?

• A type of verbal behavior with a response form controlled by a verbal stimulus with which the response does not have point-to-point correspondence.

  • Stimulus is a word and a response is a different word.

  • Parts of the stimulus do not control parts of the response.

  • In other words, someone says words → you respond with different words.

• Characteristic consequence: generalized reinforcement (approval).

• Example:

  • Tendency to say swamp as a result of hearing someone say alligator.

  • (SD) - “red, white, and __” (R) - “__”

• SD: “what’s your favorite snack” → Response: “cookie” → SR: “that’s right!”

What are the main features of echoic?

• A verbal operant in which the response form is controlled by:

  • 1.) a verbal stimulus

  • 2.) with which the response has point-to-point correspondence

  • 3.) there is formal similarity between the stimulus and response product

  • The echoic consists of verbal operant under the control of a prior verbal stimulus, with which the response is identical.

• Characteristic consequence: generalized reinforcement (approval).

• Echoic is the vocal operant in the category of “duplics”; non-vocal forms of duplics include:

  • Copying a text: see written word john → write john

  • Mimetic: see someone sign ball → sign ball

• SD: “say cookie” → response: “cookie” → SR: “that’s right!”

Describe teaching echoics?

• Goals of echoic training:

  • Establish a generalized repertoire that the child can repeat novel words and combinations.

  • Transfer the response form to other verbal operants

    • Starts as echoic, now can be used to establish same form as a mand.

  • The ability to repeat words when asked to do so plays a major role in the development of other verbal operants.

Describe transferring stimulus control in VB for mands?

• Mand (requesting)

  • Initial control: when the learner needs help opening a jar, the teacher prompts them to say “help”.

  • Transfer: the teacher gradually fades the prompt, waiting longer before assisting. When the learner independently says “help”, the teacher provides assistance, strengthening the mand.

Describe transferring stimulus control in VB for tact?

• Tact (labeling)

  • Initial control: the teacher holds up a cup and asks, “what is this?”. The learner says “cup”.

  • Transfer: the teacher removes the question and simply presents the cup. When the learner labels it as “cup”, the teacher provides reinforcement, increasing the likelihood of independent tacting.

Describe transferring stimulus control in VB for intraverbal?

• Intraverbal (conversational response)

  • Initial control: the teacher asks, “what animal says ‘woof’?” and immediately prompts “dog”.

  • Transfer: the teacher fades the prompt by pausing before providing any help. When the learner independently says “dog”, reinforcement follows, increasing the probability of correct responses in the future.