Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning

Question 1

Most behavioral interventions rely on positive reinforcement; the effectiveness of positive reinforcement is influenced by ___ identified factors.

Answer 1

6.

Question 2

________________: There must be a ______________ relationship between the target behavior and the positive reinforcer.

Answer 2

• Contingency
• Contingent

Question 3

______________: To maximize the benefits of positive reinforcement, the reinforcer should be delivered ______________ the target behavior.

Answer 3

• Immediacy
• Immediately after

Question 4

___________________: Generally, the establishment of a new behaivor is most rapid when reinforcement is applied on a continuous schedule, while maintenance of the behavior is maximized when the behavior is reinforced on an intermittent schedule. The process of reducing the proportion of reinforcement is referred to as _________________.

Answer 4

• Schedule of Reinforcement
• Thinning

Question 5

______________________: Up to a point, the greater the amount of positive reinforcement, the greater its effectiveness. Past that point, ______________ may occur, which means that the reinforcer has lost its reinforcing value. Primary reinforcers are more susceptible to this than secondary reinforcers, especially generalized secondary reinforcers; a continuous schedule of reinforcement is more susceptible to this than the intermittent schedules.

Answer 5

• Magnitude
• Satiation

Question 6

____________________: The effectiveness of reinforcement is enhanced when the contingent relationship between a behavior and a reinforcer is verbally clarified.

Answer 6

Verbal clarification.

Question 7

____________________: These (verbal or physical) facilitate the acquisition of a new behavior. The gradual removal of a prompt is referred to as _____________.

Answer 7

• Prompts
• Fading

Question 8

_____________________ involves reinforcing successive approximations to the desired behavior; that is, providing reinforcement only for behaviors that come closer and closer to the desired one.

Answer 8

Shaping.

Question 9

Skinner referred to the sequence of discriminative stimulus-behavior-consequence as the “three-term contingency” and claimed that it accounts for the acquisition of most complex behaviors, including “_________________” which consist of a number of distinct responses. The establishment of this behavior sequence is referred to as ________________.

Answer 9

• Behavior chains
• Chaining

Question 10

________________________: A high probability behavior is used to reinforce a low probability behavior.

Answer 10

Premack Principle.

Question 11

________________________: Combines positive reinforcement with extinction and involves reinforcing alternative behaviors while ignoring the target behavior.

Answer 11

Differential Reinforcement.

Question 12

Types of Differential Reinforcement:

• DRI: ____________________________
• DRA: ___________________________
• DRO: ___________________________

Answer 12

• Differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors
• Differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors
• Differential reinforcement of other behaviors

Question 13

The effectiveness of punishment is influenced by ___ identified factors.

Answer 13

6.

Question 14

________________: The sooner a punishment is administered, the more successful it will be. Ideally, punishment should be applied at the onset of the behavior; that is, at the beginning of the behavior chain.

Answer 14

Immediacy.

Question 15

______________________: To be successful, punishment must be applied on a continuous schedule; i.e., it should follow each performance of the target behavior.

Answer 15

Consistency.

Question 16

_____________________: Punishment is usually most effective when it is initially applied in moderation. When punishment is too strong, it’s more likely to produce avoidance, aggression, and other undesirable behaviors. Initially administering punishment in a weak form and then gradually increasing its intensity increases the likelihood of _________________, which occurs when a punishment loses its effectiveness.

Answer 16

• Intensity
• Habituation

Question 17

________________________: The effectiveness of punishment is maximized when the contingent relationship between the target behavior and the punishment is verbally clarified.

Answer 17

Verbal clarification.

Question 18

____________________________________: Punishment works best when all stimuli that previously reinforced the behavior are identified and consistently withheld at the same time the behavior is being punished.

Answer 18

Removal of all positive reinforcement.

Question 19

__________________________: Because punishment only teaches a person what not to do, its effectiveness increases substantially when it’s combined with reinforcement for alternative behaviors.

