BEH5024 CAB Final Exam

The non-scientist is quick to judge a smile to be a friendly social stimulus. In your opinion, suggest how we should evaluate the function of a smile and other social stimuli?

Behavior analysts evaluate the function of social stimuli based on the behaviors that it reinforces or punishes. It is essential that a scientist evaluate behavior based on how it increases behaviors of others, not just the effect that specific stimuli have on his own behavior. Social stimuli are evaluated in a manner in which the social behavior correlated with it is also studied. It is also essential to note that social stimuli may not act as reinforcement for everyone. Social stimuli are behaviorally evaluated based on the effect they have on behavior- does behavior increase or decrease? Is something added or taken away socially? These are the same stipulations we require when evaluating all other stimuli and responding.

What can you do as operant behavior engineers to improve the conditions under which a child exhibits anxious behavior?

Behavioral therapy is our duty to children who exhibit anxious behavior as a result of operant conditioning and anxious behavior that has not been addressed. Teaching replacement behaviors- stress balls, fidget toys, etc. Manipulating the environment- not just physically- by using positive reinforcement, enriched sensory soothing activities, exposure to healthy habits in emotional control, etc. Don't rule out the simplest conditions- simple environmental manipulation before determining that a very in depth and complex behavior plan may be necessary. ACT training- how we relate emotional states because of our language and our association to specific objects or stimuli through our language.

Many social theorists argue that it is controlling, authoritarian, or even totalitarian to try to engineer a culture. What is Skinner's position with respect to this enterprise?

Some controlling practices come into fashion by chance (like personal idiosyncrasies of rules). But why should we leave the design of culture to chance? The great religions didn't — 10 commandments, teachings of Christ, Mohammed, Confucius, Buddha. Manipulation of the social environment, called utopian thinking, can be accounted for in a science of behavior. An economist advises the president because certain practices have been effective in the past. We best understand the designer by understanding the past events of which his advice is a function.

Summarize the behavioral account of seeing in the absence of things seen that is inclusive of both analytic frameworks.

Traditional account: No one ever sees anything - we see copies, which are our experiences or sensations, and which are psychic or mental events occurring in our consciousness, which even in traditional accounts does not exist in time & space. These 2 worlds, one natural and the other supernatural seem to have come about due to: unclear stimulation, multiple stimulus effects, abstraction. Our account can be summarized: Seeing X occurs not only when the organism is in the presence of X but also when making a discriminative response to X. A similar discriminative response may occur in the absence of X as a result of operant or respondent conditioning. Such an analysis brings the behavior which describes the event under some sort of functional control

Many of our higher functioning clients in autism services are said to experience anxiety. Some receive separate psychotherapy services for this, but many do not. Provide an account using technical terms that illustrates the environmental determinants of anxious responding.

"...fear of a future event may be aroused by specific stimuli which have preceded punishing events or by features of the general environment in which such events have occurred." Anxiety can range from mild to extreme. Mild example: partner tickling feet, you laugh, partner keeps tickling feet- next time partner gets near your feet, you fear the tickling. Extreme example: government issues unfair demands, people are enraged following anxiety, people begin overthrow of the government- fear leading to extreme emotional responding.

From Skinner's perspective, what are the costs of sticking to a view that people are free and that control is a bad thing.

"As we have seen, science implies prediction and, insofar as the relevant variables can be controlled, it implies control. We cannot expect to profit from applying the methods of science to human behavior if for some extraneous reason we refuse to admit that our subject matter can be controlled. The advantage of this general principle is well illustrated by the present point: those who are most concerned with restricting personal control have most to gain from a clear understanding of the techniques employed." If we stick to a view that people are free and that control is a bad thing, we give up our science of behavior analysis.

"The performance of an employee, like that of the laboratory animal, adjusts quite accurately to the exact contingencies of reinforcement." Explain how this pertains to you personally (at work, in school, in your relationship with others) and with the clients you serve. I'm looking for thought provoking and brutally honest answers. What can you do to improve aspects of your life and the performance of your clients?

"Both 'do no more than they need to.'" We are likely to behave in an efficient way to contact reinforcers of great magnitude — Do you do everything you possibly can during the day to help your client progress at a rapid rate? Do you spend 9 hours reading (and rereading) SHB so that you have a thorough understanding of Skinners concepts... and do you generalize this understanding and apply these concepts to your life? Have you done everything you can to make your personal relationships the best they can be? Arrange the contingencies so that you, your loved ones and your clients benefit the most.

Skinner suggests that within the repertoire of a single person, two or more "selves," or systems of responses, can exist without conflict under incompatible conditions. Discuss and give examples of ways that your different "selves" might exist without coming into conflict, and how they may come together and oscillate when certain contingencies are in place.

"If the relevant variables are never present at the same time, the incompatibility is unimportant. If the environment of which behavior is a function is not consistent from moment to t moment, there is no reason to expect consistency in behavior." For example, one may behave differently in the presence of family than in the presence of friends. These are two different "selves," respectively. If only in the presence of family, one will behave in a specific manner. If only in the presence of friends, one will behave in a different manner than he did in the presence of family. These "selves" may come together and oscillate when one is in the presence of both family and friends. Self-knowledge emerges when the verbal community asks such questions as "What did you do?" or "What are you doing?" In these situations, a self-report is likely to be reinforced. The personality that makes the report is specially trained by the verbal community that reinforces such behavior.

Why does the group reinforce good behavior? Describe the contingency involved in giving a good tip to the server at a restaurant. Given such a contingency analysis, what does Skinner say about the "gratitude" inherent in offering a server a gratuity? Why do you tip a server?

"In a given instance, good behavior on the part of A may be positively reinforced by B because it generates an emotional disposition on the part of B to 'do good' to A...Another possibility is that the group appropriately reinforces good behavior just because the probability of similar behavior in the future is thus increased." In the example of leaving a good tip for a server at a restaurant, this is done to guarantee similar service in the future- which would then mean that this act has nothing to do with gratitude as an emotional disposition. This also teaches the community to thank and praise individuals who behave well.

Give your impression of the first 3 sentences of the chapter on Education.

"In an American school if you ask for the salt in good French, you get an A. In France you get the salt. The difference reveals the nature of educational control." The difference lies within the reinforcement. In America in French class, you are learning a second language and you may do well to get a good grade. However, when you graduate college and travel to France, you are reinforced not by a good grade, but by receiving the things you ask for in French. The motivation and the reinforcement have shifted. Educational control is often working in regards to fulfill a behavior that will be reinforcing to you and others, in a sense, in the future. Does the education system use the train and hope method? Grades are just used to condition behavior that will be naturally reinforced in the future. What is relevant to the client that will be naturally reinforced in the future? Why do we teach things that aren't relevant to every student?

