Analogs to Reinforcement: I

1. Analogs to Reinforcement: I Chapter 22

2. CAVEAT (WARNING) • Controversial topic • Rule control of behavior • Control of behavior by private events

3. Basic Behavioral Contingencies

4. Contingencies • So far: • Direct acting contingencies • Reinforcement • Punishment • Today: • Other kinds of contingencies • Indirect acting • Effective • Ineffective

5. 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

6. Immediate • For the person with anorexia • Conversation immediately following eating Before Behavior After X No Conversation Conversation Takes a Bite

7. 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 X No Walk Walk Takes a Bite

8. Examples of Reinforcement Contingencies Before Behavior After No attention Cries Attention No cookie Says “Cookie” Cookie IMMEDIATE

9. Reinforcement Contingency Before: Mary has no conversation Behavior: Mary eats a bite After: Mary has conversation IMMEDIATE

10. Not a Reinforcement Contingency: An Approximation Behavior: Mary eats her whole meal Before: Mary cannot go for a walk After: Mary can go for a walk DELAY The next day

11. Reinforcement Contingency Before: Todd has no gum Behavior: Todd has a bowel movement After: Todd has gum IMMEDIATE

12. An approximation Before: Todd has no dessert Behavior: Todd has a bowel movement After: Todd has dessert A few hours later

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

14. Concepts • Rule • Rule control • Rule-governed behavior • Contingency control (intuitive control)

15. Rule • A description of a behavioral contingency • Example: If you eat your entire meal, you will have a walk tomorrow

16. 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

17. Rule-Governed Behavior • Behavior under the control of the rule • Example: Eating the meal

18. Contingency Control(Intuitive Control) • Direct control of behavior by a contingency, without the involvement of rules

19. What is the basis for rule control? • Final Word (Malott, et al.): • Discriminated Avoidance • THEORETICAL

20. Erroneous First Approximation Before: Todd has no dessert Behavior: Todd has a bowel movement After: Todd has dessert A few hours later

21. Discriminated Avoidance After Todd will not lose opp for a dessert after dinner SD (Deadline) Before dinner Before Todd will lose opp for a dessert after dinner Behavior Todd has BM After Todd will lose opp for dessert after dinner SD After dinner

22. Erroneous First Approximation Behavior: Mary eats her whole meal Before: Mary cannot go for a walk After: Mary can go for a walk DELAY The next day

23. Analog to Discriminated Avoidance SD (Deadline) Before meal ends After Mary will not lose opp to go for walk tomorrow Before Mary will lose opp to go for walk tomorrow Behavior Mary eats whole meal After Mary will lose opp to go for walk tomorrow SD After meal ends

24. Contingency Trees • First organized based on direct acting contingencies • Then organized based on whether the contingencies are direct or indirect acting

25. Basic Behavioral Contingencies

26. Contingency Tree Direct Acting (Effective < 60 s) Not direct Acting (> 60 s delay) Reinforcement & Punishment Contingencies Indirect Acting (effective) Ineffective

27. Important Distinctions • Direct acting contingencies • Indirect acting contingencies • Ineffective contingencies

28. 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.

29. 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?

30. 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…..

31. What happens if you tell Fido the rule?

32. Direct Acting Contingency • A contingency for which the outcome of the response reinforces or punishes that response

33. Examples of Direct Acting Reinforcement Contingencies Before Behavior After No attention Cries Attention No cookie Says “Cookie” Cookie IMMEDIATE

34. Indirect Acting Contingency • A contingency that controls the response, but not because the outcome reinforces or punishes that response • RULE CONTROL

35. 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.

36. Rule Governed Analog to Direct Acting Behavioral Contingencies • An increase in the frequency of a response because of a rule describing the contingency.

37. 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….

38. 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)

39. 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

40. Can stimulus control form under these conditions? SD THE NEXT DAY Rudolph has food pellet Before Rudolph has no food pellet Behavior Rudolph presses lever After Rudolph has no water SD

41. 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?

42. Pairing Procedure Establishes neutral “click” as a learned reinforcer One day later… Click Food pellet No food pellet No click

43. 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…

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

45. Rules describing delayed outcomes • Analog to discriminated avoidance • Avoidance of loss of opportunity to get a reinforcer

46. Analog to Discriminated Avoidance SD (Deadline) Before meal ends After Mary will not lose opp to go for walk tomorrow Before Mary will lose opp to go for walk tomorrow Behavior Mary eats whole meal After Mary will lose opp to go for walk tomorrow SD After meal ends