UNIT 4 Flashcards
Describe the relationship between
diagnosis and stability
ASD seem to have more stable preference assesement.
According to a survey conducted by Graff and Karsten (2012), how often did most BCBAs say they conducted full-scale preference assessments?
Less than once a month
Research conducted by Zhou, Iwata, Goff, and Shore (2001) has suggested greater stability in stimuli ranked in what part of the preference hierarchy?
The top of the hierarchy
Research examining preference stability as a function of diagnosis has generally suggested what?
Preferences may be more stable for persons diagnosed with ASD
Which of the following has been suggested as a determining factor in whether or not frequent preference assessments help increase accuracy?
If preferences vary
. List the two things to which the
effectiveness of a reinforcer can refer
The effectiveness of a reinforcer can refer to both 1. Its momentary capacity to support responses that produce it 2. Its utility in producing long-term behavior change
What operations might alter the prolonged
value of a stimulus?
Repeated exposure?
Value enhancing effects (mere exposure)
Learning how to extract reinforcement?
Explains displacement of leisure items by
food?
Reinforced engagement?
Value diminishing effects (long-term satiation)
Stimulus-stimulus pairings?
Contingency?
Describe the general conclusions from
the Hanley et al. studies
Hanley et al. (1999, 2003, 2006):
Shifting activity preferences: Can we
make something preferred when it was
not already?
By pairing less preferred activity with
established reinforcers through contingent
delivery?
By pairing less preferred activity with
established reinforcers through
noncontingent delivery?
Hanley, Iwata, & Lindberg (1999):
Examined choices between activities in a concurrent chain First link determined the subsequent activity Differing arrangements/schedules in the subsequent activity Measured proportion of selections as function of Reinforcement delivered for engagement (not choosing) in the less preferred activity Does this impact choices?
Describe the effect delays have on the
value of a reinforcer
Generally, delays to reinforcement can weaken the effectiveness of behavioral arrangements And result in decreases in the value of a reinforcer Primary, directly consumable reinforcers are discounted more steeply than conditioned reinforcers
Leon, Borrero, & DeLeon (in preparation):
Delayed food produced greatest persistence
Delayed tokens produced most rapid
decreases in responding
Immediate token delivery with a delayed
exchange opportunity equaled (David) or
exceeded (Chris) effects of delayed food
Conditioned reinforcers less susceptible to
adverse effects of delay?
Seems to depend on when they are earned
and exchanged
Determinants of Stimulus Value:
Rate
Rate of reinforcement: Shown to affect relative
response allocation
Matching law (ML):
Matching law (ML): Organisms will distribute behavior among concurrently available alternatives in same proportion that reinforcers distributed among those alternatives In humans, the ML obtains for Problem behavior Academic responding Communicative behavior
Determinants of Stimulus Value:
Quality
Conceptualized
in terms of level of preference (higher
preference = better quality)
Higher preference, better quality reinforcers
may function as relatively more potent reinforcers
Determinants of Stimulus Value:
Magnitude
Mixed results obtained from studies examining effects of magnitude Some suggest positive relation between magnitude and responding Others suggest no relation
Trosclair-Lasserre, Lerman, Call, Addison, &
Kodak (2008):
Magnitude may also play an important role when thinning schedules of reinforcement
Which of the following did Hanley et al. conclude regarding shifts in preference produced through conditioning procedures?
Effects seemed to be transient
Research examining the effects of delay to
reinforcement has generally suggested
which of the following?
Effects seemed to be transient
Research examining the effects of delay to reinforcement has generally suggested which of the following?
Delays can decrease the value of a reinforcer
Research examining the effects of reinforcer quality has generally suggested which of the following?
Better quality reinforcers may function as more potent reinforcers
Research examining the effects of reinforcer
quality has generally suggested which of the
following?
Better quality reinforcers may function as more potent reinforcers
Magnitude of reinforcement can vary according to which of the following properties?
Quantity, intensity, or duration
List the two functions of motivating
operations
Reinforcer establishing function: Momentary alters the reinforcing effectiveness of other events 2. Evocative function: Momentarily alters the frequency of occurrence of the type of behaviors that produces those other events as a consequence
What is a Motivating operation again?
