Unit 4 Flashcards
Concurrent Schedule (Conc)
-2 or more schedules of reinforcement operate simultaneously but independently of one another, each for a different response
Critical Attributes of Concurrent Schedules
-2 or more reinforcement contingencies
-Contingencies operate independently
-Contingencies operate simultaneously
-One or more different response topographies for each contingency
E.g. Homework Vs. Video games,
-Screaming Vs. asking nicely
Origin of the Matching Law
- Hernstein (1961): Described the distribution of bx on concurrent schedules of positive Rx
- Pierce & Cheney (2017): “Pigeons matched relative rates of bx to relative rates of Rx”
Matching Law
- States that the distribution of responding on concurrent schedules is equal to the relative rate of reinforcement for each response
- Relative rates of responding in a concurrent schedule match the relative rates of Rx
- Concurrent schedules - choice
Matching Law and Bias
Sources of Bias:
- Indiscriminability
- Magnitude of Rx
- Quality
- Delay
- Response effort
- “External” consequences
In terms of the matching law, the maximum number of response types involved is two.
a. True
b. False
b. False
Which statement best describes the relationship between the matching law and concurrent schedules of reinforcement?
Matching law describes how the bx is distributed in concurrent schedules
Cnncurrent FI Schedules
Can result in regular patterns of switching btw responses
Concurrent Ratio Schedules (Con..t)
- Include FR and VR
- Often results in “exclusive” responding under the denser schedule
- Not commonly used in research
Concurrent VI Schedules (Con..t)
- Produces more irregular switching btw responses
- Good schedules for assessing choice
- VI schedules are common in the real world
What pattern of responding produces the most reinforcement in interval schedules?
-Alternating responses to the proportion of reinforcement available
Which reinforcement schedule types typically produce exclusive responding under concurrent schedule arrangements?
-FR-FR
How will a graphed line look when matching is close to “perfect”?
-Close to a slope of 1.0
Clinical Relevance of the Matching Law
- Every program, every plan, every assessment you will ever use with a client involves concurrent schedules
- Understanding the matching law allows you to better understand your client’s bx
Relevance to Treating Problem Behavior
-Even if prob bx is reinforced
…..The greater the difference in proportion of reinforcement for prob bx Vs. Rx for replacement bx, the greater the differences in rate btw the two
Extinction is Not Always Possible or Practical
- Social validity concerns
- Dangerous extinction bursts
- Physical management not possible
Every procedure that is used involves the use of ______ schedules.
-Concurrent
If extinction is not a viable option, which statement best describes the most important environmental change needed to produce behavior change?
-Maximum proportion of difference btw reinforcement for appropriate bx Vs. reinforcement for problem bx
Matching Law and Problem Bx before Treatment E.g.
-Ask appropriately for Ipad
-Asked 6 times
Got the Ipad 2 times
-Scream and hit for ipad
screamed 12 times
-Got the ipad 8 times
Which of the following describes the use of a concurrent schedule for treatment?
-Kamil identifies that yelling is maintained by access to a tablet & arranges for access after an average of 2 responses when he points & access after an avg of 8 responses after yelling
Jeremiah often asks for help with his math homework, but his caregivers say, “You have to try on your own.” Jeremiah often cries after working for 15 minutes. This usually results in immediate help from caregivers. In which case is the BCBA® using appropriate schedules, without the use of extinction?
The BCBA has caregivers provide help every time when Jeremiah asks, and after 5 responses when he starts to cry
Matching Law and Problem Behavior Treatment
- Extinction may not be necessary if:
- Reinforce replacement bx on a dense schedule
- Minimize reinforcement for problem bx
- Time-contingent schedules may be used
Conc Interval Vs. Conc Ratio Schedules in Treating Problem Bx
- When Bx needs to be fully replaced or eliminated, consider concurrent ratio schedules
- When behavior needs to be reduced but not eliminated, consider concurrent interval schedules
- If the goal is “Natural” variability consider VI/VI schedules
If a targeted behavior needs to be eliminated, it is recommended that a concurrent _____ schedule be used over a concurrent _____ schedule.
- Ratio
- Interval
If extinction is not implemented, programming should emphasize ______ reinforcement for the appropriate behavior than the problem behavior.
a. Thinner
b. Equal
c. Denser
c. Denser
The proportion of reinforcement for appropriate behavior vs. problem behavior should lean towards the appropriate behavior if extinction is not used. For example, a denser schedule (e.g., FR 1) should be used for appropriate responding and a thinner schedule (e.g., FR 12) should be used for problem behavior. If the schedule of reinforcement for the appropriate behavior is thinner or equal to the schedule of problem behavior, it might not displace the latter.
