Behaviour Modification Applications

What are three indicators that a problem behavior is probably maintained by the social attention that follows it?

(a) whether attention reliably follows the behavior, (b) whether the individual looks at or approaches a caregiver just before engaging in the behavior, and (c) whether the individual smiles just before engaging in the behavior

Describe three practical problems with conceptualizing motivation as an internal cause of behavior.

1. ignores the environment and the principles for changing behaviour 2. may cause blaming the individual for their performance rather than trying to help them improve performance 3. may cause individuals to blame themselves for not having certain behaviours

List at least five settings in which token economies have been used.

Psychiatric wards, classrooms for persons with developmental delays, classrooms for children and teenagers with ADHD, prisons, the military, nursing homes

What is mindfulness as Buddhists and cognitive behavior therapists use the term?

Becoming fully aware of one's sensations thoughts, feelings, and observable behaviour on a moment-to-moment

Define rule-governed behavior, and give an example.

Behaviour controlled by the statement of a rule such as the textbook example of Bobby's coach saying "Bobby if you listen carefully and don't whisper when I'm talking we'll have an extra 5 minutes of scrimmage at the end of practice"

Define rule and give an example that is not in this chapter.

a rule describes a situation in which a behavior will lead to a consequence such as "if you finish your homework, you can play with your friends"

Describe three different ways of arranging for reinforcers to be received in a self-control program in a sentence or two for each.

1) Ask other to manage them for you 2) remind yourself of delayed natural reinforcers, and 3) managing reinforcers yourself.

Briefly describe four tactics for programming operant behavior maintenance. Give an example of each.

1) Behavioural trapping: allow natural contingencies of reinforcement to take effect - for instance, in overcoming shyness a child can be reinforced for playing. After the behaviour is strongly established it will be reinforced by other children naturally. 2) Change the behaviour of people in the natural environment - an example would be reinforcing a mother for appropriately reinforcing a target behaviour in their child. 3) Use intermittent schedules of reinforcement in the target situation - 4) Give the control to the individual - as an example a group of workers with developmental disabilities were taught to meet a productivity goal and then call a staff member's attention to their good work leading to increased reinforcement and higher productivity.

What are the three main phases of rational-emotive behavior therapy? Who developed it?

1) Therapist helps the client identify troublesome thoughts that are based on irrational beliefs 2) in a very confrontational, argumentative way the therapist vigorously challenges the clients irrational beliefs 3) the client is taught through modeling and homework assignments to replace the irrational self-statements with rational belief statements. Developed by Albert Ellis.

Briefly list four tactics for programming operant stimulus generalization. Give an example of each.

1) Train in the target situation - For example, to train a child to make correct change it would be beneficial to train at the store 2) Vary the training conditions - An example would be in teaching stranger safety to not control external stimuli such as traffic and playground noise 3) Program common stimuli - An example would be teaching a rule that can be used in a training situation and then used in the target situation, such as verbal self-talk used in practice and then in competition. 4) Train sufficient stimulus exemplars - For instance, training on a variety of different vending machines so that, once learned, the learner can subsequently operate any available vending machine.

Briefly list three tactics for programming operant response generalization. Describe an example of each.

1) Train sufficient response exemplars - an example is teaching a child to use plural nouns properly by first training with prompting and reinforcement, singular and plural objects. After a number of exemplars the new objects will be named correctly after only being taught the singular. 2) Vary the acceptable responses during training - An example is reinforcing children during block building for any response that was different from previous block-building responses when developing creativity. 3) Capitalize on behavioural momentum - For instance giving instructions which a child is likely to follow, reinforce, and then soon after give instructions which the child is less likely to follow. This greatly increases the chance the child will follow the instructions.

Briefly list the five steps of self-instructional training that Meichenbaum and others used with children.

1) adult demonstrates self-instructing 2) child performs while adult verbalizes 3) child performs the task and verbalizes out loud 4) overt self-instructions fade 5) task performance is performed with covert self-instructions

Describe the three major components of Beck's cognitive therapy.

