Miltenberger Ch. 13-16 (Exam 4)

Describe the three essential features of a functional analysis (p 267)

(a) to have a reliable method of data collection to record the behavior in different experimental conditions, (b) to manipulate the antecedents and consequences in test and control conditions while holding other variables constant, and (c) to repeat the test and control conditions to demonstrate experimental control over the behavior

Iwata and his colleagues found three types of reinforcers for self-injurious behavior in children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. What are they? (p 262-263)

- attention from adults - escape from demands - sensory stimulation

Identify and describe three ways to conduct ABC direct observation assessments (p 253-255)

- descriptive method: the observer writes a brief description of the behavior and of each antecedent and consequence event with each occurrence of the behavior - checklist method: the observer records the problem behavior each time it occurs, along with its antecedents and consequences, by putting a check mark in each of the relevant columns - interval or real-time method: dividing an observation period into intervals and at the end, marking whether the behavior occurred within that interval; with real-time recording, you record the exact time of each occurrence of the behavior

Besides antecedent manipulations, what are two other functional interventions for problem behaviors? (p 348-349)

- extinction (remove the reinforcer for the problem behavior) - differential reinforcement (reinforcing a desirable behavior but not reinforcing other competing behaviors that produce the same consequence)

Compare and contrast the three categories of functional assessment covered in Chapter 13

- indirect & direct do NOT demonstrate a functional relationship; functional analysis does - indirect you don't directly observe the behavior for yourself; in direct & experimental methods you do - indirect methods: least intrusive; direct methods: moderately intrusive; experimental methods: most intrusive - indirect asks questions; direct observes; experimental manipulates - indirect and direct methods can count as descriptive assessments because they describe the problem behavior, antecedents, and consequences

Describe three ways to identify reinforcers for a person (p 300-302)

- observe the client and identify high-rate behaviors (notice what they enjoy doing and what behaviors they engage in most often) - ask the client directly (what they like, what they enjoy doing, what they find rewarding?) - observe the client and identify the reinforcer for the problem behavior (if it was reinforcing for them before, you can use that same reinforcer again for the desirable behavior)

Provide an example of each of the six antecedent control strategies covered in Chapter 16

- present an SD or cues: putting up sticky notes on your calendar to remind you of an exam - arrange an EO: not eating snacks through the day so you'll be hungry at dinnertime - decrease response effort: preparing a meal the night before so you're more likely to eat the next day - remove an SD or cues: leaving your phone at your dorm so you won't get distracted in class - arrange an AO: get a lot of sleep the night before an exam so you won't be tired when you take it the next day - increase response effort: putting chips on top shelf in the pantry so you only have easy access to healthful food

Identify the three antecedent control strategies that can be used to evoke a desirable behavior (p 329-334)

- present the SD or cues for the desirable behavior - arrange an EO to increase reinforcer potency for the desirable behavior - decrease response effort for the desirable behavior

Identify the three antecedent control strategies that can be used to decrease the likelihood of undesirable competing behaviors (p 334-338)

- remove SD or cues for the undesirable behavior - arrange an AO to decrease reinforcer potency for undesirable behavior - increase response effort for undesirable behavior

Identify a number of questions you could ask in an interview to determine the consequences of a problem behavior (p 250)

- what happens after the problem behavior occurs? - what do other people do when the problem behavior occurs? - what do you do when the problem behavior occurs? - what does the child get/ get out of- after the problem behavior?

When is it appropriate to use DRA? (p 300)

- when you want to increase the rate of a desirable behavior - when the behavior is occurring at least occasionally - when you have access to a reinforcer that you can deliver after the occurrence of a behavior

Identify a number of questions you could ask in an interview to determine the antecedents of a problem behavior (p 250)

- when/ where does the problem behavior usually occur? - who is present when the problem behavior occurs? - what events precede the problem behavior? - what do people do or say immediately before the problem behavior occurs?