Think about the behavior of "hoarders." What contingencies shaped this behavior?

"The probability of a transaction taking place is a function of the levels of deprivation of a buyer and seller with respect to goods and money, upon the history of both participants, with respect to good and bad bargains, upon the temporary characteristics of the object or the situation involved in merchandising, upon the behavior of others engaged in similar transactions, upon the temporal contingencies which govern the receipt of goods or giving up of money and upon a history of certain schedules of reinforcement." "The reinforcing effect of either goods or money cannot be stated without taking into account many different characteristics of the history of the individual buyer or seller, as well as the external circumstances under which a given economic transaction takes place."

What is knowledge? What does it enable a person to do?

"The term refers to some of the most complex kinds of human behavior, and it is therefore not surprising that it has seldom been clearly defined or effectively employed in evaluating educational practices. We sometimes use the term to represent simply the probability of skilled behavior." "Usually, however, knowledge refers to a controlling relation between behavior and discriminative stimuli." Therefore, having the knowledge to recognize the controlling relation between behavior and discriminative stimuli allows a person to not only have the skills to complete a task, but allows them to engage in those skills (behaviors) at the appropriate times.

Explain how "accidental" consequences control behavior.

"We also affect the behavior of others by using accidental reinforcing consequences of a positive sort." This is where we derive the idea of good-luck charms and such. A claim that someone or something positively affected the behaver's ability to contact reinforcement can be enough to exert a sort of control over behavior.

Discuss the manipulation of emotion as a technique invoked to control behavior. Provide an original example.

"We are sometimes interested in controlling the reflex responses characteristic of emotion, as in making someone laugh, blush, or cry." We actually are interested in the predispositions of emotions- "favorable" attitudes. For example, films will use emotional scenarios (like someone with cancer, babies being born, etc.) to predispose the audience to cry- "tear-jerker."

Discuss and give examples of four ways our characteristic social behaviors become unified as a self. What is the inaccurate expectation that Skinner points out occurs when, as a result of one of these procedures, a person develops a reputation for being a particular way?

1. A self may refer to a common mode of action: Michael Jordan was a better basketball player than he was a baseball player 2. A self may refer to a particular SD: in my teens, I behaved differently in the presence of family than I did around the girls on my cheer squad. 3. A self may refer to responses under the control of certain MOs: In a state of food deprivation, I'm likely to behave irritably. 4. A self may refer to emotional variables: under certain eliciting conditions, a timid person will behave courageously 5. A self may refer to the behavior of a person under the influence of drugs: there's a chance my friend Dana will dance given a sufficient amount of alcohol The problem with the concept of self as such is that is leads us to expect consistent behavior: "He's a such timid dude"; "She's always so grumpy." In fact, these personalities are flexible and are observable as a function of changeable environmental variables.

Discuss four disadvantages to the practice of punishment as a technique used to control behavior. Provide an example for each.

1. Aversive Stimulation: Negative reinforcement is employed by: the child tantruming; the adult engaging in nuisance behavior (control is achieved by making withdrawal of these aversive stimuli contingent upon the response to be strengthened). Conditioned aversive stimulation is employed by: daring others to do something; shaming others; rumors & gossip (you avoid becoming the next object of rumor by complying with the prescribed behavior of those who use this tool). 2. Punishment: Just as we can present a positive and withdraw a negative reinforcer, we can withdraw a positive and present a negative reinforcer to control behavior. Punishment has numerous disadvantages: generates emotional behavior & dispositions, induces counter-control, conditioned aversive properties (controller becomes aversive), increases escape and avoidance behaviors, does not teach appropriate behavior, may generalize & suppress more than just the behavior targeted for reduction. 3. Pointing out contingencies of reinforcement: We can use reinforcement and punishment effects without actually being in control of the stimuli involved: we simply remind people of what is happening as a result of their behavior; or what might happen if they behave that way ("Notice what happens when you hold the brush like that;" "If you arrive early, you'll wait less;" "You may not care what happens to you, but think about how cool it would be for your grandchildren to be held and loved by and taught by you someday in the future" (reminding someone of something they care deeply about (values). 4. Deprivation and Satiation: To use food reinforcers, we want to make sure an organism is deprived of the food material we intend to use as a reinforcer. To eliminate unwanted behavior, we may satiate an organism of the reinforcer for engaging in that behavior before they have opportunity to emit the response (we turn the other cheek & thus satiate the aggressive behavior of another).

Describe six ways in which an individual's behavior can be affected by culture.

1. Work level - Sr+ from family, school 2. Motivation - availability of food, sex 3. Emotional dispositions - atmosphere of love, hate 4. Repertoire - problem-solving skills taught 5. Self-control - self-control taught or punished 6. Self-knowledge - depends on exposure to "Why did you do that?" questions 7. Neurotic behavior - degree of freedom from excessive punishment

Skinner suggests that cultural survival is the ultimate value to which we ought to orient the engineering of culture. He suggests that cultural designers must calculate the survival value of its practices. What questions does Skinner suggest must be asked empirically with respect to the cultural goals of increasing "happiness" and decreasing "neuroses"?

A given culture is an experiment in behavior. It is a particular set of conditions under which a large number of people grow and live. These conditions generate the character of the group (national character). A culture survives if it can stand the test of competition against other cultures. Thus, cultures must adapt to changing conditions as new challenges & competitors arrive. Selection of cultural behavior is key to long term survival. Is survival a criterion according to which a given cultural practice may be evaluated? Those that appeal to the traditional values listed before would not say so— for them, only sustaining what is of value. For the modern "survival of the culture" viewpoint: what worked before may not work now. Temporary survival is inadequate as a measure. Survival is sometimes in conflict with traditional values. In some situations, the group is more likely to survive if it is NOT happy. Sometimes, sexual practice is restricted; other times promoted. Aggressive actions are sometimes needed. These difficulties explain why those who are accustomed to the traditional values hesitate to accept survival as an alternative

The employee seldom works "just for the money." Explain absenteeism, what effects absenteeism and what can be done to change it.

A worker who "likes his job" shows little absenteeism: He likes that "coming to work" is reinforced both in pay and the conditions under which he works (activities, co-workers, managers, valued, appreciated). There is no need to explain in terms of "freedom" or "job security." The following can affect absenteeism: constant high levels of work under aversive threat of dismissal, sickness, unemployment, difficulties that come with old age, less than optimal working conditions. In order to combat absenteeism, employers can use economic reinforcers to their advantage with employees, although it may feel aversive to the employer to give up reinforcers of his own in order to do this.

