Cipani, Ch 1

Page 1

Cipani, Ch. 1: Basic Concepts and Principles

Instead of saying that the child throws a tantrum because he or she is immature, we would possibly ascribe such an incident to the purpose or function such tantrum behavior serves in the child's environment. That conceptualization would generate an examination of observable events in the social environment. This approach is termed a Functional Behavior-Analytic Approach.

A contingent is the temporal relationship between behavior and a consequence.

There are two major types of behavioral functions for problem (or other) behavior:

Positive Reinforcement

Negative Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement functions:

Involve behaviors that produce an environmental event that subsequently increase the likelihood of that behavior under the same or similar antecedent motivating conditions.

In other words, the operation of positive reinforcement involves a behavior that produces an event (activity, object) that subsequently strengthens the occurrence of that behavior in the future.

Positive Reinforcement functions are termed access functions, that is, these behaviors access preferred items, events, or activities.

E.g. Milton has learned how to get a walk with staff--pinch someone!

Negative Reinforcement:

The effect of the behavior is to terminate the existence of or postpone(for some time), the presentation of a stimulus condition or event.

The subsequent effect of a negative reinforcement contingency on behavior is one of increasing its probability under the same or similar condition in the future.

Negative reinforcement functions are called escape functions (includes avoidance functions in the terminology.

Pinching avoids an activity that Milton dreads--going to group therapy.

Direct Access (DA)

With direct access function, the client's behavior immediately produces access to the desired item.

Socially Mediated Access (SMA)

Other behaviors achieve their desired effect through the behavior being mediated by someone else.

Socially mediated access often occurs through some form of vocal request, but it need not be so.

Direct Escape (DE)

Behavior can also produce the direct termination of existing aversive environmental events, serving a direct escape function.

Socially Mediated Escape (SME) Behaviors

Escape behaviors can often achieve their effect of removing or avoiding an aversive condition through the behavior of someone else

"let me have some quiet in here!"

What Makes a Reinforcer, a Reinforcer?

All four functions have a relationship between operant behavior and a specific reinforcement effect its produces.

Realizing the longer the time since Milton's last walk, the greater the value of a walk.

If this state of deprivation is sufficient enough to "motivate" him to engage in behavior that has historically produced a walk, such a deprivation condition or state create or "establishes" the value of the walk.

There are two variables that are inherent in antecedent conditions: motivational and discriminative variables.

The greater the strength of the EO the lower the likelihood the person will engage in a behavior that effectively produces the particular outcome.

The lower the strength of the EO the likelihood the person will engage in such a functional behavior.

EO's drive particular relevant functions!!!!

All EO's appear to be unique to the individual person

EOs for Access Functions

EO's relative to access function typically involve some period of deprivation of that item or event.

A person may have eaten breakfast, but missed lunch, so by the tie dinner is being prepared, the value of food is very high. Therefore any behavior or set of behaviors that result in obtaining food will be strengthened.

Have you been to a bar at happy hour?

Availability of retaliation---staff presence makes the context for retaliation not available.

EOs for Escape Functions

EOs for escape functions have the same characteristics as those for access functions.

Difficult task is a relevant term. What is difficult for me, may not be difficult for you.

Abolishing Operations

Once the functional reinforcer is delivered for a given behavior, the value of such event is diminished. The delivery of a sufficient amount of the reinforcer abolishes the existing EO. This operation is termed the AO.

The SD

The SD is a stimulus associated with the availability of an outcome (given a specific behavior or class of behaviors).

The person in the classroom is discriminative for hitting oneself to obtain cookies. The speech therapists discriminative for communication responses to obtain the cookies.

Changing behavior by altering the EO

The greater the value of the EO, the greater the strength of the behavior.

Contrived contingencies produce a function

Reinforcement systems that are designed to simply target appropriate behavior for increase have been referred to as contrived contingencies.