Notes on Prompting

Learning and Behavior Change

  • Learning is defined as a change in behavior that endures over time.
    • Example: A child learning to tie shoes at age 5 and still able to do so at age 8 has learned.
    • Non-example: A child taught to spell "cat" but unable to do so six weeks later has not learned.

Shaping

  • Shaping involves differentially reinforcing successive approximations to a target behavior.
  • Only the responses that are closest to the desired target behavior are reinforced.
  • All other responses are placed on extinction.
  • Examples of skills that can be shaped:
    • Vocal behavior (imitating sounds)
    • Self-care skills (brushing teeth)
    • Leisure skills (playing catch)
    • Academic skills (writing letters)
  • Initially, clients may not perform the optimal response, but shaping helps them learn what the best responses are.
  • Close attention to the client's behavior is essential to reinforce the correct responses.
  • Example: Teaching a child to say "apple":
    • Initially, accept "app" as an approximation.
    • Later, reinforce "epa."
    • Eventually, reinforce only "apple."
  • Learning to play tennis:
    • A tennis coach would initially praise the person for an approximation of the backhand.
    • Eventually, approximations are no longer reinforced, and the tennis coach provides the most enthusiastic praise only for the best backhand.

Differential Reinforcement

  • Differential reinforcement involves changing what you choose to reinforce.
  • Only responses that approximate the target behavior are reinforced.
  • It also involves changing the magnitude or size of the reinforcer when the response is closer to the target response.
  • This can be demonstrated by:
    • An increase in the saliency of the praise statement.
    • Giving the biggest reward, such as the most preferred snack, for the best response.
  • Differential reinforcement can be demonstrated by:
    • Changing your affect and expression, using more enthusiasm in your voice.
    • Increasing your physical interaction.
    • Using a highly preferred tangible item, such as a snack or access to a toy.
    • Giving the child a break or switching tasks.
  • Pay attention to the child's response to know which response is the best and provide the best reward for that response.
    • If the teacher says "Good job" for each response, even when the child eventually says "apple", the reinforcement is diluted and the child may not know which response is the best response.
    • If the teacher provides better reinforcers for the response that is closest to the target response, the child will learn which response is the best response.

Prompting

  • A prompt is anything you do to help the client perform the correct response.
  • When first teaching a response, the client will not know how to perform the response accurately, so you will provide assistance.
  • Examples:
    • Guiding a child's hand to tie their shoes.
    • Providing an outline of letters for a child to trace when learning to write their name.
  • Types of prompts:
    • Verbal
    • Gestural
    • Modeling
    • Physical
    • Positional
    • Textual
    • Photographic
  • Identify a prompt that reliably leads to the target response.
    • Assess which type of prompt leads to the response each time.
    • Generally, the least intrusive prompt that reliably leads to the response is identified and used during instruction.
  • Prompts should be appropriately matched to the skill and functioning of the client.
    • A prompt is effective only if the client can respond to it.
    • The child has to reliably imitate in order for modeling to function as a prompt.
  • Typically, one consistent prompt is used rather than multiple prompts for the same response.
    • Using the same prompt will provide some predictability for the client and will allow you to fade the prompt more systematically.
  • Verbal prompts can be systematically faded.

Goal of Prompting

  • The goal with prompts is to remove them so that eventually the client is performing the response accurately without your assistance.
  • Example: Teaching a client to tie her shoes by providing more and more assistance, and then over time, you will provide less and less assistance until eventually you remove all assistance and the client ties her shoes on her own.
  • Three-term contingency illustrating prompting:
    • Instruction: "Stand up"
    • Prompt: Guiding the child to stand up
    • Response: The child stands up
    • Consequence: Praise and a small piece of a preferred snack
  • Gradually, the prompt of guiding the child to stand up is removed, and the child then stands up upon hearing the instruction, stand up.
  • A prompt is faded by using less and less assistance over learning opportunities.
  • Gradually provide less assistance.
  • Differential reinforcement is also applied when fading prompts.

Prompting & Shaping Review

  • A prompt is anything you do to help the client perform the correct response.
  • Prompts should be faded by gradually providing less assistance over learning opportunities.
  • Shaping involves differentially reinforcing successive approximations to a target behavior.
  • When fading prompts, differentially reinforce responses that require less and less assistance.