Saul is 12 years old. Saul's father murdered a neighbor when he was 10, and is serving a life sentence in prison. Many neighbors shun Saul and his mother as she is a prostitute. The neighborhood is crumbling; most of the immigrants live on Welfare or day labor jobs. Saul's teachers in school are not from the neighborhood and come from a different economic background. Like so many other youth in this community, Saul is inducted into the gang that controls the projects in which he lives. A) Provide a precise behavior analytic account of the variables of which Saul's recruitment into the gang is a function. B) Using your knowledge of ABA, develop an intervention plan to address the controlling variables you identified. C) Why would this be a better approach than to assume that Saul "lacks self esteem" and goes to the gang "to gain a sense of group identity"?

A.) "Some progress toward explaining participation in a group is made by the analysis of imitation." Saul is not reinforced socially by those in his community. Saul's behavior that imitates others in the gang is likely to be reinforced. "By joining a group the individual increases his power to achieve reinforcement...The reinforcing consequences generated by the group easily exceeds the sums of the consequences which could be achieved by the members acting separately. The total reinforcing effect is enormously increased." B.) Saul's behavior would need to be put on extinction within the group setting of the gang, or even punished. He would also need to be reinforced either individually or as part of a more acceptable social group. For example, his behavior in a gang could be put on extinction or punished by community service hours, while his behavior as part of a big brothers and big sisters club could be highly reinforced by the community around him. C.) "Self-esteem" and "sense of group activity" cannot be observed or measured accurately. This means that these explanations cannot be targeted behaviorally. However, Saul's specific and individual behavior and manipulation of the environment and reinforcement is possible and effective in creating behavior change.

Skinner discusses interlocking social systems that involve "unstable interactions". A) What does he mean the by term "unstable"? B) Using your knowledge of applied behavior analysis, how might you advance-engineer the potentially unstable verbal episode involved in asking a group of children at school to behave according to classroom expectations? C) How might the group manipulate certain variables to generate tendencies to behave in ways that result in reinforcement for all group members?

A.) Unstable- showing progressive change; shifts in the control, situational stimuli, etc. B.) Although a verbal episode is exchanged with a group of children in a classroom regarding expectations, a large portion of these rules being effective is based upon how the children behave in a group. This exchange will not be successful if all of the members of the group do not maintain the behavior necessary to follow these rules. When the majority is engaging in rule-breaking behavior, it is more likely that other children will be reinforced for engaging in this same type of behavior. New contingencies of reinforcement would need to be developed to avoid this. C.) A group, like a classroom, could set up contingencies of reinforcement for each other when appropriate behaviors for the situation were observed. This would allow group members to access smaller increments of reinforcement while working towards the larger, more rewarding reinforcement that will be reached as a group.

What are some emotional health risks associated with frequent anxious responding?

Anxiety is a common accompaniment of avoidance or escape. Anxiety varies in intensity and magnitude. Frequent anxious responding can result in emotional health risks such as somatic effects on the body. Depression is another health risk associated with frequent anxious responding. Effects on the body: ulcers, insomnia, development of illness, etc.

The traditional view is that a therapist removes inner causes of behavior that are pent up within the client. How does Skinner suggest we re-see the role of the therapist? What are some therapeutic techniques that Skinner suggests are useful?

Behavior of these sorts get referred to psychotherapy because they are inconvenient or dangerous. Diagnosis - the behavior therapist demonstrates functional relationships between behavior and environment (we directly control the DV; the therapist is the controller). Treatment - the power of the therapist is derived from his promise to relieve pain (power is limited, so first step is to assure that client comes back. Be a positive reinforcer). The non-punishing audience - the therapist establishes himself as the first person in the client's life who is non-punishing: doesn't criticize, listens, returns aggressive attack from client with, "That's interesting." The task of the therapist is to supplement a personal history in such a way that behavior with these characteristics is no longer necessary. But that's not the traditional view— the traditional view is that behavior is a symptom of something wrong within the skin (biology, neurology, CNS, sensory system, auditory processing, system, etc.) of the client. The traditional view is that the therapist must remove these inner causes of behavior. The traditional view is that certain kinds of "pent up" behavior must be released. Our view is that pent up emotion is not the cause of behavior, it is a part of the behavior of concern Other therapeutic techniques: Sometimes the therapist must construct a new repertoire that will be effective in the world in which the patient finds himself. An approach repertoire alongside a self-control repertoire. Best if the patient finds the solution himself by identifying the relevant variables of which his own behavior is a function. Therapy consists of helping the patient learn to uncover the controlling variables— we return control to the client.

Group control of the individual's behavior involves two forms of aversive stimulation. The threat and periodic execution of punishment contingencies combined are one form of aversive control. What is the other? Give an example.

Categorizations of good and bad, right and wrong may prove troublesome because different factions within a group do not agree (ex: use of physical force is hotly contested by different subgroups). As a result, subgroups may use aversive control to get the behavior of other individuals/subgroups to conform: threats and punishment; shame. Good behavior is reinforced; bad is punished. Conditioned aversive stimulation is generated by the punishment produced by bad behavior. Because of a history of punishment for lying, it can elicit gland and smooth muscle responses (labeled shame). Shame & guilt are aversive emotions that, combined with punishment, reduce the probability of future wrongdoing. If these "feelings" (induced by the group) are aversive (enough), one may engage in "self control."

If laboratory studies show that variable schedules are superior to fixed schedules in sustaining performance, why are they uncommon in economic settings? What eventually becomes of a Holiday bonus?

Contracts between employer and employee which guarantee a given return eliminates the use of a variable schedule— some days I'll pay you $50 while other days I'll pay you $100. At some point you expect to earn $100 and resent the days you only receive $50. A similar effect occurs with the "Holiday bonus" — it becomes part of your pay which may be withdrawn if certain standards are not met (threat of an aversive).

Skinner argues that we have no basis by which to say that "freedom," "knowledge" and "happiness" are useful social aims in comparison to cultural survival. What actions does he suggest we take in order to narrow the field from that which we are left with upon mere guesswork alone?

Cultural designers must calculate survival value of its practices. Traditions want to focus on happiness as a value: are we sure that happy people are more likely to survive? Freud wanted to reduce neuroses: are we sure that non-neurotic people are better off than those with neuroses? We need lab demonstrations even though practical situations are more complex than lab simulations. Why can't we just stick with JUSTICE, FREEDOM, HAPPINESS & KNOWLEDGE as our compass? It is the business of science to make clear the consequences of various social operations. A rigorous science of behavior makes a different sort of remote consequence effective when it leads us to recognize survival as a criterion in evaluating practice. A science of behavior may lead us to give up the blandishments (high sounding words) of freedom, justice, knowledge & happiness in considering long-term consequences of survival. Perhaps science's greatest contribution is the insistence upon experimentation. We have no reason to presuppose any practice is right or wrong. Science helps us to decide between alternative actions by making past consequences effective in determining future conduct. When we don't know, we guess. Science doesn't eliminate guessing, but it narrows the field & helps us guess more effectively.

