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Exam 1 - Textbook
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Behavior Modification & Its Key Characteristics
Behavior Modification - approach to the assessment, evaluation, and alteration of behavior
development of adaptive, prosocial behavior and reduction of maladaptive behavior in everyday life
sometimes considered a specific form of intervention, but there are many techniques
can be broadly conceived broadly as a scientific approach to understanding and changing human behavior
areas where applied:
education
virtually all settings (preschool-grad school)
learning & remediation, regular & special education
treatment of psychiatric dysfunction
social, emotional, behavioral problems
used to treat anxiety, depression, substance abuse, child and spouse abuse, marital discord, and sexual deviance and dysfunction, child rearing, medicine and health,
sports, the military, rehabilitation, and care of the elderly
Key Characteristics
Emphasis on Behavior
special emphasis to actions & performance, everyday life
focus or problem is defined in terms of overt behavior
often one can intervene effectively on behavior and influence thoughts and feelings
in everyday situations, overt behavior is often a primary concern that prompts the need to intervene
evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention is facilitated by being able to translate problems into observable behaviors
but, human functioning entails more than just what people do, feelings & thoughts are important too
Often behavior change is an end in itself, as in situations
where one wants to reduce criminal behavior and increase social interaction. In
other situations, behavior change is included in treatment as a means to an end;
changing behavior can help change how people feel and how they perceive the
environment
a prevailing assumption has been that changing how people feel and what they think and know will change behavior - but changing what people do often leads to changes in how they feel and what they think as well
Emphasis on Current Determinants of Behavior
focuses on efforts to understand the causes of behavior and factors that relate to how individuals function and perform in everyday life
useful to distinguish past from present causes or sources of influence
are there causes we can identify in the current environment?
behavior modification emphasizes current influences on behavior and how they can be mobilized to effect changes.
Emphasis on Learning Experiences to Promote Change
assumption of behavior modification is that behavior can be altered by providing new learning experiences
behavioral treatments provide special learning experiences to decrease deviant or maladaptive behavior, increase adaptive skills and prosocial behavior in everyday life
learning experiences draw on scientific research on the ways to develop, eliminate, and promote behavior
much more systematic than learning in everyday life
practice must be accompanied by other systematic experiences (instruction, feedback, and gradual progress in developing increasingly complex skills) depending on the skill
without accompaniments, practice can lock in bad habits and poor performance
research on how to develop, change, increase, reduce, eliminate behavior; different types of learning & the conditions in which learning takes place
behavior-change programs rely on many learning concepts and findings developed in research
research has established that very specific arrangements may be needed to ensure that learning takes place and that performance is consistent
Diverse biological, behavioral, social, cultural, and other factors influence the development of behavior and also may be quite relevant to behavior change
key feature of BM is the plasticity of behavior or amenability of behavior to change when systematic learning experiences are provided
Assessment & Evaluation
assessment - systematically measuring current functioning of the domain or problem that is to be altered
info descriptive - conveying what performance is before, during, after intervention
typically begins by clarifying goals of intervention
central to identifying the extent and nature of the behavior
sometimes focuses on what happens before or after the behavior to be translated into an intervention
as intervention occurs, assessment continues to see if change occurs and if desired outcomes are achieved
evaluation - occurs before assessment, determines what the problem or goal is, how the client and others are affected by it, and the circumstances under which it emerges
drawing conclusions or inferences about whether change has occurred and whether the intervention is responsible for change
identify relations or why performance has changed
goals usually expressed in concrete terms or behaviors that can be measured
direct observation
evaluations by significant others
evaluations by the client themselves
Application
interventions often implemented in everyday life and settings
day-care centers
schools
home
hospitals
business
persons in charge or care, management, and education of clients often implement the behavior-change programs (parents, teachers, relatives, spouses, peers, colleagues) - called paraprofessionals
Models of Learning as Underpinnings of Behavior Modification
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Dogs - you know it, also UCS, UCR, CS, CR
concepts of conditioning from Pavlov extended to explain virtually all learning - language, acquisition of knowledge, development of deviant and maladaptive behavior
concepts were overextended - did not give accurate or complete accounts of these areas
conditioning is more complex than originally thought
Pavlov’s significant contribution - systematic investigation of learning, clear demonstration of process of learning under well-controlled conditions helped foster more elaborate studies of different kinds of learning
also method of experiments - careful observation & quantification
