Chapter 17

Question 1

a set of stimulus that share a common relationship. All stimuli in an antecedent class evoke the same operant behavior, or elicit the same respondent behavior.

Answer 1

Antecedent stimulus class

Question 2

antecedent stimuli that evoke the same response but do not resemble each other in physical form or share a relational aspect such as bigger or under (ex. peanuts, cheese, coconut milk, and chicken breasts are members of an arbitrary stimulus class if they evoke the response “sources of protein.”)

Answer 2

arbitrary stimulus class

Question 3

a stimulus class whose members share a common set of features

Answer 3

concept

Question 4

performance in a match-to-sample procedure in which discrimination between the comparison stimuli is conditioned on, or depends on, the sample stimulus present on each trial.

Answer 4

conditional discrimination

Question 5

a procedure for transferring stimulus control from contrived response prompts to naturally existing stimuli. After the student has responded correctly to several 0-second time delay trials, after which presentation of the response prompt follows the instructional stimulus by a predetermined and fixed delay (usually 3 or 4 seconds) for all subsequent trials.

Answer 5

constant time delay

Question 6

a stimulus in the presence of which a given behavior has been reinforced and in the absence of which that behavior has not been reinforced; as a result of this history, an Sd evokes operant behavior because its presence signal the availability of reinforcement.

Answer 6

discriminative stimulus (SD)

Question 7

a variety of techniques for gradually transferring stimulus control with a minimum of errors.

Answer 7

errorless learning

Question 8

stimuli that share common physical forms or structures (ex. made from wood, four legs, round, blue) or common relative relationships (ex. bigger than, hotter than, higher than, next to).

Answer 8

feature stimulus class

Question 9

a technique for transferring stimulus control in which practitioner gives the participant an opportunity to perform the response with the least amount of assistance on each trial. The participant receives greater degrees of assistance with each successive trial without a correct response. The procedure for least to most prompting requires the participant to make correct responses within a set time limit (ex. 3 seconds) from the presentation of the natural sd. If the response does not occur within the specified time, the applied behavior analyst presents the natural sd and a response prompt of least assistance, such as verbal response prompt. If after the same specified time limit (3 seconds) the participant does not make a correct response, the analyst gives the natural sd and another response prompt, such as a gesture. The participant receives full or partial physical guidance if the less intrusive prompt does not evoke the correct response.

Answer 9

least-to-most response prompts

Question 10

a discrete trial procedure for investigating conditional relations and stimulus equivalence. A matching to sample trial begins with the participant making a response that presents or reveals the sample stimulus; next, the sample stimulus may or may not be removed, and two of more comparison stimuli are presented. The participant then selects one of the comparison stimuli. Responses that select a comparison stimulus that matches the sample stimulus are reinforced; no reinforcement is provided for responses selecting the nonmatching comparison stimuli.

Answer 10

matching-to-sample

Question 11

a technique for transferring stimulus control in which the practitioner physically guides the participant through the entire performance sequence, and then gradually reduces the level of assistance in successive trials. Customarily, most to least prompting transitions form physical guidance to visual prompts to verbal instructions, and finally to the natural stimulus without prompts.

Answer 11

most-to-least response prompts

Question 12

a condition in which the range of discriminative stimuli, or stimulus features controlling behavior, is extremely limited; often interferes with learning.

Answer 12

over-selective stimulus control

Question 13

occurs when the most salient component of a compound stimulus arrangement controls responding and interfere with the acquisition of stimulus control by the more relevant stimulus.

Answer 13

overshadowing

Question 14

a procedure for transferring stimulus control from contrived response prompts to naturally existing stimuli that starts with simultaneous presentation of the natural stimulus and the response prompt (ie. 0-sec delay). The number of 0-sec trials depends on the task difficulty and the functioning level of the participant. Following the simultaneous presentations, the time delay is gradually and systematically extended.

Answer 14

progressive time delay

Question 15

prompts that operate directly one the response to cue a correct response. The three major forms of response prompts are verbal instructions, modeling, and physical guidance.

Answer 15

response prompts

Question 16

occurs when a competing stimulus blocks the evocative function of a stimulus that has acquired stimulus control over the behavior. (Sometimes called masking) Stimulus blocking can be mitigated by rearranging the physical environment, making instructional stimuli appropriately intense, and consistently reinforcing behavior in the presence of the instructionally relevant discriminative stimuli.

Answer 16

stimulus blocking

Question 17

a situation in which the frequency, latency, duration, or amplitude of a behavior is altered by the presence or absence of an antecedent stimulus.

Answer 17

stimulus control

Question 18

a stimulus in the presence of which a given behavior has not produced reinforcement, or has produced reinforcement of lesser quality, in the past.

Answer 18

stimulus delta

Question 19

when one stimulus (the Sd) signals the availability of reinforcement and the absence of that stimulus (the s delta) signals a zero or reduced chance of reinforcement, responses will occur more often int he presence of the sd than in the absence of the s delta.

Answer 19

stimulus discrimination

Question 20

the conventional procedure required one behavior and two antecedent stimulus conditions. Responses are reinforced in the presence of one stimulus condition, the sd, but not in the presence of the other stimulus, the s delta.

Answer 20

stimulus discrimination training

Question 21

a method of transferring stimulus control that involves highlighting a physical dimension of the stimulus (size, color, position) to increase the likelihood of a correct response and the gradually diminishing the exaggerated dimension until the learner is responding correctly to the naturally occurring stimulus.

Answer 21

stimulus fading

Question 22

when an antecedent stimulus had a history if of evoking as response that has been reinforced in its presence, the same type of behavior tends to be evoked by the stimuli that share similar physical properties with the controlling antecedent stimulus

Answer 22

stimulus generalization

Question 23

a graphic depiction of the extent to which a behavior that has been reinforced in the presence of a specific stimulus condition is emitted in the presence of other stimuli. The gradient shows relative degrees of stimulus generalization and stimulus control ( or discrimination). A flat slope across test stimuli shows a high degree of stimulus generalization and relatively little discrimination between the trained stimulus and the other stimuli; a slope that drops sharply from its highest point corresponding to the trained stimulus indicates a high degree of stimulus control (discrimination) and relatively little stimulus generalization.

Answer 23

stimulus generalization gradient

Question 24

prompts that operate directly on the antecedent task stimuli to cue a correct response in conjunction with the critical sd (ex. changing the size, color, or position of a stimulus within an array to make its selection more likely).

Answer 24

stimulus prompts

Question 25

a procedure for transferring stimulus control from contrived response prompts to naturally existing stimuli that begins with the simultaneous presentation of the natural stimulus and response prompt. After several correct response, a delay is introduced between the stimulus and the response prompt until the student emits the unprompted correct response. Time delay is considered an “errorless learning” technique as students make few or no errors transitioning from the contrived prompt to the instructional stimulus.

Answer 25

time delay