Motivating Operation (MO): An environmental event that serves two main functions:
Alters the effectiveness of a reinforcer.
Alters the current frequency of a behavior that has been reinforced by that consequence.
Reinforcer Effectiveness and Behavior Frequency
Reinforcer: A stimulus that follows a behavior and increases the frequency of that behavior.
Example: A child cleans up toys and receives a cookie. The effectiveness of the cookie as a reinforcer can change depending on the child's prior exposure:
If the child recently ate cookies, the cookie's ability to reinforce cleaning the toys diminishes (satiation).
If the child hasn't eaten cookies for a while, the cookie's reinforcing ability increases (deprivation).
States of Satiation and Deprivation
Satiation: Occurs when continued or overexposure to a reinforcer reduces its effectiveness.
Example: A child who has had too many cookies may not be motivated to clean up his toys to receive more cookies.
Deprivation: Occurs when restricted or limited exposure to a reinforcer increases its effectiveness.
Example: A hungry child may be eager to clean up toys to receive a cookie due to deprivation of cookies.
The Four-Term Contingency
Expands on the three-term contingency to include MOs.
Components:
Motivating Operation (MO)
Discriminative Stimulus (SD)
Behavior
Consequence
Examples of MOs
Types: Food, water, sleep, activity, oxygen, and sex deprivation or satiation can act as MOs affecting behavior.
Other Events that Act as MOs: Temperature extremes, pain, and the presence of aversive events.
Types of Motivating Operations
Abolishing Operations (AO): Decrease the effectiveness of a reinforcer and decrease behavior frequency.
Example: After drinking water, a person is less likely to wait in line for more water because of water satiation.
Establishing Operations (EO): Increase the effectiveness of a reinforcer and increase behavior frequency.
Example: After a long run, a thirsty person is highly motivated to wait in line for water because of water deprivation.
Establishing Operations and Examples
Example: Hunger causes increased value of food and frequency of food-seeking behaviors.
Example: Deprivation increases motivation for a valued item or behavior, such as a cookie after a period of not having any.
Differences Between MOs and Discriminative Stimuli (SDs)
Both are antecedents that evoke behavior, but they function differently:
MOs: Change the effectiveness of reinforcers before behavior occurs.
SDs: Signal the availability of a reinforcer when a certain response occurs.
Example: Rain (EO) increases the value of staying dry, while the presence of an umbrella (SD) signals that staying dry is possible if the behavior of using the umbrella occurs.
Role of Motivating Operations
Important for:
Skill acquisition (increasing desired behaviors).
Problem behavior reduction (understanding why behaviors occur).
Skill Acquisition and Requests (Mands)
Mand: A verbal request for items, activities, or assistance.
Example: A child says “apple” when hungry, prompting a response from a parent.
Motivating operations influence the likelihood of mands, as seen when hunger increases the value of food as a reinforcer.
Environmental Conditions Influencing EOs
Create conditions for EOs through:
Starting and stopping preferred activities.
Presenting food or activities that a learner cannot access directly.
Using environmental factors to create opportunities for teaching requesting behaviors.
Understanding Problem Behavior Through MOs
Problem behaviors can be understood through EOs:
Attention deprivation can lead to crying for attention.
Deprivation of preferred items can trigger aggressive behavior.
Sensory deprivation might lead to repetitively engaging in behaviors to gain sensory input.
Aversive conditions can provoke escape behaviors, such as crying or hitting.
Examples of Problem Behaviors and EOs
**Attention Deprivation: (Tom crying)
*Situation:* Teacher is busy; student hasn’t received attention; produces behavior to gain attention.
**Preferred Item Deprivation: (Mary taking tablet)
*Situation:* A child deprived of access reacts strongly when seeing a peer with the desired item.
**Sensory Deprivation: (Mark making sounds)
*Situation:* Waiting at a table; no activities lead to engagement in repetitive behavior for sensory input.
**Aversive Situations: (Kylie screaming at the dentist)
*Situation:* Child engages in behavior to escape an unpleasant situation.
Summary of Motivating Operations
MOs impact reinforcement effectiveness and behavior frequency: