Chapter 7: Stimulus Control Flashcards
What is the 3-term contingency?
A fundamental concept in behavior analysis that describes the relationship between a behavior and its consequences.
What does the 3-term contingency consist of?
Antecedent (A) – The stimulus or event that occurs before a behavior.
Behavior (B) – The action taken in response to the antecedent.
Consequence (C) – The outcome or result that follows the behavior, which can reinforce or discourage future occurrences of that behavior.
What is an example of the 3-term contingency?
A: A teacher asks a student a question.
B: The student answers correctly.
C: The teacher praises the student, reinforcing future participation.
What does stimulus control mean?
Occurs when a behavior is more likely to happen in the presence of a specific stimulus because that stimulus has been consistently associated with reinforcement or punishment.
What is an example of stimulus control
A stop sign exerts stimulus control over drivers, making them stop because they have learned that stopping at a stop sign prevents accidents or penalties.
What do the terms SD mean in relation to discrimination learning (stimulus control)?
SD (Discriminative Stimulus): A stimulus that signals that reinforcement is available for a specific behavior. The presence of an SD increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur.
What does S-delta mean in relation to discrimination learning (stimulus control)?
S-Delta (SΔ): A stimulus that signals that reinforcement is not available, decreasing the likelihood of the behavior occurring.
What is an example of SD (Discriminative stimulus)
SD: A vending machine with a lit-up display encourages a person to insert money because it signals the machine is working (reinforcement available).
What is an example of S-Delta (SΔ)?
SΔ: A vending machine with a blank screen discourages behavior because it signals that no reinforcement (snack or drink) will be given.
What is stimulus discrimination?
The ability to distinguish between different stimuli and respond differently based on past experiences of reinforcement or punishment.
What is an example of stimulus discrimination?
A child learns that pressing the doorbell at their own house results in their parent answering (reinforcement), but pressing a stranger’s doorbell does not lead to the same outcome.
What is stimulus discrimination training?
The process of reinforcing a behavior in the presence of an SD while not reinforcing (or even punishing) the behavior in the presence of an SΔ.
What is the outcome of stimulus discrimination training?
The individual learns to respond only when the discriminative stimulus (SD) is present and not when the S-delta (SΔ) is present.
What is an example of stimulus discrimination training?
A dog is trained to sit when given the command “Sit” (SD) but not when hearing other words (SΔ).
How is stimulus control used to teach new behaviors?
Stimulus control can be used in education by reinforcing correct answers in the presence of an SD (e.g., a teacher’s prompt).
In therapy, stimulus control helps individuals develop routines, such as brushing teeth when seeing a toothbrush.
How is stimulus control used to modify problematic behaviors?
Removing or altering stimuli that trigger unwanted behavior (e.g., keeping junk food out of sight to reduce unhealthy eating).
Introducing new SDs to encourage desired behavior (e.g., setting an alarm to prompt waking up on time).