What controls human social affairs? Which entity is suited to be the lead controller?

Culture is the controller in human social affairs. To the extent that the verbal/social community designs its culture, society's best efforts are aimed at the control of people's behavior. Science is suited to be the lead controller in its effort to shape society's future direction. It's useless to praise the individual for his merits, it's useless to blame the individual for his weaknesses. It's time to change our philosophy from one that emphasizes individual liberty to one that emphasizes the culture, the group. We are all controlled and we all control.

How does a person use satiation and deprivation to control his or her own behavior? Give an example of each. What questions must be answered when referring to this as "self-control"? How does Skinner suggest we answer these questions?

Deprivation and satiation alter MOs: Skipping lunch to create a state of deprivation for a meal at a great restaurant. Satiate self with light lunch to decrease eating behavior during big business dinner. Deprive self of sleep may help with a red eye flight or get lots of sleep before a busy day. The questions to ask are, "Who will provide this reinforcement? Would the behavior maintain over time without such an external agent?"

The discussion of private events in most scientific arenas has been crippled by reference to dual parts of the universe that a person simultaneously lives in and is affected by. Discuss this reference, the alternative view of behavior science and the value that the behavioral viewpoint can provide to science as a whole.

Environment = any event capable of affecting the organism. A small part of the universe is private, but nothing we speak of within the private universe has any special properties (e.g., an inflamed tooth stimulates as would a hot stove). Many scientists humbly admit to describing only half the universe— the other half = consciousness, mind, soul, spirit. This dualistic way of speaking gets in the way of a unified, monistic account of nature — it stops us from going further in an analysis of variables of which behavior is a function. This contribution of the science of behavior may be one of its most important achievements. This common explanation of the individual living in two parts of the universe is referencing the external environment which can be observed and a supposedly independent world of the mind or consciousness. From a behavioral standpoint, no distinction is necessary. There is no evidence that the internal environment affects the individual in such unique ways that it should be analyzed any differently from observable behavior. By suggesting this alternative explanation of human behavior, behavioral science stands to help unify the scientific account of nature.

What are three by-products of coercive group control, according to Skinner. Provide examples.

Escape: the controlee running from the controller (Ex.) a hermit escaping society by staying within his home. Revolt: the controlee counterattacking the controller (Ex.) vandalism, such as willful destruction of school property. Passive Resistance: simply not behaving to conform to the controller's practices (Ex.) an employee 'slowing down,' or striking. Emotional by-products: fear, anxiety, anger, rage, depression, etc.

Describe the pros and cons of using fixed schedules of reinforcement for labor.

Fixed-ratio schedules: Pros- very effective schedule of reinforcement, consistent high production in return for the level of reinforcement when ratios are stable, progress towards completion can become a conditioned reinforcer itself. Cons- can cause burn-out if the ratio is too high, there may be a period of inactivity following reinforcement delivery until it is to be delivered again, can result in over-activity and long hours that can be unhealthy for the body. Fixed-interval schedules: Pros- so long as the length of the interval does not overpower the reinforcement it can be effective (most jobs are paid bi-weely, for example), can add a certain pacing to the work. Cons- does not work alone and must be paired with other techniques to maintain behavior, danger of the controller using this control unfairly or at too high an expectation in regard to the intervals between reinforcement.

A problem lies with control. How do we traditionally limit despotic control?

How do we (traditionally) limit despotic control? Denying control - insist that man is a free agent (burying our heads inthe sand is useless. Best to harness non-coercive ways to control behavior. In this way, we can decrease reliance on the doctrine of personal freedom & individual responsibility). Refusing to control - deliberate rejection of the opportunity to control. Best example is in psychotherapy where a therapist denies all effort to control the client (the business of the therapist is to control the behavior of the client!). Another example is anarchy as a system of government (to refuse to accept control is merely to leave control in other hands. Laisser faire government (free market economy) simply leaves its citizens to other controlling agencies with possibly disastrous results). Controlling control - Limit the control that any one of the controlling agencies can take: limit religion, limit law, limit psychotherapy, limit economic controllers, limit education. Of course, then the government has the ultimate authority to control. And government then will be able to coerce the other agencies into its own program of expansion.

In your opinion, what is the ultimate outcome of education?

In my opinion, the ultimate outcome of education is a person's ability to think. Behavior is not only learned, but all the relations of behaviors and how they affect other behaviors and the environment allows us to learn to think. Not only should students exit education programs with the ability to provide the typical 'answers,' but these students should have the ability to provide answers even under novel circumstances. "The student learns to observe, to assemble relevant materials, to organize them, and to propose tentative solutions. Such a practice is essential in preparing him for some kinds of future occasions." For our clients, the goal is to help them reach the highest level of independence possible. Perhaps the realistic goal of education is to train "workers." How is the goal of ABA different than this?

In general terms, Skinner suggests that we find supplementary sources of strength by which to make a decision and use probes and prompts to guide ourselves. Explain Skinner's argument and what he means by these terms.

In self-control the alternative courses of action are specifiable in advance & the desired outcome is pre-specified. In decision-making, the outcome is not about making a response more or less probable. Behavior is not pre-specified. Decision making is about determining a course of action. Decision-making techniques are limited (compared to self-control) as outcomes cannot be specified in advance. When determining where to go on vacation between the beach or the mountains, we may look at "prompts" or "probes" like pamphlets, websites, or travel magazines to help us "make a decision." When we have "decided," we remove the unchosen stimuli and then strengthen the behaviors leading to going to the chosen destination. Deciding is not the execution of an act decided upon, but it is the preliminary behavior responsible for outcomes.

In what way does our philosophy need to change? Can we guarantee that the science of behavior will be used for good and not evil? What is the solution?

It is time to change our philosophy from one that emphasized the individual to the one which emphasizes the group. As technology advances, its tools can be used to be both helpful & harmful. We have no guarantee that the science of behavior will be used in our own best interests (e.g., Nazi Germany). There is good reason to fear those who might seize power. Where do we see groups or a person take control in a despotic way in society at large and our communities and how did it happen- and can it be stopped? Distributing scientific knowledge as widely as possible is one way to avoid our science being used for evil rather than good- this allows many groups to be on board with the science and regulate it, rather than one group taking despotic control. Is there a point where we get "too many cooks in the kitchen"? When do we stop diversifying so we can continue to make progress rather than everyone having different ideas and stall moving forward?

According to Skinner, the problem for a science of behavior is not the description of various forms of manners and customs, but the analysis of contingencies of reinforcement with respect to these manners and customs. Discuss the ways that verbal communities provide rules for conduct. Under what conditions do aversive social contingencies for not adhering to such rules emerge? What happens to the rules when the environmental conditions under which such rules were first introduced change?

