B - Concepts and Principles Flashcards
Behavior
Anything an organism does
Behavior includes actions that change the environment in some way
Ex. Talking, eating, writing, reading
Dead Man’s Test
If a dead man could do it, it isn’t behavior
Pivotal Behaviors
Behaviors that lead to new, untrained behaviors
Ex. Functional communication training, joint attention
Behavior Cusps
Behaviors that allow the learner to contact new reinforcers or additional
parts of the environment.
Ex. Reading, learning to use transportation
Response
A single instance of a behavior
Response Class
A group or set of responses that serve the same function/same impact on
environment
Stimulus
A change in the environment that evokes a functional reaction
Stimulus Class
A group or set of stimuli that share similar characteristics
1. Physical/Formal/Feature
2. Functional
3. Temporal
4. Arbitrary
Stimulus Class: Physical
Looks or sounds the same
Stimulus Class: Functional
Effect behavior the same way
Ex. Stimuli that make you stop (stop sign,
holding you hand up to signal “stop,” saying “stop.”
Stimulus Class: Temporal
When the stimulus occurs in relation to a behavior
Ex. Antecedents to the same behavior
Stimulus Class: Arbitrary
Antecedent stimuli that evoke the same response, but do not resemble each other
Probing
Asking a client to perform a task to assess whether they can perform the task.
Respondent Conditioning
A neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an unconditioned (US) or conditioned
stimulus (CS) and acquires the properties of that stimulus needed to elicit behavior
Operant Conditioning
Consequences effect the future probability of a behavior occurring or not
occurring
Reinforcement and punishment
Stimulus-Response-Stimulus (S-R-S)
Evokes a Response
Ex. You call your mom on Sunday. She picks up the phone. You now call your mom every Sunday
Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is a stimulus presented following a response or behavior that will increase or maintain that response
Negative reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is a stimulus removed following a response that will increase or maintain that response
Contingency
If-then statement
Automaticity
Behavior is modified by consequences whether the person is aware of the
Consequence or not
Automatic
Produce consequences without needing another individual to change the
environment.
Ex. Sensory/automatic function of behavior
Socially Mediated
The consequence is delivered through another individual
Ex. A teacher rewarding a student, a parent punishing their child
Describe the four types of Operant Extinction
Extinction - reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued
Extinction burst - – a predictable, temporary increase in the intensity of bx during extinction
Spontaneous Recovery - A sudden reemergence of a previously extinct behavior
Response Blocking - Reinforcement is physically blocked
Stimulus Control
Behaviors and responses occur or don’t occur only in the presence, or more often or less often
in the presence, of a stimulus
Ex. Whenever your college friend comes in town, you tend to drink and party more
Ex. You stop at red lights, and accelerate for green lights
Stimulus Generalization
The same response is evoked by multiple similar stimuli
Or
The same response occurs across
Ex. A child screams when he sees a white rat and also screams when he sees stuffed animals
Response Generalization
Multiple Responses to One Stimulus.
When a person performs a variety of functional responses in the presence
of the same stimuli
Ways to mediate generalization and maintenance
- Multiple settings, people, and stimuli in a natural context
- Use a variety of reinforcement schedules
- Teach self-management to the client
- Reinforce generalization when it happens
Motivating operation
Alters the value
1. Of a consequence (effectiveness of a reinforcer or punisher) or
2. Frequency of behavior that has been reinforced in the past by that consequence
Motivating Operations: Value Altering Effect
Establishing Operation
Abolishing Operation
