ABA/Applied Behaviour Analysis Flashcards
what is applied behaviour analysis?
Applied behaviour analysis is a natural science approach to the study of behaviour of humans.
what is the fundamental premise of a natural science approach?
the fundamental premise of a natural science approach to psychology is that all behaviour is caused and that the cause of our behaviour is physical and external to us.
what is conventional thought?
in conventional thought we typically see ourselves as being the originators of our own behaviour, that we possess the ability to act freely independent of our history.
…this is in stark contrast to the premise of natural science.
what are the two sub-disciplines within the behavioural field?
- the experimental analysis of behaviour (EAB)
- Applied behaviour analysis (ABA).
what is EAB?
EAB involves the study of the fundamental principles that govern behaviours.
the goal of such research is to determine environmental conditions that control or cause behaviour in organisms.
what is ABA primarily interested in?
ABA is primarily interested in the application of the principles of behaviour which are derived from laboratory research to issues of human interest.
the popular term PBS describes the application of ABA principles to the assessment and treatment of challenging behaviours.
(NB to know the diff between ABA and PBS; PBS uses principles of ABA (behaviour analysis) to deal with challenging behaviours).
what did Horner say about PBS (note this is not about ABA)?
Horner 2000, said that specifically positive behaviour support interventions involve restructuring and changing environments, which result in the reduction of challenging behaviours as well as increases in prosocial and adaptive behaviours that may improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities.
what happened in the 1970’s, according to Gold 1976?
In the early to mid 1970’s researchers began to demonstrate that people with developmental disabilities or capable of performing community, vocational and domestic tasks traditionally thought to be beyond their capabilities, Gold 1976.
what else did Gold say?
complex skills such as preparing meals, self grooming and grocery shopping could be taught if they’re broken down into small discrete steps that were then taught systematically using instructional prompts and positive reinforcements.
what is task analysis?
we must first break complex sequences of behaviour down into their component parts. the process by which a complex sequence of behaviours is broken down and the resulting set of behaviours is called a task analysis.
what is the first step of task analysis?
the first step consists of identifying the essential behaviours involved in performing the task sequence. this can be achieved by observing and recording the behaviours of individuals who are skilled in performing the task.
what did Cuvo do in 1978 (task analysis)?
for example, Cuvo in 1978 taught janitorial skills such as sweeping and mopping the floor, cleaning the stool and cleaning the mirror to individuals with developmental disabilities. the task analysis analyses were developed by observing janitors performing these tasks.
what are instructional strategies?
Instructional prompts are cues used to evoke a desired response. They are supplementary stimuli that will be removed once the person can perform targeted behaviours at the desired level of independence.
what types of prompts are there?
prompts are of two general types:
- response prompts
- stimulus prompts.
what are response prompts?
response prompts are cues that describe and demonstrate the new desired response.
there are several types of response prompts, including verbal, model, picture and physical prompts
what are stimulus prompts?
Stimulus prompts are cues that highlight the natural discriminative stimuli in the environment and therefore increase the probability of correct responding.
what are verbal response prompts?
These prompts can be written or oral. An indirect verbal prompt is used to cue the person that some behaviour needs to be performed, but it does not describe what the behaviour is. for example, “what do you need to do next” is an example of an indirect verbal prompt.
A direct verbal prompt specifies that the person needs to perform, for example “open your book” clearly describes what needs to be performed.
what did Lancioni in 2000 do? (verbal response prompts)
Lancioni in 2000 taught adults with severe intellectual disabilities to perform domestic tasks via the use of vocal prompts delivered through a small pocket audio device with an earpiece.
what are model response prompts?
model response prompts involve the teacher demonstrating the desired behaviour so it can be imitated by the person.
what are picture response prompts?
picture response prompts are visual representations of the behaviours to be performed.
Sowers et al in 1980 taught individuals with intellectual disabilities to use picture cues of clock faces to leave a return from lunch and work breaks.
what are physical response prompts?
physical response prompts produce correct responding by manually guiding the person through the appropriate response. physical prompting is obviously a very intrusive way to teach someone to respond correctly.
back to stimulus prompts, what are they in more detail?
stimulus prompts are additional stimuli that are used to highlight important stimuli in the environment and enhance the evocative effectiveness of natural stimuli.
stimulus prompts can be used in conjunction with response prompts when teaching a skill.
what does instructional protocol mean, in terms of stimulus and response prompts?
response and stimulus prompts are instructional protocol that must eventually be partially or totally removed. the goal of an instructional program is that the student will eventually be able to perform the skills as independently as possible.
what is the fading of prompts called?
the fading of prompts is therefore sometimes called “errorless learning” by Terrace 1963.
what does fading involve?
the fading of stimulus prompts is a relatively straightforward task which involves the gradual removal of the highlighted stimulus.
what are the most effective response prompts?
response prompts differ in their capacity to revoke correct responding:
- physical prompts = most effective as they virtually ensure responding.
