Doing the Right Thing at the Right Time and Place: Stimulus Discrimination and Generalization

1
Doing the Right Thing at the Right Time and
Place Stimulus Discrimination and Generalization

• Chapter 8

2
Stimulus Discrimination Learning and Stimulus
Control

• How do we learn to perform certain behaviors at
  certain times but not others?
• Always cues around when behavior is reinforced or
  extinguished
• Situations in which behaviors occur analyzed in
  terms of
• Antecedent Stimuli stimuli that exist just
  prior to behavior
• Behavior
• Consequences

3
Stimulus Discrimination Learning and Stimulus
Control

• Stimulus Control
• Degree of correlation between a stimulus and
  subsequent response
• Good or Effective stimulus control
• High correlation
• Stimulus Discrimination
• Process by which we learn to emit a specific
  behavior in the presence of some stimuli and not
  in the presence of other stimuli
• Stimulus Discrimination Training
• Process of teaching stimulus discrimination
• Controlling Stimuli
• Reinforcement in the presence of specific stimuli
  or extinction in the presence of different stimuli

4
Types of Controlling Stimuli

• SD Discriminative Stimulus for Reinforcement
• Response has been reinforced only in the presence
  of a particular stimulus
• Cue that a particular response will pay off
• S? - Discriminative Stimulus for Extinction
• Response has been extinguished only in the
  presence of a particular stimulus
• Cue that a particular response will not pay off
• A stimulus may be simultaneously an SD for one
  response and an S? for another

5
Stimulus Generalization

• Responding the same way to two different stimuli
• Opposite of stimulus discrimination
• Unlearned Stimulus Generalization due to
  Considerable Physical Similarity
• Likely to perform a behavior in a new situation
  if that situation is similar to situation when
  behavior was learned

6
Stimulus Generalization

• Learned Stimulus Generalization Involving Minimal
  Physical Similarity
• Have to learn the stimulus class, or concept
• Stimulus common-element class
• Set of stimuli, all of which have some physical
  characteristic in common
• Conceptual behavior emitting appropriate
  behavior to all members of a stimulus
  common-element class, but not those that dont
  belong

7
Stimulus Generalization

• Learned Stimulus Generalization due to Stimulus
  Equivalence Class
• Stimulus Equivalence Class
• set of completely dissimilar stimuli in which all
  members of the class control the same response

8
Effectiveness of Stimulus Discrimination Training

• Choose distinct signals
• Minimize opportunities for error
• Maximize the number of trials
• Need multiple trials to learn the behavior
• Make use of rules describe the contingencies
• Rules can speed up learning

9
Pitfalls

• Can be misapplied
• May inadvertently teach others to respond
  inappropriately to particular cues

10
Guidelines for Effective Stimulus Discrimination
Training

• Choose distinct goals
• Select an appropriate reinforcer
• Develop the discrimination
• Arrange for several reinforced responses in the
  presence of the SD
• When the S? is presented, make the change from
  the SD very obvious and follow the rules for
  extinction for the behavior of concern
• Wean the individual from the program
• Plan natural reinforcers
• Plan periodic assessments of behavior to make
  sure it is occasionally being reinforced and that
  the desired frequency of the behavior is being
  maintained in the presence of the SD