1) clients identify the dysfunctional thoughts and maladaptive assumption by a series of visualization exercises and easily answered questions 2) reality checking or hypothesis testing; testing the validity with homework assignments 3) additional homework assignments that contain behaviour modification procedures to develop various desirable daily activities

What are the two main indicators that a problem behavior is a respondent behavior that is elicited by prior stimuli (versus operant behavior being maintained by reinforcing consequences)? Give an example illustrating this indicator.

1) consistently occurs in a certain situation or in the presence of certain stimuli and 2) is never followed by any clearly identifiable reinforcing consequence. An example would be angry outbursts in the presence of certain topics.

List and briefly describe six initial steps involved in setting up a token economy.

1) decide on target behaviours 2) taking baselines; collect data on the specific target behaviours 3) select backup reinforcers; what type of reinforcers and how to dispense them 4) Select the types of tokens to use; such as marks on a wall, stickers, stars, etc. 5) identify available help; such as treating assistants, older students, members of the token economy themselves 6) choose the location;

Briefly describe two possible causes of relapse in consequences, and indicate how each might be handled.

1) failure to incorporate everyday rewards into your program; this can be handled by making sure that the program has rewards daily 2) consequences that are only cumulatively significant; set dates for post checks and list specific strategies for unfavorable post checks

Name the six levels that the ABLA assesses.

1) imitation 2) position discrimination 3) visual discrimination 4) visual match to sample 5) auditory discrimination 6) auditory-visual discrimination

List seven major classes of antecedents that you might consider when planning how to manage the situation in a self-control program.

1) instructions 2) modeling 3) physical guidance 4) our immediate surroundings 5) other people 6) the time of day 7) motivating operations

Describe five steps that you could take to strengthen and maintain your commitment to a program of self-control.

1) list all the benefits for changing your behaviour and post them in a conspicuous place 2) make your commitment to change public 3) rearrange your environment to provide frequent reminders of your commitment and your goal 4) invest time and energy initially planning your project 5) plan ahead for temptations to quit and ways to deal with them

Briefly describe three ways to discover controlling variables of problem behavior.

1) questionnaire assessment - a set of relevant questions asked of people familiar with the client 2) observational assessment - assessor carefully observes and describes the antecedents and immediate consequences in its natural setting 3) functional analysis - systematic manipulation of environmental events to experimentally test their role as antecedents or as consequences in controlling and maintaining specific problem behaviors

Describe three limitations of functional analyses.

1) time consuming if behaviours occur at low frequency 2) cannot be applied to extremely dangerous behaviours 3) expensive

A functional assessment of the causes of a problem behavior involves asking what two questions?

1) what are the antecedents (i.e the SD's), the eliciting stimuli, or the motivating operations of the behaviour and 2) what are the immediate consequences (i.e. positive or negative reinforcement) of the behaviour

List four strategies that you might follow to influence the effectiveness of modeling as a behavior modification technique.

1. Arrange for peers to be models 2. Arrange for the modeled behaviour to be seen to be effective. 3. Use multiple models 4. Combine modeling with rules

Briefly describe four types of eating disorders. With which has behavior therapy been most effective?

1. Bulimia nervosa; frequent episodes of binge eating followed by purges 2. Anorexia nervosa; rarely eating or eating little and being obsessed with being thin 3. Binge eating disorder; 4. Obesity; sufficiently overweight to have health problems. Behaviour therapy is most effective for obesity

List the five main types of indirect assessment procedures.

1. Client and significant others interviews 2. Questionnaires 3. Role-playing 4. Information obtained from consulting professionals 5. Client self-monitoring

How does a behavior modifier evaluate the ease with which a problem might be solved?

1. If the problem is to decrease an undesirable behavior, has the behavior been occurring for a short time, under narrow stimulus control, and with no intermittent reinforcement? 2. identify desirable behavior that can replace the undesirable behavior 3. Assess whether the client has the prerequisite skills when teaching a new behaviour 4. If more than one problem rank order them and begin with the highest priority.

Describe each of the four categories of situational inducement.

1. Rearranging the existing surroundings - changing the locations of the physical items in a room to change the stimuli to either not be an SD or to better be an SD 2. Moving the activity to a new location - move the activity to a location which is more conductive to the behaviour wanted or to avoid SD's in an old location 3. Relocating the people - separating, or rearranging groups of people to avoid having to use other methods of dealing with undesirable interactions 4. Changing the time of the activity - varying the time of an activity to better control SD's

If you are thinking of capitalizing on antecedent control, what six categories should you consider?

