8- Stimulus Control and Conditional Discrimination Flashcards
We behave in the context of many different stimuli (e.g., auditory, tactile, olfactory). Yet, our behavior is _________ controlled by these stimuli, under different contexts.
Differentially
Describe discriminative stimulus (SD).
Sets the occasion for the reinforcement of operant behavior
- Is a signal (if you do this behavior, then you’ll get a reinforcer)
Describe S∆.
- An extinction stimulus
- Tells us that reinforcers will NOT be delivered
Name some examples of SD.
a. Attempting to breathe under water will not be reinforced
b. Being alert will help you avoid getting hit with clumps of dirt
c. Standing where the bats aren’t will be negatively reinforced
What is discrimination?
Specifying the conditions under which orgs. come to behave one way in the PRESENCE o/ some stimuli, and a different way in presence o/ others
What you do, depends on what?
Presence o/ discriminative stimuli
- Can be:
a. Things in the environment (e.g. traffic signals, microwave)
b. What other people do (e.g. waiting to speak when someone is talking to you)
Explain “The Dog Catcher” example of stimulus control.
Dog will only eat the treat when any name–other than “dog catcher”— is mentioned
- His behavior is under control o/ name of the person who gave him the treat
Explain “Moonwalking Bear” example of stimulus control.
- If you were attempting to complete the instruction (count the passes) o/ the team in white, then you would’ve missed the moonwalking bear
- If you saw it, then you behavior was NOT exclusively under the control of the instruction
What do we do if we want to know whether we have “tight” stimulus control?
- Present SD + S∆
- SD- says that responding will be reinforced
- S∆- tells you the response won’t be reinforced
If we have tight stimulus control over responding, in which condition would you expect more responding – when the SD is present or the S ∆?
When SD is PRESENT
Name some examples of testing for stimulus control. What does this mean?
a. High five
- Acceptable → at picnic
- Not appropriate → funeral
b. Football players: pat on backside
- Acceptable → at football game
- Not appropriate → interview
Name some examples of testing for stimulus control. What does this mean?
a. High five
- Acceptable → at picnic
- Not appropriate → funeral
b. Football players: pat on backside
- Acceptable → at football game
- Not appropriate → interview
Conclusion: In other words, it’s not always “ok” to emit these responses. It is only “ok” in certain situations (i.e., under specific conditions).
What is a conditional discrimination?
Subject to or dependent upon some other event in environment
What is the difference between discrimination and conditional?
Discrimination- specifying the conditions under which organisms come to behave one way in the presence of some stimuli, and a different way in the presence of others
- Telling the DIFF. between 2 situations (when reinforcement will and will not follow)
Conditional- subject to or dependent upon some other event in the environment
- There are features o/ the ENVIRONMENT that tell you what those diffs. are
What are conditional discriminations?
Differential response to stimuli that depends on the stimulus context (those for which the role of one stimulus depends on others that provide its context)
Give an example of discriminate presence vs absence of a toilet
Discriminate presence- Child learning to use bathroom in presence o/ toilet
Absence of toilet- Toilet in store display
- Making a conditional discrimination means your responding is not just under the control o/ toilet, but also other important features of the environment (PRIVACY)
What are the 3 procedures that can be used to establish conditional discriminations?
- Match to sample
- Oddity Matching
- Artbitrary Matching
How does “Match to Sample” work?
- It’s a simultaneous conditional discrimination procedure
1. A sample stimulus is presented
2. Followed by comparison stimuli
3. Matching responses are reinforced
Errors are typically followed by a repetition of the same samples and comparisons on the next trial. It is not an “_______________ ” procedure.
Error-less
Errors prevents the establishment of _______ to key position or color
Bias
Explain examples of bias.
- A right-handed person may be more inclined to make a selection that is “on the right.”
- “Handedness” bias - A bias might emerge because one option is more effortful (more _difficult_______________ than another).
- “Effortless” bias → lift dumbells for $1
- “Effort” bias → solve algebra problem for 35 cents - A bias might emerge because of a color preference.
- This would be a “_______Color_________ ” bias
- “Hand me the yellow Lego” (student selects blue instead because it’s favorite color)
If a child exhibits a “side bias” (as in the duck example), we may conclude that the child has ________________ particular skills, when in fact the child has not.
Acquired
- Are we teaching the kid to point to the right?
- Or actually tracking/identifying where the duck is?
When should we use random rotation when presenting stimuli in a discrete trial training formate?
Teacher- learning
Kid- not learning
How does “Oddity Matching” work?
- It’s a conditional discrimination procedure in which one o/ 3+ stimuli differs from the others in some property
- Responses to the “odd” one are reinforced
- Remember Sesame Street video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueZ6tvqhk8U
How does “Arbitrary Matching” work?
- A conditional discrimination procedure in which matches are based on arbitrary relations
- There’s no point-to-point correspondence for the sample and correct stimulus
- Point-to-point correspondence- sample and the correct stimulus are the SAME
What is an equivalence class?
A stimulus class produced via matchingto sample procedures, and includes emergent relations among its members
- e.g. Teaching generatively
What is an emergent relation?
A relation that is inferred or deduced from existing knowledge o/ other relations
What are the components of equivalent class?
- Reflexivity- same as identity matching
- Ask whether the subject can select “green” when presented w/ green & red comparisons (Green = Green) - Symmetry- reversibility o/ a relation
- If A = B, then B= A - Transitivity- transfer o/ the relation to new combinations through shared membership
- It is with transitive relations that we seek to identify emergent relations
- If A = B, and B= C, then A = C
The relations that are demonstrated without explicit instruction are ________________
Emergent relations
The real benefit of a stimulus equivalence teaching paradigm is that you can ________________ learning with less teaching.
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