Chapter 12 Flashcards
Define fading and give an example of it.
Fading is the gradual change over successive trials of an antecedent stimulus that controls a response so that the response eventually occurs to a partially changed or completely new antecedent stimulus.
Peter would at first say his name only when it was said to him. rough a fading process, the stimulus control over the response “Peter” was gradually transferred from the antecedent stimulus “Peter” to the antecedent stimulus “What’s your name?” One might ask whether Peter knew that he was saying his own name. To phrase this question more behaviorally, would Peter have consistently responded correctly when asked other questions involving his name? For example, would he have consistently answered “Peter” when shown his reflection in the mirror and asked, “Who’s that?” Likely not. However, teaching him to respond appropriately to “What’s your name?” was an important start to teaching him to answer other questions involving his name and to his knowing that he was saying his name.
Define errorless discrimination training.
Errorless discrimination training, sometimes referred to as errorless learning, is the use of a fading procedure to establish a stimulus discrimination so that no errors occur.
Why is establishing a stimulus discrimination without errors advantageous?
However, errorless transfer of a discrimination can occur, and it has at least three advantages over procedures involving trial and error. First, errors consume valuable time. Second, if an error occurs once, it tends to occur many times, even though it is being extinguished. (Remember from Chapter 8 that during extinction, things may get worse before they get better.) Third, the nonreinforcement that occurs when errors are being extinguished often produces emotional side effects such as tantrums, aggressive behavior, and attempts to escape from the situation.
What is meant by a dimension of a stimulus? Describe an example.
In general, a dimension of a stimulus is any characteristic of a stimulus that can be measured on some continuum. As illustrated by the preceding examples, fading occurs along dimensions of stimuli, such as the loudness of the question that Veronica presented to Peter, the pressure of a teacher’s hand that guides a child’s printing, and the clarity of dots that a child might be expected to trace.
Identify three stimulus dimensions along which fading occurred in the examples cited in the first two sections of this chapter.
As illustrated by the preceding examples, fading occurs along dimensions of stimuli, such as the loudness of the question that Veronica presented to Peter, the pressure of a teacher’s hand that guides a child’s printing, and the clarity of dots that a child might be expected to trace.
*Describe an example from this chapter in which the training situation remained constant but a specific stimulus dimension was faded.
Any appropriate example, such as teaching Peter to say his name. The training room and situation did not change, but the intensity of the auditory stimulus was faded.
*Describe an example from this chapter in which the general training situation was faded.
Any appropriate example, such as teaching children appropriate “classroom” behavior. The physical characteristics of the classroom (the number and location of desks and chairs and students, etc.) was gradually changed, but the specific training stimuli (tracing materials, etc.) remained the same.
Describe how one might use fading to teach a pet to perform a trick.
To teach a dog to shake a paw, you could say “shake a paw”, then take the dog’s paw and shake it. Then say “good boy” and give him a treat. This is done for several trials, say, “Shake a paw”, and simply tap the dog’s paw, when the dog does the trick this way give him a treat, and once he does this for several trials, simply hold out your hand, say “shake a paw” and when the dog does, give him a treat. He has now successively learned “Shake a paw” trick.
*Assume that you have an 18-month-old child who imitates the word chip. Describe in detail how you might use fading to teach your child to correctly identify a potato chip when you point to it and ask,“What’s that?”
We will assume that the child likes to eat potato chips. The procedure to be used would be essentially the same as the procedure described in the chapter to teach Peter to say, “Peter” when asked, “What’s your name?” Specifically, you might hold up a potato chip, and say to the child very quietly, “What’s that?” and then, very loudly and quickly before the child can respond, say, “Chip!” When the child mimics the word “chip,” you would reinforce the child by handing the child the potato chip and allowing the child to eat it. Then, over several trials, you would begin asking the question, “What’s that?” more loudly and begin supplying the answer, “chip” more quietly. Eventually, the child should correctly respond, “chip” when asked, “What’s that?” while you hold up a potato chip.
What do we mean by final target stimulus? Give an example.
The final target stimulus should be chosen carefully. It is important to select it so that the occurrence of the response to that particular stimulus is likely to be maintained in the natural environment. Some fading programs make the error of stopping with a stimulus that does not include some aspect of the situation that the learner will frequently encounter in the natural environment. In Peter’s case, it would have been easy for Veronica to stop training at the second to last step, at which Veronica asked loudly “What’s your name?” and then mouthed the word “Peter.” However, when others approached Peter in his natural environment and asked, “What’s your name?” they would not likely mouth “Peter.” Therefore, Veronica conducted the last step of the program, in which Peter responded correctly to the question “What’s your name?” completely on his own.
What do we mean by starting stimulus? Give an example.
At the beginning of a fading program, it is important to select a starting stimulus that reliably evokes the desired behavior. In the task of teaching Peter his name, Veronica knew that Peter would mimic the last word of a question when that word was spoken loudly. Therefore, the starting stimulus with Peter was the question “What’s your name?” said very softly and followed quickly by the shouted word, “Peter!” The shouted word “Peter” prompted him to give the correct answer.
Define prompt. Describe an example that is not from this chapter.
A prompt is a supplemental antecedent stimulus provided to increase the likelihood that a desired behavior will occur, but that is not the final target stimulus to control that behavior.
Define the four major categories of teacher-behavior prompts. Give an example of each.
Physical prompts— also called physical guidance—consist of guiding the learning through touch. Parents frequently use physical guidance to help their children learn new behavior, such as holding their hands while teaching them to walk.
Gestural prompts are certain motions that a teacher makes, such as pointing to the correct cue or making signals directed to the learner without touching him or her. A teacher, for example, might extend a hand in a palm-downward motion as a prompt for children to talk softly. Modeling prompts occur when the correct behavior is demonstrated. A swimming coach might model the correct arm movements for the freestyle stroke for young swimmers. A golfing instructor might model the correct way to grip a golf club for a group of beginning golfers. Verbal prompts are verbal hints or cues. A driving instructor might use verbal prompts by telling a student driver to “check over your le shoulder before pulling out.” Parents frequently use verbal prompts when teaching their children how to dress themselves, e.g., “Now pull the sweater over your head.”
Define environmental prompt. Describe an example that is not from this chapter.
Environmental prompts consist of alterations of the physical environment in a manner that will evoke the desired behavior. Someone attempting to eat healthily, for example, might put a bowl of fresh fruit in easy reach while keeping junk food out of sight in a difficult-to-reach cupboard. As another example, a student might ensure that a study area contains only objects and materials related to studying.
Define within-stimulus prompt. Describe an example that is not from this chapter. Does your example involve a teacher-behavior prompt or an environmental prompt?
A within-stimulus prompt is a variation of the SD or the S∆ to make their characteristics more noticeable and therefore easier to discriminate. In the table-setting example, training might be initiated with a normal fork and knife in their normal positions with a large wooden spoon as the training item. is would be a within-stimulus environmental prompt.