. Draw a graph with hypothetical data illustrating the results of an extinction procedure for a problem behavior (p 286, 291)

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Be able to fill in and explain the chart showing the functional variations of extinction

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Be able to take the average ITR (interresponse time) and calculate what the DRO interval would be [DRO = 1/2(DRT)]

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**Provide an example of DRA that is not in this textbook

Anthony takes food from the dinner table and hides it in his room to eat after dinner, and his parents previously reinforced this behavior by scolding Anthony (giving him attention); the parents want to decrease this undesirable behavior and replace it with a more desirable behavior, such as by asking for seconds instead of taking food and hiding it; they stop giving Anthony attention when he take the food and hides it, and only give him attention when he asks for seconds at the table; this alternative behavior increases in frequency and the undesirable behavior decreases in frequency

How does DRO differ from DRA (p 310)

DRO differs from DRA because DRO reinforces the absence of problem behavior, but DRA reinforces an alternative, more desirable behavior to replace the problem behavior (so with DRO, you're reinforcing the absence of behavior but DRA reinforces the presence of alternative behavior)

Provide an example of DRO (p 309-316)

a 9 year old child sucks her thumb and every time she does, her nanny doesn't read her a bedtime story; when the child stops sucking her thumb, the nanny reads to her (reinforcement for not sucking her thumb)

Describe how a functional analysis demonstrates a functional relationship between the antecedents and consequences and the problem behavior (p 257)

a functional analysis demonstrates a functional relationship because it intentionally manipulates antecedents and consequences to show their influence on the problem behavior (determining which evoke and strengthen the behavior, respectively, helps identify why a behavior occurs, or its function)

What is the difference between a functional assessment and a functional analysis? (p 257)

a functional assessment gathers information on antecedents and consequences to determine which ones are influencing a behavior; functional analysis on the other hand involves manipulating antecedents and consequences to demonstrate a functional relationship between them and the behavior

What is a functional assessment of a problem behavior? Why is it important to conduct a functional assessment? (p. 246-247)

a functional assessment is the process of gathering information about the antecedents and consequences that are functionally related to the occurrence of a problem behavior; it's important to conduct because it provides information as to why a particular behavior is occurring

What are descriptive functional assessment methods? (p 256)

a method of functional assessment that describes antecedents and consequences either from memory or direct observation of the events

Your young son often eats hot dogs, chips, and desserts, but often refuses to eat fruit and vegetables and other foods you prepare. You want him to eat more of these healthful foods (p 331, 337) a. How will you arrange an establishing operation for eating the healthful foods? b. How will you increase response effort for the competing behavior (eating hot dogs, chips, and desserts)?

a. don't allow your son to snack on hot dogs, chips, or desserts during the day-- he will be in a state of food deprivation, which will make the reinforcer from eating healthful foods (not being hungry anymore) more potent, and increase the likelihood of him eating the healthful foods b. hide the hot dogs, chips, and desserts in hard to reach places and make the healthful foods more accessible to increase the likelihood that he will eat the healthful foods over unhealthful foods since they are easier to get to

The instructor in your contemporary American history class has suggested that you read the local morning newspaper every day to keep up with current events. You decide to use antecedent control strategies to help you read the newspaper each day (p 329-338) a. How will you present the SD or cues for this behavior? b. How will you decrease response effort for this behavior? c. How will you eliminate the SD or cues for competing behavior that interferes with reading the newspaper

a. leave a post-it note on your door reminding you to read the newspaper every morning b. go to a newspaper stand close to home so you have easier access to the paper and are more likely to pick it up and read it c. if your phone interferes with you reading the newspaper because you keep getting distracted on it, power it off so it no longer distracts you

**What is an abolishing operation? Provide an example of how you would present an abolishing operation to make it less likely that a problem behavior will occur (p 336-337)

an abolishing operation is an event that decreases the potency of a reinforcer and as a result, makes the associated behavior less likely to occur ex: with a problem behavior such as eating too much at dinner, an abolishing operation would be eating a snack before you have dinner so you're not as hungry and don't eat as much

