Chapter 5: Operant Conditioning Procedures: Discrimination Training, Shaping, Fading, and Chaining

Question 1

Operant conditioning is often used in sport psychology to…

Answer 1

change behaviors.

Question 2

ABCs

Answer 2

We discuss versions of this in many types of therapy, but essentially, we want athletes to be able to tune into what is happening before a behavior (the antecedent) and what is happening after the behavior (consequence). Often athletes will recognize a consequence but not be sure of what is happening in advance of the behavior. The ABC practice sets up a beneficial model of self-monitoring (filling in specific content). This type of monitoring also provides athletes with an opportunity to become more present and focused in the moment by helping them cue into particular things. The more you practice noticing these things, the more likely you will be able to catch them as they happen in the moment (allowing athletes to make adjustments accordingly).

Question 3

A recent example (with ABCs) I had with an athlete is:

Answer 3

Antecedent: bad fight with a partner before a game
Behavior: goalie could not concentrate on a game (limited attentional control)
Consequence: let in ‘easy’ goals

Question 4

Stimulus control

Answer 4

is often used in sport to encourage certain behavior. For instance, many athletes employ routines (doing the same thing every game or before a particular move/play) that help them perform how they want to.

Question 5

There will be certain things that support athletes in selecting what to do in a game. For example, if a football coach calls a specific offensive play that the opponent’s defensive team cannot stop at the start of the game, the coach may be more likely to call the play again (________). If the defensive team intercepts the play, the coach may be less likely to call the play again in that game (___________).

Answer 5

discriminative stimulus

extinction stimulus

Question 6

Modeling

Answer 6

is used to demonstrate the ideal behavior. When I train athletes on mindfulness and breathing techniques, I model the behavior I am looking for; then we practice together. In team settings, the athletes all participate together.

Question 7

We rely on operant stimulus generalization to support athletes in using the same behaviors and techniques across various similar experiences…

Operant stimulus discrimination is also essential…

Answer 7

…A silly example is if swimmer would only kick doing a front crawl but think they didn’t need to kick during a back crawl.

…One of the organizations I work with has upper-level athletes coaching (say like 17–20-year-olds) and playing with younger athletes (5–10-year-olds). If those older athletes weren’t able to discriminate the younger athlete game from their regular-season games, they would not play any differently, and there would be a lot of really hurt and sad kids.

Question 8

Shaping

Answer 8

involves reinforcing successive approximations or close attempts at a behavior until the desired behavior
is achieved.

This is easy to consider when you are supporting the development of a new skill. For instance, a young soccer player will not be expected to learn how to pass a ball while running across the field. So the target behaviors will include passing and running, and we can break down passing behavior into successive approximations. First, the athlete may practice passing by standing directly in front of their teammate, 5 feet away. Over time, the coach could increase the distance the athlete is passing, and have the athlete passing from different angles (not directly facing, but on an angle). The coach may have the athlete walk and pass, then pick up speed. Over time we are building on the smaller successes to encourage the development of bigger skills.

Question 9

Fading

Answer 9

is the gradual change of an antecedent stimulus (e.g., prompt) over time and successful attempts at the behavior. A dance teacher may prompt the dancers throughout the first run- through of a routine, calling out the names of steps and encouraging specific cues. As the routine is practiced, the teacher will start to prompt about only a few parts of the routine, and eventually, watch through the routine without saying anything.

Question 10

Chaining

Answer 10

involves putting multiple steps together, one after another. A dance routine is a great example. Teachers will often run through the entire routine then break it down into smaller chunks. Each chunk is made up of a series of steps. Once those steps are successfully understood, the teacher will add on more steps, until the entire routine is together.