Behavioral Analysis Flashcards
Joseph Wolpe experiment
Discovered systematic desensitization
- Paired specific sounds and images with electric shocks given to cats
- Cats began equating images/sounds with shock; images/sounds created feeling of fear
- Cats gradually exposed to the same images/sounds accompanied by food instead of shocks
- Eventually “unlearned” their fear
Mary Cover Jones experiment
“Little Peter”
- 3 y/o Peter afraid of rabbits and generalizes fear
- Rabbit is gradually brought closer to Peter, Peter is presented with candy (favorite food)
- Fear subsided and Peter is able to touch rabbit without crying
- Peter hospitalized for 2 months; returns with early level of fear reaction
- Jones develops “desensitization technique”
Desensitization
An emotional response to a negative or aversive stimuli is diminished after repeated exposure to it (doing something so many times that you’re no longer afraid)
Flooding
A person is exposed to the feared stimulus at full intensity for a prolonged period of time until the person is no longer afraid
Efficient but causes discomfort
May be gradual
May be in vivo or imaginal
Law of Effect
Thornedike
A person makes a number of responses to a situation and at least one leads to a satisfying solution
The connection of that particular response to the pleasing solution “stamps in” the response
If an action receives an award, that action becomes stamped in the mind
Thornedike’s experiment
Hungry cat put in puzzle box, fish placed just outside box
Cat could escape by stepping on a pedal that released the latch
Cat tries to squeeze through slats of box, biting slats
Eventually accidentally steps on pedal which opens door and cat gets the fish
This is repeated with the same cat and as the trials progressed, the cat takes less time to open the door
Skinner’s 3-Term Contingency
A > B > C
Antecedent > Behavior > Consequence
Operant Behavior Contingency
S > R > S^R or S^P
Stimulus (A) > Response (B) > Reinforcement or Punishment (C)
Operant Behavior
Behavior influenced by consequences
Respondent Behavior
Behavior influenced by reflexes
Operant Conditioning
Antecedent sets the occasion for the response; involves the manipulation of consequences
Ex. “Sit” > dog sits > gets treat; sitting increases in the future if the dog gets a treat (the consequence shapes the behavior)
Difference between respondent and operant conditioning
Respondent involves a stimulus-stimulus pairing, whereas operant involves a response-stimulus pairing
Respondent Conditioning
Pairing a previously neutral stimulus with a stimulus that is unlearned/inborn (Pavlov)
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB)
Calls for inductive, data-driven approaches to establishing functional relations between antecedents (stimuli) and behaviors
Goal: Experimentally identify, describe, and refine principles of behavior
Difference between EAB and ABA
ABA is looking at socially significant behavior, whereas EAB is simply looking at behavior
Radical Behaviorism
Considers covert behaviors (inside the skin) to be behavior
Methodological Behaviorism
Only considers observable behaviors
Difference between radical and methodological behaviorism
Methodological behaviorism says that the mind should be ignored because its processes can’t be seen, whereas radical behaviorism takes inner states (thoughts, emotions, etc.) into account
Ontogeny
The responses learned by consequences that occur throughout an organism’s life
Learned after birth
Phylogeny
Behaviors acquired by an organism/species during the course of evolution as a result of contingencies of survival
Born with
Free Operants
Behaviors that can be emitted at any time
Discrete
Once it occurs is may be available to occur again without obstacle or delay
Ex. reading
Restricted Operant
Rates of the behavior’s occurence are determined by opportunities to respond
Ex. naming words on a flashcard, answering questions on a test
Function of behavior
What does the organism “get” by its behavior (consequences)
Attention/tangibles
Escape/avoidance
Automatic positive reinforcement (preferred sensory)
Automatic negative reinforcement (sensory escape)
Reciprocal Determinism
Environment, covert behavior (the individual), and overt behavior (gen. behavior) all influence and are influenced by each other
Overt and covert behaviors interact
Ex. a child dislikes going to school so they act out in class; teachers don’t like child because of their behavior which leads to an unfavorable environment for the child
Stimulus Class
Antecedent stimuli that trigger the same response
Ex. many different ringtones from your phone cause you to pick it up
Response Class
Behaviors that operate in the environment that might generate many consequences
Ex. someone says “Good morning!”; you might respond with “Hi,” nod, wave, etc.