Variance in the Matching Law
- Can account for responding that doesn’t perfectly match with additional parameters
- Generalized matching equation (GME) (Baum 1974)
Two “Free Parameters” That influence Responding
- Bias
- y-intercept
- Above 0: Bias towards B1
- Below 0: Bias towards B2
- Sensitivity to reinforcement
- Slope
Sensitivity to Reinforcement
- Indicated by slope
- Undermatching
- Emitting too few responses for the schedule in place
- Over matching
- Emitting more responses than necessary for the schedule in place
- Steeper
Emitting more responses than the schedule indicates:
*Overmatching
Changes in bias are seen by a change in the:
-Y-Intercept
When graphing and analyzing matching behavior, sensitivity to reinforcement is indicated by the:
a. Variability
b. Slope
c. Y-Intercept
d. Level
b. Slope
Sensitivity to reinforcement is depicted in changes in the slope of the line. Undermatching yields a flatter slope, while overmatching produces a steeper slope. The y-intercept indicates bias. Variability and level are not used to analyze matching behavior.
Other Factors Influencing Response Allocation
- Response effort
- Reinforcement delay
- Quality of reinforcement
- Magnitude/ duration of reinforcement
- Concurrent punishment contingencies
Applications of Other Factors
- Select appropriate bx lower in effect than the prob bx
- Provide
Differential Reinforcement for Behavior Reduction
- Uniques in that it both increases & decreases bxs
- Flexible, constructive, functional
- Minimize reinforcement to the point necessary
- Sometimes extinction is best
- Sometimes lean is best
2 Types of Effects of Differential Reinforcement
- Differentiation
2. Discrimination
Differential Reinforcement Defined in the Experimental Literature
-Differential reinforcement consists of 2 operations: Reinforcement & extinction (not reinforcing)
General Differential Reinforcement Procedure 1 (con…t)
2 (or more) response topographies -One topography results in Rx -Another topography results in extinction R1 - Sr R2 - EXT -Leads to differentiation
An adult knocks on their neighbor’s door instead of pressing the broken doorbell. Is this differentiation or discrimination?
a. Differentiation
b. Discrimination
a. Differentiation
General Differential Reinforcement Procedure 2
- Discrimination occurs when differential reinforcement consists of reinforcing a response when certain stimuli are present and not reinforcing the same response when those stimuli are not present
- This is an S-R-S contingency
General Differential Reinforcement Procedure 2 (Con…t)
-One response topography & 2 (or more) stimuli
S1-R1-Sr
S2-R1-EXT
-Leads to discrimination
Discrimination occurs when:
“Differential reinforcement consists of reinforcing a response when certain stimuli are present, and not reinforcing the same response when those stimuli are not present”
Which is an e.g. of Discrimination?
Callie walks into her supervisor’s office when the office door is open. In the past her supervisor was available to talk when the door was open. She does not attempt to enter the office when the door is closed. In the past her supervisor was not available when the door was closed
Differential Reinforcement in the Applied Literature
- Consists of reinforcing 1 or more responses while either minimizing reinforcement for other responses, using extinction on those other responses, or using punishment for those other responses
- Even FCT is considered a differential Rx procedure by many
Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO)
-A schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is delivered whenever a specified amount of time has elapsed during which a specified bx does not occur
Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO) con..t
-Any response maybe occurring at the end of time interval except the target bx
-Also known as:
Differential rx of response omission
DR0 for differential rx of 0 rates of responding
DRO Use
- Are used to decrease rate of problem bx
- Also, at times, have the effect of increasing the frequency of competing bxs
DRO Procedure
- 1 bx is selected that is never reinforced
- Any other bx that occurs within the situational context is reinforced
- But a dead person can meet the DRO criteria!
- But a dead person can meet the DRO criteria!
- Good being quiet, good being still, good being dead!
A DRO procedure is defined as a schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is delivered whenever a specified amount of time has elapsed during which a specified behavior does not occur
a. True
b. False
a True
Setting the DRO Interval
- Cooper et al. (2020) recommend that the initial DRO interval be set at, or slightly below, the Avg baseline IRT
- Others recommend that the initial DRO interval be set at 50% to 80% of the average baseline IRT
Setting the DRO Interval: Procedure
- Given avg baseline rate, estimate the IRT
- Multiple estimated IRT times .5 and times .8
- Select the initial interval
- Increase the interval depending on changes in IRT but consider increasing amount or magnitude
Setting the DRO interval: E.g.
