Environment

Three Term Contingency

A→B→C

Antecedents Behaviors Consequences

       People                Appropriate        Reinforcement

         Events               Inappropriate        Punishment

Contingency

The relation between events

- are identified through the sequential relation between antecedents and consequences that prompt and maintain behaviors

Antecedents

The circumstances that exist in the environment before a behavior is exhibited

-serve as a cue or prompt for an individual to behave in a particular way

-can elicit specific behaviors that help us aviod punishment or obtain reinforcement

Consequences

Affect future behavior by serving to either increase, decrease, or maintain

2 forms: 1) a new stimulus is presented or added to the environment 2) an already-present stimulus is avoided, terminated, or removed from the environment

Discipline

training that is expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement

Key word: Improvement (Increasing skills or competence in a particular area)

Reinforcement

Increases the probability that the behavior it follows will reoccur

Punishment

Decreases the probability that the behavior it follows will do so

1st ABA is perform based

Concerned with students' behavior and the ways in which environmental factors effect its expression once a behavior is defined precisely.

2nd ABA uses principles of Behavior

Derived from both laboratory and field studies that have identified lawful relations between behavior and the environment variables that affect its occurrence

3rd ABA is analytic

Functional relations between an intervention and a target behavior can be demonstrated and systematically control the occurrence and nonoccurrence of the behavior by introducing and with drawing an intervention

4th ABA is Applied

it is characterized by the social importance of the behavior to be changed

Positive Reinforcement 

Any stimulus, when presented after the occurrence of a behavior, that INREASES the future occurrence of that behavior

Superstitious Behavior

Reinforcing students immediately reduces the likelihood that a positive reinforcer and a nontargeted behavior will inadvertenly be paired

Reinforce Contingently

A contingengy involve precisely defining the circumstances underwhich a behavior will produce a specific consequence "If Then"

Conditioning

By repeatedly receiving reinforcement after the desired behavior occurs, students can make the association that certain behavior results in reinforcement

Identifying Reinforcers

1) Preference Sales 2) Preference lists 3)Interviews with student 4) Interviews with parents or teachers & 5) Direct observation 

Premack Principle

A high-probability is contingent on the occurrence of a law Mom's probability behavior. High-probability is one that students have a rule greater likelihood of engaging in when they have free/access to pretend

Satiation

Occurs when students have experienced the reinforcer to such an extent that it is no longer reinforcing "Burn out"

Deprivation

The time prior to student's receiving positive reinforcement - most reinforcers will not be effective unless students have been deprived of them for some period prior to their use

Free-access rule

The maximum amount of a reinforcer available to students should be less than that which they would seek if they had free access to it. 

Shaping

the process of reinforcing successively closer approximations of the target behavior: involves breakin down the desired behavor into its subcomponents and then reinforcing students as they perform each of the steps toward the final behavior

Stimulus-response Chain

Backward Chaining

terminal response in the chain is conditioned first. The response that precedes it is next conditioned and so on until the initial response in the chain is performed

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcing every instance of the desirable behavior-is used to establish a new behavior

Reinforce Intermittently After Behavior is Established

Once a behavior has been established, we can move to one of the intermitten schedules of reinforcement. continuous reinforcement will geet the behavior started, but an intermitten schedule is a more feasible and natural approach to maintaining it

Primary Reinforcer

Any stimulus that is reinforcing in itself 

ex. Food, drink, sleep, and shelter

Conditioned/Secondary Reinforcer

If it is not originally reinforcing but acquires reinforcing power through association with a stimulus that is reinforcing

Generalized Continioned Reinforcer

Special type of secondary reinforcer-it can be exchanged for a limitless number of things (Money)

Negative Reinforcement

There are certain stimuli whose removal immediately after we perform a behavior will increase the likelihood that we will perform that behavior in the future

Negative Reinforcement Trap

coercive relationships that often evolve between parents and children although such relationships can also be observed between teachers and students

Avoidance Conditioning

behavior is performed to prevent the occurence of an aversive stimulus. Behavior will increase in frequency if it prevents an aversive stimulus from occuring

Fixed-ratio schedule

reinforcement occurs each time a set number of behaviors of a particular type are performed

Variable-ratio schedule

resembles an FR schedule except that the number of responses required to receive reinforcement changes unpredictably from one reinforcement to the next

Fixed-interval schedule

first instance of a particular behavior being performed after a fixed period is reinforced

Variable-interval schedule

similar to an FI schedule except that the time that must elapse before reinforcement becomes available, rather than being constant, changes unpredictably from one reinforcement to the next

Limited Hold

is the same as an FI or VI schedule with a slight modification, but on that has a powerful affect on behavior. Students must perform the behavior within a set amount of time after reinforcerment becomes available

