Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Antecedent Control: Rules and Goals Chapter 17

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Rules Rule –Description of a three-term contingency of reinforcement (antecedents-behavior- consequences) –Partial rules – do not identify all three aspects of a contingency of reinforcement –Command or threat – imply that noncompliance will be punished

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Contingency-Shaped versus Rule-Governed Behavior Contingency-shaped behavior –Behavior that has been strengthened (or weakened) in settings by the direct-acting effects of consequences in those settings –Involves immediate consequences –Strengthened gradually through trial and error Rule-governed behavior –Behavior that is controlled by the statement of a rule

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. When Rules Are Especially Helpful When rapid behavior change is desirable When consequences are delayed When natural reinforcers are highly intermittent When behavior will lead to immediate and severe punishment

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Why Rules Control Our Behavior Although the reinforcer identified in a rule might be delayed for an individual, other people might provide other immediate consequences if the individual follows (or does not follow) a rule An individual might follow a rule and then immediately make reinforcing statements to himself or herself Our operant-respondent interactions give us a reinforcement history such that following rules is automatically strengthened, while failure to follow rules is automatically punished

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Effective and Ineffective Rules Rules are more likely to be followed if they: –Describe behavior specifically –Describe specific circumstances in which the behavior should occur –Describe probable consequences –Describe sizeable consequences –Describe deadlines

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Using Rules Effectively Rules should be understandable Rules should be effective Complex rules should be broken down into easy-to-follow steps Rules should be delivered in a pleasant, courteous manner Fading of rules should be used as necessary to allow other stimuli that are present to take control of the behavior

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Goals Goal –Describes a level of performance toward which an individual or group should work –Considered to be motivational –Might be considered as a rule –Used to influence individuals to work toward some objective over a period of time or during a number of practice opportunities

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Effective and Ineffective Goal Setting Goals are more effective when they: –are specific –include mastery criteria –identify the circumstances under which the desirable behavior should occur –are realistic and challenging –are public –include deadlines –include feedback –when individuals are committed to them

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Goal Setting Set goals that are specific, realistic, and challenging Identify the specific behaviors and circumstances in which they should occur in order to meet the goals Be clear about the specific consequences that might occur for meeting or not meeting the goal Break long-term goals into several short-term goals If the goal is complex, devise an action plan for meeting it Set deadlines for goal attainment Ensure that individuals involved are committed to the goals Encourage the learner to share the goals with a friendly supporter Design a system for monitoring progress toward goals Provide positive feedback as progress toward goals is achieved

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Antecedent Control: Modeling, Guidance, and Situational Inducement Chapter 18

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Modeling A procedure whereby a sample of a given behavior is presented to an individual to induce that individual to engage in a similar behavior Commonly-used procedure by the general public Generalized imitation –An individual, after learning to imitate a number of behaviors, learns to imitate a new response on the first trial without reinforcement

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Modeling Factors influencing the effectiveness of modeling: –History of being reinforced (or punished) for imitating others –More likely to imitate someone who is similar to you in various ways –Perceived competence of the model in obtaining desired consequences –The number of people modeling a particular behavior –Most effective when combined with rules and other behavioral strategies

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Using Modeling If possible, select models who are friends or peers of the client and who are seen as competent individuals with status or prestige If possible, use more than one model The complexity of the modeled behavior should be suitable for the behavioral level of the learner Combine rules with modeling Have the learner watch the model perform the behavior and be reinforced If possible, use natural reinforcers; if this is not possible, arrange for reinforcement If behavior is complex, then modeling should be sequenced from very easy to more difficult approximations for the learner To enhance stimulus generalization, the modeling scenes should be as realistic as possible Use fading as necessary so that stimuli other than the model can take control over the desired behavior

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Physical Guidance Application of physical contact to induce an individual to go through the motions of the desired behavior

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Using Physical Guidance Make sure the learner is comfortable and relaxed while being touched and guided Determine the stimuli that you want to control the behavior so that they can be conspicuously present during guidance Consider using rules or cue words during guidance so that they may eventually control behavior Reinforcement should be given immediately after the successful completion of the guided response Guidance should be sequenced gradually from very easy to more difficult behavior for the learner Use fading as necessary

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Situational Inducement Influencing a behavior by using situations and occasions that already exert control over behavior Categories of situational inducement: –Rearranging the surroundings –Moving the activity to a new location –Relocating people –Changing the time of activity

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Guidelines for Using Situational Inducement Clearly identify the desired behavior to be strengthened, and, if appropriate, the undesirable behavior to be decreased Brainstorm all possible environmental arrangements in the presence of which the behavior has occurred in the past or is likely to occur From your list, identify those stimuli that could be easily introduced to control the target behavior Arrange for the learner to be exposed to the stimuli that control the behavior in the desired way and to avoid locations and arrangements that do not have this control Try to make sure undesirable behavior does not occur in the presence of situations introduced to strengthen desirable behavior When the desirable behavior occurs in the presence of the new arrangement, be sure that it is reinforced Use fading to bring the behavior under desired stimulus control

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Antecedent Control: Motivation Chapter 19

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. A Behavioral View of Motivation Motivating Operations (MO’s) –Events or operations that: Temporarily alter the effectiveness of consequences as reinforcers or punishers (value-altering effect) Influence behaviors that normally lead to those reinforcers or punishers (behavior-altering effect) Motivating Establishing Operations (MEOs) –Increase the effectiveness of a consequence as a reinforcer Motivating Abolishing Operations (MAOs) –Decrease the effectiveness of a consequence as a reinforcer

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Unconditioned versus Conditioned Motivating Operations Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMOs) –Value-altering effect is innate –Behavior-altering effect is learned Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMOs) –Value-altering effect is learned –Behavior-altering effect is learned

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 19.1 – Types of Motivating Operations Source text: “In addition to distinguishing between MEOs and MAOs, we also distinguish between unconditioned and conditioned motivating operations (Michael, 1993); see Figure 19-1.” (page 231)

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. CMEOs and S D s S D –A stimulus that has been correlated with the availability of a reinforcer for a particular behavior –A cue that tells you what to do to get what you already want CMEO –Motivator that momentarily increases the value of a conditioned reinforcer and increases the likelihood of behavior that has led to that reinforcer in the past –A cue that changes what you want and tells you what to do to get whatever it is that you now want

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. CMAOs and S ∆ s S ∆ –A stimulus in the presence of which a response has not been reinforced –A cue that tells you that emitting a particular behavior will not lead to a reinforcer that you want CMAO –A motivator that momentarily decreases the value of a conditioned reinforcer and decreases the likelihood of behavior that has led to that reinforcer in the past –Influences someone to no longer want a particular consequence, and decreases behavior that led to that consequence

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. S D s, S ∆ s, CMEOs and CMAOs Discriminative variables (S D s, S ∆ s) are related to differential availability of an effective form of reinforcement given a particular type of behavior Motivative variables (CMEOs, CMAOs) are related to the differential reinforcing effectiveness of environmental events

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Application of Motivating Operations Teaching mands to children with autism –Mands – a request for something that a person wants First type of verbal behavior acquired by a child Motivating seat belt use among senior drivers Decreasing self-injurious behavior maintained by attention