What is an extinction burst? How will the predicted extinction burst influence your decision about whether to implement extinction in a particular case? (p 283-284)

an extinction burst is a temporary increase in frequency, duration, or intensity of a behavior, or the occurrence of novel behaviors or emotional responses during an extinction procedure if the change agent is unable to persist in withholding the reinforcer during an extinction burst, or if harm cannot be prevented during the burst, then an extinction procedure should not be used

**Describe the three experimental (test) conditions in the functional analysis of self-injurious behavior conducted by Iwata and his colleagues (p 262)

attention condition: adult worked on a task and ignored the child, only briefly paying attention to them after they engaged in SIB escape condition: adult made educational demands on the child and terminated them briefly after occurrence of SIB alone condition: child put into a room alone with no toys or stimulating activities for brief period of time

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chapter 13

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chapter 14

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chapter 15

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chapter 16

What is the first step in conducting a functional assessment? (p 265)

conducting a behavioral interview with the client or other informants who know the client well and have specific knowledge of the problem behavior(s)

Descriptive assessment methods do not demonstrate a functional relationship between the antecedents and consequence and the problem behavior. Explain that statement (p 257)

descriptive assessment methods can only help you to identify the antecedents and consequences of a problem behavior; they cannot prove why a behavior occurs, or reveal the influence that antecedents and consequences have on the problem behavior

Define differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) (p 298)

differential reinforcement of alternative behavior is used to increase the frequency of a desirable behavior and decrease the frequency of undesirable behaviors by reinforcing the desirable behavior with each occurrence and putting the undesirable behavior on extinction (behavior is no longer reinforced)

What does DRL stand for? What are the two types of DRL procedures? (p 316-318)

differential reinforcement of lower rates of responding; the two types of DRL procedures are full-session DRL (fewer than a specified number of responses occur in the entire session) and spaced-responding DRL (response must occur after an interval of time since the last response to contact reinforcement)

What does DRO stand for? Describe the implementation of the DRO procedure (p 309-313)

differential reinforcement of other behavior; to implement DRO, you must first identify the reinforcer for the problem behavior, and then the reinforcer to use in the DRO procedure; choose the time interval for the procedure, eliminate the reinforcer for the problem behavior and deliver it for the absence of the problem behavior; reset the interval if the problem behavior occurs, and gradually increase the length of the interval

When implementing DRO, what do you do if the problem behavior occurs before the end of the interval for reinforcement? (p 313)

do not deliver the reinforcer and reset the interval

Define extinction. Provide an example that is not from this chapter (p 273)

extinction is a basic principle of behavior in which eliminating the reinforcing consequence for a behavior results in a decrease in the frequency of the behavior ex: a student kicking a ball at the wall has been previously reinforced with attention from his parents with each occurrence of the behavior; the parents put this problem behavior on extinction by withholding attention from the child every time they kick their ball at the wall, and as a result, he no longer engages in this problem behavior

**Describe how you would promote the generalization and maintenance of the behavior change produced through an extinction procedure (p 287-288)

extinction must be consistently implemented by all change agents and in all circumstances the behavior change is expected to occur in; you must also continue to consistently reinforce an alternative behavior functionally equivalent to the problem behavior

**What is generalization? How do you program for generalization when using DRA? (p 303)

generalization is when the target behavior occurs outside the training situation in all relevant stimulus situations; when using DRA, you program for generalization by differentially reinforcing the target behavior in as many relevant situations as possible

**Mr. Robinson also praises the student each time she sits at her desk without engaging in disruptive behavior. Is this an example of reinforcement? Explain (p 277-281)

if Mr. Robinson praising the student results in an increase in the future probability of the student not engaging in disruptive behavior, then yes; in order for this to be reinforcement, the praise has to make the desirable behavior (sitting at the desk w/o engaging in disruptive behavior) more likely to occur in the future

**Provide an example of how you would provide the SD or cues for a desirable behavior to get the behavior to occur (p 334-335)

if a desirable behavior is exercising, you could provide an SD or cue by laying out your workout outfit on your bed every day as a reminder that you need to exercise