- If the problem bx occurs 120 times per hr do the following:
- 3600 sec/120 = 30 sec (est BL IRT)
- Get suggested DRO interval btw 50% & 80%
- 30 x .5 = 15 sec (50%)
- 30 x .8 = 24 sec (80%)
- Criterion btw 15 & 24 sec
After identifying the baseline IRT, criteria should be set _____ this baseline.
a. Below
b. Above
a. Below
A given problem behavior occurs 15 times per 45-minute class. Which DRO interval would be most appropriate in this situation?
a. 190 sec
b. 180 sec
c. 185 sec
d. 160 sec
45 min class time equals 2700 sec (45 min x 60 sec/min) we then divided 2700 by the count of bx 15, which = 180 sec. The initial initial interval needs to be set below the BL rate, which leads us to 160 sec. Other possible interval may be 170, 150, 155 sec anything at or above 180 sec would not be appropriate cuz bx would be likely to occur b4 the set interval has elapsed
After determing the average baseline rate of occurrence, the next step in a DRO procedure is slowly to increase the chosen interval.
a. True
b. False
a. False
DRO Schedules Types
- Interval DRO procedure
- Momentary DRO
- DRO-P or Progressive DRO
Interval DRO
- Rx is delivered at the end of the interval, contingent on 0 occurrences of the target prob bx during the entire interval
- Typically if the target bx occurs at any time during the interval the time interval is reset
- Fixed interval (FI-DRO)
- Variable interval (vi-dro)
Resetting DRO Intervals
- In a resetting DRO, the interval starts over when the target response occurs
- In a non-setting DRO, the current interval must elapse b4 a new interval with opportunity for reinforcement begins
- Both are effective (Gehrman et al., 2017)
During a 5-minute DRO interval, spitting occurred after 3 minutes. The BCBA stops the timer and starts it from the beginning. Which type of DRO is this?
-Fixed-Interval DRO
Momentary DRO
- Reinforcement is delivered at the end of the interval contingent on the absence of the target bx at the moment in time
- Fixed (FM-DRO)
- Variable (VM-DRO)
Momentary DRO vs. Time-Based
- “Noncontingent Rx” (NCR) is better defined as time-based schedules
- NCR maybe as effective as momentary DRO
- Both disrupt the response-reinforcer contingency
Describe how momentary DRO differs from interval DRO:
“When using momentary DRO the implementer observes at the end of an interval and delivers the preferred stimulus if the target response is not occurring. Interval DRO requires continuous observation throughout the interval”
Progressive DRO (DRO-P)
- Same as an interval DRO except ….
- Progressively greater amounts or magnitude, of rx delivered for successive intervals meeting the criterion
- “Drops” back to initial reinforcer amount contingent upon occurrence of Target bx
Jennifer is using a DRO-P with her client at a work site. The client is making good progress and met criteria for the second consecutive interval. What should be the next step?
a. Decrease criteria
b. Increase reinforcement
b. Increase reinforcement
In a DRO-P procedure, progressively greater amounts, or magnitude, of reinforcement is delivered for successive intervals meeting the criteria. In this case, reinforcement is increased because Jennifer’s client has met the criteria for multiple intervals in a row. If the procedure is successful, there is no need to manipulate the criteria. Decreasing reinforcement is likely to make the procedure less effective.
In a progressive DRO, how is magnitude of reinforcement changed over time?
Magnitude is increased
Is DRO Really a Rx schedule?
- Processes behind DRO:
- Positive Rx
- Extinction
- Adventitious Rx
- Negative punishment
DRO Processes:
Positive Reinforcement
-DROs involve delivery of appetitive
Looks like + Rx!
*But this isn’t contingent on a specific response
-“Not doing something” isn’t a Bx”!
DRO Processes: Extinction
-DROs disrupt contingency btw response & Rx
-Esp if the stimulus delivered is functionally equivalent
-Likely a significant part of how DROs work
But some DROs have been effective without extinction at all!
Positive reinforcement as an underlying mechanism of DRO is problematic because:
-DRO is a behavior reduction procedure
DRO Processes:
Adventitious Reinforcement
- Defined as a stimulus that reinforces a response due to temporal relations alone
- “Accidental” reinforcement without an actual contingency
- DROs create opportunities for adventitious reinforcement of nontarget responses
- Mixed results in the literature
DRO Processes: Negative Punishment
- The DRO operates like the punishment equivalent of avoidance
- The appetitive occurs unless the response occurs
- Response prevents reinforcer, thus is negatively punishing
- Similarities to CMO-R promise
DRO Processes: Implications
- DROs are decelerative
- Not constructive like DRA, FCT
- Benefit from being combined with positive-reinforcement-based procedures
In a DRO, a targeted response prevents delivery of an appetitive stimulus. This functions similarly to:
-Negative punishment