Reinforcement Notes

Contingency means one change is caused by another.
For something to happen, something else has to happen beforehand.
- Example: Getting paid is contingent upon going to work (hourly employee).
- Salary employees: Wages may not be contingent upon being clocked in, but payment is contingent upon work being done.
Response contingent: Depends upon a behavior occurring.
- Example: Using tokens to increase work completion. Receiving a token is response contingent because they must engage in behavior to get it.

Framework for thinking about opportunities or learn units within the operant learning model.
Components:
- Discriminative stimulus.
- Motivating operation (if applicable).
  - Some behaviors happen without a discriminative stimulus; less likely without a motivating operation.
- Opportunity to engage in the behavior.
  - The behavior has to be available.
  - Example: A car without gas does not allow for driving behaviors.
- Behavior.
- Consequence/Outcome.
  - The thing that happens immediately following the behavior.
  - If contingent, it depended on the behavior happening.
Noncontingent instances: Delivery of reinforcement or punishment just happens to co-occur.

Do not assume that a consequence following a behavior is the driver of that behavior.
A correlation does not equal causation.
Example: Attention in preschool classrooms.
- Attention is often identified as a consequence of behavior, that they'd like to reduce.
- With an appropriate ratio, high levels of non-contingent attention are provided.
- Attention following a behavior may not be the maintaining consequence; it may just co-occur frequently.
- If attention continues every time the behavior occurs, it may become the consequence.

Positive: Additive. Take away the connotation that Positive is good and Negative is bad.
Reinforcement can be socially mediated or automatic.
Socially Mediated Reinforcement: Comes through another person.
- Anything a person gives to an organism engaging in a behavior.
- Example: Ordering coffee at a shop.
Automatic Reinforcement: Consequence happens as a result of a behavior without anyone else's intervention.
- Delivered without social mediation.
- Example: Using a coffee machine at home.

Including more reinforcers in an environment makes it more repetitive.
Organisms are more likely to go to environments with more reinforcers.
If all reinforcers are freely available, there is no need for the organism to engage in programmed responses besides picking up the thing.
To adjust behavior, build contingencies involving programmed responses to contact reinforcements.

Reinforcement is not bribery.
Establishing a contingency before someone engages in challenging behavior is reinforcement.
- "If you do this, I’ll do that."
Bribery occurs when a reinforcer is provided after an individual is engaging in challenging behavior.
- Example: A child throwing a tantrum in the store.
  - Bribery: "If you stop, I’ll buy you bananas."
  - Reinforcement: "If I can get six vegetables without you crying, I’ll buy you a banana."
Reinforcement teaches them to get paid for work; it is not coercive.
Use reinforcement to encourage prosocial behaviors, not escalation.