CH23 - Antecedents

Question 1

Antecedent

Answer 1

An environmental condition or stimulus change existing or occurring prior to a behavior of interest.

Question 2

SD’s and MO’s related to behavior of the organism.

Answer 2

SD’s evoke behavior due to past correlation with increased availability of reinforcement. MO’s increase current frequency of behavior when an effective reinforcer is not available.

Question 3

Antecedent treatment involving stimulus control

Answer 3

These must include:
MANIPULATING CONSEQUENT events,

CHANGING the DIFFERENTIAL AVAILABILITY of reinforcement in the PRESENCE AND ABSENCE of the S.D.

Question 4

Functions of Antecedent Stimuli

Answer 4

a. Contingency dependent.

b. Contingency independent

Question 5

Contingency Dependent (antecedent control)

Answer 5

a) DEPENDENT on the CONSEQUENCES of behavior for DEVELOPING EVOCATIVE & ABATIVE effects.
b) All stimulus control functions are CONTINGENCY DEPENDENT.

For example, 2+2 = ? student responds 4 because responding with 4 has been reinforced in the past. c) Referred to as antecedent control.

Question 6

Contingency Independent (antecedent event).

Answer 6

a) The ANTECEDENT EVENT itself AFFECTS BEHAVIOR–CONSEQUENCE RELATIONS.

b) Not dependent on the consequences of behavior for developing evocative and abative effects. For example, sleep deprivation can influence the occurrences of problem behaviors in the absence of a history of pairing sleep deprivation with reinforcement or punishment.
c) Referred to as ANTECEDENT INTERVENTION

Question 7

Abolishing operations

Answer 7

1. DECREASES the REINFORCING EFFECTIVENESS of some STIMULUS.
2. DECREASES the STRENGTH of the BEHAVIOR that has produced that stimulus in the past.
3. Antecedent interventions serve to have AO’s DECREASE the EFFECTIVENESS of REINFORCERS that maintain PROBLEM BEHAVIORS.

Question 8

What are the Temporal effects of MO’s?

Answer 8

The effects of MOs are temporary. (Antecedent interventions by themselves will not produce permanent improvements in behavior).

Question 9

Noncontingent Reinforcement (NCR)

Answer 9

a) REINFORCERS that maintain the problem behavior are available freely & frequent.
b) An antecedent intervention in which stimuli with known reinforcing properties are delivered on a FIXED–TIME (FT) or VARIABLE TIME (VT) schedule independent of the learner’s behavior.
c) FUNCTIONS as an AO, REDUCING the MOTIVATION to ENGAGE in the problem behavior. Also referred to as PRESENTING STIMULI with KNOWN REINFORCING PROPERTIES.

Question 10

NCR uses three distinct procedures that deliver stimuli with known reinforcing properties:

Answer 10

1) Positive reinforcement (i.e., social mediation),
2) Negative reinforcement (i.e., escape),
3) Automatic reinforcement (i.e., without social mediation).

Question 11

NCR with positive reinforcement provides either?

Answer 11

Providing attention or tangibles on a fixed time (FT) or variable time (VT) schedule.

Question 12

NCR with negative reinforcement

Answer 12

Providing escape on a fixed time (FT) or variable time (VT) schedule.

Question 13

NCR with Automatic Reinforcement

Answer 13

Free access to highly preferred items.

Question 14

Using NCR effectively (7)

Answer 14

1) Enhancing Effectiveness.
2) Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

3) Emphasizing NCR.
4) Time–based NCR schedules.
5) Thinning Time–based schedules
6) Setting terminal criteria
7) Considerations for using NCR

Question 15

Using NCR Effectively: 1) Enhancing the Effectiveness (3)

Answer 15

Three key elements:

1) The AMOUNT and QUALITY of stimuli with known reinforcing properties influence the effectiveness of NCR.
2) Include EXTINCTION with NCR interventions.
3) VARY the Available Stimuli – to reduce problems of changing preferences

Question 16

Using NCR Effectively: 2) FBA

Answer 16

The effectiveness of using NCR is dependent on the correct identification of the positive, negative, or automatic reinforcers maintaining the problem behaviors–– FBA

Question 17

The Right schedule for NCR

Answer 17

a) Similarities between baseline and initial NCR may be ineffective.
b) Denser reinforcement (than during baseline) during initial NCR ensures discrepancy & better chances for intervention to be successful

Question 18

Ringdahl and colleagues (2001) suggested three procedures for emphasizing reinforcement during the NCR intervention:

Answer 18

1) Increase the delivery of stimuli with known reinforcing properties,
2) Use an obviously different schedule of reinforcement at treatment onset (e.g., continuous reinforcement) and
3) Combine DRO with the NCR treatment package.

Question 19

Using NCR Effectively: 4) Time–based NCR schedules:

a) What you need to know and
b) The formula.

