1. Avoidance
Ch 15

2. Avoidance Contingency
Before:
Sid will hear a loud tone in 3 sec
Behavior:
Sid straightens up
After:
Sid won’t hear a loud tone in 3 sec

3. Avoidance Contingency
Before:
Sid will hear a click immediately
Behavior:
Sid maintains an erect posture.
After:
Sid won’t hear a click immediately

4. Avoidance Contingency
Before:
You will have an accident soon
Behavior:
You drive carefully
After:
You won’t have an accident soon

5. Avoidance Contingency
The immediate, response-contingent prevention of an aversive condition resulting in an increased frequency of that response

6. Avoidance Contingency
Before:
You will soon stumble and fall
Behavior:
You walk perfectly
After:
You won’t soon stumble and fall

7. Avoidance of an Aversive Event
Example: overcorrection following training on eye contact…
Try using reinforcers first
Meet ethical standards

8. Avoidance of an Aversive Event
Before:
Jimmy will have to overcorrect in 2 sec
Behavior:
Jimmy looks at the instructor
After:
Jimmy won’t have to overcorrect in 2 sec

9. Avoidance of Loss Contingency
The immediate, response-contingent prevention of loss of a reinforcer resulting in an increased frequency of that response.

10. Avoidance of Time-Out Before:
The child will soon have to leave the classroom for 3 minutes
Behavior:
The child works hard
After:
The child won’t soon have to leave the classroom for 3 minutes

11. Avoidance of Reprimands
Reprimands are specific
BE careful about the dead man…
Interpretation of contingencies

12. Punishment???>>WRONG
Before:
Joyce receives no reprimands
Behavior:
Joyce goofs off
After:
Joyce receives a reprimand

13. Goofs off
Large response class
Does not pass dead man’s test

14. Avoidance Contingency
Before:
Joyce will soon receive a reprimand
Behavior:
Joyce studies
After:
Joyce won’t receive a reprimand soon

15. Escape vs. Avoidance Prevention vs. removal
Avoidance: the response prevents an aversive condition from being received
Escape: the response causes an aversive condition to be removed

16. Where does avoidance come from?
What happens first?

17. Why is avoidance behavior resistant to change?

18. Avoidance following escape
Before:
Taste of hot sauce
After:
Reduce taste of hot sauce
Behavior:
Drink water, cough
After:
You will not have hot sauce soon
Before:
You will soon have hot sauce
Behavior:
“Please, no hot sauce”
Avoidance

19. Cued Avoidance Contingency
Before:
Buzzer is on
After:
Buzzer is off
Escape
Behavior:
Rat presses lever
Before:
Shock will come on in 3 sec
After:
Shock won’t come on in 3 sec
Avoidance

20. learned aversive condition
Establish a buzzer as a
learned aversive condition
buzzer
shock
No buzzer
No shock

21. Buzzer
The neutral buzzer becomes a warning stimulus through use of the pairing procedure
The pairing procedure brings into play the value altering principle

22. Continuous Response Avoidance
Before:
Sid will hear a click immediately
Behavior:
Sid maintains correct posture
After:
Sid won’t hear a click immediately

23. Noncued Avoidance Before: Shock will come on in twenty seconds
Behavior:
Rat presses the lever
After:
Shock will not come on in twenty seconds

24. Avoidance of Loss Contingency
Avoidance of Loss of a Reinforcer vs. Punishment by Removal of a Reinforcer
Avoidance of Loss Contingency
Penalty
Involves the removal of a reinforcer
Yes
Removal is contingent on a specific response. No
Keeping the reinforcer is contingent on a specific response.
The frequency of the response of interest
Increases
Decreases

25. Avoidance of Loss Contingency
Avoidance of Loss of a Reinforcer vs. Punishment by Removal of a Reinforcer
Avoidance of Loss Contingency
Penalty
Involves the removal of a reinforcer
Removal is contingent on a specific response.
Keeping the reinforcer is contingent on a specific response.
The frequency of the response of interest

26. Warning Stimulus vs. Discriminative Stimulus
A stimulus that precedes an aversive condition and thus becomes a learned aversive stimulus
Discriminative stimulus
A stimulus in the presence of which a response will be reinforced

27. Escape Sdee Avoidance Extinction Sdelta Extinction Before
(Warning stimulus)
buzzer
After
Buzzer is off
Escape
Behavior
Rat presses lever
Sdee
Light is on
Before
Shock will come on in 3 sec
After
Shock won’t come on in 3 sec
Avoidance
Extinction
Before
(Warning stimulus)
buzzer
After
Buzzer is on
Behavior
Rat presses lever
Sdelta
Light is off
Before
Shock will come on in 3 sec
After
Shock will come on in 3 sec
Extinction