Operant Conditioning
Thorndike - learning of new behaviors rather than new connections of reflex behavior
puzzle-box experiment with cats
hungry cat placed in box & recorded time it took to escape
food placed outside of box for incentive
cat tried to escape by trial and error, different solutions until one worked & cat gets out
cat then placed in box again to do it again
less and less time to get out as cat does it again and again
formulated laws or principles of behavior
law of effect - consequences that follow behavior help learning
Skinner - impact of various consequences on behavior
helped clarify learning that resulted from consequences and its differences from from the classical conditioning studied by pavlov
many behaviors are emitted spontaneously and are controlled primarily by their consequences
operants - behaviors that are responses that operated (had some influence) on the environment
strengthened or weakened as a function of the events that follow them
reading, walking, working, talking, nodding one’s head, smiling
respondents - reflex responses controlled by eliciting stimuli
method is significant
a focus on overt behavior
assessment of the frequency of behavior over time
the study of one or a few organisms at a time
Modeling and Observational Learning
individual observes another person (aka model) engage in a particular behavior
observer sees model perform the behavior, but does not engage in overt responses or receive any consequences, learns merely by watching model
observer learns the responses or behaviors by observing - accomplished through mental representations or cognitive processes
no overt behavior required on the part of the recipient of a modeling experience to learn
whether a learned response is actually performed can depend on consequences or incentives
bandura study - aggression
The extent to which modeling stimuli influence learning and performance also depends on other factors:
the similarity of the model to the observer
the prestige, status, and expertise of the model
the number of models observed
Rational Behaviorism
learning & performance of novel responses that have not been directly trained
responses neither respondents nor operants, rather reflect an integration of what’s been learned through the processes and other learning to produce a new response/application
emergents - behaviors that are considered to be instincts
emergents are those acts that derive from cognitive processes, acquired concepts, insights, and novel applications beyond specific behaviors that have been learned
generated by integrative processes
key characteristics
come as unanticipated “surprise” to the researcher
reflect novel response patterns & solutions to problem
form covertly through internal processes, hence unobtrusively or silently
reflect new behaviors that have no specific reinforcement history
usually cannot be graphed or charted because they reflect a unique response
entail the syntheses of individually acquired responses and experiences
are not subject to specific stimulus control as are respondents and oeprants
frequently reflect rearing conditions, early experience, and training
tend to be associated with brain complexity (as per species and maturation)
Even the most mundane activities may require problem solving and use of many skills but they are “packaged” or integrated in novel ways.
animal intelligence - the many ways in which animals can acquire and use concepts to respond to their environments
There has been no direct role of rational behaviorism in generating specific treatment techniques in behavior modification, emerged relatively recently
Development of Behaviorism
late 1800s early 1900s - broader orientation based on Pavlov, Thorndike, Skinner
increased interest in scientific method
Darwin
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
The Descent of Man
theory of evolution - scientific explanation of development of species
continuity - the view that human and non-human animals were part of an ongoing evolutionary process, subject to similar influences, and principles such as natural selection & survival of the fittest
animal research - part of larger movement toward more scientific approach to study of behavior
investigations in lab, careful control over experiments, documentation & collection of data
John B. Watson - behaviorism: animal psychology & applying methods from animal research to study of human behavior, neither objective nor subjective
Extensions to Clinical Work & Applied Settings
Classical and operant conditioning were used increasingly as a basis for conceptualizing child development; education; language; development of social, emotional, and behavior problems; and behavior change
develop new techniques to treat children and adults for psychological and behavioral problems
modeling also helped with developing interventions
Wolpe - systematic desensitization
cats - exposure to a series of anxiety-provoking situations while engaging in competing responses would gradually overcome the anxiety
Operant Conditioning
role of consequences on behavior
through record history, rewards used to promote behaviors that culture wished to foster
ancient roman & chinese soldiers, Axtec & Plains Indians of the Americas got rewards for bravery and success in battle
permitting heroes to have statues mad of themselves or relate their experiences to the public
laboratory studies were conducted with hospitalized patients with psychoses who performed on various apparatus daily to earn small rewards (e.g., money, pictures)
Performance on the laboratory apparatus was often interrupted by pauses in which psychotic symptoms (such as vocal hallucinatory behaviors) could be observed
One could see graphically when these pauses took place because responses on the apparatus did not occur
operant conditioning methods might be an objective way to study psychotic behaviors (e.g., when hallucinations occurred, their regularity, patterns).
