Unit 2: Sundberg on Automatic Reinforcement, Verbal Behavior, Social Behavior, etc.

Question 1

Automatic Reinforcement

Answer 1

Automatic reinforcement is
reinforcement that is not mediated by
the deliberate action of another person”
(Vaughan & Michael, 1982, p. 219)

Question 2

Automatic Reinforcement can be divided into two types, what are they?

Answer 2

• Practical

- Artistic/Autistic

Question 3

Practical (Automatic Reinforcement)

Answer 3

The reinforcement is provided by the physical

environment (“the producing response operates on the surrounding world”)

Question 4

Artistic/Autistic (Automatic Reinforcement)

Answer 4

The reinforcement is provided by the
response product emanating from the behavior. (“The producing response operates on the behaver
directly”).

Question 5

Nonverbal Practical (Automatic Reinforcement)

Answer 5

The producing nonverbal response 
operates on the surrounding world, and behavior is shaped and automatically comes under the relevant stimulus control.
• Grab toy— have toy in hand
• Pull string-- toy moves
• Push door – it opens

Question 6

Verbal Practical (Automatic Reinforcement)

Answer 6

The producing verbal response operates on the
speaker as listener, and behavior is shaped and automatically comes under the relevant antecedent control
- self-mand (“I need to get back on task”)
- self-tact (“Greg! That’s his name”
- self-echoic (“454-8798, 454-8798”)
- self-intraverbal (problem solving, thinking)
- self-textual (reading harry potter)

Question 7

Nonverbal Artistic/Autistic (Automatic Reinforcement)

Answer 7

The producing nonverbal response
operates on the behaver directly, and behavior is shaped and automatically comes under the relevant antecedent control.
• Nonverbal behavior directly reinforced by stimulation (e.g., kinesthetic, auditory, visual) related to the response product (no
pairing—phylogenetic —unconditioned automatic reinforcement).
• Rocking, finger flicking/tapping, foot tapping, hair twirling,
humming, visual patterns, hand ringing, exercise, masturbation, scratch to remove an itch (automatic negative reinforcement), SIB, aggression (e.g., Iwata, et al.)
-Nonverbal behavior directly reinforced by stimulation (e.g., kinesthetic, auditory, visual) related to the response product (due to pairing- ontogenetic - conditioned automatic reinforcement)
• Mannerisms, posture, gestures, Rap singer movements, noise making, babbling, dress, jewelry, cars, hair style (Farrah Fawcett’s feathered hair) (Freud’s Identification)

Question 8

• Verbal Artistic/Autistic (Automatic Reinforcement)

Answer 8

The producing verbal response operates
on the behaver directly, and behavior is shaped and automatically comes under the relevant antecedent control.
• Verbal behavior directly reinforced by stimulation (e.g., kinesthetic, auditory, visual) related to the response product (due to pairing- ontogenetic - conditioned automatic reinforcement)
• Verbal response forms that match caretaker’s or others of value, including accents, intonation, prosody, syntax and grammar; also singing, fun words, verbal perseveration, delayed echolalia, obsessions

Question 9

in automatic reinforcement, the reinforcer consists of:

Answer 9

the direct consequence(s) of bx

Question 10

(T/F?) direct consequences are only related to reinforcement

Answer 10

false

Question 11

(T/F?) automatic reinforcement occurs as a result of phylogenic, but not of ontogenic provenance.

Answer 11

false

Question 12

You have a headache and rub your temples as a result of this, your headache subsides. What type of automatic reinforcement is this?

Answer 12

artistic or autistic non-verbal

Question 13

you rub your eyes and start seeing visual patterns. what type of automatic reinforcement is this an example of?

Answer 13

artistic or autistic non-verbal

Question 14

you have been learning how to eat with chopsticks for the last couple of weeks. with every meal, you are becoming more successful. What type of automatic reinforcement is this an example of?

Answer 14

practical non-verbal

Question 15

After admiring Tom Freeman for a long time,
I decide to grow my beard. What type of
automatic reinforcement is this an example
of?

Answer 15

Artistic or autistic non-verbal!

Question 16

What is the MOST effective pairing procedure?

Answer 16

short-delay

Question 17

When establishing a vocal stimulus as a conditioned reinforcer, you should present the vocal stimulus:

Answer 17

right before a reinforcer

Question 18

You work with a kid that loves Sesame
Street. Lately, he has started to speak like
Cookie Monster. What type of automatic
reinforcement is this an example of?!

Answer 18

verbal artistic/autistic

Question 19

You are taking your Unit test and start repeating
to yourself: “Take your time… take your time,”
and as a result, you are able to answer a
question correctly on the test. What type of
automatic reinforcement is this an example of?

