Skill Aquisition Flashcards
Skill Aquisition
help an individual learn and master a valuable life skill.
Include descriptions of:
● skill being taught,
● strategies for teaching it,
● materials necessary,
● mastery criteria,
● reinforcement stimuli
C-1. Identify the essential components of a written skill acquisition plan.
1. Identify skill deficit
2. Create a goal to address the deficit
3. Identify measurement procedures.
4. Access current skill level (baseline).
5. Select and implement skill acquisition procedure(s).
6. Take data of target behaviors to determine effectiveness.
7. Modify if necessary to maintain/increase effectiveness.
Skill Acquisition plan components
RBT responsible for implementing
* See supplemental “skills acquisition plan details” doc.
Essential components of a skills acquisition plan:
● Skill definition
● Baseline measurement
● Clear goals
● Description of the procedures
● Reactive strategies
● Data collection and graphing
● Plan review
● Maintenance and termination
Session Prep
Prepare for the sessions as required by the skill acquisition plan
When a new plan is created it is recommended that you:
● Read Through the plan before seeing the client
●Practice the interventions listed in the plan
● Make note of any areas in which you have questions
● Set an appointment with your supervision/BCBA to review the plan and obtain clarification on the questions you have about the plan
● Discuss with the supervisor who/how/when the plan is reviewed with the caregivers and/or client
● Make any job aids that may help you run the session
● Obtain all the materials that are needed to run the plan
● Include data sheets or devices for data collection
● Implement the plan during client sessions
Contingencies of reinforcement
●Unconditioned reinforcement
●Conditioned reinforcement
●Unconditioned punishment
●Conditioned punishment
●Continuous vs. intermittent reinforcement
●Schedules of reinforcement and punishment
Contingencies of reinforcement
● Unconditioned reinforcement
● Conditioned reinforcement
● Unconditioned punishment
● Conditioned punishment
● Continuous vs. intermittent reinforcement
● Schedules of reinforcement and punishment
Unconditioned reinforcement
Primary reinforcer:
● Reinforcement that is not learned.
- A motivating stimulus that does not need to be learned, such as food, water, warmth, oxygen, shelter, etc.
Conditioned reinforcement
Secondary Reinforcer
● Reinforcement that is learned.
Neutral stimulus paired with a reinforcer that changes the value of the previously neutral stimulus
Requires stimulus-stimulus pairing
● Use of a clicker in dog training
Unconditioned punishment
Punishment that is not learned
a consequence that decreases the future probability of behavior without prior learning experience
● Pain
Conditioned punishment
Punishment that must be learned The item does not possess punishing qualities until the item is paired with something that is punishing.
Requires stimulus-stimulus pairing
● Fines, reprimands, being grounded
Stimulus-stimulus pairing
The process of presenting two stimuli at the same time repeatedly until either stimulus elicits the response regardless of whether both or one are present.
● Clicker training in dogs
Continuous vs Intermittent
Continuous - Reinforcement is delivered for every occurrence of the behavior
Intermittent - Reinforcement that is not given for each instance of the behavior.
Intermittent can be delivered on schedules of reinforcement.
Schedules of Reinforcement and Punishment
Describes how often the occurrence of a behavior will receive a reinforcement/punishment.
● Fixed - Set
● Variable - Changing
● Ratio - Responses
● Interval - Time
Fixed vs. Variable
Set vs changing
How often the reinforcement or punishment is delivered.
● Fixed schedule - a set number of responses to occur before reinforcement or punishment is delivered.
● Variable - a varied number of responses required before reinforcement or punishment is delivered.
Ratio vs. Interval
Responses vs Time
What type of schedule is the reinforcement delivered
● Ratio - the number of responses needed before reinforcement or punishment is delivered.
● Interval - the amount of time that must pass before reinforcement or punishment is delivered.
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Set number of responses
● Reinforcement or punishment is delivered on a fixed number of responses
- Completion of a constant number of responses
● Provides a high steady rate of responding with a post-reinforcement pause
Fixed Interval (FI)
Set amount of time
● Reinforcement is delivered for the first response after the duration of time has passed since the last correct response
- Reinforces the first response after a constant amount of time
● Provides an increasing rate of responding at the end of the interval with a post-reinforcement pause
Variable Ratio (VR)
Changing number of responses
● A variable number of responses are required before reinforcement is provided
- Completion of a changing number of responses
● The required number of responses varies between responses
● Provides a high, steady rate of responding
Variable Interval (VI)
Changing amount of time
● Variable length of time is required before reinforcement is provided
- Reinforces the first response after a changing amount of time
● The required length of time varies between responses
● Provides a high, steady rate of responding
Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)
Breaking skills down into smaller components and teaching those smaller sub-skills individually.