**At what point would you consider your functional assessment of a problem behavior complete? Provide an example (p 266)

if further descriptive assessments produce consistent information that allows you to develop firm hypotheses about the controlling antecedents and consequences; ex: if a behavioral interview reveals to you the problem behavior occurs after academic demands are placed on the client, and that's also what you observe directly (there's consistency between info gathered from indirect and descriptive assessments)

**Under what circumstances do you need to conduct a functional analysis of a problem behavior? Provide an example (p 266)

if the information from interviews and ABC observations is still inconsistent after further assessment, or if information from descriptive assessments is consistent but doesn't lead to a firm hypothesis; ex: a behavioral interview reveals to you the problem behavior occurs when the child is denied attention, but when you conduct ABC observations, you notice that the problem behavior occurs when the child is told to do their chores (inconsistent information-- can't tell whether the behavior is maintained by attention or escape)

*What happens if the change agents cannot maintain consistency in using the extinction procedure? (p 284)

if the problem behavior is reinforced even occasionally by change agents, it will continue to occur and the extinction procedure will be ineffective

**Mr. Robinson, a second-grade teacher, has a student who engages in disruptive behavior in the classroom. He ignores her each time she engages in the disruptive behavior. Is this an example of extinction? Explain (p 277)

if the student's behavior is reinforced by attention from Mr. Robinson, then yes; this would mean that ignoring the student would be like withholding the reinforcer, so the disruptive problem behavior would extinguish (if the behavior is not being reinforced by attention from the teacher, this would not be an example of extinction)

**Provide an example of how you would arrange an establishing operation for a desirable behavior to get the behavior to occur (p 331-332)

if you want to make sure you go to sleep by 10pm on school nights, don't allow yourself to take any naps throughout the day. This will increase the likelihood of you being tired by the end of the day and will make sleeping a more potent reinforcer to relieve you of your tiredness

How does the implementation of DRO differ from the implementation of spaced-responding DRL? (p 318)

in DRO, the reinforcer is delivered for the absence of the problem behavior, but in spaced-responding DRL, the reinforcer is delivered for the actual occurrence of the behavior after an interval of time passes since the last instance of the behavior

**How is a whole-interval DRO procedure different from a momentary DRO procedure? Which one is preferable? Why? (p 315)

in a whole-interval DRO procedure, the behavior must be absent for the entire interval for the reinforcer to be delivered, but with momentary DRO the behavior only has to be absent at the end of the interval for the reinforcer to be delivered; the whole-interval DRO procedure is more preferable because it's more effective at causing a behavior change

Describe the implementation of full-session DRL. Provide an example (p 317)

in full-session DRL, you first identify the session you want to focus on where the problem behavior occurs, and then have the change agent specify the maximum number of responses allowed within the session for the reinforcer to be delivered ex: in a classroom setting, throughout the entire class (the session), a student has to raise their hand fewer than 5 times for a reinforcer to be delivered at the end of the class period

Identify and describe the three major methods for conducting a functional assessment of a problem behavior (p 249-261)

indirect methods: uses behavioral interviews or questionnaires to gather basic info about the problem behavior, antecedents, and consequences (from client or others who know them well) direct observation: a person directly observes and records antecedents and consequences each time the problem behavior occurs functional analysis: follow the problem behavior with potential reinforcers to see which consequences strengthen the behavior and precede it with different antecedents to see which ones evoke the behavior (intentional manipulation to demonstrate a functional relationship)

Identify and describe two ways to conduct an indirect assessment (p 249-252)

interview: interviewer asks informant questions about problem behavior/ antecedents/ consequences, and records the answer questionnaire: informant reads questions and writes down the answer (researcher reviews answers later and follows up if needed)

**Before using an extinction procedure, you must ask whether extinction is safe to use. When would it be unsafe to use extinction? What can you do to make the use of extinction safer? (p 282-283)

it would be unsafe to use extinction if it could result in harm to the person exhibiting the problem behavior or to others in the immediate environment, and when the problem behavior is negatively reinforced; you could make the use of extinction safer by using response blocking or brief restraint to facilitate the extinction

