Basic Concepts Flashcards
3 term contingency
antecedent- behavior- consequence
antecedent
environmental conditions or stimulus changes that exist or occur prior to the behavior of interest
automaticity of reinforcement
behavior is modified by its consequences regardless of whether the individual is aware s/he is being reinforced.
aversive stimulus
an unpleasant or noxious stimulus;
a stimulus condition that functions
1) to evoke a behavior that has terminated the aversive stimulus in the past
2) as a punisher
3) as a reinforcer when terminated
behavior
Portion of the organism’s interaction with the environment
Characterized by displacements in space through time:
Temporal locus (when)
Temporal extent (duration)
Repeatability (frequency)
Results in a measurable change in some aspect of the environment
conditioned punisher (CP)
stimulus events or conditions that are presented or that occur just before or simultaneously with the occurrence of other punishers may acquire the ability to punish on their own consequence
conditioned reinforcer (CR)
stimulus events or conditions that are presented or that occur just before or simulations with the occurrence of other reinforcers may acquire the ability to reinforce behavior when they later occur on their own consequences.
conditioned stimulus (CR)
stimulus created after stim-stim pairing creates a condiitioned reflex
consequence
Stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest, especially those that are immediate
Relevant to current motivational states
Some influence future behavior, others have little effect
Can be social or nonsocial
contingency
various types of temporal of functional relations between behavior and antecedent and consequent variables.
contingent
dependency of a particular consequences on the occurrence of behavior.
deprivation
the state of an organism with respect to how much time has elapsed since it has consumed or contacted a particular type of reinforcer.
(e.g. procedure of increasing the effectiveness of a reinforcer.
discriminated operant
a behavior that occurs more frequently under some antecedent conditions than it does under others
discriminative stimulus
a stimulus that the presence of which responses of some type have been reinforced and in the absence of which the same type of responses have occurred and not been reinforced. (e.g. reinforced is available)
environment
everything except the moving parts of an organism involved in the behavior; only real physical events included
All behavior occurs within an environmental context;
Behavior cannot be emitted in an environmental void or vacuum
Stimulus
extinction
when reinforcement is withheld, the frequency of behavior will gradually decrease to pre-reinforcement levels or cease occur altogether
habituation
process of gradually diminishing response strength
higher order conditoning
stimulus-stimulus pairing of an NS with a CS
History of reinforcement
repertoire of behaviors each person brings to any situation has been selected, shaped and maintained by…
Motivating operations
an environmental variable that-alters (increases or decreases) the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of some stimulus
-alters the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced or punished by that stimulus, object or event.
negative reinforcement
frequency of behavior increases because past responses resulted in the removal or termination of a stimulus.
neutral stimulus (NS)
stimulus that dies not elicit a reflex response
ontogency
individual organism
operant behavior
any behavior whose future frequency is determined primarily by its history of consequences.
operant conditioning
process and selective effects of consequences on behavior.
phylogeny
history of species
positive reinforcement
a behavior is followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus and results in the behavior occurring more often in the future
punisher
decrease of response frequency
punishment
when a behavior is followed by a stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar situations
reflex
stimulus- response relation, part of organism genetic endowment
reinforcement
if a bx is followed closely in time by a stimulus event and as a result the future frequency of that type of BX increases in similar conditions.
reinforcer
increase of response frequency
repertoire
all behaviors a person can do set or collection of knowledge and skills
respondent behavior
BX that is elicited by antecedent stimuli. induced or brought out by a stimulus that precedes the behavior, nothing else is required for the response to occur.
respondent conditioning
new stimuli can acquire that ability to elicit respondents. NS+US=UR NS+US=UR US=UR CS=CR
respondent extinction
procedure of repeatedly presented a CS without the US until the CS is no longer elicits the conditioned response
response
Specific instance of behavior
action of an organisms effector (organ at the end of an efferent nerve fiber that is specialised for altering its environment)
response class
A group of responses with the same function
Each response in the group produces the same effect on the environment
Satiation
a decrease in the frequency of operant behavior presumed as the result of a reinforcer that has followed the behavior (e.g. procedure for reducing the effectiveness of a reinforcer.
selection by consequences
all forms of life evolve as a result of selection with respect to function
stimulus
an energy change that affects an organism through its receptor cells
described:
Formally (Physical features)
Temporally (When they occur with respect to a behavior of interest)
Functionally (Effects on behavior)
stimulus class
any group of stimuli sharing a predetermined set of common elements in one or more of the following dimensions:
Formal (physical features) dimensions of stimuli Temporal locus (when) of stimuli Behavioral functions (effect) of stimulus changes
Stimulus control
when a discriminated operant occurs at a higher frequency in the presence of a given stimulus than it does in the absence of that stimulus
Stimulus= stimulus pairing
pairing a neutral stimuli with an unconditioned stimuli
unconditioned punisher
stimulus change that can decrease the future frequency of any behavior that precedes it without prior pairing with any other form of punishment
unconditioned reinforcer (UR)
a stimulus change that can increase the future frequency of behavior without prior pairing with any form of reinforcement.
unconditioned stimulus (US)
reflex=response
response topography
the form, or physical characteristics of a behavior
formal dimensions of stimuli
Physical characteristics
Descriptions, measurements, manipulations based on:
Size, color, intensity, weight, etc.
Can be
Social
Nonsocial
temporal loci of stimuli
When stimulus changes that
occur
prior to (Antecedent)
Immediately after (Consequence)
Environmental conditions or stimulus changes that exist or occur prior to the behavior play a critical part in learning and motivation
Learners do not need to be aware of antecedents for antecedents to effect behavior
Stimulus changes
best understood through a functional analysis of their effects on behavior
Immediate control
Delayed, or no apparent effect
Stimulus changes
An immediate but temporary effect of increasing or decreasing the current frequency of the behavior
A delayed but relatively permanent effect in terms of the frequency of that type of behavior in the future
Principle of behavior
Describes a functional relation between behavior and one or more of its controlling variables (b = fx)
Thorough generality across individual organisms, species, settings, behaviors
Empirical generalization inferred from many experiments
Describe how behavior works
Reinforcement, punishment, extinction
Behavior change tactic
Research-based, technologically consistent method for changing behavior that has been derived from one or more basic principles of behavior
Sufficient generality across subjects, settings, and or behaviors to warrant its codification & dissemination
Technological aspect of ABA
