Reinforcement

Chapter 2

Arm Chair Psychology

This Course = Preparation

• Interpretation and prediction of complex human behavior

• To be successful, must develop a repertoire that includes correct use of basic terms and competence in the basic principles and laws of behavior

Principles & Laws & Outcomes• Framework: Behaviorism – B.F. Skinner et al.• Principles: Reinforcement, Punishment• Laws: Matching Law, Law of Effect• Theories: Behavioral Momentum, Choice, Relational

Framing• Social/learning/psychological/behavioral issues: drug

effects, economics, safety, skill development, behavior disorders, psychopathology, environmental pollution and behavioral health, military training, consumer behavior

• Programs: Direct instruction, precision teaching, picture exchange communication system, centers for assessment and treatment of self injurious behavior, Head Sprout, PSI, Don’t Shoot the Dog, performance management, etc.

http://pinnipedlab.ucsc.edu/media/fest%20photo%20album/images/DSC07742_JPG.jpg

Hughes et al. (2005)

Reinforcers

• Can reinforcers be used to change behavior for the better (social significance)?

• Is precision in reinforcer presentation important?

Reinforcement Principle

• A response will occur more frequently if a reinforcer or an increase in a reinforcer has immediately followed it in the past, in similar settings

Reinforcement Contingency

• The immediate, response-contingent, presentation of a reinforcer resulting in an increased frequency of that response.

• What is a reinforcer?

Frequency

• Frequency count: # of responses in a given time period

• Rate of response:

# of responses

total time spent observingRate =

Frequency Count

Data Sheet

Date: 8/25/05 Time: 6 AM to 8 AM

Target Behavior: Physical complaints

Total instances: 22

Frequency?

• Rate of response:

90 instances of behavior

60 minutes

= 1.5 instances of the behavior per minute

“The rate of the response during the observation period was 1.5 responses per minute.”

Increased Frequency

• Rate of response:

90 instances of behavior

2 hours

= 45 instances of the behavior per hour

“The response rate during the observation period was 45 responses per hour.”

Response Contingent…

• Produced by the response

• The receipt of the software upgrade was contingent up clicking the download icon

• Clicking on the download icon produced the software upgrade

• Getting the upgrade was dependent upon clicking the download icon

Delay Gradient

• The effects of reinforcement and punishment contingencies decrease as the delay between the response and the outcome increases.

Behavioral ContingencyThe occasion for a response, the response, & the outcome of the response

Occasion

• The occasion is a stimulus in the presence of which a particular response (behavior) will produce a particular outcome

• (discriminative stimulus)

Behavioral ContingencyThe occasion for a response, the response, & the outcome of the response

Before:

Rod has no attention from Dawn

Behavior:

Rod cries

After:

Rod has attention from Dawn

BEDROOM & Lights Out

Examples of Reinforcement Contingencies

Before Behavior After

No attention Cries Attention

No cookie Says “Cookie” Cookie

Contingent vs. Noncontingent

• Contingent event– Depends upon

– Caused by

• Parent’s approval

• Noncontingent event– Not dependent on

anything

• Parent’s love

Contingent Use of Reinforcers

• How do you know you have engaged in the contingent use of a reinforcer?

• How could you find out whether an assumed reinforcer really serves as a reinforcer?

05

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Days

Fre

quen

cy

TantrumsCooperative Behaviors

Baseline Intervention

Tantrums & Cooperative Behaviors

Reinforcer Assessment

• Observe

• Ask

• Structured Assessment

Environmental-QualityGeneral Rule

• You can increase the frequency of entering a setting by putting more reinforcers in that setting, but you will have to make some reinforcers contingent on productive behavior if you want to increase productivity in that setting.

Positive Reinforcement or Not?

A teacher wanted to improve students turning in assignments on time, so she began to give long lunch breaks every Friday to children who turned in all assignments for the week on time.

Positive Reinforcement or Not?

• Joanna gave her son his allowance on Saturday and told him that it was payment in advance for his chores to be done on Sunday

When can you say that a stimulus event or condition is a reinforcer?

• After it has been presented in contingent relationship with a particular response and that response has increased in frequency

Delivery of Reinforcers before the Behavior

• Reinforcer follows the behavior

• A behavior will occur more frequently in the future is a reinforcer or an increase in a reinforcer has immediately followed it in the past.

The Bribe

• The bribe comes before the act

• Reinforcement: NO

• Bribery? YES

• Bribery is the use of a reinforcer, often (but not always) given in advance, for the performance of an illegal or immoral act.

Bribe or Reinforcer

• I’ll give you $40 today to rake my yard next weekend.

• I’ll give you $10,000 today for you to throw the big game

They “should ought” to want to do it

• Don’t want to give a reinforcer for something they think a person should do without the added reinforcer

• False morality

• Use of positive reinforcement– No one gets hurt– Makes life better

Repertoire

• Trying to reinforce a behavior that is not in the repertoire?

• If pre-intervention rate is too low, reinforcement may have little effect

Avoid Circular Reasoning

Rudolph wants the water

Rudolph drinks the water

Why does Rudolph drink the water?

Why do you think Rudolph wants the water?

Avoid Circular Reasoning(read from right to left)

Because that’s what the thermometer says.

Because the temp is 120o F in the box.

Rudolph drinks the water.

How do you know the temp

is 120o F?

Why does Rudolph drink

the water?

Error of Reification

• To call a process or activity a thing.

• Example:

• Why does he act strangely (activity)? Because he has a mental illness (sounds like a thing that can be in one’s possession).

• How do you know he has a mental illness? Because she acts strangely.

Medical Model Myth

• Why did he do what he did?

• Is the behavior a symptoms of an underlying psychological condition?

Hits others every day

• Angry?

• Poor self-esteem?

• Insecure?

• Behavior analysts suspect that hitting others is a learned behavior

Medical Model Myth

An erroneous view of human behavior – that behavior is always a mere symptom of an underlying psychological problem.

Why does Eric tantrum?

• Insecure (underlying psych condition)

• How do you know?

• He tantrums (a symptom)

• CIRCULAR REASONING

Problem

• Most of the medical-model applications in psychology are based on circular reasoning

Arm Chair Psychology

• Harmful?

• Psychology has a tradition of multiple subspecialties/disciplines, each with a rich research tradition

• IMPORTANT FINDINGS

Behavior Analysis

• Learn the basic principles – reinforcement, punishment, etc.

• Be careful about assumptions– Logical errors– Lack of knowledge about basic principles

Baseline

• The phase of an experiment or intervention where the behavior is measured in the absence of an intervention.

Graph of Baseline & Intervention

0510152025303540

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Days

Frequency

Baseline Intervention

Tantrums