responding to laboratory tasks appeared to result in a reduction of symptoms (e.g., staring into space) both in the laboratory and on the hospital ward
symptoms might be altered in important ways by increases in operant responding
depressed adult patient who complained of sleeping difficulties and reported pains in her back, chest, head, and shoulders - no physical problems
perhaps these bodily complaints were influenced or maintained by their consequences - operants (behaviors that operated in the environment and were maintained by consequences)
observations - daily frequency of complains for several days
staff instructed to ignore complaints instead of typical consolation/sympathy/attention
after some days, revert to previous ways of responding, after some days staff withdraw attention
The frequency of complaints changed dramatically as staff behavior changed. These results suggested that attention and consequences from others can greatly influence patient behavior.
preschool class, 4 year old Ann, tended to not interact with other kids
observation - interactions with an adult or peers
no change in teacher behavior vs when teacher praised group when Ann interacted with them, if Ann left group - teacher turned away from her
social interaction in a school setting was influenced by attention and consequences from the teacher
Modeling
Peter, afraid of rabbit and other furry objects
placed in play situation with other children where rabbit was present
other children interacted with rabbit in non-anxious fashion
peter touched rabbit immediately after observing others touch it, overcame fear
however, other procedures also used as well - could be a combo of modeling with others
modeling typically included with other procedures
Contemporary Behavior Modification
Current behavior modification can be characterized by expansion and integration of techniques and domains of functioning beyond those emphasized in the historical roots I have traced.
many factors and many different interventions are unified. The way to unify them is represented by different terms and phases including behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and more generally to evidence-based interventions.
Most domains of human functioning incorporate more than just behavior. Affect (emotion) and cognition (thoughts, beliefs, and other mental processes) typically are involved as well.
parallel movement of identifying and utilizing interventions that are evidence-based
Applied Behavior Analysis
Methodology includes assessment, experimental design (arrangements of the situation to evaluate effectiveness), and data evaluation.
Basic laboratory research on operant learning and the methodology to study this together form an area referred to as the experimental analysis of behavior
extending both the principles and methods of operant conditioning to behaviors that make a difference in everyday life
Intervention programs based on operantconditioning principles and techniques have been implemented in schools, daycare centers, the home, hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, business and industry, the military, and society at large
Characteristics
focus on overt behaviors
focus on behaviors of applied (social or clinical) significance
focus on one or a small number of individuals over time
assess behavior through direct observation, as in counting the frequency of responses
assess behavior continuously over time to identify stable patterns of performance under various conditiongs
search for current causes or factors that may be maintaining the behavior
use of environmental events to influence the frequency of behavior
identify, evaluate, and demonstrate the factors (antecedents, consequences) that are responsible for behavior change
search for marked intervention effects that make a clear difference in the everyday functioning of the individual
Chapter 2 - Principles of Operant Conditioning
pg 58 - 94
Contingencies: ABCs of Behavior
contingencies of reinforcement - relationships between behaviors & environmental events that influence behavior
antecedents (A)
stimuli, settings, contexts that occur before and influences behaviors
behaviors (B)
acts themselves, what individuals do or don’t do
consequences (C)
events that follow behavior and may include influences that increase/decrease/have no impact on what individual does
ABCs more complex than 1 antecedent, 1 behavior, 1 consequence
the context or circumstances form part of the antecedent events and may change how we respond
developing effective programs depends on understanding the influences of antecedents and consequences - how they can be used to promote, develop, maintain behavior
behavioral interventions - sometimes view that casual efforts to apply minute aspects of the approach can be effective… NO
need familiar procedures used in unfamiliar ways to change behavior
Antecedents of Behavior
3 types - prompts, setting events, discriminative stimuli
Prompts
specific antecedents that directly facilitate and guide performance of specific behaviors
designed to help generate a specific response
common types:
verbal instructions
written or physical cues
gestures
physical or manual guidance
modeling
types can be used alone or in combination
play a major role in developing a behavior
can show the person what to do, how to do it, when to do it
used to generate a behavior to therefore be reinforced or to help refine the behavior/add to complexity
verbal prompts = most frequent type
seatbelts in Spain: drivers in Spain received verbal prompts in parking lots to buckle up for safety and to prevent accidents
increase rates of using seat belts
seatbelts in grocery stores: verbal prompt was used as parents with young children entered the store to begin their shopping
greeter said “Have a nice day, and don’t forget to buckle up.”
buckling up greatly increased the use of seat belts in shopping carts
combination of prompts
develop imitation among children with Autism; modeling was used by having a trainer model a facial expression; if the child was not paying attention, a verbal prompt was added (“Do this”). When the child did, praise was added to reinforce imitation.