MANNERS & CUSTOMS: In addition to ethical behavior , the individual gets manners & customs from the culture (how to hold the fork, how to salute, eye contact rules, dress occasions). The problem is not to explain the practices, the problem is to explain the contingencies of reinforcement — the community is the reinforcing environment, verbal practices of the community establish control via educational practices (classifies "right" / "wrong" and "good" / "bad"; punishes deviance). Deviant behavior is punished because it is aversive to the community— one view is that in earlier times, it was aversive to the group; another is that preserving the culture confers economic advantage upon the group. The social environment is the practices of the group that generate ethical behavior, manners & customs— it is the accomplishment of psychotherapy, religion, government, laws & education. Enormously complex & powerful, divergent customs & practices come into conflict. Cultures change within our lifetimes.

Give two examples of ways a person manipulates their own emotional conditions as a means of "self-control"? What questions must be answered when referring to this as "self-control"? How does Skinner suggest we answer these questions?

Manipulating emotional conditions: Decrease emotional reactions by going away for a "change of scene" like going for a walk or a drive, bite our tongue to keep from laughing, control our predispositions. Using aversive stimulation: Setting an alarm clock (SD for an escape response), we threaten ourselves — "I have to do well on this test or else..."; place ourselves under aversive control; increase our discrimination of self-commands from comments issued by others, we prepare aversive stimuli in the presence of people who use them to strengthen behavior. The questions to ask are, "Who will provide this reinforcement? Would the behavior maintain over time without such an external agent?"

Social reinforcement as distinct from that which can be automated by machines has certain pitfalls. Discuss Skinner's analysis of the way that social reinforcement progresses into a form of human bondage in the workplace.

Mechanically-mediated reinforcement is consistent (unless programmed to be random) — delivery is constant, consistent, reliable and predictable. These seldom adjust to the rate of behavior, but in the near future, technology could change this. It is not subjective and it does not pass judgment. Social reinforcement: Human-mediated reinforcement is likely to be intermittent. WHY? There are lots of reasons: socially-mediated reinforcement may slowly change— the reinforcing person may become harder & harder to please. The result is a form of human bondage. One special example from the workplace: piecework pay: the scale may be changed to require more work; the ambitious parent who wants to demonstrate a child's ability. This involves combined ratio-and-interval reinforcement.

Discuss the uses of primary and conditioned reinforcement as techniques of control. What are the strengths and weaknesses of these techniques that a behavior analyst must take into account?

Money or goods are used in the form of wages, bribes, or gratuities; Physical labor is offered in exchange for items of which another is in a state of deprivation; More immediate conditioned reinforcers are used to bridge the delay to reinforcement: Contracts, promises, praise, thanks. But these are often unreliable. A promise may not be delivered. Praise may give way to flattery.

How does Skinner suggest we address issues of causality in explaining private events? Are there aspects to Skinner's account that may need further refinement or clarification? Comment.

Objections to the traditional view: Sensations described as such are fictional explanations, comparable to "drives" and "habits"; They fail to bring us closer to prediction and control; These sorts of explanations discourage to search for useful variables; The private event is no more than a link in the causal chain. We may think before we act, but our action is not an "expression" of the covert response or the consequence of it. The two are attributable to the same variables.; Ideas may precede behavior, but we must go back farther than the idea to find the relevant variables— to say that a man strikes another because he feels angry leaves the anger to be explained. Once we've identified the relevant variables, we find the feeling of anger less important; Skinner said that a man can reinforce his own behavior by producing privately reinforcing stimuli— doesn't this presuppose an initiating agent within the organism? So, we must also account for that behavior that produces private reinforcing stimuli.

In his treatment of varieties of private stimulation, Skinner says that the speaker as listener supplies reinforcement to the act of private verbal behavior. Discuss the implications of this comment with respect to Skinner's earlier comments about tracing behavior back to its environmental determinants. How does Skinner resolve this apparent contradiction? Comment.

One verbal repertoire is the description of our own private behavior— questions such as "What are you doing?" and "Why are you doing that?" evoke a response to this type of discrimination. "I was just about to go home" can be said behaviorally as "I observed events that usually precede or accompany my going home." It is possible to respond to those events, of which behavior is a function. Another verbal repertoire is the description of behavior that occurs on a very reduced scale such that it can't be observed by others. We call this "covert" behavior, and it may begin as overt behavior that, as it gains strength, may occur covertly (e.g., we read out loud until we acquire the skill to read silently). A difficulty in Skinner's formulation is that he refers to such covert behavior as responses AND stimuli interchangeably (i.e., private EVENTS). He fails to provide us with a clear breakdown. Verbal behavior can occur at the covert level because it doesn't require the presence of a particular physical environment. This is important, because Skinner appears to be saying that the speaker as listener supplies reinforcement to the act of private verbal behavior. In our analysis, behavior is a function of its consequences. That is, behavior is maintained by causal environmental factors. If a person acting as listener reinforces his own behavior, then it would appear that one behavior is caused by another behavior. How does one behavior cause another? Even though we can deliver consequences for our own behavior, the ultimate control is found within the environment.

"The place of operant reinforcement in self-control is not clear." Explain. What questions must be answered when referring to this as "self-control"? How does Skinner suggest we answer these questions?

Operant conditioning: We can always drop the work at hand & obtain reinforcement for doing so (e.g., one could stop dieting and eat a candy bar). Is the individual more likely to do a similar piece of work in the future? Yes, the individual can arrange the events in which a behavior will be followed by reinforcement. But would he do so without external events that provide further reinforcement for not sabotaging the contingency? Punishment: We can arrange to stimulate ourselves aversively; aversive stimulation contingent upon a response; The question remains as to whether the effect generated would be the same effect upon behavior as when the aversive stimulation was arranged by others. The question persists: If one has access to a stimulus but withholds it until after a target behavior is emitted, is this reinforcement? Or, is it a prior history of punishment (for not engaging in the target behavior) that controls the self?

Skinner suggests that laws do not have to always function by way of coercion. A) What are some consequences to individuals in such a coercive culture? B) Skinner provides an example of a technique for positively reinforcing safe driving practices. Why are such practices useful, according to Skinner?

Other ways by which law can function: financial control, educational control, prevention of illegal behavior, use of punishment as control, etc. Functioning under negative reinforcements- consequences lead to punishment, and punishment can lead to emotional responding or counter-responding. Technique: Rather than the punishment procedure that only a percentage of drivers contact, commend or otherwise reinforce drivers who obey driving laws and traffic signs. "When a governmental agency turns to auxiliary techniques which are not based upon punishment, the concept of man as a 'responsible agent' falls into disuse. This is additional proof that the concept serves merely to rationalize the use of punishment as a technique of control."