- modelling and picture prompts would = next most effective because they involve demonstrations of the behaviour to be performed.
- verbal prompts = least effective as they require the student to be able to perform the skill when verbally requested.
how can response prompts be presented and faded?
response prompts can be presented and then faded in a: 1) least-to-most effective or a 2) most-to-least effective sequence when teaching new skills.
what is least-to-most prompting?
least-to-most: the student is given the opportunity to perform their response with the minimum amount of assistance during each training trial.
if the student does not respond appropriately with minimal assistance then more intrusive response prompts are systematically introduced.
the least intrusive prompt such as verbal is always paired with the most intrusive prompts during instruction, such as physical prompt…this is done to pair the least intrusive prompt with the correct responding and reinforcement so that it will eventually come to control the targeted response.
what is most-to-least prompting?
with most-to-least prompts the most intrusive prompt is employed initially, gradually faded to the least intrusive prompt, and eventually to the natural stimulus.
Once the student has performed the task without error under the current level of prompt for a predetermined number of trials then the next level of less intrusive prompt is initiated.
what is the time delay instructional protocol?
the time delay instructional protocol differs from the least-to-most and the most-to-least instructional protocol in that the response prompt remains the same throughout teaching, but the delay between the natural stimulus and the response prompt is gradually increased over time.
…a delayed prompt means that the student can respond independently.
how do Leslie and O’Reilly describe the term ‘reinforcement’?
It is important to reinforce new behaviour as it occurs. reinforcement describes the process whereby behaviours increase in probability when they are followed by certain consequences.
(Leslie and O’Reilly 1999)
what is important to do at each step of task analysis?
During each step of the task analysis it is important to reinforce these new behaviours each time they occur. once new behaviour becomes established or learnt then reinforcement can become less frequent. that is, not every instance of the behaviour will be reinforced.
why is it difficult to select that appropriate reinforcer?
certain consequences may act as reinforcers for some individuals but not for others, for example some individuals may find social praise to be a pleasant consequence whereas other students may not like to be praised.
what are the tactics that can be used to select reinforcers?
1) you can ask parents family members and others that know the students and what they believed to be most desirable or favoured by the student.
2) the students could be observed over time to determine what objects he or she seeks, holds or manipulates for periods of time.
…if students seeks out specific items or activities, it can be inferred that such items or activities could act as reinforcers.
what does a preference assessment consist of?
A preference assessment consists of systemically presenting items and events to a person and measure their reaction.
- preferred items generally will be identifiable because the student will exert more effort to acquire them, exhibit longer periods of interaction with an item or show expressions of happiness indicating that the item is desirable, Lancioni 1998.
- stimuli can also be presented in pairs and a student is allowed to choose one. in this paired assessment the students choice is used as an indicator of preference.
what must an effective intervention do?
an effective behavioural intervention must do more than change the behaviour. it must produce behaviour that occurs in a variety of appropriate environments also known as the generalisation of new behaviours.
how did Baer and Wolf in 1970 define the maintenance and generalisation of behaviours?
Baer and Wolf in 1970 define the maintenance and generalisation of such behaviours in terms of “trapping”; once the behaviours taught in the classroom setting and subsequently exposed to natural maintaining contingencies it becomes trapped by those contingencies.
what is important to think about when selecting a new behaviour?
when you are selecting a new behaviour to teach it is important that this new behaviour will produce positive consequences for the person in the post-intervention environment.
- behaviours that do not produce positive consequences for the person will not maintain outside of the teaching setting.
when is generalisation more likely to occur?
generalisation to other settings is more likely to occur if salient stimuli that are present in the teaching setting are also present in the generalisation settings.
what is another strategy to enhance generalisation?
another strategy to enhance generalisation is to train several examples of the new skill during the training phase: - for example laundry machines, microwaves and bathrooms incorporate a wide variety of different stimulus parameters in the natural environment. these differing stimulus parameters will require different responses to achieve success.
the instruction must therefore include a sufficient number of training examples during the training phase.
