Learning and Behavioral Assessment

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Learning and Behavioral Assessment

• William P. Wattles, Ph.D.
• Francis Marion University

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What is learning?

• How organisms come to behave in new ways.
• motivation
• knowledge
• change in behavior

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Behaviorism

• The study of observable behavior with an emphasis
  on the role of environment in determining
  behavior in terms of operant and classical
  conditioning.

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Stimulus

• a property of the environment that you can detect
  with your senses.

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Response (Behavior)

• Something you do.

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• What is this couple not doing?
• Are they not reading?
• Or are they not sleeping?
• Not doing something is not a behavior.

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Response

• Something you do. Also called behavior
• Response Behavior
• Behavior can be
• elicited
• emitted

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Elicited Behavior

• A behavior such as a reflex that results from the
  presentation of a stimulus and is not voluntary.
• Example Patellar reflex

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Emitted Behavior

• A voluntary behavior. The organism may or may
  not make this response.

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Classical Conditioning

• Pavlovs Dog
• Meat powder
• Salivation
• Metronome
• Salivation

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CS
elicits
conditioned stimulus
metronome
CR
conditioned stimulus
salivation
elicits
US
UR
Unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned response
salivation
meat powder
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Classical Conditioning

• The dog learns to associate meat powder with the
  metronome.
• The dog learns pairing
• the dog learns what goes with what.

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Operant Conditioning

• Thorndikes cat
• cage
• food
• pulling the rope
• getting the food

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Antecedent

• a stimulus that tells or reminds the organism
  about a relationship between a behavior and
  another stimulus
• called the discriminative stimulus

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Behavior

• Behavior or response. Something the organism can
  do.

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Consequence

• A stimulus or property of the environment that is
  presented contingent on the behavior.

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Antecedent
Behavior
Consequence
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Contingent

• The consequence is contingent on the behavior. No
  behavior no consequence.

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Contingent

• The consequence is contingent on the behavior. No
  behavior no consequence.

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Operant Conditioning

• The cat learns the consequences of its actions.
• The cat learns what to do to get what you want.

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Operant conditioning
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Positive reinforcement

• Antecedent
• Response
• Consequence
• What happens to the behavior?

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Response Cost

• Antecedent
• Response
• Consequence
• What happens to the behavior?

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Negative reinforcement

• Antecedent
• Response
• Consequence
• What happens to the behavior?

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Punishment

• Antecedent
• Response
• Consequence
• What happens to the behavior?

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Three requirements for reinforcement

• The behavior must increase
• The consequence must be contingent on the
  behavior
• The contingency must cause the increase in
  behavior.

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Extinction

• When reinforcers are no longer provided, the
  behavior stops

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Extinction Burst

• When you begin to stop delivering a
• reinforcer, the behavior first increases
• before it decreases to zero.

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• Partial Reinforcement Schedules
• Intermittent reinforcement schedules take
• longer to extinguish.

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Continuous Reinforcement (CRF)

• is the first and most basic of the Schedules.
  Under this schedule, every time the target
  behavior occurs, it is reinforced. The ratio of
  reinforcement to behavior is then 11.

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Fixed Schedules of reinforcement

• are an extension of the CRF concept. Instead of
  one reinforcement for each behavior, a
  predetermined number of behaviors are required to
  earn reinforcer.
• A Fixed Ratio of 31 then would mean that the
  individual would have to demonstrate the target
  behavior 3 times in order to receive a
  reinforcement.

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Variable Schedules of reinforcement

• are the ultimate goal of any intervention. A
  Variable Ratio Schedule of 31 means that on the
  average the person is reinforced for every 3
  demonstrations of the target behavior.

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Ratio Strain.

• This happens when the Schedule of Reinforcement
  is set too high and the individual "gives up"
  before the next reinforcement becomes available.

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stimulus generalization

• Reinforcements will generalize across similar
  stimuli producing secondary conditioning

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What Is Behavior Analysis?

• Direct measurement of behavior through systematic
  observation and recording systems..
• Functional analysis of the causes of behavior
  find factors that prompt and maintain the
  behavior of interest.
• An emphasis on using positive reinforcement to
  build and maintain desirable behavior.

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Functional Analysis

• Antecedent
• Behavior clearly specified and measurable
• Consequences (maintaining variable)

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Functional Analysis

• In the field of applied behavior analysis. This
  is the process of determining the cause (or
  "function") of behavior before developing an
  intervention.

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Methods to determine function

• interviews and rating scales,
• direct and systematic observation of the person's
  behavior, and
• manipulating different environmental events to
  see how behavior changes.

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Types of behavior

• a) behavior that produces attention and other
  desired events (e.g., access to toys, desired
  activities), (b) behavior that allows the person
  to avoid or escape demands or other undesired
  events/activities, and (c) behavior that occurs
  because of its sensory consequences (relieves
  pain, feels good, etc.).

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Competing Response

• Differential Reinforcement of Other
• Reinforce a competing response to decrease a
  behavior.

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Response prevention

• Escape or avoidance conditioning.

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Catch em being good.

• Benefits of reinforcement over punishment.
• Energy
• Self-image
• Feelings toward teacher
• Mood
• Potential for abuse

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• The End

The End