1. Rules 2. Goal setting 3. Modeling 4. Physical guidance 5. Situational inducement 6. Motivating operations

Briefly list six of the eight conditions that summarize effective versus ineffective goal setting as a behavior modification strategy.

1. Specific goals vs. vague 2. Identify circumstances under which the desirable behaviour should occur 3. Realistic and challenging goals vs. do your best 4. Public goals vs. private 5. Include deadlines 6. Individuals are committed to the goals 7. Goal setting plus feedback 8. Include mastery criteria

Define motivating operation. Describe an example that illustrates both aspects of the definition.

A MO is an event or operation that 1. Temporarily alters the effectiveness or a reinforcer or punisher (value-altering effect) or 2. Influences behaviour that normally leads to that reinforcer or punisher (behaviour-altering effect). An example is deprivation and satiation of food. When we are deprived food is a powerful reinforcer but after eating a big meal it loses its effectiveness as a reinforcer temporarily

Briefly describe momentary time-sampling recording.

A behaviour is recorded as occurring or not occurring at specific points in time, such as every hour on the hour.

What is a fear hierarchy?

A list of fear-eliciting stimuli arranged in order from the least to the most fear inducing

What is a mastery criterion? Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

A mastery criterion is a specific guideline for performing a skill so that if the guideline is met, the skill is likely to be mastered. An example would be playing a piece of music on the piano four time through without mistakes

Define tact, and describe an example that is not in the book.

A naming response that is developed and maintained by social reinforcement. An example is a parent pointing to an apple and saying "what's that" and the child responding with "apple" and receiving praise for that response.

Define echoic, and describe an example that is not in the book.

A vocal imitative response that is developed and maintained by social reinforcement. An example is a parent saying "say hi" and the child says "hi" and is praised for saying it.

What do the authors mean by commitment in the context of goal setting?

Actions or statements by the learner that they recognize the benefits of the goal, that it is important, and that they will work toward achieving it.

What is generalized imitation? Describe an example.

After learning to imitate a number of behaviours (through shaping, fading, physical guidance, and reinforcement for instance) and individual learns to imitate a new response on the first trial without reinforcement. An example would be a child who is taught to touch his head, arm, nose by physical guidance. The child might then learn to touch his leg without the need for physical guidance.

With reference to an example, briefly describe the four components of the reversal-replication design. What is another name for this design?

Also called ABAB the four components are baseline phase, treatment phase, reversal back to baseline conditions, and replication of the treatment phase. An example is getting a baseline on how many math problems are completed correctly in the specified time, applying the treatment program (in this example extended recess time for the class), taking away reinforcement to return to baseline, and then adding back in reinforcement.

Give two examples of Pitfall Type 1 involving stimulus generalization, one of which involves generalization of a desirable behavior to an inappropriate situation and the other involves generalization of an undesirable behavior.

An example of generalization of a desirable behaviour to an inappropriate situation would be individuals who have developmental disabilities who will hug strangers. An example of generalization of an undesirable behaviour would be a child who receives lots of attention from a grandmother when they fall when trying to walk, causing falls to increase in frequency. This could be generalized undesirably if the excessive falling continues in the parents presence.

Describe an example that illustrates how recording and graphing of a problem behavior was all that was needed to bring about improvement.

An example, in the textbook, is a nine year old boys repetitive hand raising in class that was decreased over a six-week period as a result of daily self-counting and graphing.

What is a specific phobia?

An intense, irrational, incapacitating fear of a stimulus class

How do many people who are not behaviorists or behavior modifiers conceptualize motivation? Illustrate with an example.

As a "thing" within us that causes our actions. An example would be someone saying that a child who works hard and gets good grades is that way because they are motivated.

With reference to an example, briefly describe the changing-criterion design.

As in the textbook example, during baseline each boys pedaling rate was assessed. In the second phase they were reinforced for pedaling at 15% above their average baseline rate. Each subsequent phase was reinforced at a higher level - 15% above the last phase. In this case, 4 different successive changes after baseline.

For what do the letters ABCT stand?

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies

Describe a difference between the method of a behavioral approach compared to a traditional approach to assessment.