Comprised of three components:
1.Instruction
2.Response (or lack of response)
3.Consequence
Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)
Mass Trial
Distractor Trial
Random Rotation
Expanded Trial
Breaking skills down into smaller components and teaching those smaller sub-skills individually.
*Teaching early learning skills
Three components:
1. Instruction
2. Response (or lack of response)
3. Consequence
Five parts:
1. Present a stimulus to invoke a response
2. Wait a predetermined length of time for response.
* Prompting may be needed for the correct response
3. Provide reinforcement for the correct response
4. Correct or extinguish incorrect responses.
5. Provide a break between the end of one trial and the beginning of the next trial.
● Mass trial - Asking the target multiple times in a repetitive manner.
That would look like this:
Trial 1: “Touch dog”… Trial 2: “Touch dog”… Trial 3: “Touch dog”.
* Typically used to teach very young children, children new to ABA, or lower functioning children
● Distractor trial - Asking the same target each trial, but including two ‘unknown’ choices as answer options. For example, having a dog card and two cards with objects that are unknown to the learner and saying “touch dog.”
● Random Rotation - This is a trial that includes one mastered choice and one trail choice. You would rotate prompts during each trial.
● Expanded Trial - Similar to the random rotation, but you include several mastered choices and only one trial choice.
* Rotate prompts with each trial.
Maintenance/Generalization - Once a trial choice has been mastered, you would include it in the rotation of mastered choices during random rotation and expanded trials.
Naturalistic teaching (NET)
natural environment training
Uses the natural environment to facilitate learning.
* The child’s interests are used to guide the session
May also contrive opportunities for the client to engage in various skills within an enriched natural environment
- Be aware of satiation and deprivation.
Satiation
●Being satisfied and reaching full gratification
●Value of reinforcers is reduced
Deprivation
●The reduced access to an item ●Value of reinforcer is increased
Task analysis training
Break down complex skills into smaller steps
- learn the small steps of the task, and chain the steps together to complete the overall task.
Forward Chaining
Backward Chaining
Total Task Chaining
To determine the steps, you can:
● Observe someone completing the task and document the steps
● Employ the assistance of an expert to determine the steps in the task
● Complete the task by yourself and document the steps
Forward chaining
Taught from the first step to the last step.
● The first step serves as reinforcement for the next step. ● The first step is taught until mastery. Then the next step is taught;
- Best used when the beginning steps are easier to complete than the later steps.
Backward chaining
steps are taught in backward order from the last step to the first step.
When the last step has been mastered, the client is given the last two steps to complete independently.
Total Task Chaining
Uses prompting to complete all steps of the chain.
Prompts the client as needed to complete all the steps of the task
*This procedure is a prompt fading procedure.
Discrimination =
Stimulus Discrimination
choosing between different Stimuli or objects.
● Reinforcing behavior in the presence of correct stimulus, but not in the presence of incorrect stimuli.
* Correct stimuli
e.g. picks container with green dot vs with no green dot.
Differentiation =
Response differentiation
Reinforce correct response and putting incorrect responses on extinction.
e.g. Reinforce mand for attention and ignore hitting for attention.
*Directly related to shaping
* Correct response
discrimination training procedure
Simultaneous
Successive
Teaching a client how to tell the difference between two or more stimuli. Reinforcing occurrences of a behavior in the presence of one stimulus condition and not in the presence of another stimulus condition.
Reinforcing behavior in the presence of one stimulus but not others.
Teaches learners to differentiate between stimuli. Discrimination is essential to learning skills
Simultaneous - Both stimuli are presented at once.
Successive - Only one stimulus condition is present.
Differential reinforcement
reinforcing a specific type of behavior while withholding reinforcement for other types of behavior.
What does differential reinforcement lead to?
● Discrimination
● Differentiation
Differential reinforcement = reinforcing one thing while putting another thing on extinction.
stimulus control transfer
techniques in which prompts are discontinued once the target behavior is being displayed in the presence of the discriminative stimulus (Sd).
fading prompts
* Prompt Fading
* Prompt Delay
Stimulus control
The “control” a stimulus has over the occurrence or non-occurrence of a behavior.
To transfer control over a response from one SD (discriminative stimuli) to another.
Prompting a response = response is under control of that prompt.
* Transition the response to the control of the SD or the naturally occurring SD.
Differential Reinforcement
Reinforcing a target behavior while withholding reinforcement from an unwanted behavior.
The goal is to replace unwanted behaviors with desirable behaviors.
DRO
(differential reinforcement of other behavior)
- reinforce behavior when it is not occurring (absence of behavior)
- Reinforcing all other behavior
- Does not teach replacement behavior
Goal is to eliminate a behavior
- Best for:
- dangerous behavior
- behavior that requires immediate decrease
DRI
(differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors)
- Reinforce behaviors that cannot occur with target behavior
- Topographically incompatible
- Teaches replacement behavior
- Goal is to substitute a behavior for the target behavior
DRA
(differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors)
The target behavior is not reinforced, while the alternate replacement behavior is reinforced
- Reinforce the alternative behavior only
- Teaches alternative behavior
Goal is to eliminate a behavior
DRH
(differential reinforcement of higher rates)
- Reinforce behavior that occurs more frequently
- Increases a known behavior
- Does not teach replacement behavior
DRD
(differential reinforcement of diminishing rates)
- reinforce behavior when it occurs less frequently
- Gradually decrease the amount
- Opposite of DRH
- Does not teach replacement behavior
DRL
(differential reinforcement of lower rates)
*Rate = frequency/ time (duration)
- Reinforce the behavior if it happens less than a set amount within the timeframe (less often than the predetermined IRT)
- Decrease but not eliminate a behavior
- Does not teach a replacement behavior
Stimulus prompt
A type of prompt in which we change the materials in a way to help the learner give the correct response.
● Any time we change the way the materials look, how we put them out on the table
● Anything that makes the stimulus stand out more in order to evoke the correct response.
Examples:
- Drawing attention to a discriminative stimulus by making it larger than the other stimuli
- Placing the correct stimulus closer to a learner than incorrect stimuli.
There are three major forms:
● Position
● Redundancy
● Movement.
Prompt
cue or assistance to encourage a desired response
Prompt fading
Moving down the prompt hierarchy
Ex. Going from physical prompt to a gestural prompt
Prompt dependency
Requiring a prompt to perform a task
Ex. Johnny can’t remove his pants without a prompt
Inadvertent prompt
Accidental prompt, such as looking at correct target
Response prompts
prompts are presented in addition to the instruction or cue to evoke correct responding.
● Operate directly on the response”
- no additional physical object needs to be manipulated during the prompt.
Example:
- Verbal instructions
- Modeling
- Physical guidance (hand over hand)
Most-to-Least Prompting
Starting with the most intrusive prompt first (physical guidance) and gradually reducing prompts until a behavior is independent
Least-to-Most Prompting
Starting with the least intrusive prompt first (independence) and gradually increasing prompts as needed until the behavior occurs
Prompt Delay (Time delay)
When using time delay with prompts, gradually and systematically extend the delay between presenting a stimulus and presenting the prompt
Stimulus Fading
Decreasing the intensity of a physical stimulus that controls a response.
- reducing a prompt until control transfers to the SD
Generalization
learned skills carry over to new situations.
Stimulus generalization
The same response from a stimulus that shares similar features to the original stimulus.
Example: Molly is taught that her pet, a great dane, is a dog. When she is on a walk with her mother,she sees a dachshund and says “dog”.
Response generalization
A different, yet similar, response in the presence of a similar stimuli.
When you greet your mom you may say “hi” or “hello”. When you greet your friends you may say “What’s up” or “Hey”.
Maintenance
The last step for a target behavior in an intervention.
Maintenance is the continued reinforcement of a behavior
- Should be considered from the beginning.
- If continued reinforcement for behavior is not maintained, there is a potential for the behavior to return.
Support in the natural environment is necessary for the individual to maintain replacement behaviors.
Shaping
Shaping is the process of teaching a new behavior gradually by rewarding behaviors that progressively come close to the target behavior.
reinforcement for successive close approximations
An example of shaping could be:
Target behavior: Jane to complete a full 10-question homework assignment.
After probing, she has not been successful in completing the task independently.
- Require Jane to turn in a paper with just her name on it. Reward with reinforcement.
- Require Jane to turn in a paper with one question completed. Provide reinforcement.
- Require Jane to turn in a paper with two questions completed. Provide reinforcement.
You would continue this process until the child has met the target behavior.
limitations of shaping:
● Time-consuming if the individual requires many approximations of the target behavior
- each instance of the behavior is reinforced.
The results from shaping procedures can vary over the implementation of the procedure.
● The therapist must monitor the individual closely to notice slight changes in their behavior in order to reinforce the next approximation.
● The therapist can reinforce unwanted behaviors if the shaping procedure is not implemented correctly.
Errorless vs Error correction training
Errorless Format = prompt trial – transfer trial – distractor trial – check
Prompted Trial – give target Sd with prompt (no delay) = mild reinforcement of correct response
Transfer Trial – Give target Sd without prompt = Strong reinforcement of correct response
Distractor Trial – give distractor Sd (mastered target) = mild reinforcement of correct response
Check – give target Sd without prompt = strong reinforcement of correct response