Answer 19

verbal practical

Question 20

Repeating to yourself: “VB-MAPP…VBMAPP”
after hearing “VB-MAPP” is an
example of a:

Answer 20

self-echoic

Question 21

Verbal behavior that is reinforced by the
sensory stimulation produced by the
behavior itself. This is:

Answer 21

Verbal artistic (autistic)

Question 22

Non-verbal behavior that is reinforced by
the changes in the environment that it
produces.

Answer 22

non-verbal practical

Question 23

Intraverbals are under the antecedent control of a

verbal stimulus with:

Answer 23

a preceding stimulus

Question 24

(T/F?) a large number of our conversations involve conditional descriminations.

Answer 24

true

Question 25

Understanding how conditional discriminations are
formed is important for all of the following reasons,
except:
a.  Intraverbal skills should be taught as early as
possible.
b.  It helps in the development of appropriate program sequences to teach verbal skills.
c.  Teaching intraverbals too early can later interfere
with the development of more complex intraverbal
relations.

Answer 25

a. Intraverbal skills should be taught as early as

possible.

Question 26

Which of the following is part of a verbal
repertoire?!

a.   Joint attention!
b.   Making eye contact!
c.   Motor imitation!
d.   Responding to mands from peers

Answer 26

a. joint attention

Question 27

Which of the following is part of a listener 
repertoire?
a.  Answering questions!
b.  Appropriate attending to a speaker!
c.  Facial expressions!
d.  Proximity to others!

Answer 27

b. appropriate attending to a speaker

Question 28

Which of the following is part of a non-verbal repertoire?

a. autoclitics
b. body posture
c. mands for information
d. reinforcing speaker bx

Answer 28

b. body posture

Question 29

All of the following are verbal behavior 
problems that interfere with social 
behavior, except:
a.  Joint attention!
b.  High rate of mands!
c.  Rote verbal behavior!
d.  Verbal perseveration!

Answer 29

a.  Joint attention

Question 30

A history of extensive one-on-one
behavioral intervention could be
detrimental to the development of social
skills. (T/F?)

Answer 30

true

Question 31

• Practical

* Autistic (or artistic)

Answer 31

types of automatic reinforcement

Question 32

reinforcement provided by the physical environment or producing response operating on the surrounding world.

Answer 32

practical automatic reinforcement

Question 33

reinforcement is provided by the stimulation produced from the response (achieving parity will always fall under this category)

Answer 33

autistic/artistic automatic reinforcement

Question 34

automatic contingencies

Answer 34

term to describe the direct consequences of behavior (as suggested by dr. sundberg)

Question 35

bx weakening not as a function of a deliberate arrangement, but automatically occurring.

Answer 35

automatic extinction

Question 36

verbal bx that is evoked by a verbal discriminative stimulus that does not have point-to-point correspondence to the verbal response or formal similarity.

Answer 36

intraverbal

Question 37

a discrimination in which reinforcement of responding during a stimulus depends on (is conditional on) other stimuli.

Answer 37

conditional discrimination (CD)

Question 38

“For the typically developing children the results
showed that there was a correlation between age and
correct intraverbal responses. However, there was
variability in the scores of children who were the
same age. An error analysis reveled that compound
VCDs were the primary cause of errors. Children
with autism made the same types of errors as
typically developing children who scored in their level
on the subtest.”

Answer 38

Sundberg & Sundberg (2011)

Question 39

Repertoires that comprise social behavior

Answer 39

• Non-verbal repertoire
• Verbal repertoire
• Listener repertoire

Question 40

Non-verbal repertoire

Answer 40

• Eye contact and visual tracking (gaze) of others
• Proximity to others
• Dress and hygiene
• Body posture
• Touching
• Facial expressions
• Movement
• Dynamic speech properties (e.g., volume, tone, prosody)
• Imitation
• Sharing and turn taking

Question 41

Verbal repertoire

Answer 41

• Manding to others
• Initiation of interactions (mands, tacts)
• Join attention (mands)
• Mands for information
• Tacting fo the benefit of the listener
• Intraveral responding
• Intraverbal content
• Autoclitic mands and tacts
• Appropriate self-editing
• Reciprocal conversations (echoics, mands, tacts, intravebals,
autoclitics, self-editing, plus listener repertoires)

Question 42

Listener repertoire

Answer 42

• Appropriate attending to a speaker
• Reinforcing speaker behavior (eye contact, head nods, empathy,
appropirate affect)
• Responding to the mands of a speaker (mediating reinforcement)
• Functioning as an SD for verbal behavior
• Serving as an audience for specific verbal behavior (someone who
cares)
• Function as a conditioned reinforcer
• Minimal interruptions, disruptions, punishment, apathy, etc.
• Personal MO/EOs controlled
• Turn taking in the speaker/listener dyad.