What are some examples of physical restraint and physical aid that a person can engage in to control other forms of behavior? What questions must be answered when referring to this as "self-control"? How does Skinner suggest we answer these questions?

Physical restraint & physical aid: Clapping hand over mouth to keep from laughing or coughing all over or set cruise control to limit speeding. To explain these seemingly "self-controlling" alternative responses, we look to the reinforcing circumstances. Clapping hand over mouth, placing hands in pockets, and setting cruise control will be reinforced & will reoccur because these responses reduce aversive stimulation. The questions to ask are, "Who will provide this reinforcement? Would the behavior maintain over time without such an external agent?" We answer these questions by changing the stimulus: create or eliminate the occasion for a response by manipulating either an eliciting or evocative stimulus.

After reading this chapter on religion, list some "behavioral" techniques that are used (by groups, for example, religion) to get people to follow rules.

Positive reinforcement / negative reinforcement Positive punishment / negative punishment Avoidance behavior / escape behavior Rule-governed behavior Physical restraint / censorship Group contingencies / individual contingencies Stimulus manipulation

What two forms of multiple control (Ch XIV) are involved in "doing something else?" Give definitions and examples of each.

Prepotency - "The individual may keep himself from engaging in behavior which leds to punishment by energetically engaging in something else." (Ex.) avoiding flinching by a violent response of holding still or talking about something else to avoid a particular topic. Algebraic Summation - "His behavior is not simply doing something else; it is in a sense doing the opposite." (Ex.) modifying a man's behavior in fear by making him angry or avoiding hatred by 'loving our enemies."

Discuss repression and rationalization from a behavior analytic perspective. Use precise technical terms, explain what you mean, and give an example of each.

Repression: Punishment makes the stimuli generated by punished behavior (emotions) aversive. Likewise, the behavior of observing the punished act is a conditioned aversive stimulus. Thus we "don't like to think about" something we did that was punished by others — we deny having done it; if testifying about someone else's behavior, we feel the effects of conditioned aversive stimulation (shame) even though we were not the ones that engaged in the punishable act! (But less so than if we are asked to tell on ourselves) A variation is "rationalization": Instead of denying we did something, we deny that it was the wrong thing to do because doing so has in the past averted the experience of conditioned aversive stimulation— "I spanked him hard, but it was for his own good," "I told on her because it was the right thing to do." Thus, we might conceal our emotional predisposition to behavior in these manners.

Discuss the function of symbols in human expression, according to Skinner. Give examples.

SYMBOLS: A response may simultaneously achieve reinforcement and sneak under the radar of punishment. Examples: looking at nudes at the museum; painting nudes in an art class; sexual dancing at a nightclub; a musician's sexual lyrics, beat, dance, and clothing. Dreaming— in a dream, a person engages in private discriminative behavior. Symbolic events in dreams are functionally related to variables in the life of the dreamer. Behavior in dreams that would otherwise be punished is not liable to be punished and is therefore at greater strength

How does Skinner define problem solving? What does and what does not fall into the category of problem solving, given this definition?

Skinner describes problem-solving as "any behavior which, through the manipulation of variables, makes the appearance of a solution more probable." Problem solving involves conditions of deprivation and aversive stimulation, as well as the organism has no behavior immediately available which will reduce the deprivation or provide escape from the aversive stimulation. There is a behavior that is already at strength that cannot be emitted without external support — with external support or instrumentation, the organism immediately emits the response. The solution is simply a response which alters the situation so that the strong response can be emitted. Problem solving is comprised of behavior(s) that, through the manipulation of variables, makes finding the solution more probable. The analysis of problem-solving can get complicated — accidental stumbling upon a solution doesn't fit the definition, trial-and-error learning doesn't fit the definition. Learning how to TRY (i.e. how to problem solve) does meet the criteria.

In the section entitled "the 'self-determination' of conduct," Skinner writes about the behavior involved in self-control. How does he say a person controls himself? What issues does he say we must address in answering this question?

Skinner says that when evaluating the self, self-control, and thinking, we need look no further than the basic principles that support individual behavior. But the principles, thus far, have left the individual to seem rather weak and able to act only under the control of powerful outside influences. Issues: We must specify who is controlling whom; there appear to be multiple "selves" that explain how one self can act upon another.

Skinner suggests that the line between public and private is not fixed. What does he mean here? How might the next generations of behavior scientists and practitioners step through the doorway that Skinner has left open, and what might there be on the other side for the next generations to explore?

Skinner suggests that technological advances may allow us to accurately have access to private behavior, rather than relying on a technique like having a subject write notes while engaging in private behavior. It is possible that if technology like this becomes available, future behavior analysts can more accurately predict and control behavior not only on observable and measurable variables in the environment, but on observable and measurable variables within the subject.

Particular cultural practices are often justified because they increase "happiness" or because they benefit "the greatest number of people." Skinner asks us to examine cultural behavior for its consequences. Formal marriage is a cultural practice prevalent across many groups. Who benefits when many people follow this cultural practice?

The benefit of these cultural practices is to those that implement the justification, "You do this to make us all happy." Group control can actually work against the benefit of the individual, but being part of the group and imitating behavior is actually reinforcing in ways, as well. How do we choose "the greatest good" or levels of "happiness" to be achieved? Formal marriage may not lead to happiness, but it is observed in society that it will make the majority happy.

What kinds of operant behavior are likely to be seen among those whose anxious behavior have not been adequately addressed?

The following operant behaviors are likely to be seen among those who have not adequately addressed their anxious behavior: drug addiction as a form of escape, excessively vigorous behavior, excessively restrained behavior, defective stimulus control, defective self-knowledge, and aversive self-stimulation.

How and why is self-control (i.e., obedience) used to overcome Satan's temptations (as compared to group contingencies)? What ultimately controls self-control?

The promise of Heaven and the threat of Hell is verbally reinforced by a culture (religious agency). However, much behavior occurs in the absence of the group or a member of the group. Therefore, in order to maintain moral and virtuous behavior, the agency punishes immoral and sinful behavior — by instilling rules and punishing rule breakers. This punishment generates an aversive condition, a "sense of sin" which is a method of (generalized) self-control which can be removed or escaped by the agency (ask for forgiveness). Feelings of guilt are paired with "sense of sin" and sinful behavior. Due to the aversive properties, an individual engages in "self-control" to avoid feeling guilty. Thus, sinful or immoral behavior is suppressed despite the availability of powerful reinforcers. In fact, we may arrange the environment to "avoid temptation" and eliminate (environmental) stimuli that are conducive to sinful behavior — NO SINGING, DANCING, DRINKING, WEARING SHORT SKIRTS, STAYING OUT LATE OR HAVING A GOOD TIME. Hence, the environment ultimately controls our "selfcontrol" behavior.

What is an example of a "pacing system?" What danger exists?

The rhythmic motion/movements of a production line is an example of a pacing system. A pacing system can be extremely beneficial to the group (rowing in unison). The danger inherent in any pacing system is the temptation on the part of the controller to increase the pace — if 10 widgets produced per hour is good, then 15 is even better (not necessarily).

Read the first paragraph twice. After finishing the rest of the chapter read it again. In your own words, explain what Skinner says in this paragraph.

The same basic practices that a government uses to "keep the peace" are the same as a gang exerting "power to punish." The effect it has on the group, rather than the technique, is what leads us to approve or disapprove of the practice. There are clear parallels regarding control within any agency, including religion. Hence, it is important for us to understand behavioral principles and how they are used both within and across controlling agencies.

What is the ultimate economic conditioned reinforce? What is it exchanged for?

The ultimate economic conditioned reinforcer is money. There is a contingency agreement between an employer and employee that includes the promise of a specific magnitude of this conditioned reinforcer (money) based on the completion of a behavior (the work). Then, this money is exchanged for goods, like shelter, food, clothing, etc.

I realize religion can be a "hot" topic (pun intended). Does it deserve to be explained differently (i.e., exempt from behavioral principles) when it comes to controlling behavior? Why or why not?

The use of behavioral principles to reinforce, maintain or punish behavior is a fact of life. Calling it "free will," "choice," "control" or "manipulation" is determined not by the technique but rather by the effect it has upon the group. The controlling "effect" leads us to approve or denounce any practice or agency including: government, religion, psychotherapy, economic, education. This is challenging to discuss, especially as someone who does believe and engage in religious practices. In a sense, personally, I do believe that it could be explained differently simply due to the aspect of faith that religion is beyond human comprehension in many ways. However, as a scientist, involved specifically in behavior analysis, there is a part of me that wishes to have religion explained behaviorally. Throughout this chapter, there is a lot of discussion regarding behavior and religion that makes sense to me. But, I continue to feel conflicted overall.

How does a verbal community assure that a person conditioned to engage in discriminative behavior has done that and not something else?

The verbal community requires some type of description or "source of information" to ensure that a person conditioned to engage in discriminative behavior has engaged in that behavior and not another. For example, when someone asks, "Do you see that bird in the bush?" and someone responds with, "Yes," the original speaker may then ask, "What color is it?" The correct response to this will ensure for the person asking the question that the listener or responder has actually engaged in what they say they have.

The following questions aren't specifically addressed in the chapter but I hope they are thought provoking. What is the designed function of (assigning and receiving) grades? Why do you think I am not a fan of assigning grades to assignments/performance? Does this suggest I am not a fan of feedback?

There are many different explanations for why you don't like assigning grades to performance. Some may include: Involvement of other institutions involved in education systems influencing the way performance is graded for attending students. Emotional responding that students can develop due to learning histories with poor grades in the past- even when constructive feedback is provided, if there is a poor grade attached, the emotional response can outweigh the possibility of reinforcement in the future for behavior change within the student. Interventions, whether ABA, educational, professional, etc., should be designed specifically for an individual rather than being based solely on predetermined criteria that may not be effective for every student. I do not believe that a dislike of providing grades for performance would automatically result in a dislike for the providing of feedback. Feedback is essential to behavior change- we use it with clients, when training employees, when training parents, etc. A predetermined grading scale can overshadow feedback, grading scales and set curriculum can sometimes be inhibitory to learning in certain individuals, and providing feedback is proven to be highly effective in creating behavior change (such as in BST).

Thorndike said people were willing to name a price for engaging in aversive tasks. What is something that you find really aversive (e.g., jump out of a plane, eat cockroaches, sleep in a haunted cave) and name your price.

These instances are called bribes- the promise of reinforcement outweighs the possibility of punishment. Example: Touch a snake: $100,000. Hold a snake: $1,000,000. Lay in a tub of snakes: never.

Skinner brings up "free will" again. What are his closing thoughts on this topic? What is an individual a product of and what is Skinner's belief on the fate of the individual? Finally, what (and by whom) does Skinner's suggest will make the world a better place?

This is a false question until we specify the consequences in which we are interested. Skinner's question: Who should control if the culture is to survive? Since a science of behavior is concerned with demonstrating the consequences of cultural practices, science can evaluate cultural practices for their survival value. The current culture will survive if the methods of science are applied to the problems of human behavior. It's useless to praise or blame the individual. The individual is the product of a culture which generates self-control or cultural design as a mode of behavior. The environment determines the individual even when he alters the environment. It is more effective to change the culture than the individual because any effect on the individual will be lost upon his death. Emphasis on the culture will grow as the relevance of the social environment upon the behavior of the individual becomes clearer. We may therefore find it necessary to change the philosophy which emphasizes the individual to one which emphasizes the culture or the group — which is created by individual action & through the behavior of individuals. Behavior is an ongoing stream.

Discuss Skinner's analysis of the ways by which we suddenly come up with a solution to a problem - seemingly out of the blue.

This section is about suddenly generating a solution— how does one suddenly solve a problem without conscious effort? Variables changed over time without much overt manipulation, such that the solution is now available.

What two ways does Skinner suggest we bring a response concerning a private stimulus (e.g., a tooth ache) under appropriate stimulus control? What remains problematic for us in these methods?

Tooth ache: Public accompaniments of private events - presenting or withholding reinforcement according to a condition of the tooth which accompanies the private event or according to responding like holding the jaw or crying out. Problem: the public and private events may not be perfectly correlated. Verbal responses acquired with respect to public events transferred to private events on the basis of common properties - borrowing metaphorica descriptors of public events and applying them to private events. Problem: accurate verbal repertoires cannot be guaranteed because this transfer of responding from public events to private events may be based on irrelevant properties.

Detail Skinner's behavior analytic account of leading and following, as one type of social episode, making sure to reference the variables of which each performer's behavior is a function. Compare this to contingency-shaped and rule-governed behavior. Provide an example.

We analyze a social episode by considering one organism at a time. Among the variables to be considered are those generated by a second organism. When a predator is stalking a prey, it is stimulated by reducing the distance between itself and the prey. The prey is stimulated by increasing that distance. In conversation, one speaker may approach a topic from which another moves away (e.g., politics, religion)— the first is stalking the second when he approaches the second in such a way as to avoid stimulating the second to escape. Leading & following: Requires combined action (examples: dancing the Tango; two men pull on a rope— the first may facilitate this by amplifying the stimuli that affect the second, as by saying "All together now, one, two, three, pull"). When the two kinds of behavior differ, a division of labor is required— the leader is under the control of external variables, the follower is under the control of the leader.

Provide examples of the kinds of positive and negative consequences a behavior under self-control might have and then identify the two types of responses these consequences generate.

