CHAPTER 4 – Operant Conditioning Procedures

Question 1

1. Briefly explain what is meant, in behavioral sport psychology, by an ABC analysis.

Answer 1

• ABC analysis is explained as, during an involuntary respondent behavior, three aspects are controlling this behavior; antecedent Stimuli, and voluntary operant behavior, which are controlled by consequences.

Question 2

3. Define or describe each of the following and give a sport example of each that is not in this chapter:
   a. Good stimulus control
   b. SD or Discriminative Stimulus
   c. SE or Extinction Stimulus

Answer 2

A) Good stimulus control: strong correlation between the occurrence of a particular stimulus and the occurrence of a particular response.
• Example: a pitcher throws accordingly to the catcher’s signal.
B) Discriminative stimulus: an event correlated with the availability of a reinforcer for a particular operant behavior. A signal that a particular response will pay off.
• Example: serving to the left side of a right handed badminton player with a weak backhand return
C) Extinction stimulus: signal that a particular response will not pay off.
• Example: A goalie going down is the SE for the response of aiming low, it was a cue that aiming low will not pay off.

Question 3

5. Define stimulus discrimination training and give an example that illustrates the procedure and the result that are not in this chapter.

Answer 3

• A) The procedure of reinforcing a response in the presence of an SD and extinguishing that response in the presence of an SE and B) two results including; good stimulus control in that the response consistently occurs to the SD and a stimulus discrimination in that the response occurs to the S.
• Example: When a soccer player learns to shoot with more force when he or she is further from the net.

Question 4

6. Define stimulus generalization, and give an example that illustrates the procedure and the result that are not in this chapter

Answer 4

• A) the procedure of reinforcing a response in the presence of a stimulus or situation and B) the result that the response becomes more probable not only in that situation but also in the presence of another stimulus or situation.
• Example: a basketball player reacts to a shot being made on their basket the same way they react to a shot being made on the opposing team’s basket: by rushing in to get the rebound.

Question 5

Define latency of behavior, and describe an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 5

• The reaction time between the stimulus and the response.

* Example: the reaction time between the firing of the starter pistol and the swimmer leaving the starting board

Question 6

Define prompt, and describe an example.

Answer 6

• Defined as a supplemental antecedent stimulus provided to increase the likelihood that a desired behavior will occur, but that is not the final stimulus that will control the behavior
• Example: a swimming coach might model the correct arm movements for the freestyle stroke for young swimmers, and gradually fade the modeling prompts over trials until the young swimmers can properly perform the freestyle stroke without any prompts.

Question 7

Distinguish between fading and shaping.

Answer 7

• Fading: provide prompts/gestures necessary on any initial trial to guarantee a correct response and then gradually decrease those prompts until the skill is able to be performed correctly without any instructional prompts
• Shaping: the reinforcement of successive approximation of, or increasingly close attempts at, correct execution, one approximation at a time, until the desired response occurs