Answer 19

Fixed–time schedule (typical) and Variable–time schedule:

1) Know the baseline then make denser.
2) Determining the initial NCR schedule. – Divide the total duration of all baseline sessions by the total number of occurrences of the problem behavior.
3) Set the initial interval at or slightly below the quotient

Question 20

Using NCR Effectively: 5) Thinning Time–Based Schedules, Three Types:

Answer 20

AFTER THE INITIAL NCR interval has produced REDUCTION IN PROBLEM BEHAVIOR:

1) Constant time increase,
2) Proportional time increase,
3) Session–to–session time increase or decrease.

Question 21

Constant time increase (review Cooper)

Answer 21

Decrease the amount of time that the learner has access to the NCR stimuli by a constant amount of time.

Example: increase the schedule interval by 7 seconds at each opportunity, and each time decrease access to the stimuli by 3 seconds.

Question 22

Proportional Time Increase

Answer 22

Each time, the schedule interval (FT or VT) is increased by the same proportion of time. – ex: each time interval is increased by 5%.

Question 23

Session–to–session time increase or decrease.

Answer 23

Use the learner’s performance to change the schedule interval on a session–to–session basis. – ex: at the end of a session, the therapist establishes a new NCR time interval for the next session by dividing the number of problem behaviors that occurred in that session by the duration of the session and using that quotient as the next session’s FT interval

Question 24

Using NCR Effectively: 6) Setting terminal (ending) criteria. (review Cooper)

Answer 24

Behavior analysts usually select an arbitrary terminal criterion for NCR schedule thinning

Question 25

High–probability (high–p) request sequence

Answer 25

a) Selecting 2–5 short tasks with which the individual has a history of compliance.
b) Present the high–p request sequence immediately before requesting the target task (i.e. low–p request).

Question 26

High–P Request – Behavioral Effects

Answer 26

Suggests the abative effects of an AO by

1) REDUCING the VALUE of REINFORCEMENT for NONCOMPLIANCE to low–p requests.
2) Reducing the aggression & self–injury typically associated with low–p requests.
3) Provides non–aversive procedure for improving compliance by diminishing escape–maintained problem behaviors.

Question 27

Variety of High–probability terms (AKAs)

Answer 27

a) Interspersed requests
b) Pretask requests
c) Behavioral momentum

Question 28

Using the high–p request sequence effectively

Answer 28

a) Selecting from the CURRENT REPERTOIRE.
b) Presenting REQUESTS RAPIDLY.

c) Acknowledging Compliance (praise)
d) using POTENT reinforcers.

Question 29

Functional Communication Training (FCT)

Answer 29

Establishes an appropriate communicative behavior to Compete with problem behaviors evoked by an establishing operation.

Question 30

FCT is an application of which reinforcement?

Answer 30

1. DRA because the intervention develops an alternative communicative response as an antecedent to diminish the problem behavior.
2. Alternative response produces the reinforcer that has maintained problem behavior (Durand & Carr, 1992)

Question 31

Carr and Durand (1985) defined FCT as a two–step process:

Answer 31

1) Completing a functional behavior assessment to identify the stimuli with known reinforcing properties that maintain the problem behavior.
2) Using those stimuli as reinforcers to develop an alternative behavior to replace the problem behavior.

Question 32

FCT interventions typically involve additional behavior change strategies, what are they?

Answer 32

– Response prompting

– Time–out

– Physical restraint

– Response blocking

– Redirection

– Extinction of problem behavior

Question 33

Effective use of FCT (4)

Answer 33

1) Dense schedule of reinforcement (CRF at first)
2) Decrease use of Verbal Prompts (initially used).
3) Behavior Reduction procedures.
4) Schedule thinning (after firmly in repertoire).

Question 34

Hanley and colleagues (2001) recommended a procedure for schedule thinning for FCT

Answer 34

a) Used dense FI schedule of reinforcement during initial teaching of alternative communication response.
b) After the response is established, gradually thin the FI schedule.
c) Suggest use of external cues to indicate when reinforcement is available

Question 35

Advantages of FCT

Answer 35

a) Excellent chance for generalization and maintenance of the alternative communicative response because the communicative response often functions to recruit reinforcement from significant others,
b) May have high social validity
c) When the alternative communicative behavior and the problem behavior have the same schedule of reinforcement

Question 36

Disadvantages of FCT

Answer 36

(a) The FCT treatment package usually includes extinction. May produce undesirable effects.
(b) the extinction procedure is very difficult to use consistently, allowing for intermittent reinforcement of problem behaviors.
(c) Participants may emit inappropriately high rates of the alternative communicative response to recruit reinforcement.
(d) Recruitment of reinforcement can occur at inconvenient or impossible times for the caregiver.
(e) The fact that FCT leaves intact the environment that evoked the problem behavior, may limit its overall effectiveness.

Question 37

FCT develops alternative behaviors that are sensitive to…

Answer 37

establishing operations.

Question 38

Antecedent interventions are also known as:

Answer 38

– Antecedent procedures, – Antecedent control,

– Antecedent manipulations.