Cooper Ch. 11| Positive Reinforcement

generalized conditioned reinforcer

conditioned reinforcer that as a result of having been paired with many unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers does not depend on a current EO for any particular form of reinforcement for its effectiveness

abolishing operation (AO)

decreases the current effectiveness of a reinforcer

response induction

the recognition that ALL behaviors in a response class may increase in strength when any member of the response class begins to be reinforced.

Reinforcement assessment

variety of direct, data-based methods used to present one or more stimuli contingent on a target response and then measuring the future effects on the rate of responding.

stimulus preference assessment

variety of procedures used to determine the stimuli that a pereson prefers, the relative preferences values of those stimuli the conditions under which those preference values remain in effect and their presumed value as reinforcers

to reinforce

verb

SR+

Positive reinforcement

An antecedent stimulus that evokes behavior because it has been correlated with the availability of reinforcement is called

a discriminative stimulus

Premack principle

a principle that states that making the opportunity to engage in a high p behavior contingent on the occurrence of a low p behavior will function as reinforcement for the low p behavior

the immediacy of reinforcement is emphasized because

a response to reinforcement delay of just 1 second can diminish intended effects because the behavior temporally closest to the presentation of the reinforcer will be strengthened by its presentation

operant effects (side effect of reward)

matching law

R

Behavior

suppression of the positive target behavior (side effect of reward)

Consider a child who is receiving m&ms during training. Because of the very strong appetitive properties of the candy, he stares at it, tries to steal it, gets out of his seat, etc., rather than focusing on the instructional stimuli. In other words, attending to the instructional stimuli is required for the target behavior to occur. Therefore, in this example, the reward is suppressing the behavior it is to increase

What is the four term contingency of an EO?

EO-SD-R-SR+

As satiation goes up

EOs go down.

As deprivation goes up

EOs go up.

Automatic reinforcement examples

Grab toy—have toy in hand Pull string—toy moves Push door —it opens Turn on faucet—water comes out Pull blind string—blinds go up Climb steps—get to the top Place items in a form ball—they successfully go in Turn and look—you see interesting things

Free operant observation

Observing and recording what activities the target person engages in when he/she can choose during a period of unrestricted access to numerous activities.

Naturalistic free operant observation

Observing and recording what activities the target person engages in while in the natural environment.

Contrived free operant observation

Observing and recording whether, when , how, and the extent to which the person engages with each or a predetermined set of activities and materials.

Automaticity of reinforcement

Refers to the fact that behavior is modified by its consequences regardless of the person's awareness.

SR

Reinforcement

circular concept

Reinforcement is not a ____________________ because the two components of the response-consequence relation can be separated, allowing the delivery of a consequence to be manipulated to determine whether the SR was responsible for the observed change in bx

guidelines for increasing the effectiveness of positive reinforcement interventions include:

Set an easily achieved initial criterion for reinforcement. Use high quality reinforcers of sufficient magnitude. Use varied reinforcers. Use a direct rather than indirect reinforcement contingency whenever possible. Combine response prompts and reinforcement. Reinforce each occurrence of the behavior initially, then gradually thin reinforcement schedule. Use contingent praise and attention. Gradually increase the response-to-reinforcement delay. Gradually shift from contrived to naturally occurring reinforcers.

Why is it incorrect to talk about reinforcing the person?

behaviors are reinforced, not people

positive reinforcer

a stimulus whose presentation or onset functions as reinforcement

a discriminated operant is defined by

a three term contingency of SD - R - SR+ but really entails a four term contingency of EO-SD-R-SR+

reinforcer assessment

a variety of direct, empirical methods for presenting one or more stimuli contingent on a target response and measuring their effectiveness as reinforcers

reinforcing

adjetive

Phylogenic development

all members of a species are susceptaible to the same properties of stimuli

Motivating operations

an environmental variable that (a) alters (increases or decreases) the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event; and (b) alters (increases or decreases) the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced or punished by that stimulus, object, or event.

the momentary effectiveness of any stimulus change as reinfrocement depends on

an existing level of motivation with respect to that stimulus change.

In addition to increasing the future frequency of the behavior it follows, reinforcement changes the function of

antecedent stimuli.

EOs

are dynamic, always changing.

unconditioned reinforcer

are stimuli that function as reinforcement without requiring a learning history. Product of phylogenic development

transient effects (side effect of reward)

behavior changes resulting from reinforcement may maintain only as long as the contingencies are in effect

Side effects of reward:

elicited or emotional effects, aggression/ritualistic behavior, suppression of the target response, approach to the reinforcing agent, operant effects, generalization and discrimination, response induction, transient effects, and imitation

Why can you not refer to reinforcement and feedback as synonyms?

feedback is the information a person receives about a particular aspect of his or her behvior following its completion, verbal description of behavior, doesn't always lead to increase in future probability

establishing operation (EO)

increases the current effectiveness of a reinforcer

response-deprivation hypothesis

is a model for predicting whether contingent access to one behavior will function as reinforcement for engaging in another behavior based on whether access to contingent behavior represents a restriction of the activity compared to the baseline level of engagement

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR)

is the presentation of a potential reinforcer on a fixed-time (FT) or variable time (VT) schedule independent of the occurrence of the target behavior.

Instructional control

is the same as rule-governed bx

imitation (side effect of reward)

it will not be imitated correctly. Proper use of reward is not simple and can be either unintentionally misapplied or applied for the benefit of the implementer only

reinforcement

noun

reinforcer

noun

positive reinforcement

occurs when a beahvior is followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus that increase the future frequency of the behavior is similar conditions

What is meant by the automaticity of reinforcement?

person does not have to understand or be aware of the relation between his behavior and a reinforcing consequence for reinforcement to occur

List the classification of reinforcers by formal properties

physical properties: edible, sensory, tangible, activity or social

matching law

predicts that the rate of a behavior is a function of the proportion of reinforcement that that behavior receives

conditioned reinforcer

previously neutral stimuli that function as reinforcers as a result of prior pairing with one or more other reinforcers

Why is reinforcement not a circular concept?

reinf is not a circular concept because the two components of the response consequence relation can be separated and the consequence manipulated to determine whether it increases the frequency of the behavior that follows

What is wrong with the term artificial reinforcement?

reinforcement always contrived but not artificial. Instead talk about reinforcement contingencies already in place vs. those that are contrived for teaching

automatic reinforcement

reinforcement that occurs independent of the social mediation of others. Naturally produced sensory consequences.

The stimulus change responsible for the increase in responding is called a

reinforcer

Why is it incorrect to talk about practice as reinforcement for a skill?

talking about making a skill stronger

response induction (side effect of reward)

the entire response class initially is not reinforced and then the entire response class is eligible for reinforcement on the same schedule

For a stimulus change "to work" as reinforcement,

the learner must already want it (MOs).