Primary (unconditioned) reinforcer
A reinforcer that an animal is born needing
Ex. food, water, shelter
Secondary (conditioned) reinforcer
Initially neutral stimuli that have acquired reinforcing capability because of being paired with primary reinforcers or established secondary reinforcers
Requires stimulus-stimulus pairing
Ex. tokens, clicker, etc.
Rule-Governed Behavior
You do not directly experience the consequence of a behavior, rather you change your behavior based on a rule
Ex. You stop before a railroad crossing when the arms go down
Superstitious Behavior
When an antecedent stimulus is paired with a consequence accidentally
Motivating Operations
Environmental variables that alter the effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event as a reinforcer, and alter the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus, object or event; increase the current frequency of behavior when an effective reinforcer is not available
Establishing Operations
A motivating operation that increases the value of a reinforcer and increase the frequency in the behavior that provides access to the reinforcer
Has an evocative effect on the behavior because the value of the reinforcer is increased
Ex. skipping lunch and having an empty stomach increases the value of the reinforcer of food
Abolishing Operations
A motivating operation that decreases the value of a reinforcer and decreases the frequency in the behavior that provides access to the reinforcer
Has an abative effect on the behavior because the value of the reinforcer is decreased
Ex. having so much juice that you like that you no longer like the juice so it’s no longer a high value reinforcer
Sources of Motivating Operations
Deprivation, satiation, increase in painful or aversive stimulus
What is ABA?
The science of understanding and treating behavior; focus on objective descriptions, quantification, controlled experimentation, and finding causes of behavior; coined by B.F. Skinner
The Principles of Behavior
- Reinforcement
- Punishment
- Extinction
- Stimulus control
- Motivating Operations
Stimulus Control
An operant (learned) behavior is emitted in the presence of certain stimuli and is not emitted when these stimuli are missing or other stimuli are present
Response
An instance of behavior
Respondent Extinction
When the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus; conditioned stimulus is no longer the conditioned response
Diagram of Respondent Conditioning
US → UR
NS ≠ UR
NS + US paired repeatedly = CS
CS → CR
Definition of Behavior
Anything a person says or does; includes observable actions as well as things everyone else may not be able to see (feelings, emotions, thoughts, etc.)
Correlation
Can predict that on variable (independent) MAY be responsible for changes in another variable (dependent); only suggests a relationship between variables
Independent Variable
Represents the experimental variable you are introducing; manipulated by the experimenter
Dependent Variable
The variable you are studying; manipulated by the independent variable
Functional Relations
When a well-controlled experiment demonstrates that the changes in the dependent variable can be reliably produced by manipulations of the independent variable and the change is unlikely to be the result of confounding variables
Explanatory Fictions
Using non-observable constructs to explain behavior; part of mentalism
Ex. A child acts out only because they have ADHD; The rat presses the lever because it “knows” it will get food
Hypothetical Constructs
A formally unexplained phenomenon that cannot be observed or experimentally manipulated, but it might exist; part of mentalism
Ex. Freud’s id, ego, and super-ego
Mentalism
An approach to explaining behavior that assumes that mental/”inner” dimensions exist that differ from a behavioral dimension, and that activity in this dimension either directly causes or at least mediates some forms of behavior, if not all; concentrates on neural, psychic, spiritual, subjective, conceptual, or hypothetical properties
Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)
Neutral stimulus paired with fear-eliciting unconditioned stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits fear
Ex. seeing a dog (NS) is paired with the pain of being bitten by the dog (US), seeing a dog may become a conditioned stimulus that elicits fear (CR)
Discrimination
The conditioned response is elicited by only one conditioned stimulus
Generalization
The conditioned response may be elicited by more than one conditioned stimulus
Counter-Conditioning
Behavior incompatible with a habitual undesired pattern is induced
Ex. Dog lunges at window when someone walks by (displaying fear), given a treat when someone walks by to change emotional state
John Watson
“Father of behaviorism”
- Said behavior could be studied without looking into the mind
- Little Albert experiment (not afraid of rat [NS], paired with metal clanging [US], afraid of rat [CS])
Pavlov
Discovered that neutral stimuli paired with a unconditioned stimulus came to elicit the same response as the US, then referred to as a conditioned response
US → UR : food causes salivation
NS ≠ UR : bell does not cause salivation
NS + US paired repeatedly = CS : bell + food
CS → CR : bell causes salivation
Jones & Friman Bug Study
- ‘Bugs,’ ‘Say Bugs,’ and ‘No Bugs’ conditions
- Mike has fear of bugs and performs the best in ‘No Bugs’ condition
- Dependent measure = Mike’s math calculations across all 3 conditions
- Treatment = graduated exposure and contingent rewards for math completion
- Performance = consistently low in presence of live crickets but not when falsely informed that crickets were present
The Dimensions of ABA
Ensure that treatment is supported by research and that the interventions are socially necessary and effective
GET A CAB
1. Generality
2. Effective
3. Technological
4. Applied
5. Conceptually Systematic
6. Analytic
7. Behavioral
Generality
Behavior change must…
- Last over time with different people and in different environments
- Occur in other behaviors not directly treated
- May or may not occur without direct programing
Effective
Whatever you do must improve the behavior under investigation to a practical degree
Technological
All procedures are identified and described with detail and clarity so they can be replicated
Applied
Affecting improvements in socially significant behaviors that enhance and improve lives
Conceptually systematic
- All procedures and interventions must be described in terms of the basic principles of behavior: reinforcement, punishment, extinction, stimulus control, and motivating operations
- All interpretations of the data and results should be discussed in terms of the basic principles
Analytic
- The experiment demonstrates a functional relation between the manipulated events and the dependent variable
- Experimenter must be able to control the occurrence and nonoccurrence of the behavior
Behavioral
- The chosen behavior must be the one in need of improvement (not some other behavior or a verbal description of the behavior
- We conduct studies OF behavior, not ABOUT behavior
- The behavior must be measurable in some way
The Measurable Dimensions of Behavior
- Frequency/Rate
- Latency
- Force (magnitude)
- Locus
- Duration
- Topography
- Inter-Response Time (IRT)
Frequency/Rate
How often (or per x time period) does the behavior occur?
Ex. Anna left her seat 5 times during class
Latency
How long until the behavior starts?
Ex. Person with dementia is sitting in their living room and someone rings the doorbell; latency = the length of time between the doorbell ringing and the individual getting up to answer the door
Force (magnitude)
How strong/loud is the behavior?
Ex. Jack screamed loud enough to be heard across the playground
Locus
Where/when does the behavior occur?
Ex. Charlie ate his lunch on the playground
Duration
How long does the behavior last?
Ex. Patrick had 3 tantrums that lasted 3 minutes, 7 minutes, and then 5 minutes
Topography
What does the behavior look like?
Ex. Writing in cursive vs. print
Inter-Response Time (IRT)
How long between instances of behavior?