An environmental event, operation, or
stimulus condition that serves 2 functions
Describe stimulus satiation
Stimulus satiation Momentarily decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of the stimulus Momentarily decreases the frequency of behaviors that have produced the stimulus as a consequence
Describe stimulous deprivation
Stimulus deprivation Momentarily increases the reinforcing effectiveness of that stimulus Momentarily increases the frequency of behavior that p
Describe the effects of motivating
operations on preference rank and
responding
Conclusions on motivating operations
Can influence preference assessment
results
May influence reinforcer value, but not
necessarily under naturalistic conditions
More interesting examples may not
involve deprivation or satiation, but
conditioned establishing operations
Transitive CEO manipulated to enhance
motivation for mands in response chains
Are there different “kinds” of satiation?
Determinants of Stimulus Value:
Motivating Operations
Gottschalk, Libby, & Graff (2000):
Deprivation and satiation effects with food
on preference assessment outcomes
• Control: Regulated (premeasured) access for
24 hr before assessment
• Deprivation: 48 hour deprivation for one
stimulus at a time; regulated access for others
• Satiation: 10 min free access before
assessment; regulated access for other
Paired-stimulus preference assessment
following manipulations
Stimulus satiation is defined as a motivating
operation which functions to momentarily
_______ the reinforcing effectiveness of a
stimulus and momentarily ________ the
frequency of behavior that produce the
stimulus as a consequence.
Decrease; decrease
The results of a study conducted by Vollmer
and Iwata (1991) examining rates of simple
responses under conditions of deprivation and
satiation revealed which of the following?
Satiation decreased mean response rate
The results of studies examining the effects of
motivating operations (MOs) on preference
and reinforcer assessment outcomes have
generally found that:
MOs can influence preference assessment
results and may influence reinforcer
assessments
Determinants of stimulus value:
Behavioral economics
Can the effectiveness of a reinforcer be influenced by the nature of other, qualitatively different reinforcers in the environment? Behavioral economics: Imports principles of microeconomics to the study of operant behavior
Elasticity of Demand
Elasticity of demand = sensitivity to price
Extent to which changes in unit price
influence consumption of the commodity
Elastic demand: Changes
in price produce larger
than proportional changes
in consumption
Inelastic demand:
Changes in price produce less than proportional changes in consumption
E.g., 1% increase in price produces < 1% decrease in consumption
Elasticity of Demand
Stimuli with equivalent initial consumption (under low cost conditions) may have very different demand profiles
What Influences Elasticity of
Demand?
Open vs. closed economies Open economy: Consumption of reinforcer not dependent on responding within earning context Supplemental access to reinforcer provided outside of earning context Closed economy: Consumption of reinforcer entirely dependent on responding within earning context No supplemental access
What Influences Elasticity of
Demand?
Nature of available alternatives
Demand is more elastic when
substitutable reinforcers are concurrently
available
Substitutable reinforcers: Reinforcers that
share important functional properties
E.g., two food items
Describe whether demand is more
or less elastic under open
economies
Greater defense of consumption (less elastic curves) under closed economies than open economies
Describe whether demand is more
or less elastic when substitutable
stimuli are available
Demand is more elastic when
substitutable reinforcers are concurrently
available
Substitutable reinforcers: Reinforcers that
share important functional properties
E.g., two food items
Which of the following best describes inelastic demand?
Changes in price produce less than
proportional changes in consumption
Which of the following best describes elastic
demand?
Changes in price produce greater than
proportional changes in consumption
Which of the following best defines an open economy?
Consumption of reinforcer not dependent on
responding with experimental environment
Which of the following have been suggested to
influence the elasticity of demand?
Constraints on income re: “luxury goods” vs.
“necessary goods”
b. Open and closed economies
c. Nature of available alternatives
Demand appears to be less elastic under
which of the following conditions?
When functionally dissimilar stimuli are
concurrently available
Determinants of stimulus value: Contingency a. Describe research on the effects of past effort on the current value the reinforcer itself
Clement et al. (2000): Assessed effects
of past effort on the current value of SD
associated with identical reinforcers
DeLeon et al. (2011):
Free reinforcers lose value more rapidly
than earned reinforcers
Contingency and Stimulus Value
Variable effects:
Contingent stimuli do not always increase in
value and greater effort is not related to
greater increase in value
Consistent effects:
Noncontingent delivery may devalue stimuli
more rapidly
Did contingency at least help to preserve
value against what might be a natural
decline?