Behavioural approach prefers direct observation of specific behaviours whereas psychodiagnostic approach direct assessment of intrapsychic factors and underlying traits is impossible.

Describe two differences in the goals of a behavioral approach to assessment compared to a traditional approach.

Behavioural approach: identify behavioural excesses or deficits and identify environmental causes of current problem behaviours. Psychodiagnostic approach: diagnose or classify individuals and identify intrapsychic or trait causes of behaviour.

Why do empirically supported therapies often turn out to be behavioral or cognitive-behavioral therapies?

Behavioural approaches base treatment on well-established principles, measuring the outcomes of treatments in objectively defined behaviours, and altering treatments that are not producing satisfactory results.

What is a token economy?

Behavioural programs in which individuals earn tokens for desirable behaviour and can trade those tokens for backup reinforcers

How does a behavior modifier evaluate the importance of a problem?

By asking if the problem is important to the client or to others. This can be answered by two questions 1) will solving the problem lead to less averseness or more positive reinforcement for the client or others 2) will solving the problem be likely to give rise directly or indirectly to other desirable behaviours.

What is a primary distinction between stimulus generalization involving a common-element stimulus class and stimulus generalization involving an equivalence class?

Common-element stimulus class have some physical characteristic in common, whereas equivalence class stimulus do not, they are learned groupings.

What are tokens?

Conditioned reinforcers that can be accumulated and exchanged for goods and services

What are cognitive processes?

Covert verbalizations and/or imagery that are frequently called believing, thinking, expecting, or perceiving.

Briefly distinguish between direct and indirect assessment procedures.

Direct assessment procedures are observations made by a trained observer whereas indirect assessment is given by the client and others to the behaviour modifier through interviews, role-playing, questionnaires, self-monitoring by client, and information from other professionals.

How does a behavioral approach differ from a traditional approach to assessment in terms of a basic assumption about performance on a test or a checklist?

From a behavioural approach performance on a checklist is a sample of a person's response to specific stimuli while a psychodiagnostic approach sees test performance as a sign of an enduring, intrapsychic trait, or person variable.

In a couple of sentences, distinguish between rules that are often effective versus rules that are often weak or ineffective in controlling behavior.

In contrast to ineffective rules, effective rules give specific descriptions of behaviour and circumstances. They give sizable, probable consequences instead of improbable, small (but cumulatively significant) consequences. Effective rules also offer deadlines while ineffective rules do not.

Using an example, briefly describe the three phases of systematic desensitization of a specific phobia.

In the case of fear of flying for example, first a list of 10 to 25 stimuli relating to the fear is made (such as calling for plane tickets, going to the airport, boarding the plane, etc), then a deep-muscle relaxation is taught using a tensing-relaxing strategy, third, the client in his relaxed state is asked to imagine the least fear-inducing item on his list, such as calling for plane tickets) for a few seconds and then continue relaxing. This is repeated and then the next on the list (up until the most fear-eliciting such as the plane taking off) is presented until the client can encounter the feared stimuli without distress.

With reference to an example, briefly describe a multiple-baseline-across-people design.

In the textbook example baselines were collected on three individuals on public speaking skills. Then the treatment package was given to the first individual while the other continued on baseline. The other individuals were given the treatment package sequentially.

With reference to an example, briefly describe a multiple-baseline-across-situations design.

In the textbook example baselines were recorded in 4 separate situations: trail walking, dining hall, in the boy's cabin, and during classes. The treatment was then introduced to the first situation with the rest kept on baseline. The other situations received treatment sequentially after success with the first treatment situation.

With reference to an example, briefly describe a multiple-baseline-across-behaviors design.

In the textbook example baselines were recorded in three separate behaviours, math, spelling, and sentence writing. The treatment was they introduced sequentially for the three behaviours.

Briefly describe an example of how in vivo flooding might be used to treat a specific phobia.

In vivo flooding could be used to treat a phobia to dogs. In this case, a dog would be brought into the room and the client would remain with the dog. Eventually the fear response to the stimulus will be extinguished because no aversive event follows the dog being in the room.

List at least five behaviors that token economies have been designed to develop.