long-term goal: develop behavior so it’s performed without prompts eventually
fading - gradual removing of a prompt
if prompt removed early in training, response may no longer be performed
if response is performed consistently with a prompt, the prompt can be progressively reduced and finally omitted
prompting can also help refine the behavior
people forgetting to take birth control pills - use alarm, vibrating necklaces, phone apps
Setting Events
contextual factors or conditions that influence behavior
broad in scope and set stage for behaviors and consequences
includes features of the situation, features of the task or demands presented to the individual, conditions within the individual, behaviors of others
external or environmental events (home, school, restaurant, behavior of others in the setting) and internal states (feeling irritable, good or bad sleep, hungry, thirsty, lonely)
establishing operation - antecedent variable or factor that temporarily increases the effectiveness of some other event or consequence and the likely behaviors associated with those events
alter effectiveness of consequences in the environment
influence the frequency of behaviors that can obtain these consequences
motivational states, emotions, environmental events can be examples
abolishing operation - antecedents that decrease the effectiveness of some other event or consequence and the likely behaviors associated with those events
Example: if you are using food as reinforcement, deprivation is an establishing operation and satiation is an abolishing operation
setting events do not have to be something we can identify or something that we’re aware of
priming - presenting cues to people and then having them engage in some subsequent task or activity
out of conscious awareness but impacts people’s decisions, views, actual behaviors
incidental objects that are made visible or smells
social norming - messages based on social norms to convey what other people have done are more effective than the usual non-normative appeal (not “save the environment”, but “most/86% of guests reuse towels”)
setting events can be difficult to identify in everyday life because they do not necessarily occur immediately before behavior
High-Probability Requests
a way of presenting a prompt asking another person to do something in a special way that increases the likelihood that the person will comply with a request
Parent often ask their kids to do different kinds of tasks - clear dinner table, get ready for dinner, do homework, turn off computer
parent likely to say the child does/does not comply as a whole based on their compliance
context and how the instruction is provided influence whether the child complies or not (harshly, warmly, etc)
continuum of likelihood that person complies, easier to use categories
high-probability requests - individual is very likely to carry out
low-probability requests - individual is very unlikely to carry out
if you follow high-prob. w/ low-prob. then the individual is more likely to comply with low-prob.
behavioral momentum - tendency for the behavior to persist, acts as a metaphor for referring to the effects of high-prob. requests
Discriminative Stimuli & Stimulus Control
stimuli often become associated with various consequences, once associations occur - stimuli exert control over behavior
differential reinforcement - reinforcing a response in the presence of one stimulus/situation and not reinforcing the same response in the presence of another stimulus/situation
each stimulus signals the consequences that are likely to follow
a stimulus whose presence has been associated with reinforcement is referred to as a discriminative stimulus (S^D)
stranger with happy, friendly face - increase likelihood we smile back
a stimulus whose presence has been associated with non-reinforcement is referred to as a non-discriminative stimulus (S^A or S delta)
stranger with grumpy face - decrease likelihood we smile back
eventually the reinforced response is likely to occur in the presence of the S^D, unlikely to occur in the presence of the S^A
behavior is under stimulus control - presence of a stimulus increases the likelihood of a response
Behaviors
target behaviors - behaviors one wishes to develop
goal = get behaviors to occur & then provide consequences (reinforcement)
reinforced practice - mixes consequences (reinforced) with behavior (practice); repeated trials or performance of the behavior followed by reinforcing consequences
performing a behavior one time is not sufficient to develop a skill or habit, repeated performance is usually the critical component and one that also can lock the behavior in a person’s repertoire and indeed change the brain
shaping - reinforcement of successive approximations of the final response
responses are reinforced that either resemble the final response or include components of that response
responses increasingly similar to final goal are reinforced, and they increase; responses dissimilar to final goal are not reinforced so they drop out and extinguish
the goal is to attain a final behavior and the behaviors along the way drop out or are replaced by behaviors that are closer and closer to the goal
chaining - sequence of responses, developing the sequence of behaviors, occurs by reinforcing completion of the full sequence of behaviors
