Chapter 11

Question 1

What is a stimulus? Give two examples that are not from the text.

Answer 1

Stimuli are the people, objects, and events currently present in one’s immediate surroundings that impinge on one’s sense receptors and that can affect behavior. Visual objects, such as books, clothing, furniture, lights, people, pets, and trees, are all potential stimuli as are all types of sounds, smells, tastes, and physical contacts with the body. Any stimulus can be an antecedent or a consequence of a behavior.

Question 2

What is an ABC assessment?

Answer 2

Any stimulus can be an antecedent or a consequence of a behavior. Identifying the antecedents and consequences of a behavior is sometimes referred to as an ABC (antecedents, behavior, and consequences) assessment.

Question 3

Define stimulus control.

Answer 3

We use the term stimulus control to refer to the degree of correlation between the occurrence of a particular antecedent stimulus and the occurrence of a subsequent response.

Question 4

What is good stimulus control? Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 4

Good or effective stimulus control refers to a strong correlation between the occurrence of a particular stimulus and a particular response; that is, when the stimulus occurs, the response is likely to follow. For example, suppose that you have just put money into a vending machine and are looking for your favorite candy bar. You see the name of that bar beside a particular button, and you press that button. e sign exerted good stimulus control over your button-pressing behavior. Similarly, at the end of the program in the lead example for this chapter, the phone ringing exerted good stimulus control over Darcy’s phone-picking-up behavior.

Question 5

Define SD and give an example that is not in this chapter. Identify both the SD and the response in the example.

Answer 5

A discriminative stimulus or SD (pronounced “ess-dee”) is a stimulus in the presence of which an operant response will be reinforced. Loosely speaking, an SD is a cue that a particular response will pay off. In our example of Johnny’s swearing, the stimulus of the other kids is an SD for the response of swearing because their laughter and attention reinforced that response. e stimulus of Grandpa and Grandma is an S∆ for the response of swearing because it was not reinforced in their presence.

Question 6

Define S∆ and give an example that is not in this chapter. Identify both the S∆ and the response in the example.

Answer 6

An extinction stimulus or S∆ (pronounced “ess-delta”) is a stimulus in the presence of which an operant response will not be reinforced. Loosely speaking, an S∆ is a cue that a particular response will not pay off. An SD might be called a discriminative stimulus for the availability of reinforcement for responding, and an S∆ might be called a discriminative stimulus for the non-availability of reinforcement for responding (i.e., extinction). In our example of Johnny’s swearing, the stimulus of the other kids is an SD for the response of swearing because their laughter and attention reinforced that response. e stimulus of Grandpa and Grandma is an S∆ for the response of swearing because it was not reinforced in their presence.

Question 7

*What is the difference between a stimulus and a discriminative stimulus?

Answer 7

A stimulus is anything that can be detected by one’s senses and can affect behavior. A discriminative stimulus is a stimulus in the above sense, but it is also a cue that a response will pay off.

Question 8

Like the diagram of the swearing example, diagram the SD, S∆, response, and consequences for Darcy’s case.

Answer 8

1. SD: Phone ringing; Response: picked up the phone
2. Sdelta: Phone not ringing; Response: did not pick up (mom took it and hung up)
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Question 9

Describe an example (not from this chapter) of a stimulus that is an SD for one behavior and an S∆ for a different behavior.

Answer 9

A stimulus can simultaneously be an SD for one response and an S∆ for another; that is, in the presence of a particular stimulus, one response may be reinforced while another may not be reinforced. For instance, if you are eating dinner with friends and someone asks you, “Please pass the pepper,” that statement is an SD for your response of passing the pepper, and it is an S∆ for you to pass the salt.

Question 10

Describe the operant stimulus discrimination training procedure. Give an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 10

Operant stimulus discrimination training refers to the procedure of reinforcing a response in the presence of an SD and extinguishing that response in the presence of an S∆.

Question 11

State the two effects of operant stimulus discrimination training.

Answer 11

After sufficient stimulus discrimination training, the effects can be described as (1) good stimulus control—a strong correlation between the occurrence of a particular stimulus and a particular response, or (2) a stimulus discrimination—a response occurs to an SD, not to an S∆.