Why is it important to collect data on the problem behavior when implementing an extinction procedure? (p 277)

it's important to collect data on it to determine whether the behavior decreased when extinction was implemented

**Why is it important to use differential reinforcement in conjunction with antecedent control procedures when you want to increase a desirable behavior? (p 334)

it's important to use both because though antecedent control procedures may be able to get a desirable behavior to occur, differential reinforcement is what will strengthen the desirable behavior once it does occur

**Why is it important to use extinction for the problem behavior when implementing DRO? (p 313-314)

it's important to use extinction for the problem behavior because

not in practice tests

not in practice tests

In general terms, what are antecedent control procedures? (p 327)

procedures that involve the manipulation of antecedent stimuli to evoke desirable behaviors so they can be differentially reinforced, and decrease undesirable behaviors that interfere with the desirable behavior

What is sensory extinction? Provide an example of sensory extinction (p 290)

sensory extinction is when you change or eliminate the sensory stimulation that reinforces the behavior ex: carpeting the desk top of a child who taps their pen on their table for the auditory sensory stimulation it produces, so the behavior no longer produces the sensory stimulation

What is sensory reinforcement? What is another name for sensory reinforcement? Provide an example of a behavior maintained by sensory reinforcement? (p 290)

sensory reinforcement is when the reinforcer for the behavior is nonsocial and involves the sensory stimulation produced by the behavior itself; another name for it is automatic positive reinforcement ex: a behavior maintained by sensory reinforcement is a child tapping their foot repetitively on the hardwood floor because they enjoy the auditory sensory stimulation it produces

Identify and describe the four possible functions of problem behavior (p 247-248)

social + reinforcement: when a positively reinforcing consequence is delivered by another person after the target behavior, and as a result the behavior is more likely to occur social - reinforcement: when another person terminates an aversive stimulus after the occurrence of a target behavior, and as a result the behavior is more likely to occur automatic + reinforcement: when the behavior produces a positively reinforcing consequence automatically and the behavior is strengthened as a result automatic - reinforcement: when the target behavior automatically reduces or eliminates an aversive stimulus as a consequence of the behavior and the behavior is strengthened as a result

What is the Premack principle? Provide an example (p 309)

the Premack principle is when the opportunity to engage in a high-probability behavior is made contingent on the occurrence of a low-probability behavior to increase the low-probability behavior ex: having students do their homework (low-probability) before they're allowed to play video games for an amount of time (high-probability behavior) reinforces them engaging in the low-probability behavior and increases the probability of it occurring

**Why is it important to use a reinforcement procedure in conjunction with extinction? Provide an example that is not from this chapter (p 287)

the extinction procedure decreases the frequency of the problem behavior, and the reinforcement procedure increases an alternative behavior to replace the problem behavior ex: a child who screams when asked to share their toy at school is initially reinforced by getting the toy all to themselves; that problem behavior is put on extinction when the student is still forced to share the toy even after screaming, but the behavior of asking to keep the toy for themselves is reinforced by not having to share (screaming is put on extinction and asking politely to keep the toy is reinforced)

What is the goal of antecedent control procedures with regard to the occurrence of undesirable competing behaviors? (p 334)

the goal is to decrease the likelihood that undesirable competing behaviors will occur

How do you establish the length of the interval for reinforcement in the DRO procedure? Provide an example (p 312)

the length of the interval should be tied to the baseline rate of the problem behavior for example, if a problem behavior occurs once every 15 minutes, the DRO interval should be shorter than 15 minutes (like at 10 minutes) to make sure the problem behavior doesn't occur within the interval and the reinforcer can be delivered

What is the outcome of descriptive functional assessment methods? (p 257)

the outcome is that you are able to develop hypotheses about the antecedents and consequent variables controlling the problem behavior

How does the purpose of DRO differ from that of DRL? (p 318)

the purpose of DRO is to eliminate a problem behavior altogether, but DRL is used to decrease the rate of a behavior that occurs too frequently

