Chap 28 Generalization and maintenance Flashcards
Generalization
A trained behavior occurring at other times and places without having to be retrained completely, or if functionally related behaviors occur that were not taught directly
Response maintenance
The extent to which a learner continues to perform the target behavior after intervention has ended
Setting/situation generalization
Extent to which a learner emits the target behavior in a setting or stimulus situation that is different from the instructional setting
Instructional setting
The total environment where instruction occurs, including planned or unplanned aspects that may influence acquisition and generalization
Generalization setting
Any place or stimulus situation that differs in some meaningful way from the instructional setting and in which performance of the target behavior is desired (does not have to be somewhere different from where instruction is provided)
Response generalization
The extent to which a learner emits untrained responses that are functionally equivalent to the trained target behavior
Overgeneralization
Learner emits the target behavior in the presence of stimuli that, though similar to the instructional examples or situation, are inappropriate for the behavior
Faulty stimulus control
Target behavior comes under the restricted control of an irrelevant antecedent stimulus
Contingency adduction
Process where a behavior that was initially selected and shaped under one set of conditions is recruited by another set of contingencies and takes on a new function in the person’s repertoire
Generalization across subjects
Changes in the behavior of people not directly treated by an intervention as a function of treatment contingencies applied to other people
Four basic types of generalized treatment effects
- Across time (i.e. response maintenance)
- Across settings (i.e. setting/situation generalization)
- Across behaviors (i.e. response generalization)
- Across subjects
Planning for generalized behavior change
- Select target behaviors that will meet natural contingencies of reinforcement
- Specify all desired variations of the target behavior and the settings/situations that it should occur after instruction ends
Relevance of behavior rule
Choose only those behaviors to change that will produce reinforcers in the post intervention environment
Naturally existing contingency
Contingency of reinforcement or punishment that operates independent of the behavior analyst’s efforts
Contrived contingency
Any contingency of reinforcement/ punishment designed and implemented by a behavior analyst to achieve acquisition, maintenance, and/or generalization of a targeted behavior change
Tactics for promoting generalized behavior change
- Teach the full range of relevant stimulus conditions and response requirements
- Make the instructional setting similar to the generalization setting
- Maximize the target behavior’s contact with reinforcement in the generalization setting
- Mediate generalization
- Train to generalize
Teaching sufficient examples
Teach the student to respond to a subset of all possible stimulus and response examples, then assess student’s performance on untrained examples
Generalization probe
Measurement of learner’s performance under which no instruction or guided practice has been provided
Teaching sufficient stimulus examples
Teach learner to respond correctly to more than one example of antecedent stimulus conditions and probe for generalization to untaught stimulus examples
Multiple exemplar training
Incorporates both stimulus and response variations (e.g. use different teachers, different responses)
Teaching sufficient response examples
Provides practice with a variety of response topographies
General case analysis
Systematic method for selecting teaching examples that represent the full range of stimulus variations and response requirements in the generalization setting
Programming common stimuli
Include typical features of the generalization setting into the instructional setting
Teaching loosely
Randomly varying noncritical aspects of the instructional setting within and across teaching sessions. Reduces the likelihood that a single or small group of stimuli will acquire exclusive control over the target behavior. Also increases the probability that the generalization setting will include at least some of the stimuli present during instruction
Indiscriminable contingency
Learner cannot discriminate whether the next response will produce reinforcement
Delayed reward
Instead of delivering the consequence immediately following the target behavior, reward is provided after a period of time has elapsed; contingent upon the learner performing the target behavior in the generalization setting during an earlier time period
Behavior traps
Contingencies of reinforcement that are especially powerful and produce substantial and long-lasting behavioral changes; easy to enter, difficult to exit
Features of behavior traps
- They have virtually irresistible reinforcers
- Low-effort response that is already in the student’s repertoire is needed to enter the trap
- Interrelated contingencies of reinforcement inside the trap motivate the student to acquire, extend, and maintain targeted academic and/or social skills
- Few satiation effects
Contriving a mediating stimulus
Bring the target behavior under the control of a stimulus in the instructional setting that will function in the generalization setting to reliably prompt or aid the learner’s performance of the target behavior; must be functional and easily transported to the generalization setting (e.g. cue cards, activity schedules)
Ways to program desired response generalization
Reinforce response variability and instruct the learner to generalize
Lag reinforcement schedule
Reinforcement is contingent on a response being different in some defined way from the previous response or a specified number of previous responses
Guiding principles for promoting generalization
- Minimize need for generalization as much as possible
- Conduct gen probes before, during, and after instruction
- Involve significant others whenever possible
- Promote generalization with the least intrusive and least costly tactics
- Contrive intervention tactics as needed to achieve important generalization outcomes