Question 12

Define operant stimulus generalization. Give an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 12

Operant stimulus generalization refers to the procedure of reinforcing a response in the presence of a stimulus or situation and the effect of the response becoming more probable not only in the presence of that stimulus or situation, but also in the presence of another stimulus or situation. In other words, instead of discriminating between two stimuli and responding differentially to them, an individual responds in the same way to two different stimuli. us, stimulus generalization is the opposite of stimulus discrimination. There are several reasons for the occurrence of stimulus generalization.

Question 13

*In a sentence, state the difference between an instance of operant stimulus discrimination and an instance of operant stimulus generalization.

Answer 13

In stimulus generalization, an individual makes the same response to two different stimuli, while in stimulus discrimination, an individual makes a different response to two different stimuli.

Question 14

What do we mean by common-element stimulus class? By conceptual behavior? Describe an example of each that is not in this chapter.

Answer 14

A common-element stimulus class is a set of stimuli, all of which have one or more physical characteristics in common. For example, cars typically have four wheels, windows, and a steering wheel. When a child learns to say the word car when seeing a particular car, the child is likely to show unlearned stimulus generalization and be able to identify other cars. For other concepts, however, their members have only limited physical characteristics in common, and some learning is required for stimulus generalization to occur. To teach a child the concept red, you might reinforce the response red to many different red-colored objects and extinguish that response to objects that are not red. Eventually, the child would learn to recognize a red pencil and a red automobile as both being red, even though the pencil and the automobile are very different in other respects. As another example, to teach the concept of wetness, you would reinforce the response wet to many different wet objects and extinguish that response and reinforce the response dry to objects that are dry.

When an individual emits an appropriate response to all members of a common-element stimulus class and does not emit that response to stimuli that do not belong to the class, we say that the individual generalizes to all members within a common-element stimulus class or concept, such as recognizing red objects as red and discriminating between common-element stimulus classes, such as between red objects and blue objects. When the individual responds in this way, such as to the concept red, we say that the individual is showing conceptual behavior.

Question 15

*Describe how you might teach the concept of honest to a child. Would your program teach a child to be honest? Why or why not?

Answer 15

To teach the concept “honest,” you might reinforce a particular response (such as the word “honest”) to many different examples of honest behavior, and extinguish that response (and perhaps reinforce a different response, such as “dishonest”) to examples of dishonest behavior. This procedure teaches a child to recognize instances of honest and dishonest behavior. It does not necessarily teach a child how to “be honest.” For example, a child might have been taught that lying is dishonest, but still lies (and be fully aware that he or she is doing so).

Question 16

What do we mean by stimulus equivalence class? Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 16

A stimulus equivalence class is a set of completely dissimilar stimuli—i.e., have no common stimulus element—which an individual has learned to group or match together or respond to in the same way. (Stimulus equivalence classes are sometimes referred to simply as equivalence classes, although the former term is preferred because of the potential confusion of the latter with the mathematical meaning of the term equivalence class). Behavioral researchers have often studied the formation of stimulus equivalence classes during match-to-sample training. Consider the following experiment for teaching the stimulus equivalence class of 3, ∴, and III to a young child. In Phase I, the child is given a number of trials with Training Panel 1 (see Figure 11.1). Using appropriate prompting and reinforcement, the child is taught to match 3 to ∴ even though the positions of ∴, IV, and 7 are randomly alternated across trials. Then Phase II proceeds similarly, but with Training Panel 2, and the child is taught to match ∴ to III. Now comes a test to see whether the child has learned the stimulus equivalence class. e child is shown the Test Panel and asked to match III to either of 4, 6, or 3. In this experiment, the child will likely match III to 3. e III and the 3 have become members of a stimulus equivalence class, even though those two stimuli were never previously paired. e members of this stimulus equivalence class are functionally equivalent in the sense that they all control the same behavior.

Question 17

What is a primary distinction between stimulus generalization involving common-element stimulus classes and stimulus generalization involving stimulus equivalence classes?

Answer 17

If a response that has been reinforced to one stimulus occurs to a different stimulus (due to unlearned generalization, the learning of a common-element stimulus class, or the learning of a stimulus equivalence class), we say that stimulus generalization has occurred.

Question 18

*Describe a stimulus that you would like to establish as an SD for a behavior of yourself or a friend. Describe the behavior. Then, for that stimulus, answer the four questions listed on p. 126.