forward chaining - developing behaviors in the order in which they are performed
different from shaping - steps to behavior are not replaced as you go, there are multiple behaviors in a sequences that are all still there at the end of training
backward chaining - starting with the last behavior in the sequence
train last behavior first then work backwards
requires important discussion of how behaviors in a sequence relate to each other and to the consequences that follow at the end of a sequence
an event immediately preceding reinforcement becomes a signal for reinforcement
interest is not merely in increasing this or that behavior but rather in building sequences of behaviors
Consequences of Behavior
for a consequence to alter a particular behavior, it must be dependent or contingent upon the occurrence of that behavior
behavior change occurs when certain consequences are contingent upon performance
consequence = contingent when it is delivered only after the target behavior has been performed and is otherwise not available
noncontingent delivery of consequences ordinarily does not result in systematic changes in target behavior because the consequences do not consistently follow that behavior (there are exceptions)
Positive Reinforcement
reinforcement - increase in probability or likelihood of a response when immediately followed by consequences
positive reinforcers - stimuli or events presented after a response has been performed that increase the frequency of the behavior they follow, positive = something is presented or added
typically called a reward
defined by its effect on behavior
negative reinforcers (aversive events or stimuli) - events removed after a response has been performed that increase the behavior proceeding their removal, negative = something is removed or withdrawn
any event that does not increase the behavior it follows is not a positive reinforcer
rewards are defined merely as something that is given or received in return for doing something - do not necessarily increase the probability of the behaviors they follow
a person may be unaware of or not consider as rewards many events that are reinforcers - “stop that!” or taking someone out of the room to isolate them
key point is that a reward is not synonymous with a positive reinforcer
types of positive reinforcers
unconditioned or primary reinforcers
may not be reinforcing all the time, but when it does, its value is automatic (unlearned) and does not rely on previous association with any other reinforcers
food or water - won’t reinforce if someone just finished a large meal or glass of water
conditioned or secondary reinforcers
acquire reinforcing value through learning, by pairing with events that are already reinforcing
praise, grades, money, completion of a goal
if a neutral stimulus is repeatedly presented before or along with another reinforcing stimulus, the neutral stimulus becomes a reinforcer
some conditioned reinforcers are paired with many different reinforcers
when a conditioned reinforcer is paired or associated with many other reinforcers, it is referred to as a generalized conditioned reinforcer
extremely effective - paired with variety of events
intervention programs frequently use tokens as generalized reinforcers to change behavior - poker chips, coins, tickets, stars, points, check marks; exchanged for many other events that are reinforcing
negative reinforcement
increase in the likelihood of a response by removing an aversive event immediately after the response has been performed
event is a negative reinforcer only if its removal after a response increases performance of that response
whether a consequence really serves as a negative reinforcer can only be determined by seeing if the consequence can change behavior
requires an ongoing aversive event or stimulus that can be removed or terminated after a specific response has been performed
punishment trap - negative reinforcement can lock in behavior in a parent, teacher, other punishing agent
child may engage in some misbehavior - aversive to parent
parent shouts, screams, hits child
usually - immediate termination of aversive child behavior
momentary suppression of behavior is the only benefit that occurs but its effects on the parent are powerful
parent trapped in their behavior as well
avoidance - behavior is performed before negative event even occurs
cues & learned events that precede negative events take on aversive properties
engaging in behavior that terminates these learned aversive events leads to negative reinforcement
requires presentation to the individual of some aversive event, such as shock, noise, or isolation that can be removed or reduced immediately after he or she responds - used infrequently because of using aversive stimuli but used often in everyday life
Punishment
presentation or removal of a stimulus or event following a response, which decreases the likelihood of that response
punishment is operative only if the likelihood of the response is reduced
intervention work de-emphasizes punishment
undesirable side effects
punishment not needed to suppress or eliminate behavior
two types of punishment
aversive consequence is presented after a response
reprimanded or slapped after a behavior
removal of a positive event after a response
losing privileges after saying out late, losing money for misbehaving, being isolated from others, etc.
