Psychology Chapter on Reinforcement

Caveats of Reinforcement

• Reinforcement does not increase behavior under all conditions.
• Motivational factors influence reinforcement effectiveness.
• The SD (discriminative stimulus) only signals the response if the individual is motivated to engage in it.

Four-Term Contingency

• Includes the three-term contingency (SD, response, reinforcer) with the addition of the Motivating Operation (MO).

Basics of Reinforcement

• Reinforcement must be immediate to be effective.
• Awareness of reinforcement is not necessary for behavior increase.
• Automatic reinforcement occurs independently of another person delivering it, and the response itself produces the reinforcement.

Classes of Reinforcement

• Origin:
  • Unconditioned: Natural reinforcers such as water and food.
  • Generalized/Conditioned: Learned reinforcers paired with many conditioned and unconditioned reinforcers (money, tokens, points).
• Properties:
  • Edible: Food
  • Sensory: Massage, tickles
  • Tangible: Trinkets, toys
  • Activity: Playing games, recess
  • Social: Physical proximity, social interaction

Stimulus Preference Assessments

• Asking: Inquiring about preferred stimuli.
• Observing: Monitoring target behavior under free-operant conditions.
• Trial-based: Presenting various stimuli in a series of trials and observing choices.

Behavior Chains

• Specific sequences of discrete responses, each linked to a particular stimulus condition.
• When components are linked together, they create a chain that produces a terminal outcome.

Task Analysis

• Breaking down a complex skill into a sequence of smaller, discrete steps required to complete the task.
• Can be tailored to the individual based on age, skill level, disability, and prior experience.
• Can be refined as needed during implementation.
• Methods:
  • Observing a competent individual performing the task.
  • Consulting experts.
  • Performing the task oneself.

Assessing Mastery Levels

• Single-Opportunity Method:
  • Assesses each step once.
  • Stops when a step is incorrect.
  • Remaining steps are marked as incorrect.
• Multiple-Opportunity Method:
  • Assesses each step repeatedly.
  • If a step is incorrect, the trainer completes it for the learner.
  • Learner continues to the next step.
  • Teaching and assessment are not done simultaneously.

Advantages of Assessment Methods

• Single-Opportunity:
  • More conservative assessment.
  • Provides less detailed information.
  • Quicker to conduct.
  • Reduces likelihood of learning during assessment.
• Multiple-Opportunity:
  • Time consuming.
  • Provides more detailed information about learned steps.
  • May improve training efficiency by eliminating instruction on already known steps.

Behavior Chaining Procedures

• Forward Chaining:
  • Training begins with the first step in the sequence.
  • Only previously mastered steps and the current step are trained.
  • Advantages: Can link smaller chains to larger ones, easy implementation.
• Total-Task Chaining:
  • All steps are trained in every session.
  • The trainer provides prompting for every step.
• Backward Chaining:
  • Training begins with the last step in the sequence.
  • The trainer performs all but the last step until the learner masters the last step.
  • The process is repeated with one less step each time.
  • Advantage: Natural reinforcement is immediate and available for every learning trial.
• Backward Chaining with Leap Aheads:
  • Follows backward chaining but not every step is trained.
  • Other steps are probed.
  • If steps are already in the learner's repertoire, they are not taught, but they are still required to be performed.

Choosing a Chaining Procedure

• Total-task Chaining:
  • Useful when the learner knows most of the task but needs to learn the sequence.
  • Effective with individuals with imitative repertoires and moderate to severe disabilities.
  • Appropriate for tasks that are not long or complex.

Behavior Chain Interruption Strategy (BCIS)

• The chain is purposely interrupted at a predetermined step to encourage the emission of a new behavior.
• This can create motivation to learn the new behavior in the chain because access to reinforcement is briefly blocked.
• Should be implemented with caution to minimize distress and prevent emotional responding or self-injurious behavior.