We have a need to control a part of our behavior when a response has conflicting consequences - when it leads to both positive & negative consequences. Losing social inhibition is negatively reinforcing for drinking. Successful social behavior is positively reinforcing for drinking. Drinking at a party can also have punishing effects. Emotional responses seem to have some deterrent effect upon future behavior, but a more effective source of control is to turn to the variables of which the drinking behavior is a function. These positive and negative consequences generate 2 responses: The Controlling Response (affects variables that change the probability of the other) and The Controlled Response.

What safeguards against despotism?

We have traditionally defended a way of life which we believe to be superior by listing characteristics that are reinforcing to us (we call these ethical & moral principles). But instead, we can ask whether that way of life leads to the most effective working of those that follow it. We can ask what leads to survival. Much is written about the need for moral law — without ever asking whose moral law, the principle of equality may not actually serve all equally, the principle of freedom may promote freedom for a select few at the cost of constricted living for many. The science of behavior can discover those conditions of life that make for the ultimate strength of people. The ultimate strength of a controller depends upon the strength of those whom he controls.

How does Skinner account for the origin and maintenance of deciding behavior

We manipulate relevant variables in making a decision because doing so has reinforcing consequences: escape from indecision, oscillation between options is aversively time consuming. This explanation doesn't have the explanatory rigor of other behavioral formulations — likely because the behavior of making decisions is relatively new for the species & has not emerged in other species. Seems to emerge only in the context of specific reinforcement from a community specially trained to provide such reinforcement (VERBAL community. We teach a child to "stop & think" or "consider your options"). And still the control exerted by such reinforcement by a verbal community is weak — we may not respond as instructed.

How does Skinner suggest we think to evoke remembering?

We manipulate variables to affect a response that is not currently at strength. For example, you've forgotten someone's name: You engage in self-probes — thematic probes when you review a conversation you had with the person whose name you've forgotten (e.g., Irish descent); formal probes when you repeat the first syllable of his name over and again until the correct form is emitted.

Describe how "superstitions" occur. Provide a behavioral explanation for how superstitions control behavior.

We may experience "coincidences" in which certain stimuli become paired with a conditioned reflex, and then that history may result in the conditioned reflex event surviving over time, even when the stimuli is presented alone. Just as when a single pairing of a NS with a US can condition a reflex response (CR), so too can a single reinforcing event strengthen the response that precedes it. Verbal behavior is particularly susceptible, largely due to the lack of a clear "mechanical" connection between a response and reinforcement.

What is the "self" from Skinner's perspective? What is problematic, from Skinner's perspective, with placing the locus of control over a person's actions inside the self?

When a man jams his hands in his pockets to keep himself from biting his nails, who is controlling whom? We say the man is practicing self-control. The self is a hypothetical cause of action. So long as external variables go unnoticed, their function is assigned to an originating agent within the organism. If we can't show what is responsible, we say the man himself is. The practice resolves our anxiety about unexplained phenomena... and our anxiety is perpetuated by doing so as well. One issue, as demonstrated by the example of the man putting his hands in his pockets to control another behavior he is predisposed to emit, is that the initiating agent view requires at least two selves: a controller and a controllee, which we may say represent characteristics of behavior in a social milieu.

Discuss Skinner's approach to "originality in ideas." Where does he suggest originality is to be found?

When a pattern of manipulation has never been applied to a particular case, the result might be new. But the term "original" ought to refer only to those ideas that result from manipulations of variables that have not followed a rigid formula & in which the ideas have other sources of strength — e.g., a problem solving strategy has been borrowed from one discipline and applied newly in a different science altogether; we use visual evoked potentials to demonstrate operant control of brain functions. But this generalization too is the product of a history of reinforcement. Thus, we do not say that the individuals that develop these solutions "have" originality.

When a person comes to describe his own discriminative behavior, he observes himself executing an identifying response. However, the event under observation may not actually be present. Discuss respondent conditioned seeing as an explanation of seeing in the absence of things seen.

When an individual comes to describe his own discriminative behavior, he observes himself executing an identifying response "I see a rainbow." But the rainbow might not be there... How do we account for a person "seeing in the absence of things seen"? There are two explanatory frameworks: 1. Respondent conditioned seeing: In the pattern of a conditioned reflex: The dinner bell not only makes our mouth water, it makes us see food, b/c dinner bell & food were previously correlated together. We see familiar objects more readily than unfamiliar objects. Conditioned seeing explains why one tends to see the world according to one's prior learning history. 2. Operant seeing: How do we show that a discriminative operant "seeing X" is strong? Precurrent behavior is evidence: The organism is looking at or looking for something; He finds a 4-leaf clover (and a subsequent $20 bill) and is more inclined to look for such clovers again; He'll mistakenly reach for a 3-leaf clover; He thinks about where he'll travel next to find 4-leafers; He daydreams about finding them, His previous history of reinforcement for finding such clovers and current state of deprivation lead him to consider fabricating a fake 4-leaf clover... Precurrent behavior may not be evidence: Never looked for & never found a 4-leaf clover. We still engage in a discriminative response. Operant seeing without the appropriate stimulus is cool because no state of deprivation is required or is altered upon such seeing.

Skinner explains the economic value of goods. How does this relate to the behavior of clients receiving services at schools/clinics? Given this information, what can you do to improve classroom performance?

Whether a sale is made quickly or after long deliberation depends upon whether the aversive properties of giving up money or going without the object are matched by the positively reinforcing properties of the money or the object. Whether a behavior occurs immediately or after long hesitation depends upon whether the aversive properties of responding incorrectly are matched by the positively reinforcing properties of responding correctly— is the response cost (effort) of my behavior worth the payoff (reinforcer), is the aversive consequence worth it if I do not behave as expected. The economic value of goods determines what an item is worth. In behavior of clients receiving services, the economic value of goods may determine not a cost in monetary value, but response effort. The frequency, intensity, or magnitude of a response is determined by the value of different stimuli to the client. To improve classroom performance, we can manipulate environmental conditions to increase the value of stimuli to increase some dimension of a response. How do we increase the rate of behavior? Decrease the effort (build a history of success, then slowly increase effort); Increase the (value, schedule, magnitude of the) reinforcer; Make the task fun; Make the task relevant; Eliminate the threat of aversives. In other words, change the MOs and consequences.

Skinner asks the question "Shall a man mow his own lawn or pay someone else to mow it for him?" I mow my own lawn. Hypothesize why?

You find the positive reinforcement of keeping your money more reinforcing than the negative reinforcement of getting out of mowing your own lawn. Therefore, it is more reinforcing to you to engage in the behavior to mow your own lawn and keep your money than to lose your money and escape or avoid the task. You also may weigh other factors like the exercise of mowing the lawn, the sweaty reaction to being in the heat outside, the inevitable grass stains on your shoes, etc.