Chapter 2 Methods for Changing Target Behaviors

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Chapter 2 Methods for Changing Target Behaviors

• Ps534
• Dr. Ken Reeve
• Caldwell College
• Post-Bac Program in ABA

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Reminder

• Many of the terms in this chapter are a review
  for students who have already taken courses in
  this program
• New students who are not as familiar with these
  terms will learn about them in more detail in the
  other classes in the program
• For now, a cursory knowledge is sufficient for
  understanding research design
• If needed, consult Behaviorspeak for a definition

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Review

• TARGET BEHAVIOR DEPENDENT VARIABLE
• METHODS TO CHANGE BEHAVIOR (INTERVENTION)
  INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
• FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP degree to which the
  independent variable affects the dependent
  variable (and can you isolate this effect!!)
• Main focus in research is to determine functional
  relationship between intervention X and learning
  outcome Y

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ABCs of BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS

• ANTECEDENT (you are in a particular situation,
  setting, environment or in the presence of a
  particular cue or signal)
• BEHAVIOR - this is what you do in a particular
  setting, situation
• CONSEQUENCE - when you produce some behavior,
  some change will occur in the situation
• - the consequence is important because it either
  makes the likelihood of your doing that
  particular behavior again stronger or weaker
  depending on what the consequence is

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Reinforcement vs. Punishment
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Premacks Principle

• more probable (preferred) behaviors will
  reinforce less probable (less preferred)
  behaviors
• less probable behaviors will punish more
  probable behaviors
• Premack suggests it is possible to describe
  reinforcing events as actions of the organism
  rather than as discrete stimuli

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SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

• these are rules about HOW and WHEN reinforcer
  follows a R
• Most simple schedule
• CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT (CRF) - is simplest
  schedule
• involves a 11 ratio between R and SR
• INTERMITTENT (PARTIAL) SCHEDULES
• these involve cases where reinforcement is
  delivered only after SOME response or only if
  response occurs at CERTAIN TIME

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SHAPING

• means to gradually mold behavior by reinforcing
  it every time it gets closer to a final desired
  behavior
• - similar to how we play hot and cold

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PRIMARY VS. SECONDARY REINFORCERSVS. GENERALIZED
REINFORCERS

• Primary reinforcers are consequences that we need
  for survival (or we have an in-born love of these
  things)
• Secondary reinforcers are stimuli that weve
  LEARNED to love or need (usually because they are
  paired with other reinforcers)
• Generalized reinforcers are stimuli that weve
  LEARNED to love or need that can be traded in for
  MANY other reinforcers

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DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENET OF OTHER VS.
ALTERNATIVE VS. INCOMPATIBLE BEHAVIOR

• If we reinforce behavior that is NOT the target
  behavior, then the target behavior usually drops
  in occurrence
• DRO reinforce any behavior that is NOT the
  target
• DRA reinforce a specific behavior that is more
  adaptive than the target
• DRI reinforce a behavior that makes it
  impossible to do the target