1. Week 5: Increasing Behavior
Reinforcement: Part 1
Week 5: Increasing Behavior

2. Positive Reinforcement
Delivered Immediately after a behavior
Delivered contingent upon a behavior
Increases probability of future behavior

3. Potential Rule Governed Behavior
When no immediate consequence
Behavior changes without reinforcement
Large increase in behavior follows one instance of reinforcement
Rule exists

4. Some important Points We do not reinforce people
Practice is not reinforcement
Feedback is not always reinforcement
Artificial Reinforcement does not mean “fake”

5. Motivating Operations
Establishing Operations: Increases temporarily the immediate effectiveness of a reinforcer.
Deprivation
Abolishing Operations: Decreases temporarily the immediate effectiveness of a reinforcer
Satiation

7. 4 term Contingency
EO A B C No water Drinking Drink Fluid intake Fountain

8. Reinforcement Classification
Unconditioned
Unlearned
Primary
Conditioned
Secondary
Learned

9. Generalized Conditioned Reinforcement
Neutral Stimulus that is paired with many other reinforcers
The more reinforcers are paired with a neutral stimulus the more likely the neutral stimulus becomes a GCR
E.g. money

10. Premack Principle LPR Before access to HPR
Response-Deprivation Hypothesis (Timberlake & Allison, 1974).
This is an important consideration when developing treatments.
Don’t just make HPR contingent.
It must be contingent and be deprived relative to free operant levels!

11. Identifying Potential Reinforcers
Stimulus Preference Assessment
Ask People
Open ended questions
Choice Format
Rank-ordering
Observe
Contrived
Naturalistic
Experiment
Single Stimulus
Paired Stimuli
Multiple Stimuli

12. Identifying Potential Reinforcers Continued
Reinforcer Assessment
Concurrent Schedule of Reinforcement
May cause premature rejection (preference does not mean ineffective reinforcer).
Multiple Schedule Reinforcer Assessment
Progressive-Ratio Schedule Reinforcer Assessment
Increase response effort (schedule) and see how behavior changes.

13. Other Methods of Identifying Reinforcers
ABAB
Non-contingent Reinforcement
Differential Reinforcement

14. Non-Contingent Reinforcement?
What is wrong with this term?
Presenting Reinforcement on a time schedule

15. Tips for Using Reinforcement
Easily Achieved Initial Criterion
Sufficient Magnitude of Reinforcer
Vary Reinforcer
Direct contingencies when possible
Use prompts with reinforcement
Reinforce each occurrence initially
Use praise/attention with other reinforcers
Gradually increase response-to-reinforcement delay (some call this fading – it is not – Thinning)

16. Negative Reinforcement
Removal of aversive stimulus
Immediately after a behavior
Increases probability of behavior in future

17. Escape Versus Avoidance
Escape – Termination
Avoidance – Prevention

18. Examples?

19. Schedules of Reinforcement

20. Fixed Ratio
Reinforcement delivered after a specific number of target responses are emitted.
Post Reinforcement Pause
Larger the ratio longer the PRP
DeLuca & Holborn (1990)
Provided FR schedule to pedaling behavior of fat people. Fat people started pedaling more

21. Variable Ratio
Reinforcement provided contingent upon a variable number of responses.
Strong Consistent Performance
Group Contingencies makes use of VR Schedules

22. Fixed Interval
Reinforcement provided after first response after specified period of time.
PRP and Scallop Effect
Slow rates of responding

23. Variable Interval
Reinforcement provided after first response after variable duration of time elapsed.
Constant stable rate of responding
Limited Hold: amount of time R+ is available once interval elapses.

24. Differential Reinforcement
DR-Other
DR-Alternate
DR-Icompatiable
DR-Lower Rates
DR-Higher Rates

25. Compound Schedules of Reinforcement
Can be:
Successive or simultaneously
With or without discriminative stimuli
Reinforcement for each element or for the combination of all.

26. Concurrent Schedules of Reinforcement
2 contingencies of reinforcement operating independently and simultaneously
E.g. you can study or go out for the night
Behaviors are Matched to maximize rates of reinforcement

27. Discriminative Schedules
Multiple Schedule (Stimulus discrimination)
Alternating two or more schedules
Uses an S+ to signal each schedule
(e.g. 1 behavior class but two different situations for two different reinforcement schedules)
Chained Schedule
Specific order of presentation
Behavior may be different for each schedule
All schedules must be complete for final outcome

28. Nondiscriminative Schedules
Mixed Schedules
Same as Mult. But no discriminative stimulus
FR15/FI1 sometimes after FR15 and sometimes after FI1
Tandem Schedules
Same as chained but no discriminative stimulus
FR 15/FI2 means first instance will be 15 response and second will be in 2 minutes

29. Combined Schedules Alternative Schedules Conjunctive Schedules
Either or Schedule (whichever comes first)
Conjunctive Schedules
Both Schedules being met before reinforcement is provided

30. Matching Law
Myerson Article