ESCAPE

Chapter 3

Biologically vs. Psychologically Aversive Conditions

• Biologically Aversive– High & low temp

– Painful stimuli that can cut or bruise

– Spoiled food that smells bad

• Psychologically Aversive– Tendency to minimize

contact with biologically aversive stimuli

Escape

• A response is immediately followed by escape from “something”

• What are the “something’s” that a person would want to escape from?

What do these have in common?

• Electric shock

• Smelling a skunk (unpleasant odor)

• Jack hammer’s constant drilling

• Hot pepper sauce (painful stimuli)

Minimize Contact

• We minimize contact with those stimuli or events

• These conditions are aversive• Escaping these conditions can strengthen

the behavior that resulted in escape

Examples

Before Behavior After

Ed receives painful shock

Ed moves leg Ed receives no painful shock

Jo smells skunk Jo turns & walks away

Jo smells no skunk

Ed hears loud jack hammer

Ed puts on protective plugs

Ed hears no loud jack hammer

BEFORE BEHAVIOR AFTER

John is hot John stands in front of fan John is not hot

BEFORE BEHAVIOR AFTER

John is cold John stands in front of heater John is not cold

Aversive Condition

Aversive Condition

=

Negative Reinforcer

Aversive Condition

• Any stimulus, event, or condition whose termination immediately following a response increases that response

Harmful vs. Aversive

• Are all biologically harmful conditions psychologically aversive?– Is plaque on teeth aversive

• Are all aversive conditions harmful?– Is a hypodermic needle full of penicillin

• We can’t rely on our animal nature to steer us away from harmful substances

Adversive vs. Aversive

• Adversive is not a word

• Aversive comes from aversion (intense dislike)

• Dislike is not a reliable criterion for aversive conditions.

• Defined as aversive only if its termination reinforces an escape response.

Escape Principle

• A response becomes more likely if it has immediately removed or reduced an aversive condition in the past.

Escape Contingency

• The immediate, response-contingent removal of an aversive condition resulting in an increased frequency of that response.

Tree Diagram

R e in fo rce m e nt E sca pe

B a sic R e in fo rce m e n t C on ting e nc ies

Contingency Table

Stimulus, event, or condition Present Remove

Reinforcer Reinforcement

Aversive Condition

Escape

Inappropriate natural contingency

Behavior:

John spits

Before:

Task demands

After:

No task demands

Intervention

Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA)

• The replacement of an inappropriate response with a specific appropriate response that produces the same reinforcing outcome

Behavior:

John spits

Before:

Task demands

After:

No task demands

Inappropriate Natural Contingency

DRA

Behavior:

John spits

Before:

Task demands

After:

No task demandsBehavior:

John asks for break

Inappropriate Natural Contingency

Performance-Management Contingency

Spitting Graph

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Baseline DRA

Fre

quen

cy C

ount

Functional Assessment

• An analysis of the contingencies responsible for behavioral problems

Functional-Assessment Strategies

• Interview. Talk to the person with the behavior problem and those who interact with and have direct contact with that person.

• Observe. Observe the person in his daily routine for an extended period of time.

• Intervene. Change contingencies that may be reinforcing the problem behavior.

Sick Social Cycle

• Often aversive behavior occurs because such behavior is reinforced by the attention, approval, or compliance of another person. In turn, the temporary relief from that aversive behavior reinforces the giving of that attention, approval, or compliance by the other person.

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DRA

Behavior:

John spits

Before:

34.

After:

No task demandsBehavior:

35.

___33._____________ Natural Contingency

_36.________________ Contingency

Enrichment

Behavior:

Press Lever

Before:

Shock on

After:

Shock off

Psychoanalysis vs. Behavior Analysis – Which is which?

1. The consequences of past behavior cause current behavior

2. Past experience causes current behavior by channeling unconscious mental forces

What does the toothpaste view of abnormal behavior? How does it distract us?

Fundamental Terms

• Traditional vs. Malott