Before using an extinction procedure, you must ask whether the reinforcer can be eliminated. Explain the importance of this question and its implications for the use of extinction (p 281-282)

this question is important to ask because if the change agent does not have control over the reinforcer, extinction cannot be implemented; extinction can only be implemented if the change agent can prevent the reinforcing consequence of the problem behavior with every occurrence

**Describe how you would eliminate the SD or cues for a problem behavior. Provide an example (p 334-335)

to eliminate the SD or cues for a problem behavior, remove the antecedent conditions that have stimulus control over it ex: for a problem behavior like smoking, you would eliminate the SD or cues, a cigarette, by not keeping any in your home or at your job. If you don't see the cigarettes lying around, you are less likely to engage in the problem behavior of smoking

**Describe the implementation of spaced-responding DRL. Provide an example (p 318)

to implement spaced-responding DRL, there must be a specified amount of time between responses for the reinforcer to be delivered ex: a student in class is only reinforced with attention from their teacher calling on them if a specific interval of time (10 minutes) passes after each instance of them raising their hand before they raise it again

What does it mean to say that an intervention is functional? (p 348)

to say an intervention is functional means it decreases problem behaviors and increases desirable behaviors by modifying the antecedent and consequent variables that control the behaviors

What two behavioral principles are involved in differential reinforcement? Explain (p 298)

two behavioral principles involved in differential reinforcement are reinforcement and extinction; reinforcement is used to increase future probability of a desirable behavior and extinction is used to decrease future probability of an undesirable behavior

**How is the occurrence of undesirable competing behaviors related to the occurrence of a desirable behavior? (p 334)

undesirable competing behaviors, reinforced on concurrent schedules of reinforcement, interfere with the occurrence of a desirable behavior; by making undesirable competing behaviors less likely to occur, you can make a desirable behavior more likely to occur

When using DRA, at what point do you use a continuous reinforcement schedule? Why? (p 302)

use continuous reinforcement for the desirable behavior in the early stages of DRA because delaying reinforcement will make the procedure less effective; it's more likely the desirable behavior will increase to a desirable level replacing the non-reinforced undesirable behaviors

When using DRA, at what point do you use an intermittent reinforcement schedule? Why? (p 303)

use intermittent reinforcement in DRA when the desirable behavior is occurring consistently and the undesirable behaviors occur rarely if at all; this is because intermittent reinforcement maintains the desirable behavior over time by increasing its resistance to extinction

How is the schedule of reinforcement before extinction related to the effectiveness of extinction? (p 285-286)

when the problem behavior is reinforced on a continuous schedule, extinction is more rapid; when the problem behavior is reinforced on an intermittent schedule, it's more resistant to extinction, and will likely decrease more gradually

Provide an example of how you would decrease the response effort for a desirable behavior to get the behavior to occur (p 333-334)

with a desirable behavior such as doing your homework, you could place your laptop on your desk at all times instead of tucked away in your closet somewhere so it's easier for you to access and you are more likely to engage in the desirable behavior of completing your assignments online

Provide an example of how you would increase the response effort for an undesirable behavior to decrease the frequency of the behavior (p 337-338)

with an undesirable behavior such as watching tv all day, you could increase response effort to engage in this behavior by placing the remote to the tv up on a high shelf in your house (you will have to put in more effort to reach all the way up to the remote so you're less likely to engage in the problem behavior of watching tv)

When implementing the spaced-responding DRL procedure, what do you do if the behavior occurs before the end of the interval? (p 318)

withhold the reinforcer and reset the interval

Why must you conduct a functional assessment before using extinction to decrease a problem behavior? (p 277)

you must conduct the functional assessment first because you have to identify the specific reinforcer for the problem behavior so you can eliminate it in an extinction procedure

Provide an example of a situation in which you would not use DRA (p 300)

you would not use DRA if a child telling inappropriate jokes in class is reinforced by the attention of his friends who laugh at him; the change agent in this case (the teacher) has no control over the reinforcer delivered after the problem behavior occurs (attention from friends)