Ex. 13 seconds passed between 2 instances of screaming
The Attitudes of the Science of Behavior
DEERPP
1. Determinism
2. Empiricism
3. Experimentation
4. Replication
5. Parsimony
6. Philosophic Doubt
Determinism
The universe is a lawful and orderly place; all phenomena occur as a result of other events that can be studied by science
Empiricism
The practice of objective observation in the phenomena of interest; results in methods and studies that are open to anyone’s observations and doesn’t depend on the belief of the individual
Experimentation
The basic strategy of most sciences; meant to investigate if a functional relation exists
Replication
The repeating the manipulation of the independent variable within an experiment; primary method to determine the reliability and usefulness of findings
Parsimony
All simple, logical explanations for the phenomena under investigation should be ruled out; done BEFORE you consider complex or abstract explanations
Philosophic Doubt
Continually question the truthfulness of what is regarded as fact; knowledge should always be viewed as tentative, be skeptical of research, and be open to other possibilities
Preference Assessments
Procedures you conduct to help predict what consequences you can deliver to the learner that are likely to work as reinforcers
Caregiver Interview
Involves obtaining information from the individual’s family, friends, and staff by asking open-ended questions (e.g., “What does he like to do?”), followed by comparison questions (e.g., “Which does he like better, cookies or crackers?”)
Direct Observation (free operant)
Involves presenting the individual with free access to items you think they will like and recording the amount of time the person engages with them; the more time spent with an item or activity, the stronger the presumed preference
Single Item (pace procedure)
Involves placing a single item in front of the individual, and recording their behavioral responses to each item, as well as the duration of their engagement with each item
Paired Item (forced choice)
Involves giving the individual two objects and allowing them to rank the objects that are most preferred; “this or that”
Multiple Stimulus With Replacement (MSW)
Examiner places an array of items in front of the individual and allows them to select one. After the individual interacts with an item, the examiner keeps that same item in the array and replaces the unselected items with new ones
Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement (MSO)
Allows the individual to rank stimuli that are most preferred among an array of options
Motivating Operations
Environmental variables that alter the effectiveness of some stimulus as a reinforcer and alter the current frequency of all behavior that had been reinforced by that stimulus
Establishing Operation
Increases the value of a reinforcer and increases the frequency in behavior that provides access to the reinforcer; has an evocative effect
Abolishing Operations
Decreases the value of a reinforcer and decreases the frequency in behavior that provides access to the reinforcer; has an abative effect
Evocative Effect
An increase in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by the stimulus in the past
Abative Effect
A decrease in the current frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by some stimulus in the past
Conditioned Motivating Operations
When an item or event has been trained to have a reinforcing value due to previously learning the association
Unconditioned Motivating Operations
Motivating operations that one naturally has acquired without being taught a value to them (ex. water, air, sleep, hunger, thirst, etc.)
Qualifications of Reinforcement
- The delay between the response and the onset of the consequence
- Stimulus conditions in effect when the response was emitted
- Strength of the current motivation with respect to the consequence
Punishment
When a type of behavior (R) is followed immediately by a stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of similar responses
Side effects of punishment
Emotional and aggressive reactions, escape and avoidance, behavioral contrast, undesirable modeling, and negative reinforcement for the punishing agent’s behavior
Escape and avoidance
If you use punishments with people they start to avoid you
Behavioral contrast
if the behavior can happen in 2 different environments and it’s only being punished in one environment, it increases in the other environment
Undesirable modeling
you spank you kid they’re learning to hit other people
Negative reinforcement for the punishing agent’s behavior
the punishing agent’s behavior is reinforced by the people whose behavior they’re trying to change
When to use punishment
Dangerous behavior to self or others, clients have the right to effective treatment, when least restrictive alternatives (LRA) have failed, may produce quick and lasting results
Fair pair rule
When a behavior is targeted for reduction through the use of punishment, other behaviors should be selected as alternatives to the targeted behavior and should be reinforced upon their occurrence
Extinction
A procedure in which reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued; as a result, occurrences of that behavior decrease in the future
Procedural extinction