Increase safety behaviour, decrease absenteeism, decrease littering, increase waste recycling, racial integration, energy conservation, use of mass transportation

What is another word for the intensity of a response? Describe an example in which it would be important to measure the intensity of a behavior.

Magnitude is another word for intensity. An example for measuring intensity would be recording voice loudness in decibels on a voice meter.

What is one precaution to help ensure high ethical standards for a token economy?

Make the system completely open to public scrutiny.

What does symbolic modeling mean? Describe how this might explain how a city-dwelling child might learn to fear snakes.

Modelling that is done through film, video, or other media. A city child who has not seen real snakes might learn a fear of them by watching shows, either real or fiction, which shows snakes as a dangerous animal to be afraid of.

Briefly describe an example of how participant modeling might be used to treat a specific phobia.

Participant modeling could be used to treat a fear of birds. The therapist would observe a budgie in a cage from about 10 feet away and encourage the client to do the same and praise them for doing so. After repeated trials the process is repeated at a distance of 5 feet, then 2, then beside the cage, with the door open, and the ending with the budgie on their finger.

What do people seem to mean when they talk about willpower? Is willpower a useful concept? Why or why not?

People feel it is a "magical" force inside of us. This is not a useful concept because it doesn't address how to get more willpower.

Define mastery criterion, and describe an example that is not in the text.

Performance requirements for practicing a skill so that if the criteria are met, the behavior has been learned

Define systematic desensitization.

Procedure for overcoming a phobia by successfully imagining items in a fear hierarchy while in a relaxed state.

What is acceptance as cognitive behavior therapists use the term?

Refraining from judging one's sensations, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, useful or useless, etc.

Define time-sampling recording. Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

Scoring of a behaviour as occurring or not occurring during very brief observation periods that are separated from each other by a much longer period of time. An example could be measuring cooperative play by recording 20 sec intervals each hour in a daycare setting.

How does this book define commitment?

Statements or actions that show that it is important to change your behaviour, that your recognize the benefits of doing so, and that you will work toward doing so

Briefly, what is cognitive restructuring?

Strategies for recognizing maladaptive thinking and replacing it with adaptive thinking

What is a conceptual problem with the traditional view of motivation? Illustrate with an example.

The argument is not logical as it has circular reasoning. Motivation is inferred from behaviour that it is supposed to explain. An example is a hard working student. They say she is hard working because she's motivated. When asked how we know she's motivated - because she works hard.

Define behavioral assessment.

The collection and analysis of information and data in order to a. identify and describe target behaviour; b. identify possible causes of the behaviour; c. select appropriate treatment strategies to modify the behaviour; d. evaluate treatment outcome.

Define external validity.

The finding can be generalized to other behaviours, individuals, settings, or treatments.

Define internal validity.

The independent variable is shown to have caused the observed change in the dependent variable.

What is a strong indicator that a problem behavior is being maintained as a way of escaping from demands? Give an example illustrating this indicator.

The individual engages in the behaviour only when certain types of requests are made. An example would be children who have temper tantrums when asked to turn off the tv causing their parents to allow more tv to stop the tantrum.

Define dependent variable, and give an example.

The measure of behaviour. For example correctly completed math problems.

What do you think are some advantages in having members of the token economy themselves function as the main source of help?

The members that are helping can be reinforced for their helping behaviour, as well as permission to continue working in the token economy and to work at desired jobs is a potential reinforcer.

Define or describe unlearned response generalization due to physical similarity of responses, and give an example.

The more physically similar two responses are, the more unlearned response generalization will occur between them. An example is being able to backhand in racquetball and then being able to generalize that to tennis.

Define stimulus generalization and give an example that is not in this chapter.

The procedure of reinforcing a response in the presence of a stimulus or situation, and the effect of the response becoming more probable in the presence of another stimulus or situation. An example would be reinforcing a child for saying please at home and then the child says please when at another home.

Define continuous recording. Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

The recording of every instance of a behaviour during a specific period of observation. An example would be how often a child dropped their pencil on the floor each hour.

What do we mean by the latency of a response? Describe an example that is not in this chapter.

The time between the occurrence of a stimulus and the beginning of that behaviour. An example would be how long a child takes before beginning to eat their dinner once at the table.

Define independent variable, and give an example.