Extinction
the cessation of reinforcement of a response that results in a decrease in the likelihood of the behavior in the future
defined by relation of a response to consequences and to a change in the probability of behavior in the future
no longer reinforcing a response eventually leads to reduction or elimination of the response
a consequence that was previously provided no longer follows the response
often takes the form of ignoring a behavior that was previously reinforced with attention
as often as not, this will not be effective or be effective by itself
maybe because attention may not be the reinforcer for that behavior or the only reinforcer
often, desirable behavior is accidentally extinguished
parents pay more attention when kids are playing noisily than when they are playing peacefully
Discrimination
fact that the individual responds differently under different stimulus conditions
special contingency arrangements are often needed to ensure that the desired behaviors transfer to new people, situations, and places
people make discriminations across a variety of situations for most behaviors
eating habits probably vary depending upon whether one is at home or ina restaurant
Generalization
there are special procedures that, if and when needed, can be used to ensure that behavior transfers to other situations, people, and settings and is maintained even after a program is withdrawn
sometimes even without those special procedures, the effect of reinforcement on behavior may either extend beyond the conditions in which training has taken place or extend to behaviors other than those included in the program
stimulus generalization
generalization or transfer of a response to situations other than those in which training takes place
occurs if a response reinforced in one situation/setting also increases in other settings even though not reinforced in the other settings
opposite of discrimination
response generalization
changes in behaviors or responses other than those that have been trained or developed
occurs if a specific response is developed through reinforcement or other procedures and this systematically alters other behaviors that have not been directly trained
Altering one response can inadvertently influence other responses.
praise for smiling = increase in smiling, laughing, talking
notion of response generalization often is used to explain changes in responses other than the target response
effects of an intervention will generalize from one response to other responses that are similar in some way
term may not be accurate
responses that are not supposed to be focused on may inadvertently receive reinforcing consequences
change in one behavior (e.g., studying) often is associated with changes in other behaviors (e.g., socialization, complying with requests) that appear to have no direct relation or resemblance to the target behavior
response covariation - the tendency of responses to change together
which behaviors change can be predicted by knowing what other behaviors cluster together
*concepts of stimulus and response generalization are ordinarily used to denote that changes occur across various stimulus conditions (situations or settings) or across responses.
Chapter 3 - How to Identify, Define, and Assess Behavior
pgs 100-132
*assessment is the most important component of any intervention program
systematic assessment can help us describe and draw inferences about the impact of well-intended programs
Identifying the Goals of the Program
main goal of a program is to alter or develop a particular behavior, the target behavior
goal of changing behavior applies to a particular setting or stimulus condition (such as the home, the classroom, certain times of the day, and in the presence of particular individuals)
Guidelines & Frequently Used Criteria
seven broad criteria are used and capture most of the foci of psychosocial interventions, whether from a behavioral or other approach
departure from normative functioning
departures can be large and obvious or at the extremes of some acceptable range
evident in social or academic behaviors, responses to stimuli in the environment that evoke no reactions of most people but terror in others, or delays from what might be expected
impairment in daily functioning, extent to which an individual’s functioning in everyday life is impeded by a particular problem or set of behaviors
behavior that interferes with meeting role requirements
dangerousness of the behavior to oneself or to others is another reason to intervene
danger = physical or emotional harm or risk for such harm
behaviors that are illegal or rule-breaking
illegal behaviors include driving under the influence of alcohol, using illicit drugs, stealing
rule-breaking behaviors include child leaving school repeatedly during the middle of the day or not adhering to family-imposed curfew
these behaviors may or may not affect functioning in everyday life very much - may warrant treatment but absence of impairment can make them difficult to detect
behaviors that are of concern to individuals themselves or to a significant others
broad, catchall category
there are occasions in which concerns of significant others are of questionable relevance as targets of the intervention
focusing on positive behaviors that may prevent problems from developing
focus not on a problem but on behaviors that will avert problems/minimize recurrence
promoting adaptive or high-functioning behavior often is the impetus for intervening
focus not on overcoming problem or impairment, but developing/building further competence
in many cases the goal is to increase positive, prosocial behavior, in other cases it is to decrease undesirable or inappropriate behavior
even when the goal seems to be to decrease, suppress, or eliminate behaviors, the conceptualization of the problem and the interventions used to change the problem often are based on developing positive, adaptive behaviors
positive opposites are those adaptive and prosocial behaviors that denote how the individual is to behave instead of engaging in the maladaptive behavior
developing positive behavior takes advantage of many potent reinforcement techniques
Important Considerations
for many behaviors, the definition of the problem includes contextual and stimulus conditions
many behavioral problems stem from a failure to perform behaviors in the presence of particular antecedent events
failures considered to reflect a lack of appropriate stimulus control
whether a given behavior is selected for intervention may relate to the context rather than the behavior
bedwetting among 2-4 year old children can be normative but in middle and later childhood its a departure from normative function and a risk factor for psychiatric disturbance
in some cases, the initial goal of the program may be to develop the responsiveness of individuals to certain consequent event - someone not responding to events that play a major role in social interaction, such as attention, physical contact, praise, or mild disapproval
Issues with Criteria
target behavior that serves as the focus may one of a larger set of behaviors
if there are multiple, select one because of severity or urgency or to improve entry into everyday social networks
behavior may be embedded in a larger context and perhaps the context should be the focus
Defining the Target Behavior
operational definitions - defining a concept on the basis of the specific operations used for assessment
the move from concept (characteristic or idea) to operations (ways in which that concept will be measured)
permits advances, replication of findings, and accumulation of knowledge
direct observation of overt behavior is emphasized because overt behavior is viewed as the most direct measure of the intervention focus
essential to begin to assess and evaluate interventions
abstract concept - not likely to capture entire domain of interest
takes a slice or two of the conceptual pie to represent critical components instead
means that the operations for assessment are specified, not that we are observing some truth or the one and only definitive measure
different operational definitions of same phenomenon can lead to different conclusion
Helpful Guides for Developing the Concrete Focus
views of experts or other outside sources
help decide the precise focus of the intervention and to help move that focus from general statements to more concrete definitions
consult with others who are in contact with client or have special info to guide selection of target behaviors
direct observation of individuals functioning well in the environment
what does the behavior consist of or look like when it is performed well or appropriately?