Answer 19

Reinforcement for alternative behaviors.

Question 20

In terms of practical considerations, it’s important to keep in mind that punishment ____________ actually eliminate a behavior, but merely ______________ it.

Answer 20

• Does not
• Suppresses

Question 21

_________________: Saying “no” or “stop!” are used to suppress unwanted behaivors in a variety of settings. Their effects are inconsistent, and in some situations, act as positive reinforcers and actually increase the target behavior. Effects are likely to be temporary.

Answer 21

Verbal reprimands.

Question 22

_____________________________: A form of positive punishment that entails applying a penalty following an undesirable behavior in order to eliminate it. It may involve one or both of the following procedures:

• _________________: Involves having the individual correct any negative effects of his or her behavior;
• _________________: Requires the person to practice more appropriate behaviors, usually in an exaggerated fashion.

Answer 22

• Overcorrection
• Restitution
• Positive practice

Question 23

______________________: Involves requiring the individual to deliberately repeat the undesirable behavior to the point that it becomes aversive to the individual or the individual becomes fatigued.

Answer 23

Negative practice.

Question 24

____________________: An application of negative punishment, it involves removing a specific reinforcer each time the target behavior is performed.

Answer 24

Response cost.

Question 25

________________________: This involves removing all sources of positive reinforcement for a brief, prespecified period of time follwoing a behavior in order to decrease that behavior.

Answer 25

Time-out from reinforcement.

Question 26

The effectiveness of extinction is influenced by ___ factors.

Answer 26

4.

Question 27

__________________: Positive reinforcement must be consistently withheld following the behavior since a single exception can re-establish the behavior and maintain it for a considerable length of time.

Answer 27

Consistency.

Question 28

___________________________: The (same term) that previously established and maintained the behavior affects the rate of extinction. Extinction is more rapid when the behavior has been reinforced on a continuous schedule than on an intermittent one, and, of the intermittent schedules, when a fixed or variable interval schedule was used.

Answer 28

Schedule of reinforcement.

Question 29

____________________________: The greater the ____________ and the longer the _____________ of the previous reinforcement, the more resistant the behavior to extinction.

Answer 29

• Magnitude and Duration of Reinforcement
• Magnitude
• Duration

Question 30

_________________________: Like punishment, extinction is most successful whe it’s used in conjunction with reinforcement for alternative behaviors.

Answer 30

Reinforcement for Other Behaviors.

Question 31

_____________________: An application of contingency management that involves a formal written agreement between two or more people that clearly defines the bheaviors that are to be modified and the rewards and punishments that will follow performance of those behaviors.

Answer 31

Contingency Contracts.

Question 32

_________________________: A structured environment in which desirable behaviors are increased by reinforcing them with generalized secondary reinforcers that can be exchanged for desired items, activities, and other back-up (primary) reinforcers, while undesirable behaviors are decreased by withholding or removing tokens following those behaviors. They are less susceptible than primary reinforcers to satiation.

Answer 32

Token Economy.

Question 33

____________________: This is used to improve communication, assertiveness, problem-solving, and other socially adaptive skills; it incorporates techniques derived from operant and classical conditioning, as well as social learning theory. Specific techniques include modeling, coaching, behavior rehearsal, feedback, reinforcement, and homework assignments.

Answer 33

Social Skills Training (SST).

Question 34

__________________________: These are behavior change strategies derived from the results of a functional behavioral assessment (FBA; also referred to as functional behavioral analysis) and is conducted to determine the purpose of an undesirable behavior and identify a more desirable substitute behavior that serves the same purpose.

Answer 34

Function-Based Interventions.

Question 35

The goal of interventions derived from an FBA is to decrease or eliminate the ___________________ while increasing the ______________________, which is achieved by eliminating the antecedents and consequences that are maintaining the ___________________ and providing antecedents and consequences that support the ______________________.

Answer 35

• Undesirable behavior
• Alternative behavior
• Undesirable behavior
• Alternative behavior