Chapter 7 Flashcards
Types of
Conditioned Reinforcers
Simple:
Paired with one reinforcer
Exchanged only for that reinforcer
Example: coupons
Generalized:
Paired with a variety of reinforcers
Exchanged for multiple reinforcers
Example: money, praise, attention, and other social
reinforcers
Establishing a
Conditioned Reinforcer
Neutral Stimulus + primary/conditioned reinforcer (repeatedly)
* Example: Attention, affection, approval (social reinforcers) –are all established as a
conditioned reinforcer in infancy/early childhood
* Smile + feeding (meeting physical needs) = Conditioned response
* Can be used to manage behaviours throughout childhood and even generalized to
other adults (babysitter, teacher, relatives, neighbor)
* Social reinforcement from peers > parents in the teen years
* Harder to use in those who can’t/didn’t have these associations established early on
Attention for undesired behaviour
If not receiving enough praise or attention for desired behaviours
May perform disruptive/inappropriate
behaviours to get at least some form of attention from parents
(even if this attention is unpleasant in nature)
This type of unpleasant attention reinforces the
undesired behaviour
Intervention: teach adults how to provide children with social reinforcement for appropriate behaviours, and withhold for
inappropriate behaviors
Building a
Therapeutic Alliance
(Relationship)
Key component to any
therapy is the therapeutic
relationship
* Therapist serves as a SD who
also responds to the client
with social reinforcers
* Must bridge cultural
differences overtly overtime
Therapeutic Alliance Strategies
- Offer unconditioned
reinforcers (snacks) – (not often used now) - Offer non-contingent conditioned reinforcers –friendly conversation
- Pair themselves with other reinforcers:
* Board games
* Calming music/lighting
* Comfortable room
* Small prizes - Then, use social reinforcers (approval,
attention, praise) to selectively reinforce client
responses, and assign behavioural homework
Health Sector
Transparency
Act, 2017
Pharmaceutical relationships
with medical providers
impacts behaviour
US “Sunshine Act” 2010
“Health Sector Transparency
Act, 2017”
(not yet enacted in Ontario)
Fading
Unconditioned
Reinforcers
Shift from food (candy) → social reinforcers
(conditioned reinforcer)
* Example: Toilet training
Pair the two over time
* Continuously paired at first
* Shift to an intermittent reinforcement schedule next
Promotes:
* Generalization and maintenance
Recommended to use generalized conditioned
reinforcers instead of unconditioned reinforcers:
* Less satiation issues
* Abundantly available
* Ethical debates on using food contingently
Token economy
Planned reinforcement program in which individuals earn
tokens for performing desirable behaviours
* Goal: Reinforce and develop appropriate behaviours
* 4 Components
1. Target behaviour identified
2. Type of token used
3. Back up reinforcers available for “purchase”
4. Pre-negotiated rules and procedures
* Including loss of tokens for undesirable
behaviour (*be wary of this)
* Including group contingencies
* Example: Sticker Charts
Effectiveness of Token Economies
Used in many settings
Used with many populations
Used with a wide range of behaviours
* Interval between behaviour and reinforcer delivery
* Magnitude and quality of the reinforcer
* Schedule of reinforcement (continuous versus intermittent)
Drawbacks to Token Economies
Research
* Research has dropped off significantly after 1990
* Statistical and methodological errors –
overstated success
* Changed behaviours, but these weren’t always sustained over time, generalized to being back at home, or re-offending
Philosophical
* Use of extrinsic rewards versus fostering internal motivation
Logistical
* Cost
* Allocation of staff
Stimulus
Response Chains
For complex behaviours
* Develop sequences of behaviour changes
to replace undesired behaviours
* Use series of stimulus-response units
that end with a reinforcer
* Each conditioned reinforcer then serves
as an SD for the next response
* For undesired behaviours – look to
disrupt the chain, and break the
sequence and use a competing response
Forward vs
Backward
Chaining
Development of new behaviours:
* Forward: teaching the sequence of
behaviours from 1st to last
* Need to identify all the components of the task
(task analysis)
* Backward: teaching the last stimulusresponse unit is taught first and then work in
reverse order
* Still only reinforce when the final step is
complete
* Example: teaching a child to catheterize
themselves
