3. Principles, Processes, & Concepts Flashcards
What is behavior?
-it has an affect on the environment
-is measurable
-involves movement (physical movement, movement of muscles or glands)
-only occur with living organisms
-includes movement of some part of the organism, displacements in space through time, the requirement of measurable change (that portion of the organism’s interaction with its environment that is characterized by detectable displacements in space through time of some part of the organism & that results in a measurable change in at least one aspect of the environment)
(because a bx involves movement, it must have an effect on the environment)
the Dead Man theory
What is a response?
a single occurrence of behavior
we target bxs but we record responses
What is a response class?
similar bxs that are strengthened or weakened as a result of operant conditioning
What is topography?
the form of a behavior, or what it looks like
What is a functional response class?
behaviors that may differ in topography but are collectively strengthened or weakened by operant conditioning
What is a stimulus class?
a group of stimuli with one or more common properties
e.g., a pen, pencil, and crayon
What is reinforcement?
always increases or maintains behavior
What is punishment?
always decreases behavior
What is positive reinforcement?
- involves the presentation of a stimulus and increase in bx
- stimulus presented –> bx increase
What is negative reinforcement
- involves the removal of a stimulus and increase in bx
- stimulus removed –> bx increases
What is a stimulus change? (Definition of reinforcement)
is a reinforcer if, when made contingent upon a bx, it increases the future probability of that bx
What is positive punishment (Type I)?
- involves presentation of a stimulus and a decrease in bx
- stimulus presented –> bx decreases
What is negative punishment (Type II)?
- the removal/withdrawal of a stimulus and a decrease in bx
- stimulus removed –> bx decreases
What is a stimulus?
- any condition, event, or change in the physical world
- affects the organism’s receptors (vision, hearing, taste, etc.)
- it does not necessarily have a measurable effect on bx
What is a unconditioned reinforcer?
unconditioned and unlearned reinforcers are those that one is born with and are important to the survival of the organism
-unconditioned reinforcer = unlearned reinforcer = primary reinforcers
What are generalized conditioned reinforcers?
- are those that have been associated with various bxs or access to backup reinforcers (which may be primary or secondary reinforcers)
- exemplified by money
- same as generalized reinforcers
- less vulnerable/susceptible to satiation
- not necessarily more or less powerful than primary reinforcers
What is a conditioned reinforcer?
conditioned reinforcers = learned reinforcers = secondary reinforcers
What are generalized reinforcers?
- are associated with a variety of reinforcers (such as a token or point system) in which tokens could be exchanged for a variety of things
- sometimes require a backup reinforcer, enable the same reinforcement to be given to individuals with different preferences, are likely to be reinforcing at any time
What is a functional relation?
you have experimentally demonstrated a relation between an independent and dependent variable (demonstrated that X leads to Y and all other variables that might explain the effect have been controlled or eliminated) -a functional relationship exists when experimental data indicate that changes in an antecedent or consequent stimulus class consistently alter a dimension of a response class -relation between a x and its determining variables -the dependent variable is a function of the independent variable and nothing else -an event can be made to happen by the manipulation of other events (the effective intervention may be a cause)
What is a causal relation?
X AND ONLY X leads to Y (difficult to achieve)
To be a functional relationship, changes in antecedent or consequent events must alter the response class
consistently, but not necessarily each time
If an antecedent stimulus consistently evokes a bx…
- it provides support for a functional relationship
- stimulus control, and
- an establishing operation being in effect
Experimental data indicating that changes in an antecedent or consequent stimulus class consistently alter the dimension of a response class
is a functional relationship
Demonstrated…
an experimentally validated relation between the IV and a DV
Established or caused…
an experimentally validated demonstration that ONLY the IV could bring about the change in the DV
(this is difficult to achieve bc you cannot experimentally demonstrate that there is nothing else could bring about the same results)
What is an operant contingency?
-the stimulus conditions under which a bx will result in a consequence
-stimulus (consequence) occurs as a function of a bx
- A > B > C
(it could be thought of as a contingent probability = given X conditions and Y behavior, Z consequence will follow (on a particular schedule)
What is a respondent (or stimulus-stimulus) contingency?
- one stimulus follows another stimulus (independent of bx)
- the probability of a particular stimulus given another stimulus
- e.g., a dependent relationship between 2 or more stimuli
- the unconditioned stimulus and neutral stimulus are presented in close temporal relation
What is an S-P?
a stimulus, that when present, weakens bx bc of a history of punishment
What is an SD (stimulus discrimination)?
- a stimulus in the presence of which a bx has been previously -reinforced
- it precedes bx and evokes it
What is an S-Delta?
a stimulus, in the presence of which a bx has NOT been previously reinforced
(note: this is contrasted with a neutral stimulus, which has not predictive value)
- when reinforcement is NOT available
The definition of contingency includes “a dependent relationship between two or more stimuli.” This refers to…
- the relationship between two antecedent stimuli
- necessary conditions to achieve respondent conditioning
- unconditioned and (initially) neutral stimuli
Q: a dependent relationship between a response class and one or more stimulus classes or between two or more stimuli is A: a contingency
What is stimulus control?
changes in bx concurrent with the presentation or removal of a stimulus
e.g., a resident often starts hitting himself when a particular staff person enters the room
What is an EO (Establishing Operation)?
EOs can either have an appetitive or abating function-altering or -evocative effect
- the defining characteristics of an EO are function-altering and evocative
- alter the value of stimuli or events
- defined by its a) alteration in reinforcing effectiveness and b) evocative properties
What is an evocative effect?
- there has to be a bx change differential from when the EO is in effect to when it is not in effect
- either to promote or inhibit responding
- momentary influence on the frequency of a bx
What is a function-altering effect?
-effect on a bx when a stimulus change is made contingent upon it
to enhance or diminish the effectiveness of the reinforcer or punisher; increase the value of the reinforcer; effect on a bx when a stimulus change is made contingent upon it; evidenced by an increase in future responding under similar conditions
-function-altering effect is also demonstrated with a decrease in future responding
The function-altering effect of an EO is…
- nearly always accompanied by an evocative effect
- evidenced by an increase in future responding under similar conditions
- evidenced by a decrease in future responding under similar conditions