Answer 18

Suppose that you want your friend to listen to you each time you present the stimulus of pulling your ear. (a) That stimulus is different from other stimuli that you present to your friend, such as touching your nose. (b) You can present that stimulus only on occasions when you want that desired listening response to occur. (c) The probability of your friend noticing that stimulus is high. (d) That stimulus is not likely to cause undesirable responses from your friend.

Question 19

*What do we mean by an error in operant stimulus discrimination training?

Answer 19

A response to the SΔ.

Question 20

In general, what is a contingency? Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 20

In general, a contingency is an if-then type of arrangement. For example, if you press the button on the water fountain, then a stream of water will appear. We say that the appearance of the water is contingent upon the button-pressing response. This would be an example of a two-term (behavior-consequence) contingency. If we describe both the antecedents and the consequences of a behavior, then we would be identifying a three-term contingency.

Question 21

*What is a three-term contingency of reinforcement? Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 21

Any arrangement among stimulus, response, and consequences is a contingency of reinforcement. For example, when in a cold room, a person emits the behavior of putting on a sweater, and experiences the consequence of feeling warmer.

Question 22

From a behavioral perspective, what is a rule?

Answer 22

A rule from a behavioral perspective describes a situation in which a behavior will lead to a consequence. Thus, a rule describes a three-term contingency of reinforcement.

Question 23

With examples that are not in this chapter, distinguish between rule-governed and contingency-shaped behavior.

Answer 23

The development of stimulus control often involves trial and error with three-term contingencies—several trials of positive reinforcement for a behavior in the presence of an SD and several trials of that behavior going unreinforced in the presence of an S∆. Johnny’s swearing, for example, came under the control of other kids as SDs, and through trial and error came to not occur in the presence of Grandma and Grandpa as S∆s. Behavior that develops because of its immediate consequences through trial and error is referred to as contingency-shaped behavior. Thus, Johnny’s swearing illustrates contingency-shaped behavior. However, the program with Darcy did not take a few trials to show evidence of stimulus control. During the very first session after her mother said, “The phone is ringing. Now you should answer it,” Darcy answered the phone each time it rang. us, the behavior of Darcy answering the phone illustrates what is called rule-governed behavior.

Rule-governed behavior is behavior that is controlled by the statement of a rule. When you wish to develop good stimulus control over a particular behavior, you should always provide the individual with a rule or set of rules stating what behaviors in what situations will lead to what consequences. Because of our complex conditioning histories for following instructions, the addition of a set of rules to a stimulus discrimination program may lead to instantaneous stimulus control. For example, if a father were to tell his 16-year-old son, “You can use the family car each Saturday night, but only if you mow the lawn each Friday,” then the son is likely to comply with the rule on the first opportunity.

Question 24

Following Darcy’s training for answering the phone, was her phone-answering behavior likely rule governed or contingency shaped? Justify your choice.

Answer 24

However, the program with Darcy did not take a few trials to show evidence of stimulus control. During the very first session after her mother said, “The phone is ringing. Now you should answer it,” Darcy answered the phone each time it rang. us, the behavior of Darcy answering the phone illustrates what is called rule-governed behavior.

Question 25

Describe an example of how ignorance of operant stimulus discrimination training may lead parents or other caregivers to develop an undesirable behavior in a child or adult in their care.

Answer 25

Any effective method can be misapplied inadvertently by the unwary, and stimulus discrimination training is no exception. A common pitfall is not requiring and reinforcing correct responses to SDs and accidently reinforcing responses to S∆s. Behavioral episodes of the following sort are common in many households with young children. Terri, a 3-year-old girl, is playing with the TV remote, causing annoying channel changes and volume increases and decreases. Mother says quietly, “Terri, please leave the remote alone.” Terri continues to fiddle with the remote. A few minutes later, Mother says a little louder and less politely, “Terri, put the remote down.” Terri continues to fiddle with the remote, rapidly changing channels, which is a reinforcer for her. A minute or two later Mother says, this time loudly and with a threatening tone, “Terri, for the last time leave the remote alone or else!!!” Terri finally puts the remote down and Mother says, “Now, that’s better, Terri. Mommy likes it when you do what I tell you; why didn’t you do that in the first place?” It is probably obvious to you that Mother has just reinforced Terri for responding to her third-level threat. e discrimination Terri is learning is that of waiting until Mother is really angry and threatening before attending to her requests.