Fixed-Duration Schedule

Reinforcement occurs after the behavior has been engaged in for a certain continuous period

Variable-duration schedule

resembles an FD schedule except that the  amount of coninuous time the behavior must be engaged in to produce reinforcement changes unpredictably from one reinforcement to the next

Type 1 punishment: application of contingent stimulation

We administer something: verbal repromand, contingent exercise, spanking

Type 2 Punishment: contingent withdrawal of a positive reinforcer punishment

Withdraw a reinforcer (any reinforcer can be a punisher when taken away) ex. taken phone away

Type 2 punishment: AKA Response Cost

some behavior  costs the individuals something they like ex. fines/tickets

Conditioned punishers

just as a stimulus that signals reinforcement becomes reinforcing itself, so, too can a stimulus that signals punishment become punishing itself ex. "NO!" & "Stop that"

Extinction

Withholding reinforcement for a conditioned response

Ex. time out-conditioned-timeout from postive reinforcement

Extinction curve

behavior gets worse before it gets better

Spontanious Recovery

Behavior comes back spontaniously : kids trying to test to see what happens

Forgetting

not having the opportunity to respond, through time behavior decreases or gets eliminated

Stimulus Control

Consequences control behavior

ex. light turns red controls our behavior to stop

Stimulus discrimination

When presented with different stimuli you can discriminate when behavior is appropriate one minute, but not the next

Stimulus generalization

Knowing you can use the same behavior in different situations-using the behavior transferant

Fading

gradually get rid of prompt-the normal cue or prompt is not big enough for some students-giving someone a cue or prompt 

shaping 

breaking a skill down into steps until tey accomplish the designated behavior

Response Class/ Behavior Grouping

group of behaviors that go togehter because of some commonality ex. topography-what it looks like, physical characterisitics, purpose

Differential reinforcement

focus on behaviors we like, but ignore -the bad behavior-reinforce good behavior one way and ignore the other behaviors

response differentiation

when the student gets/ understands that some behaviors work to get attention and some dont work

Base-line

the data colleted on the target behavior prior to intervention stopped and the intervention began

Stranger Test

You take a written definition of a behavior, hand to stranger. Would the stranger be able to count the behaviors as you? Objective or Subjective

Operational Definition

Involves breaking down a broad concept, such as "hostility", into its observable and measureable components

Movement Cycle

Exists if a behavior has a specific beginning and ending point 

Ex. hand raising "What constitutes a hand raise"

So-What Test

Asking ourselves if there is evidence that some behavior is: - presently or potentially harmful to student's own or their peers social, physical, emotional, or academic well being. If it doesn't then so what -Increase behaviors

Fair Pair

Our targeting an appropriate behavior to increase when we target an inappropriate behavior decrease 

Ex. tapping a pencil-writing answers

Dead man's Test

Determines whether we have a fair pair-If a dead man can do what the teacher wants the student to do it, it is not a fair pair

Permanent products recording

End results of students' behavior 

Ex. Worksheets

Frequency/ Event Recording

Involves a tall or count of the number of times a targeted behavior occurs

-must have a movement cycle

-do not use when behavior occurs too long or infrequently

Duration Recording

Some behaviors that do not qualify for frequency recording can use duration recording Ex. writing a paper, crying, drumming on the desk

Total Duration

Refers to the entire time students engage in the targeted behavior during a specified observation period

Duration per occurrence

Recording the length of time per episode that students engage in the target behavior

Average Duration

produces only one number to graph. Adding up times of 'out of seat'to get the average

Latency Recording

Involves recording how long it takes students to begin engaging in a behavior after instructing them to perform it. -Increase the speed for students to follow directions 

Interval Recording

measures the occurrence or nonoccurence of behavior within specified time intervals. Ranges 5-30 seconds

Partial Interval Recording

mark an interval box with an 'x' if the behavior occurs any part during the interval

Whole Interval

If the behavior occurs during the whole interval mark with 'x'

Time Sampling

Recording a behavior only if it occurs at the end of an interval

Placebo Effect

The process by which individuals behavior changes as a result of believing that they received a treatment, when they recieved something that lacked any intrinsic treatment value

Hawthorne effect

The phenomenon of working harder and producing more b/c of a feeling of participating in something new and special even when the innovations have no corrective merit

Observer Drift

Different behavior being observed and recorded other than the original behavior targeted. 

