Reinforcers & Establishing Operations Chapters 9, 10, 11

Unlearned Reinforcers A stimulus, event, or condition that is a reinforcer, though not as a result of pairing with another reinforcer

Unlearned Aversive Condition A stimulus, event, of condition that is aversive, though not as a result of pairing with other aversive conditions

Deprivation & Satiations Most common examples of establishing operations

Deprivation Withholding a reinforcer increases relevant learning and performance

Satiation Consuming a substantial amount of reinforcer temporarily decreases relevant learning and performance

WATER DEPRIVATION? DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Before: Rudolph has no water After: Rudolph has water Behavior: Rudolph presses the lever Deprivation: Rudolph has not had water for 12 hours

WATER SATIATION? DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Before: Rudolph has no water After: Rudolph has water Behavior: Rudolph presses the lever Deprivation: Rudolph has had free access to water

Establishing Operation A procedure that affects learning and performance with respect to a particular reinforcer or aversive condition

“Please pass the salt.”

Assume salt is an unlearned reinforcer When will I ask for salt? If I am reinforced by receiving salt when I ask for it, why don’t I ask for salt all the time?

SALT DEPRIVATION? DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Before: Jane has bland eggs After: Jane has no bland eggs Behavior: Jane asks for salt on eggs Deprivation: Jane has not had salt

Premack Principal If one activity occurs more often than another, the opportunity to do the most frequent activity will reinforce the less frequent activity.

Example Suppose a water deprived rat spends more time drinking water than pressing a lever in a test chamber. How could the Premack Principle be applied in this case?

Learned Reinforcers CH 11

Learned Reinforcers A stimulus, event, or condition that is a reinforcer because it has been paired with another reinforcer.

Pairing Procedure The immediate pairing of a neutral stimulus with a reinforcer or aversive condition

Value Altering Principle The pairing procedure converts a neutral stimulus into a learned reinforcer or learned aversive condition

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral “click” as a learned reinforcer Click No clickNo food pellet Food pellet

Pairing Procedure How to establish click as a learned reinforcer? ?? No click?? Food pellet

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral “good” as a learned reinforcer NoNo food Food

Shaping a Lever Press with Learned Reinforcement Before: Rat hears no click Behavior Initial: NA Intermed: Moves around chamber Inter: Rears Terminal: Rears close to lever Behavior Initial: Rears Intermed: Rears close to lever Terminal: Presses lever After: Rat hears no click After: Rat hears click Reinforcement Extinction

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral “click” as a learned reinforcer Click No clickNo food pellet Food pellet

Token Economies Pioneered by Ted Allyon and Nate Azrin Used to teach and maintain normal behavior of psychotic residents in a psychiatric institution.

Institutionalized People Were suffering from severe problems with verbal and social behavior Those included in the token economy earned little metal tokens by making responses

Responses that earned tokens Serving meals Cleaning floors Sorting laundry Selling items at the commissary Projecting movies Leading guided tours Helping the nurse Self grooming

Token Exchange Tokens could be exchanged for backup reinforcers (the reinforcers with which the learned reinforcers had been paired.

Things that could be purchased with tokens Particular bedrooms (roommate) Choice of eating groups Locked cabinet Personal chair Movies Live music Radio/TV Dances Extra clothes Grooming accessories ETC.

How can a token be established as a conditioned, secondary, or learned reinforcer? Write a diagram of the pairing procedure

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral “click” as a learned reinforcer Click No clickNo food pellet Food pellet

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral “token” as a generalized learned reinforcer Token No tokenNo reinforcers Various reinforcers like attention, food, conversation, services

Token Is a generalized learned reinforcer

Generalized learned reinforcer A learned reinforcer that is a reinforcer because it was paired with a variety of other reinforcers when the organism has been deprived of those reinforcers

Token Economy A system of generalized learned reinforcers in which the organism that receives those generalized reinforcers can save them and exchange them for a variety of backup reinforcers later.

Learned reinforcers in the acquisition of verbal behavior Vocal sounds of parent No vocal sounds of parent No food, water, removal of aversive condition Food, water, removal of aversive condition

Before Baby hears no vocal sounds After Baby hears vocal sounds Behavior Baby makes vocal sounds Learned Reinforcers in the Acquisition of Verbal Behavior

Differential Reinforcement Before Baby hears no vocal sounds similar to parents Behavior Baby makes vocal sounds unlike parents Behavior Baby makes vocal sounds like parents After Baby does not hear vocal sounds similar to parents After Baby hears vocal sounds similar to parents Reinforcement Extinction

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral stimulus as a learned aversive stimulus No! No “No!”No smack Smack

Learned Aversive Stimulus A stimulus, event, or condition that is an aversive condition because it has been paired with another aversive condition

The word “NO” Generalized learned aversive stimulus

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral NO as a generalized learned aversive stimulus No! No clickNo food pellet Variety of aversive stimuli & loss of a variety of reinforcers

Aversive Conditions as Establishing Operations Before: Jane has no verbal aggression reinforcer After: Jane has verbal aggression reinforcers Behavior: Jane curses like a sailor Aversive Condition: Jane’s toe really hurts ESTABLISHING OPERATION

Aversive Conditions as Establishing Operations Before:After: Behavior: Aversive Condition: ESTABLISHING OPERATION

Do 2 Learn Develop a vignette related to your topic Plan & practice a skit based on your vignette (may leave class to gather props, etc.) Prepare an introduction, summary, and diagram Introduce, perform, & summarize your skit (write diagram on board) Awards: Best intro, best summary, best props, most enthusiasm, best story line, best diagram

Establish a token as a learned reinforcer

Differential Reinforcement Before Behavior After Reinforcement Extinction

Reinforcement-Based Discrimination Before Sdelta SDSD After Behavior

Concept Training Before Sdelta SDSD After Behavior

Avoidance Contingency Before:Behavior:After: