Antecedent Control Procedures

Stimulus Control Learning to do things under the right circumstance (time, place, & circumstance) Response that occurs in the presence of SD but not in its absence is under stimulus control EXAMPLE: Green light – go Stop sign – stop Item out of reach – ask for help

Stimulus is SD if: SD is a signal that a particular response will result in reinforcer What are the stimuli in the school environment that are SD’s for student behavior? EXAMPLES Put up overhead – S. write notes – gets good grades on a test T. asks a question – S. raises hand – student gets called on

Stimulus is S∆ if: In the presence of a stimulus the response does not occur A response that was SR+ in the presence of an SD is not SR+ in the presence of an S∆ S∆ – response – no reinforcement S∆ – no response Hold up a cookie – S. says “cake” – S. does not get cookie

How to Teach Stimulus Discrimination In teaching, we set up the SD for specific behavior to occur and the provide SR+ We do not SR+ when behavior does not occur Example: Teacher has a picture of a cookie and provides SR+ when student says “cookie” and not when a picture of a drink is present

Problems Overselectivity The S. responds to some irrelevant stimulus or to only one aspect of the stimulus as opposed to the stimulus as a whole Examples Remembering names by the seat one sits in or context (trouble when you see person out of context)

Other Ways to Teach Discriminative Stimulus Prompts additional stimulus that increases the probability that an SD will occasion a response are for rapid learning without excessive mistakes Response prompts – form of assistance with a reponse Stimulus prompts – temporary changes to the stimulus

Prompts Use the least amount of prompts necessary to facilitate correct responding Focus on the stimulus not distract from it Any prompt that is added to an instructional interaction must be faded (i.e., removed) Prompts occur BEFORE the child’s response Prompts occur during or after the instruction A prompt is only a “good” prompt if it results in a child’s correct response Prompts must be faded gradually and systematically

Verbal Visual “Does the number end in a 0, then it is a factor of 10” Vocational jig How to put correct headings on paper Word walls

Models most likely imitated: Modeling Models most likely imitated: Have high status Have a demonstrated competence Similar to themselves Limitations Some behaviors difficult to imitate Over reliance on prompts rather than natural SD

Fading (shifting stimulus control to the stimulus) Fading too quickly can put a behavior on extinction Fading too slowly can cause a behavior to be prompt dependent Using full physical prompts to teach hand washing. Moving to no prompts before the student is ready may leave the student staring at the water. S. waits to wash hands until someone takes the student’s hand and prompts him through the activity

Most-to-Least Prompting Select the target behavior Identify the stimulus that signals the student to respond Select the number of levels and type of prompts in the hierarchy Determine the length of the response interval Determine the criterion for progressing to the next level of prompt Select the schedule for testing Determine the consequences for responding Determine data collection

Least-to-Most Prompting Identify the stimulus that cues the student to respond Select the number of levels and the type of prompts in the hierarchy Determine the length of the response interval Determine the consequences to be used for each student response Select a data collection system

Graduated Guidance Most often used with chained tasks Task analysis is taught simultaneously Prompts are provided and removed as necessary based on independent responding

Time Delay Identify the cue for student responding Identify the controlling prompt Determine the student’s ability to wait for the prompt Identify the number of 0-sec delay trails Determine the length of the prompt delay interval Determine consequences for responding Select a data collection system

Stimulus Prompts Response prompts – the stimulus remains the same and only responses are prompted (prompts discussed previously) Stimulus Prompts uses stimulus prompts – altering the stimulus to insure correct responding Provides development of stimulus control without practicing errors Most effective if only SD is change and stimulus attributes of the S∆ remain the same

Differences in Shaping and Fading Fading involves the gradual changing of the prompts while the response remains the same Shaping involves the gradual changing of a RESPONSE while the stimulus stays the same

Shaping Steps in using shaping: Define target behavior Know where to start Determine how long to remain at each criterion level before moving to the next step If step is too large, then the behavior will not get reinforced (put on extinction)

Shaping - Differential Reinforcement In fading – a response in the presence of and SD is reinforced and a response to an S∆ is not In shaping, differential reinforcement is paired to responses that successively approximate the desired response Cupcake cupcake

Shaping of a response Differential reinforcement for successive approximations Differential reinforcement Only those responses that meet a criterion are reinforced Shifting criterion for reinforcement to obtain the terminal behavior Used only when no combination of SR+, prompting, or changing are not successful

Teaching Behaviors Mad Up of Chains Task Analysis Breaking behaviors into their components Breaking terminal behavior down to small tasks Identify prerequisite skills required. It is difficult to have a TA inside of a TA. List materials needed to perform the target skill List all the component of the task in the order in which they must be preformed EXAMPLE: How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Teaching Complex Behaviors Chaining Reinforce individual responses for occurring in sequence to form a complex behavior Typically used with a task that has been task analyzed EXAMPLE: Get ready for the quiz: Step 1: put books and notes away Step 2: get out pencil Step 3: get quiet

Teaching Behaviors Made Up of Chains Backward Chaining Last component is taught first Forward Chaining First component is taught first Total Task Chaining Requires the performance of all behaviors in the chain until mastery

Response Fading Stimulus Fading Considerations Gradually delaying or reducing the magnitude of a response prompt Stimulus Fading Gradually removing elements of a stimulus until a new stimulus is formed that continues to control the response Considerations Fading too quickly can put a behavior on extinction Fading too slowly can cause a behavior to be prompt dependent