Interobserver Agreement

The extent to which two observers record the same behavior accurately

Interval recording

              = Intervals of behavior  x 100

Total Intervals

Elements of a Graph

1. horizontal axis
2. vertical axis
3. phase change lines
4. phase/condition labels
5. data points
6. data path
7. Legend

AB Design

Basic design: two phases 1) A baseline phase 2) B intervention phase

ABAB Design: reversal or withdrawal design

Involves temporarily removing the intervention in order to evaluate its affects on students' behavior

ABAB Design

A1 phase: collect behavioral observations on the target behavior under circumstances that existed prior to the intervention

B1 phase: intervention is implemented

A2 phase: return to the original baseline conditions by withdrawing the intervention

B2 phase: reintroducing the intervention to see if the original change in behavior that occurred during the second phase of the design can be replicated

Multiple Baseline Design

privides a way to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention when a reversal ABAB design is not desirable because of the limitations noted previously

Functional Assessment

1) to determine whether students are eligible for special education services under the IDEA or 2) to pave the way for an intervention

Functional Hypotheses

A major emphasis of functional assessment is on generating hypotheses related to the function, or intent, a behavior serves

Social Validity

the extent to which the outcomes of intervention enhance the quality of students' lives

Contextual Hypotheses

Focus on environment (antecedents/consequences). something in the environment is maintaining problem behavior. "Bill makes animal noises to get peers' attention"

Curricular Hypotheses

Functional/ Replacement Behavior

Interviewing

Adults and students is an initial step to understanding the conditions under which students behavior occurs Two core questions: 1) under what conditions or circumstances is the behavior most likely to occur 2) under what conditions or circumstances does the behavior rarely or never occur

Behavior observation charts

are used to confirm information acquired through interviews/ identify any discrepencies

Scatter Plot

Helps us further determine not only the setting/situations in which the behavior occurs, but also the number of times the behavior occus in a given situation and day

Generating Hypotheses

1) Interviewing: Pinpoint problem behavior

2)Behavioral observations: corroborate interview information

3)scatter plot: identify patterns 

4) ABC analyses: narrow contributing factors 

5) Protocol: organize information

Types of Observation Forms

1) Behavior observation charts

2) Scatter Plots 

3) ABC analysis

Hypothesis Testing

testing hypothesis by systematically manipulating contextual and curricular variables and teaching a replacement behavior while observing these effects on the target behavior. 4 steps: 1) operationally define the target behavior 2) select a recording technique for observing and counting the target havior 3) observe the target behavior before and after manipulating variables & 4) graph the results of behavioral observations to provide a visual representation of the effects of the manipulations

Backup Reinforcers

are the items and activities that can be purchased using the conditioned reinforcer-in this case money. Money is a generalized conditioned reinforcer because it can be exchanged for virtually limitless number of items and activities. 

Tokens

The tangible objects, such as money, trading stamps, or gift certificates, that are exchanged for items or activities 

Reasons for the effectiveness of Tokens

1) The time gap is bridged between behavior and backup reinforcer

2) The amount of reinforcement is immediately obvious to students

3) Tokens are unaffected by the mood of the praiser

4)  Tokens make use of generalized conditioned reinforcers

5) Tokens provide stimuli that control teacher behavior

Rules for establishing a token economy

1. Select a target behavior
2. Develop rules
3. select an appropriate token
4. establish reinforcers for which tokens can be exchanged
5. establish a ratio of exchange
6. Develop a reward menu and post it in the classroom
7. designate a time when students can exchange tokens for rewards
8. implement the token economy
9. Provide immediate token reinforcement for acceptable behavior
10. gradually change from a continuous to a variable schedule of reinforcement
11. revise the menu frequently

Ratio of exchange

The initial ratio between the number of tokens earned and the price of backup items should be small so as to ensure that students enjoy immediate success

Reasons Behavioral contracts work

1. Behavior contracts focus on rule-governed behavior
2. the effectiveness of the contracts may not be due to the reinforcers themselves, but rather because the contracts are made public
3. contracts work because students are equal participants in the process
4. contracts work because the behaviors of everyone-not just students but also teachers-are specified

Task Record

Rules for successful contracting

1. Contracts must be fair: is one in which the type and amount of reward equal the type and amount of behavior the student is required to perform
2. contracts must be clear: include behaviors of students and participating adults that pass the stranger test adn have task standards
3. contracts must be honest: if the reward is delivered at the specified time and in the specified amount after the student completes the task or behavior

Dependent Group-oriented contingencies

AKA Hero Procedure

Independent group-oriented contingencies

Independent group-oriented contingencies are those in effect for individual students regardless of the performance of the group

Interdependent group-oriented contingencies

Interdependent group-oriented contingencies are those in which the performance of all group members must meet the CAP before the group member can receive reinforcement

Advantages of group oriented contingencies

1. save time and reduce our workload because we can address the behavior of an entire class with on intervention
2. work when individual interventions are impractical (Great for subs)
3. help resolve problems quickly when used during a lesson that demands high levels of student engagement
4. capatilize on using peer influence positively, thereby facilitating prosocial interactions between students

