Stimulus Control Flashcards
What is the three term contingency
ABCs of behaviour
Antecedent -> behaviour -> consequence
What are antecedents
Include stimuli, events, or situations that precede a behavioural response
(they are all stimuli)
Provide the context in which consequences may occur
What are the types of antecedents
Overt vs covert
Immediate vs distant
What are overt and covert antecedents
Overt = stimuli directly observable with your senses
Covert = internal experiences; not open to observation by others
What are immediate and distant antecedents
Immediate = occur right before (or overlap with) behaviour
Distant = often covert, precede the behaviour by a long time; also can affect behaviour for a long time
E.g. of distant antecedents
Medication effects, health status, history of abuse
Every antecedent is…
Overt or covert AND immediate or distant
What is stimulus control
The extent to which an antecedent stimulus can influence performance of a specific behaviour
When a stimulus exercises a high degree of stimulus control…
The behaviour is highly likely to occur in the presence of the cue
What is stimulus class
Related stimuli that have the same effect on behaviour
What is stimulus discrimination training
Administering a certain consequence for a specific behaviour when a particular stimulus is present, but not when another stimulus is present
Process of reinforcing a beh only when a specific antecedent stimulus is present
Two types of stimulus in discrimination training
Discriminative stimulus (S^D) = behaviour is reinforced
Other (S^delta) = behaviour is not reinforced
Example of discrimination training
Pigeon pecks red disk when illuminated, gets food
When green disk is illuminated and the pigeon pecked it, no food
Three term contingency notation of discrimination training
S^D -> response -> S^R or P (reinforcer or punisher)
S^delta -> response -> nothing
What is stimulus generalization
Occurs when a stimulus similar to the S^D also produces the behaviour