Simply withhold reinforcer without knowing why the behavior is happening
Functional extinction
Assess actual consequences of behavior and then implement an extinction procedure by withholding maintaining reinforcers
Extinction effects
Gradual decrease in frequency and amplitude, extinction burst, spontaneous recovery
Extinction burst
An immediate increase in the frequency of the response after the removal of the positive, negative, or automatic reinforcement
Spontaneous recovery
The behavior that diminished during the extinction process recurs even though the behavior does not produce reinforcement
Types of extinction
Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement, extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement, and extinction of behavior maintained by automative reinforcement
Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement
Behavior does not produce reinforcers (rocking vending machine example)
Extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement
Behavior does not produce the removal of the aversive stimulus (food refusal)
Extinction of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement
Behaviors are placed on extinction by masking or removing the sensory consequence (helmet for automatically reinforced head banging)
Using extinction effectively
Withholding all reinforcers maintaining the problem behavior, withholding reinforcement consistently, combining extinction with other procedures, using instructions, planning for extinction-produced aggression, increasing the number of extinction trials, including significant others in extinction,guarding against unintentional extinction, maintaining extinction-decreased behavior
When not to use extinction
When the behaviors placed on extinction are likely to be imitated by others, when the behaviors are harmful/extreme
Contingent reinforcement
A behavior must occur before a reinforcer will be presented
Non-contingent reinforcement
A reinforcer is presented at a particular time irrespective of the preceding behavior; based on time, not behavior (give you a sticker every 5 mins whether you’re in your seat or not because I assessed that you typically get out of your seat every 6 mins)
Variable Ratio Schedule
Behavior is reinforced after a random number of responses
Variable Interval Schedule
Behavior is reinforced after a specific amount of time has passed, regardless of responses
Fixed Ratio Schedule
Behavior is reinforced after a specific number of responses
Fixed Interval Schedule
Behavior is reinforced after a specific amount of time has passed
Graph of fixed ratio responding
Step ladder graph; horizontal is post-reinforcement pause
Graph of fixed interval responding
Scalloped graph; horizontal is post-reinforcement pause
Graph of variable ratio responding
Straight line with steep slope
Graph of variable interval responding
Straight line with shallow slope
Cumulative graphs
Counts rates of behavior cumulatively over time; the steeper the slope, the higher the rate of responding; responses on the y-axis, time on the x-axis
Shaping
- Establishing a new behavior by systematically and differentially reinforcing successive approximations of the target behavior
- Shaping always moves forward
- Each new approximation is reinforced
- Reinforcement is provided for responses that demonstrate a pre-determined criterion and is withheld for responses that do not meet or demonstrate that criterion (extinction)
Successive Approximations
A response class of behaviors that resemble the terminal behavior in some way; each successive approximation is closer in form to the terminal behavior than the one previous
Antecedent Control
Manipulating antecedent stimuli or some aspect of the physical/social environment prior to the behavior in order to promote desirable behaviors and make it less likely that undesirable behaviors will occur
Contingency-dependent antecedent control
The antecedent event that is dependent on the consequences of behavior—made up of antecedents that have stimulus control (i.e., SD’s)
Contingency-independent antecedent control
The antecedent event is not dependent on the consequences of behavior for developing evocative and abative effects—motivating operations and non-contingent reinforcers are contingency independent
Discriminative stimulus (SD’s)
Evoke behavior due to past correlation with increased availability of reinforcement
Discriminative stimulus for punishment (SDP’s)
Prevent behavior because of past pairing with punishing stimuli
Behavioral momentum
High-probability behavior followed by a low-probability behavior—presentation of a series of easy-to-follow requests for which the individual has a history of compliance (i.e. high-p requests); when an individual complies with several high-p requests, provide the individual with the target request (i.e. low-p)
Functional communication training
Establishes an appropriate communication behavior to compete with problem behaviors evoked by an establishing operation; Taught children to raise their hand and when teacher looks at them, they ask “how am I doing?” instead of acting out
Stimulus discrimination
When antecedent stimuli different from the discriminative stimulus do not exert control over responding; happens when what’s in the environment truly exerts control (“daddy” example)