Is the decrement sufficient to impact clinical
intervention?
Which of the following conditions resulted in
the largest percentage increase in selection
percentage and break point in the study
conducted by DeLeon et al. (2011)?
. Restricted access
Studies examining the effects of contingency
on stimulus value have suggested which of the
following as a consistent finding?
. Noncontingent delivery may devalue stimuli
more rapidly
Determinants of stimulus value:
Accumulation and continuity
a. Describe accumulated
reinforcement
Reinforcer Accumulation “…reinforcers need not be consumed following each completion of a schedule requirement but rather can be accumulated, then collected and consumed later.” McFarland & Lattal (2001) JEAB We want kids to accumulate reinforcers Does not interrupt ongoing behavior Requires fewer teacher resources But…the inherent d
What promotes accumulation?
Consumption cost (Yankelevitz et al., 2008)
Consumption cost (Yankelevitz et al., 2008)
Interest for savings?
The nature of the reinforcer? Continuity?
Procedures that interrupt continuity
Procedures that interrupt continuity might alter the quality of the reinforcer, thus discounting its effectiveness (Hackenberg & Pietras, 2000) The effectiveness of some reinforcers (e.g., video) might partly depend on uninterrupted access Is the individual willing to “pay” to preserve continuity
Continuity and Stimulus Value
Continuity and Stimulus Value
Continuity and Stimulus Value:
Amount of Work
Is demand for delayed, accumulated access more or less elastic as an equal amount of immediate, but distributed access? 2 Concurrent-schedule demand curves: 1. First series (No tokens): Test stimulus (Escalating option): Increasing FR across phases (FR1, FR2, FR5, FR10, FR20, etc.) Second stimulus, constant FR1 Is demand for delayed, accumulated access more or less elastic as an equal amount of immediate, but distributed access? 2 Concurrent-schedule demand curves: 2. Second series (Tokens): Token later exchangeable for test stimulus (Escalating option): Increasing FR across phases (FR1, FR2, FR5, FR10, FR20, etc.) Second stimulus, constant FR1
Accumulated access, mediated through
tokens…
Supports faster work Supports greater overall quantity of work Is preferred by learners Why do we care? “Dissimilar” reinforcers may produce more “durable” TX when (1)Problem behavior is reinforced, and (2)Reinforcement of appropriate behavior thinned Tokens exchanged for accumulated activities (1)Have same desirable qualities as edibles (2)May produce similar therapeutic effects (3)Lack “undesirable qualities”
c. Describe the conclusions about
accumulation
Accumulated access, mediated through tokens… Supports faster work Supports greater overall quantity of work Is preferred by learners Why do we care? “Dissimilar” reinforcers may produce more “durable” TX when (1)Problem behavior is reinforced, and (2)Reinforcement of appropriate behavior thinned Tokens exchanged for accumulated activities (1)Have same desirable qualities as edibles (2)May produce similar therapeutic effects (3)Lack “undesirable qualities” Accumulated access, mediated through tokens… Supports faster work Supports greater overall quantity of work Is preferred by learners Is it really about continuity?
Delivery of a brief period of access each time a
small response requirement is met best
describes which of the following?
. Distributed reinforcement
Delivery of all reinforcement at the same time
following the completion of a larger response
requirement best describes which of the
following?
b. Accumulated reinforcement
All of the following are general conclusions
regarding research on accumulated access
mediated through tokens EXCEPT which?
Is not preferred by learners
Determinants of stimulus value:
Stimulus variation
a. Define stimulus variation
Determinants of Stimulus Value:
Stimulus Variation
Stimulus variation: Arranges for rotation of
different reinforcers following responding
Found to increase response rate and
decrease interresponse time
May be preferred even if the varied
reinforcers are of lesser preference but
still moderately preferred
Stimulus variation appears to have some
effect but only in so far as the stimuli that
are being presented are moderately to
highly preferred
. Describe effect on stimulus value
Determinants of Stimulus Value: Stimulus Variation Effect of stimulus variation seems to be idiosyncratic across individuals Moderately to highly preferred stimuli seem to have some effect on response rate and IR
Describe findings of relevant
research on stimulous variation
Determinants of Stimulus Value:
Variation and Choice
Can varying reinforcers or providing choice
of reinforcers produce beneficial effects?