Strategies for reducing scapegoating

1. Have the target child's name remain anonymous
2. adjust the criteria for the group-oriented contingency
3. Increase the criteria for students who are scapegoating
4. reinforce students who do not engage in scapegoating
5. implement a response cost for students who are scapegoating

Novel applications of positive reinforcement

1. Chart moves
2. spinners
3. raffles and lotteries
4. 100-square charts
5. mystery motivators
6. compliance matrix

DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior)

Involves reinforcing students for not engaging in inappropriate behavior for a specific time

Interval response time IRT

The time that passes between occurrences of the inappropriate behavior

Total time of the interval

number of times it occurs

DRO reset schedule

The interval is reset every time the inappropriate target behavior occurs

ex. use for students who get out of seat

DRO Fixed-interval schedule

the interval length is fixed, and reinforcement is delivered at the end of each interval length is fixed and reinforcement is delivered at the end of each interval during which the behavior does not occur

DRO Increasing-Interval schedule

is one way of 'fading' reinforcement by gradually increasing the length of the interval

DRO Progressive Schedule

The interval length remains the same, but the amount of reinforcement increases as students refrain from performing the inappropriate behavior for more and more consecutive intervals

DRL (Differential reinforcement of Low Rates of Behavior)

Involves reinforcing students when the target behavior is at a tolerable or desirable level 

DRL-IRT Schedule

the target behavior is reinforced following a specified interval since the previous episode. Interval is gradually increased

DRL-Below Criterion schedule

Involves determining the average number of times the target behavior is typically exhibited during a certain interval of time. Rienforcement occurs when behavior is below the baseline

Free access rule

determining how much students might want of a particular reinforcement if there are no limits on its availablility

undesirable side effects from punishment

1. Escape and avoidance: learned helplessness-a hypothesized cause of depression in humans
2. emotional reaction
3. aggression
4. response substitution-occurs when one inappropriate behavior is suppressed and another inappropiate behavior occurs
5. response facilitation-the occurrence of some behaviors increases rather than decreases after the application of an aversive stimulus
6. Generalized suppression -when a behavior is suppressed by being punished in the presence of one stimulus, it may similarly be suppressed in other situations
7. response generalization-an inappropriate behavior is suppressed and, as a result, certain appropriate behaviors are also suppressed
8. Punishment contrast-occurs when behavior that is suppressed through punishment in one situation increases in another situation in which punishment was not administered

Advantages of a response cost

1. response cost result in a fairly quick decrease in inappropriate behavior
2. convenient to use in the classroom
3. teachers can avoid direct confrontation with students 
4. can be combined with other behavior management procedures such as a token economy or group-oriented contingency

Response cost lottery

time-out "from positive reinforcement"

typically refers to the removal of students from the environment in which they are misbehaving

Contingent withdrawal of a postive reinforcement(type 2 punishment) may be in effet b/c students are placed back in the environment in which reinforcement existed prior to the misbehavior

If the student finds the time-out area to be aversive, it may be considered an application of contingent stimulation (type 1 punishment

Levels of reinforcement

1. Planned ignoring-mildest form because it applies the behavioral principles of extinction
2. reduction of response maintenance stimuli-based on differential reinforcement and the fair pair. Environment stumuli that are maintaining inappropriate behavior are extinguished
3. Planned ingnoring plus restraint-physically holding students while simultaneously w/holding all other reinforcers (extinction). 
4. contingent observation-movine students who misbehave away from the activity in which the misbehavior occurs to a place where they can observe but not participate: exclusion-physically removing students from the time-in setting & seclusion-most restrictive time-out procedure, placing students in a constructed room that often has a locked door

Overcorrection

Typically is considered a form of punishment because the end result is the reduction of student's inappropriate behaviors. Thru repetition and exaggeration, students engage in appropriate behaviors

Restitutional overcorrection

is a technique in which students are required to correct the effects of inappropriate behavior by restoring the environment to a state superior to that which existed before the misbehavior occurred

Habit reversal

Which involves having students practice behavior that is incompatible with the inappropriate behavior

ex. if a student yelled we have the repeatedly whisper

Positive practice overcorrection

requires that students repeatedly practice an appropriate behavior that is topographically related to the misbehavior. ex. if a girl repeatedly pulled out her hair, she is required to repeatedly brush her hair

simple correction

students are required to restore the environment to its original state prior to the misbehavior

Contingent exercise

students perform behavior that is not topographically related to the misbehavior. 

ex. student swears, he must do 20 push ups

Quiet training

is most often used in response to verbally or physically aggressive behaviors or in situations in which students are extremely agitated. 

ex. student must put their face down until their misbehavior subsides

negative practice

students repeatedly engage in the problem behavior. Thought that they will become fatigued or satiated 

Stimulus satiation

sometimes confused with negative practice. Focuses on repeatedly exposing students to the antecedents of their misbehavior.