Chapter 10 Maintaining Behavior Changes

1. Chapter 10Maintaining Behavior Changes

2. Relapses in Behavior behavior can regress after goals have been attained • a relapse is an extended return to original patterns of behavior • relapse often occurs when commitment is low • relapses can follow many types of treatment

3. Why Relapses Occur • relapses may occur when one encounters antecedents associated with the problem behavior • relapses are more likely if the new behavior is not firmly established • self-efficacy factors may play a role in relapses

4. Thinning Reinforcement help prevent relapse by thinning reinforcement • thinning is accomplished by applying schedules of reinforcement • schedules of reinforcement reduce the number of responses reinforced or increase the time interval between reinforcers • thinning should be introduced gradually enough to prevent extinction

5. Schedules of Reinforcement • intermittent reinforcement schedules reinforce only some behaviors • ratio schedules reinforce based on the number of responses that occur • fixed-ratio schedules define a constant number of required responses • variable-ratio schedules vary the number of responses that must occur

6. Schedules of Reinforcement (continued) • interval schedules reinforce the first response after a period of time has passed • fixed-interval schedules reinforce the first response after a fixed amount of time has passed since the last reinforcer was delivered • variable-interval schedules reinforce the first response after varying periods of time since the last reinforcer was delivered

7. Schedules of Reinforcement (continued) • duration schedules require that a behavior occur for a period of time before being reinforced • schedules can be combined to create more complex schedules of reinforcement

8. Intermittent Reinforcement

9. Effects of Ratio Schedules • ratio schedules maintain high rates of responding • variable-ratio schedules maintain higher rates than fixed-ratio schedules • Fixed-ratio schedules maintain a post-reinforcement pause • generally, as response requirements increase, so do rates of responding • too high a requirement causes ratio strain

10. Fixed Ratio Schedule Patterns

11. Variable Ratio Schedule Patterns

12. Effects of Interval Schedules • interval schedules maintain moderate rates of responding • fixed-interval schedules maintain rates that accelerate through each interval • variable interval schedules maintain consistent, moderate rates through each interval • fixed-interval schedules maintain a “scalloped” pattern of responding

13. Fixed Interval Schedule Patterns

14. Variable Interval Schedule Patterns

15. Intermittent Reinforcement and Extinction • extinction seems to create greater resistance to extinction than CRF • animal research by Nevin suggests the opposite is true • variable schedules are more resistant to extinction than fixed schedules of reinforcement

16. Delaying Reinforcement • delays in reinforcement interfere with acquisition of behavior • after a behavior is established, the introduction of brief delays may serve to strengthen behavior • such delays make behavior more resistant to extinction

17. Increasing Natural Reinforcement: Applying Natural Reinforcers reinforcers that naturally occur in the individual's life assist in the transition from treatment to the real world • assess available reinforcers in the individual's everyday environment • social reinforcers such as praise are a class of common real-world reinforcers

18. Increasing Natural Reinforcement: Applying Natural Reinforcers (continued) • seek environments that provide opportunities to successfully engage in acquired skills • increase likelihood that appropriate consequences are available to maintain the new skills

19. Increasing Natural Reinforcers: Training when the environment can not support the new behavior, the individual and those in the environment can be taught more appropriate responses • target individuals can be trained to find ways to be reinforced • in some environments, others can be taught to use tokens and social reinforcers • in some environments, others can be trained in behavioral techniques

20. Training with Everyday Antecedents intervention and natural conditions should be made more similar • fade prompts that will not be present in the natural environment • conduct some of the treatment in the natural environment • bring aspects of the natural environment into the therapy setting

21. Widening Stimulus Control steps that widen stimulus control tend to promote generalization • increase the variety of individuals, materials, or settings • general case training is a more formalized approach to widening stimulus control • specify the exact situation in which behavior should occur after training

22. Widening Stimulus Control (continued) • identify a range of teaching examples that reflect the natural settings where behavior should occur • teach the examples • general case training is one of the most effective generalization procedures

23. Enhancing Self-Regulation Skills enhancement of self-regulation skills may best promote generalization • self-regulation skills help in generalization of social skills • self-regulation skills help in reduction of fears

24. General Procedures to Enhance Generalization generalization programs can benefit from a combination of: • fading prompts • widening stimulus control • thinning reinforcement • self-regulation training

25. Posttreatment Programs • booster programs offer refresher sessions • Marlatt's lapse prevention method teaches relapse prevention in three steps: • learn to identify high-risk situations • acquire coping skills • practice coping skills in high-risk settings

26. Tips on Maintaining Behavior Change • focus interventions on behavior that will be useful in the person's natural environment • associate new behaviors with antecedents common to the natural environment • monitor behavior carefully when introducing new treatments • thin to a variable schedule of reinforcement

27. Tips on Maintaining Behavior Change (continued) • assess potential natural reinforcers prior to completion of intervention • target behaviors should be applicable to everyday life