Behavior Chain Analysis

Behavior Chain

• A behavior chain links a sequence of responses, leading to a terminal outcome
• Each response leads to a stimulus change
  • Functions as conditioned reinforcement for that specific response
  • Serves as a discriminative stimulus (SD) for the subsequent response in the chain
• Reinforcement for the final response sustains the reinforcing effectiveness of previous stimulus changes

Important Characteristics of a Behavior Chain

• It requires performing a specific series of discrete responses
• Every behavior produces a stimulus change that
  • Provides conditioned reinforcement for the behavior that came before
  • Serves as a discriminative stimulus for the behavior to come
• Responses must be performed in a specific sequence, and in close temporal succession

Factors Affecting the Performance of Behavior Chains

• Completeness of task analysis is a factor
  • Learning is harder if chain elements are not sequenced correctly
  • Learning is harder if discriminative stimuli are not identified for each response
• Task analysis requires
  • Planning before training
  • Expecting that prompts or adjustments will be needed
• Length and complexity affect performance
  • Longer, complex chains take longer to learn than simple chains
• Schedule of reinforcement affects performance
  • Chains maintained by appropriate schedules of reinforcement
  • The number of responses in a chain determines the schedule of reinforcement
• Stimulus variation affects performance
  • Introduce all possible variations of the discriminative stimulus
• Response variation affects performance
  • When stimulus variations occur, response variations must also occur

Ways Discriminative Stimuli Might Cause Problematic Responding

• Sequence: The SD and response happen out of order requiring reexamination of the chain and rearrangement
• Similarity: Similar SDs might evoke incorrect responses and rearrangement of the problematic SDs is required to mitigate confusion
• Irrelevance: Irrelevant SDs in the natural setting might control responding requiring discrimination training
• Differences: SDs in the natural setting may be different requiring natural SDs be incorporated into training
• Novelty: Novel stimuli in the environment may compete or interfere with responding requiring incorporation of thes stimuli into discrimination training

Extinction

• When reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued; the occurence of that behavior decreases in the future
• An extinction procedure does not prevent the target behavior from occurring
• Extinction terminates the response-reinforcer relationship

Procedural and Functional Forms of Extinction

• Match the form of extinction to the function of the problem behavior
• The resultant intervention of matched form and function is effective

Misuses of Extinction as a Technical Term

Extinction can only identify:

• Withholding reinforcement for previously reinforced behavior
• A decreasing response rate under an extinction procedure
• Functional relation between withholding reinforcement and the resultant diminishing rate of response

Confusions with Extinction

• Extinction is not a refrence to any decrease in behavior
• Extinction is not forgetting
• Extinction is not response blocking or sensory extinction
• Extinction is not noncontingent reinforcement

Extinction Semantics

• "We used extinction to treat" identifies extinction as a behavior change procedure
• "Yoshiaki’s inappropriate call-outs are undergoing extinction" means extinction is a behavioral process
• "Extintion decreased Yoshiaki's call-outs" classifies extinction as a principle of behavior
• "Audrey's second-language skills have extinguished" means extinction has occurred because Audrey hasn't spoken Italian in 3 years due to lack of reinforcement
• "I recommend escape extinction as treatment" identifies escape extinction as the funtion-based form of extinction and described a procedure for implementing it
• "We have been extinguishing Jeremy's eye rubbing by blocking hand movements toward his eyes" probably confuses response blocking with extinction

Extinction by Reinforcement Type

• Positive reinforcement: Behaviors are extinguished when they no longer produce a reinforcer
• Negative reinforcement: Behaviors are extinguished when they do not produce a removal of an aversive stimuli, also known as escape extinction
• Automatic reinforcement: Behaviors are extinguished by masking or removing the sensory consequence, also known as sensory extinction

Secondary Effects of Extinction

• Extinction burst: An immediate increase in response rate after removing reinforcement
  • Common effect of the extinction procedure
  • Problem behaviors can worsen before they improve
• Response variation: Diverse and novel behaviors observed during extinction
  • This is called extinction-induced variability
  • An individual is finding new ways to obtain reinforcement
• Initial increase in response magnitude: Response magnitude may increase during the early stages of extinction
• Spontaneous recovery: The reappearance of a behavior after it has stopped entirely
  • Short-lived with a prolonged extinction procedure
  • Diminished behaviors recur, even without reinforcement
• Resurgence: Reoccurrence of a previously reinforced behavior when reinforcement for an alternative behavior stops
  • Target behavior is reinforced, then placed on extinction while reinforcement is provided for an alternative behavior, then both responses are extinguished
• Emotional outbursts and aggression: Other aggressive behaviors are evoked

Variables Affecting Resistance to Extinction

• Resistance to extinction is continued responding during the procedure
• Three measures of resistance to extinction:
  • Declining rate of response
  • Total count of responses emitted before responding ceases or attains some final low level
  • Duration of time required for the behavior to reach a criterion

Continuous and Intermittent Reinforcement and Resistance

• Intermittent reinforcement produces behavior with greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcement
• Some intermittent schedules produce more persistent responding during extinction
• The thinner the reinforcement schedule, the greater the resistance

Motivating Operations and Resistance

• The strength of the establishing operation above the minimum level will influence resistance to extinction
• Resistance is greater when extinction is carried out under high motivation than under low

Quality, Magnitude and Number of Reinforcements and Resistance

• A behavior with a history of reinforcement has more resistance to extinction than a behavior that does not
• The magnitude and quality of a reinforcer will likely influence the resistance to extinction

Previous Extinction Trials and Resistance

• Application of conditioning and extinction influences resistance to extinction
  • Reapply the extinction procedure if this happens
  • Behavior diminishes with fewer total responses during reapplication
• Successive application of extinction causes decreases in behavior to become increasingly rapid
• A response requiring effort diminishes quicker than a response requiring less effort

Utilizing Extinction Effectively

• Reinforcers that maintain problem behaviour must be withheld
  • Extinction effectiveness depends on the identification of consequences
  • Behaviours are maintained by multiple sources of reinforcement
  • Identification and witholding of reinforcement will mitigate the behaviour
• Reinforcement must be withdrawn consistenly
  • Consistency is essential
  • Behaviours may be placed on an intermittent schedule of reinforcement
  • Resistant to extinction
• Combine extinction with other procedures
  • Combine extinction with reinforcement of alternative behaviors
• Effectiveness of extinction may increase
• Differential reinforcement and antecedent procedures may reduce extinction bursts and aggression
• Use of instructions: Behaviors sometimes diminish more quickly during extinction when practitioners describe the extinction procedure with clients
• Plan for extinction-produced aggression
  • Infrequent behaviors may become prominent
  • These behaviors are often emotional and aggressive
  • Extinction-produced aggression must not produce reinforcement
• Increase the number of extinction trials
  • Improves efficiency
  • Accelerates the extinction process
  • Increase extinction trials when occurrences of the problem behavior can be tolerated
• Include significant others in extinction
  • Extinction is more effective when others do not reinforce undesirable behavior
• Maintain extinction-decreased behavior
  • Permanent application of extinction is best
  • Ensure escape extinction is implemented
  • Enforce attention extinction as necessary
  • Ensure some sensory extinction is included
• Guard against unintentional extinction
  • Desirable behaviors are often unintentionally placed on extinction
  • Behaviours must be continuously reinforced

When Not To Use Extinction

• The behavior is harmful
• All sources of reinforcement cannot be withheld
• A rapid reduction in response rate is required
• Others are likely to imitate the problem behavior