if one wishes to develop behavior, it is often very helpful to observe others functioning well in everyday life
target behaviors for assessment and intervention to focus on for the withdrawn child
task analysis
facilitates identifying, assessing, and altering more complex sets of behaviors
way of proceeding from the general goal of the program to a number of small, trainable, and highly concrete behaviors
purpose
identify specific behaviors that are required
specify the sequence in which these component behaviors are performed
soliciting the input of persons with expertise in specific areas identifies the desired behaviors and the order in which they are performed
task analysis has been crucial in breaking down complex behaviors so that they can be assessed and trained\
Criteria for Defining Behavior
definition should meet three criteria: objectivity, clarity, and completeness
developing a complete definition often creates the greatest difficulty because decision rules are needed to specify how behavior should be scored
developing clear definitions requires specifying what is and what is not to be included in the behavior
specificity maximizes the consistency in observing and coding the behaviors
clear definition does not eliminate judgments but allows a way to codify these judgments so that they are mad relatively consistently
Assessment
rate of preprogram behavior = baseline or operant rate
required to reflect behavior change after program is begun
all throughout program!
human judgment may distort actual rate of behavior
direct observations are designed to reveal more directly than global impressions/ratings the level/amount of target behavior and the degree of behavior change
not entirely free from human judgment
task analysis and developing objective, clear, and complete definitions are designed to minimize judgment of the behaviors selected as the focus and in counting whether they have occurred.
overt behaviors - provide direct measure of how well or poorly a behavior-change program is working, useful basis for making decisions about the intervention and whether changes in program are needed
does not mean judgments or inferences are removed
Strategies of Assessment - pg 114
measures of overt behavior:
frequency measure: frequency counts of the behavior and rate of the behavior (frequency divided by time), specific behaviors are tallied
useful when target response is discrete & each instance takes a relatively constant amount of time
two ways it is used
behavior is free to occur on multiple occasions, no fixed limit in # of times behavior could occur
opportunities are restricted because of specific discrete trials or in response to stimuli presented only a specific number of time
rate of response can be obtained by dividing the frequency of responses by the number of minutes observed each day - frequency per minute/rate of response which is comparable for different durations of observation
pros - relatively simple to score, readily reflect changes over time, expressed the mount of behavior performed
discrete categorization: a list of multiple responses each relating to some overall goal, each is scored as having occurred or not occurred each day
in some ways, similar to frequency measure - but different
several different behaviors can be included & each scored as having occurred or not
behaviors go together in forming a larger unit or goal
there is only a limited number of opportunities to perform the responses as defined by the total number of steps involved or number of component behaviors
readily adaptable to many different situations
behaviors that form list don’t need to be related to each other or represent steps of a single activity - flexible method of observation
interval recording: a block of time is set for observation, that period is divided into smaller intervals, behavior of interest is scored as having occurred or not in that interval
time sampling is interval recording in which multiple blocks of times are used to sample behavior at different points throughout the day or across multiple settings
several response occurrences within an interval are not counted separately
try to record after interval not during so you don’t miss any behaviors that may occur while recording (if looking at multiple behaviors rather than a single one)
very flexible - can record virtually any behavior
observations from interval recordings can be easily converted into a % (# of intervals in which response recorded as occurring/total number of intervals observed x 100)
duration: recording how long or the amount of time the response is performed
useful for ongoing responses that are continuous rather than discrete acts/responses of extremely short duration
the onset and termination of the response must be carefully defined
researchers must decide how to handle changes in the intensity of the behavior and pauses for consistent recordings
generally restricted to situations in which the length of time of a behavior is a major concern
latency: recording the amount of time before the response occurs
not difficult to measure
useful when individuals in applied settings do the observations (parents, teachers)
start time usually easy to specify
often goal is related directly to time
intensity: recording the magnitude, strength, or force of the response
volume of voice, noise level, magnitude of tantrum
can be recorded through automated, mechanical devices
observation of intensity can be difficult without a precise measure
number of people who perform the behavior: a count of everyone who engages in the behavior