Several methods for incorporating different
reinforcers
Frequent preference assessment (e.g.,
DeLeon et al., 2001)
Stimulus variation
Pre-session selection
Post-response reinforcer choic
Which of the following best defines stimulus
variation?
b.
Arranges for rotation of different reinforcers following responding
Stimulus variation appears to have some effect on
response rate and interresponse time provided
that the stimuli that are being presented are of
what level of preference?
Moderately to highly preferred
Determinants of stimulus value:
Choice
a. Define pre-session selection
Pre-session selection
Ask the learner which reinforcer they
would like to earn in the following
instructional session
Define within session choice
Within-session (post-response) choice Permit the learner to choose from a small array of reinforcers each time the schedule requirement is met
Describe how yoking is used in
research on choice
Graff & Libby (1999): Pre-session Participant chose1 of 3 HP edible items prior to each session That stimulus used to reinforce responding throughout the session Within-session choice 3 HP edible items placed behind response Participant chose 1 of 3 after meeting schedule requirement Determinants of Stimulus Value: Choice Choice vs. no choice Lerman et al. (1997): Within-trial subject or experimenter choice Choice Subject selected among 2 HP stimuli Yoked No Choice Reinforcer selected by experimenter on the basis of order chosen in the preceding choice condition Yoking studies suggest no effects of choice The problem with yoking procedures Although they approximate a method of control for momentary fluctuations in preference, They are not perfect because preferences may change across brief time spans or as a function of exposure in preceding sessions How, then, to perfectly isolate the effects of choice?
Which of the following best describes presession choice?
Learner selects reinforcer they would like to
earn in the following instructional session
Which of the following best describes within
session choice?
Learner chooses reinforcer each time the
schedule requirement is met
Which of the following best describes yoking
procedures used in research on choice?
Reinforcer selected by experimenter on the
basis of order chosen in the preceding choice
condition
Which of the following best describes the
general conclusions regarding research on the
effects of choice?
Choice may be preferable but not always
beneficial
What if “Reinforcement” Doesn’t
Work?
Reinforcement is defined by its effect
on the response upon which it is made
contingent – it increases responding
Procedural Mismatches
The stimulus used was not a reinforcer
It was perhaps chosen arbitrarily or based
upon conventional wisdom, but never directly
evaluated for its reinforcing efficacy
E.g., this may happen often with social
praise
Preference and/or reinforcer assessment
should be used to systematically determine
or at least to estimate the likely effectiveness
of the stimulus as a reinforcer before it is
incorporated into the relevant context
The stimulus was not a reinforcer under the
specific conditions in which it was arranged
The item delivered contingent upon the
target response was insufficiently effective
relative to that response
It may have been tested for reinforcer
effectiveness under separate (perhaps less
stringent) conditions and found effective, but
efficacy did not extend to current conditions
Important to test reinforcer effects under
conditions that approximate the conditions of
their use in the relevant context
The stimulus used was no longer a
reinforcer under these conditions
It was once a reinforcer under these
conditions, but effectiveness has since
been altered by some other event
E.g., satiation, developmental changes
The use of ineffective stimuli in the
relevant context can be avoided by
repeated preference assessments across
time
Which of the following is a possible solution
when the stimulus used was not a reinforcer?
Conduct PA and/or reinforcer assessments
Which of the following is a possible solution when
the stimulus was not a reinforcer under the
specific conditions in which it was arranged?
Test reinforcer under conditions that approximate
the conditions of their use in the relevant contex
Which of the following is a possible solution
when the stimulus followed the wrong
response?
. Ensure that the reinforcer is contingent on the
behavior of interest
What if “Reinforcement”
Decreases Responding?
Again assuming that the contingency was executed with fidelity, a decrease in responding may result from Overjustification (previously covered) Punishment: Time-out from preferred activity Discriminative properties of reinforcers: Reinforcer evokes incompatible behavior
Which of the following best describes how
punishment can result in a decrease in
responding when a “reinforcement”
contingency is arranged?
Time-out from preferred activity
Which of the following best describes how the
discriminative properties of reinforcers can
result in a decrease in responding when a
“reinforcement” contingency is arranged?
Reinforcer evokes incompatible behavior
