Analogs to Reinforcement: I Chapter 22. CAVEAT (WARNING) Controversial topic –Rule control of behavior –Control of behavior by private events

Analogs to Reinforcement: I

Chapter 22

CAVEAT (WARNING)

• Controversial topic– Rule control of behavior– Control of behavior by private events

Basic Behavioral Contingencies

R e in fo rce m e nt E sca pe

R e in fo rce m e ntF req u en cy In cre ases

P u n ish m e nt

R e spo n se C o st T im e -O ut

P en a lty

P u n ish m e ntF re qu en cy D ec re ases

B a sic B eh av io ra l C on tin ge n cies

Contingencies

• So far:• Direct acting contingencies

– Reinforcement

– Punishment

• Today:• Other kinds of contingencies

– Indirect acting• Effective

• Ineffective

Simple Reinforcement

• A response becomes more frequent in the future if a reinforcer or an increase in a

reinforcer has immediately followed it in the past

Immediate

• For the person with anorexia– Conversation immediately following eating

XBefore Behavior After

No Conversation Takes a Bite Conversation

What about those activities that were delayed?

• Too delayed to be considered immediate

• Choice of food for next meal, invite companions for next meal, walking around the hospital the next day…..

Before Behavior After

Takes a Bite

XNo Walk Walk

Examples of Reinforcement Contingencies


No attention Cries Attention

No cookie Says “Cookie” Cookie

IMMEDIATE

Reinforcement Contingency

Before:

Mary has no conversation

Behavior:

Mary eats a bite

After:

Mary has conversation

IMMEDIATE

Not a Reinforcement Contingency: An Approximation

Before:

Mary cannot go for a walk

Behavior:

Mary eats her whole meal

After:

Mary can go for a walk

DELAY

The next day

Reinforcement Contingency

Before:

Todd has no gum

Behavior:

Todd has a bowel movement

After:

Todd has gum

IMMEDIATE

An approximation

Before:

Todd has no dessert

Behavior:


After:

Todd has dessert

A few hours later

If you have a bowel movement today, you can get a dessert after dinner.

Concepts

1. Rule

2. Rule control

3. Rule-governed behavior

4. Contingency control (intuitive control)

Rule

• A description of a behavioral contingency

• Example: If you eat your entire meal, you will have a walk tomorrow

Rule Control

• The statement of a rule controls the response described in that rule

• Example: “If I eat my meal now, I will walk tomorrow.” – AND the person EATS MEAL NOW as a

function of the rule

Rule-Governed Behavior

• Behavior under the control of the rule

• Example: Eating the meal

Contingency Control(Intuitive Control)

• Direct control of behavior by a contingency, without the involvement of rules

What is the basis for rule control?

• Final Word (Malott, et al.):

–Discriminated Avoidance

• THEORETICAL

Erroneous First Approximation

Before:

Todd has no dessert

Behavior:


After:

Todd has dessert

A few hours later

Discriminated Avoidance

Before

Todd will lose opp for a dessert after dinner

S

After dinner

SD

(Deadline) Before dinner

After

Todd will lose opp for dessert after dinner

After

Todd will not lose opp for a dessert after dinner

Behavior

Todd has BM

Erroneous First Approximation

Before:

Mary cannot go for a walk

Behavior:

Mary eats her whole meal

After:

Mary can go for a walk

DELAY

The next day

Analog to Discriminated Avoidance

Before

Mary will lose opp to go for walk tomorrow

S

After meal ends

SD

(Deadline) Before meal

ends

After


After

Mary will not lose opp to go for walk tomorrow

Behavior

Mary eats whole meal

Contingency Trees

• First organized based on direct acting contingencies

• Then organized based on whether the contingencies are direct or indirect acting

Basic Behavioral Contingencies



P u n ish m e nt


P en a lty



Contingency Tree



P u n ish m e nt


P en a lty



Direct Acting (Effective < 60 s)

Not direct Acting (> 60 s delay)

IneffectiveIndirect Acting (effective)

Reinforcement & Punishment Contingencies

Important Distinctions

• Direct acting contingencies

• Indirect acting contingencies

• Ineffective contingencies

Immediate reinforcement

• The effect of the reinforcement procedure decreases as the delay between the response and the outcome increases.

• Reinforcers delayed more than 60 seconds have little or no reinforcing effect.

Ineffective contingencies

• When Fido brings slippers (low operant level), give Fido a biscuit the next day

• What will happen to the likelihood of bringing slippers????

• Give little brother a dessert the next day each time he says “thank you”

• Will thank you’s become more frequent?

Little Brother

• What if you say to brother, “If you say “thank you” on the right occasions, you will receive a special dessert one day later”

• This is the RULE

• Brings language into the picture…..

What happens if you tell Fido the rule?

Direct Acting Contingency

• A contingency for which the outcome of the response reinforces or punishes that response

Examples of Direct Acting Reinforcement Contingencies


No attention Cries Attention

No cookie Says “Cookie” Cookie

IMMEDIATE

Indirect Acting Contingency

• A contingency that controls the response, but not because the outcome reinforces or punishes that response

• RULE CONTROL

Indirect acting contingencies

• Rule governed behavior:– Behavior under the control of a rule

• Rule: – A description of a behavioral contingency

• Example: If you eat your whole meal, you can go for a walk tomorrow.

Rule Governed Analog to Direct Acting Behavioral Contingencies

• An increase in the frequency of a response because of a rule describing the contingency.

DELAY & PROMISE

• Cases of delayed reinforcers & PROMISES of delayed reinforcers involve more than the simple procedures of reinforcement.

• This is rule control.

• The behavior occurs not just because of the contingency, but because someone has stated the rule….

Summary:

• Two types of effective behavioral contingencies– Direct acting – controls behavior without

language– Indirect acting – may control behavior but only

if we bring language into the picture (must state the rule that describes the contingency)

How do indirect acting contingencies come to control

behavior?

• Is it stimulus control?

• Is it from control by learned reinforcers?

NOT LIKELY – Cannot establish stimulus control when there is a DELAY between the response and the reinforcer OR between the unlearned reinforcer and the reinforcer

Can stimulus control form under these conditions?

Before

Rudolph has no food pellet

S

SD

After

Rudolph has no water

THE NEXT DAY

Rudolph has food pellet

Behavior

Rudolph presses lever

Could it be learned reinforcement?

• Had feel and sight of BM…

• Always got a dessert afterwards

• So feel and sight of successful bowel movement was paired(?) with dessert

• Pairing procedure altered value of feel and sight of BM?

Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral “click” as a learned reinforcer

Click

No click No food pellet

Food pellet

One day later…

Could rule control be an example of a chain?

• What would happen if the reinforcer provided at the end of the chain was delivered after 24 hours?

• Delays between links of the chain are too great…

Knowledge?

• Delayed reinforcement will occur if you “understand” the relation between your action and the delayed reinforcer.

Rules describing delayed outcomes

• Analog to discriminated avoidance

• Avoidance of loss of opportunity to get a reinforcer

Analog to Discriminated Avoidance

Before


S

After meal ends

SD

(Deadline) Before meal

ends

After


After

Mary will not lose opp to go for walk tomorrow

Behavior

Mary eats whole meal

Documents

Analogs to Reinforcement: I Chapter 22. CAVEAT (WARNING) Controversial topic –Rule control of behavior –Control of behavior by private events