Lesson 8: Stimulus control and complex processes

Question 1

Definition: Stimulus control or contextual control

Answer 1

When an antecedent stimulus signals something about the relationship between a behaviour and a consequence

Question 2

Definition: discriminative stimulus (SD)

Answer 2

When a stimulus or a context indicates that a response will be followed by a particular consequence

Question 3

Definition: stimulus delta (SΔ)

Answer 3

When a stimulus or a context indicates that a response will NOT be followed by a particular consequence

Question 4

Definition: stimulus class

Answer 4

When a set of stimuli all share a common property or properties
–> stimulus control can be more general than just being exerted by one stimulus

Question 5

Definition: generalisation

Answer 5

A tendency to respond in the same or similar ways to stimuli which are the same or similar to those which were previously experienced

Question 6

most “phobic” behaviours are instances of over-generalisation, what is this?

Answer 6

a negative experience with one stimulus/context/event generalises to many other stimuli/contexts/events

Question 7

What are the 2 types of generalisation?

Answer 7

(1) stimulus generalisation
(2) response generalisation

Question 8

Definition: stimulus generalisation

Answer 8

the same response generalises across many similar stimuli

Question 9

Definition: response generalisation

Answer 9

one stimulus leads to the generalisation of many different responses

Question 10

Generalisation and discrimination can be understood in opposition to each other? What is discrimination?

Answer 10

= certain stimuli [SDs] influence certain responses but not others
= responding under the control of SD’s

Question 11

Stimulus generalisation is the tendency to respond to similar stimuli in similar ways, whereas SDs are stimuli which differentiate contexts and thus how one responds. How can we say this in other words?

Answer 11

SDs place limits on generalisation, and the properties of SDs can provide the dimensions along which generalisation occurs.

Question 12

Definition: shaping

Answer 12

A learning procedure where a particular terminal behaviour is learned by being differential reinforced for several intermediate behaviours

Shaping involves identifying a terminal behaviour, and differentially reinforcing (intermediate) responses that gradually more closely resemble the terminal behaviour.

Question 13

When devising a shaping procedure, there are different behaviours involved, which? (3)

Answer 13

(1) an initial behaviour
(2) intermediate behaviours
(3) a terminal behaviour

Question 14

Definition: initial behaviour

Answer 14

The first behaviour in the sequence which physically resembles the terminal behaviour

Question 15

Definition: intermediate behaviour(s)

Answer 15

Behaviour or behaviours trained during a shaping procedure which increasingly approximate the final behaviour of interest

Question 16

Definition: terminal behaviour

Answer 16

The behaviour we ultimately want to train in a shaping intervention.

Question 17

What’s the difference between shaping and chaining? (3)

Answer 17

(1) Shapingalways moves forward (chaining can move back and forward).

(2) When we use shaping, we want to establish a single behaviour (i.e., the terminal behaviour). We differentially reinforce other behaviours along the way, but by the end of our intervention we want the person to emit the terminal behaviour without the other behaviours it took to get there. With chaining, we want to keep all of those intermediate behaviours too.

(3) In chaining the previous behaviour functions as an SD for emitting the following behaviour. In shaping the previous behaviour is put into extinction and only the terminal behaviour is reinforced.

Question 18

Definition: chaining

Answer 18

Chaining is another method used to establish a complex behaviour. This complex behaviour is broken down into individual, sequential steps, where the outcome of each step simultaneously reinforces the previous step, and functions as a cue (i.e., an SD) for the next step.

Question 19

Definition: forward chaining

Answer 19

A procedure by which a series of behaviours are learned by first reinforcing the first step in that chain of behaviours, then the second step, etc.

Question 20

Definition: backward chaining

Answer 20

A procedure by which a series of behaviours are learned by first reinforcing the last step in that chain of behaviours, then the second last step, etc.

Question 21

To be able to do chaining, we need to do a task analysis, what is this?

Answer 21

Breaking down the steps involved in the complex behaviour.

Question 22

Definition: (response) prompts

Answer 22

Response prompts are SDs that co-occur with specific behaviours involved in the behavioural chain.

The addition of a cue or cues which increase the likelihood that a client will emit a correct response; often used in chaining interventions

Question 23

What is the prompt hierarchy? (6)

Answer 23

(1) Physical: Physically guiding the client to perform a skill

(2) Model: A demonstration of the target skill by another person

(3) Positional: Placing materials in a location or sequence that ensures successful completion of an activity

(4) Gestural: A physical movement or gesture by another person that leads to the client producing the correct response

(5) Visual: Includes pictures, text, and symbols that can assist the client in producing the correct response

(6) Verbal: Verbal cues which give information to help the client respond correctly

Question 24

Prompt fading is the most common way of establishing SDs in chaining, what is it?

Answer 24

Definition: The process of systematically reducing and removing prompts.

Whenever a prompt is used, we ultimately want to fade that prompt out so that the stimuli in the preceding part of the chain come to function as an SD for the next response in the chain.