The treatment of intervention. For example the teachers program of reinforcement for correctly completed math problems.

What are empirically supported therapies (ESTs)?

Therapies that have proved effective in scientifically conducted clinical trials.

What is one explanation of why both self-instruction and problem-solving training might be effective?

They both teach rule-governed behaviour that leads to effective consequences.

What is the purpose of the follow-up phase of a behavior modification program?

To determine if the improvements in behaviour that occurred during treatment are maintained after treatment is concluded.

In a sentence or two, explain what we mean by interobserver reliability. (Describe it in words, but don't give the procedures for calculating IORs.)

Two independent observers observe the same data independently without influencing each other or witnessing each other's data. The more closely they compare the higher the interobserver reliability.

When would one likely select an interval-recording system over a continuous recording system?

When a behaviour is of variable length such as tv viewing or off-task behaviour.

Explain the difference between stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination. Describe examples illustrating the difference.

With stimulus generalization a response occurs to a set of stimulus that are similar either by physical characteristics or functionally equivalent whereas stimulus discrimination refers to a response only in the presence of a specific stimulus and not in the presence of a different stimulus. An example of stimulus generalization would be a child who is reinforced for sharing crayons in class and later shares her crayons at home. An example of stimulus discrimination would be a classroom where students are reinforced for reading at their desks when a sign says to read but not when the sign says listen to the teacher.

Define mand, and describe an example that is not in the book.

a verbal response that is under the control of a motivating operation and is reinforced by the corresponding reinforcer or removal of the corresponding aversive stimulus. An example would be a child who is hungry and asks for a snack. The response "snack" is a mand.

What is a treatment contract, and what should it clearly outline?

a written agreement between the client and the behavior modifier that clearly outlines the objectives and methods of treatment, the framework of the service to be provided, and contingencies for remuneration that may be forthcoming to the behavior modifier.

What is a behavioral contract?

a written agreement that provides a clear statement of what behaviors of what individuals will produce what reinforcers and who will deliver those reinforcers

You are about to design a treatment program. After defining the target behavior and identifying its desired level of occurrence and stimulus control, what five questions should you answer before proceeding to the design?

a. Is the description precise? b. On what grounds did you choose the goal, and how is it in the client's best interest? c. Has the client been given all possible information about the goal? d. Have steps been taken to increase the client's commitment to accomplish the goal? e. What are potential side effects of accomplishing the goal for both the client and others?

List the four phases of a behavior modification program.

a. screen or intake; b. preprogram assessment; c. treatment; d. follow-up

What two things typically occur during the assessment phase of a behavior modification program?

a. the behaviour modifier assesses the target behaviour to determine its level, and b. analyses the client's current environment to identify possible controlling variables of the behaviour to be changed.

With reference to an example, briefly describe an alternating-treatments design. What is another name for this design? Explain when and why that name might be preferred.

also called multielement design compares the effects of different treatments for a specific behavioural change by alternating two or more treatment conditions, one per session, to assess their effects on a single behaviour of a single individual. An example is with improving gymnast's frequency of completed skills during practice o 1)Standard coaching, 2)standard coaching plus public goal setting, monitoring, and coaching feedback, and 3) standard coaching plus private self-management were used and randomly alternated across practices.

Define contingency-shaped behavior, and give an example.

behavior that develops because of its immediate consequences. An example, as in the textbook, is Bobby whispering funny comments to his teammates while his coach is trying to explain something. His friends laugh at him and his behaviour is strengthened in that setting

Describe the generalization strategy referred to as general case programming. Describe an example.

identifies the range of relevant stimulus situations to which a learner will be expected to respond and the response variations that might be required. Then, during training, the learner's behavior and acceptable variations are brought under the control of samples of the range of relevant stimuli. this approach could be used to teach adolescents with developmental disabilities to use vending machines by introducing them to a variety of different machines and the responses needed to use them. This approach was very effective in producing generalization to enable the learners to subsequently operate any available vending machine with which they came in contact"

What does the term physical guidance mean? How does it differ from gestural prompting (see p. 115)?

the application of physical contact to induce an individual to go through the motions of a desired behavior whereas gestural prompts are motions a teacher makes but without physical contact with the learner, such as pointing to an object