used in group situations (classroom, school, community)
used to increase overall performance of a particular behavior
require classifying the response as having occurred or not but with the individuals rather than the # of times response occurred
useful when the explicit goal of a program is to increase performance in a large group of subjects
other strats:
response-specific measures
unique to particular behaviors under investigation
directly assess the response or product of the response that is recognize to be of obvious applied significance
often available from existing data systems or records
cautions
data obtained in institutional records are not always kept reliably, may not reflect the care that investigators usually invoke when developing a measure
biological measures
heart or pulse rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, blood volume, muscle tension, and brainwave activity
directly reflect many problems of interest or are highly correlated with the occurrence of psychological and medical conditions
Diverse clinical problems have been automatically measured with such assessments including insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorders, pain, hyperactivity, sexual dysfunction, tics, tremors, and many others
permits measurement of precursors, the target behavior itself, ir a characteristic strongly associated with the target behavior but more easily measured
self-reports
when rating a problem or target focus, subjective views are influenced by various perceptual distortions and biases that are not part of the actual behavior being rated
not invariably inaccurate, but more readily controlled by client than direct measures of overt behavior
circumstances in which we do not and perhaps cannot report on critical facets of our experience
research has now developed procedures to induce false memories - people can be very confident but reports can be shown to be completely inaccurate
sometimes the behavior is not easily publicly observable because the behavior is performed privately or at times throughout the day that cannot be monitored by anyone other than the clients themselves
subjective experience (self-report) was noted as being critical— whatever we do, whatever behaviors we change, consumers’ (clients themselves) views of these changes and whether the changes make a difference to them are important
critically important because of its relation to other important indices, including life and death
concern - readily subject to distortion because clients can tell what the investigator wants, questions can solicit information but be evaluated different from from what’s reported
reports by others
measures completed by individuals who have access to, can observe, and can interact closely with the client
do not invariably reflect actual behavior
different informants have at best moderate agreement in rating another person
ratings are influenced by factors that can be distinguished from the behavior or characteristics that are being rated
play a critical role in intervention research and single-case research in particular
Decisions in Assessing and Sampling Behavior
number of times that data will be collected
frequency of observation depends on such factors as the variation of behavior over time, the availability of observers, and scheduling exigencies in the setting
behavior should be observed on as many occasions as possible, and preferably daily or multiple occasions per week
length of time set aside for a given observation period
behavior should be observed for a period of time that will allow the behavior to be displayed and to provide a sufficient sample of the behavior
when the observations are conducted
usually it is not feasible to observe behavior over an extended period or over several shorter periods throughout the day to represent performance across all time and settings
behavior might be observed for a single block of time during the period in which behavior change is most obviously required.
initial assessment at different times over a few days can determine which periods require the greatest attention
how many observers, are they consistent or changing, training for consistency
Chapter 4 - How to Ensure the Quality of Assessment
pg 138-162
Flexibility - assessing client behavior includes a broad range of options
reflected in conditions in which behavior is assessed and how to evoke/obtain the behavior so it can be observed and altered by the intervention
Rigor - assessment must meet some special standards and requirements
Conditions of Assessment
Conditions under which Observations are Made
natural vs contrived tasks, activities, and settings
natural - performance is observed without intervening or structuring the situation for the client
often not possible or feasible - behaviors not easily observed because of low frequency, require special conditions, costly, time-consuming
interventions often focus on behaviors that rarely occur or not frequency enough to assess/intervene
so, situations are often contrived to evoke responses so that the target behavior can be assessed and new behaviors can be trained
advantages
provides info that often would be too difficult to obtain under naturalistic conditions
provide consistent and standardized assessment conditions
disadvantages
possibility that performance may have little or no relation to the performance under naturalistic conditions
possibility that people interact differently under contrived conditions in a clinic from how they would under ordinary circumstances
natural environment vs lab settings