Reinforcement
Reinforcement is a functional relation defined by a two-term contingency: A
response is followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus and as a
result, similar responses occur more frequently in the future.
Reinforcer
The stimulus change responsible for the increase in responding is called a reinforcer.
Reinforcer
The importance of the immediacy of reinforcement must be
emphasized; a response-to-reinforcement delay of just 1 second
can diminish intended effects because the behavior temporally
closest to the presentation of the reinforcer will be strengthened
by its presentation.
SD
An antecedent stimulus that evokes behavior because it has
been correlated with the availability of reinforcement is called
a discriminative stimulus (SD)
SD
A discriminated operant is defined by a three-term contingency of SD → R → SR+
EO
The momentary effectiveness of any stimulus change as
reinforcement depends on an existing level of motivation with
respect to that stimulus change. An establishing operation EO
AO
1. (e.g., deprivation) increases the current effectiveness of a reinforcer; an
abolishing operation (AO) (e.g., satiation) decreases the current effectiveness
of a reinforcer.
Positive Reinforcement
A Positive reinforcement contingency is one in which the occurrence of a
response produces the Addition of a stimulus, which leads to an increase in the
future occurrence of that response
Negative Reinforcement
A negative reinforcement contingency is one in which the
occurrence of a response produces the removal, termination,
reduction, or postponement of a stimulus, which leads to an
increase in the future occurrence of that response
Automatic reinforcement
Automatic reinforcement occurs when behaviors produce their own
reinforcement independent of the mediation of others.
Classifying Reinforcers Unconditioned Reinforcer
14. Unconditioned reinforcer are stimuli that function as
reinforcement without requiring a learning history. These
stimuli are the product of phylogenic development, meaning
that all members of a species are susceptible to the same
properties of stimuli.
Conditioned Reinforcer
Conditioned reinforcers are previously neutral stimuli that function
as reinforcers as a result of prior pairing with one or more other
reinforcers.
Generalized Conditioned Reinforcer
A generalized conditioned reinforcer is a conditioned reinforcer
that as a result of having been paired with many unconditioned
and conditioned reinforcers does not depend on a current EO for
any particular form of reinforcement for its effectiveness.
Contingent Reinforcement
Contingent Reinforcement is the presentation of a reinforcer,
dependent of the presence of a specific behavior. The
learner receives reinforcement on a set schedule for a
positive response.
Non Contingent Reinforcement
Noncontingent Reinforcement (NCR) is the presentation of a
reinforcer, independent of the presence of a specific behavior.
The learner receives reinforcement on a set schedule instead
of for a positive response.
Types of reinforcer
When reinforcers are described by their physical properties, they are
typically classified as
edible,
Sensory,
tangible,
activity
social reinforcers.
Identifying Potential Reinforcers
Stimulus preference assessment refers to a variety of procedures
used to determine
(a) the stimuli that a person prefers,
(b) the relative preference values (high versus low) of those stimuli,
(c) the conditions under which those preferences values remain in
effect
Identifying Potential Reinforcement
Stimulus preference assessments can be performed by
asking the target person and/or significant others what
the target person prefers, conducting free operant
observations, and conducting trial-based assessments
(i.e., single-, paired-, or multiple-stimulus presentations).
Identifying Potential Reinforcer
Preferred stimuli do not always function as reinforcers, and stimulus
preferences often change over time.
Identifying Potential Reinforcer
Reinforcer assessment refers to a variety of direct, data- based methods for
determining the relative effects of a given stimulus as reinforcement under
different and changing conditions or the comparative effective of multiple
stimuli as reinforcers for a given behavior under specific conditions.
Reinforcer assessment is often conducted with concurrent schedules of
reinforcement, multiple schedules of reinforcement, and progressive
reinforcement schedules.
Guidelines for Increasing the effectiveness of Reinforcement
Guidelines for increasing the effectiveness of positive reinforcement interventions
include:
● Set an easily achieved initial criterion for reinforcement
● Use high quality reinforcers of sufficient magnitude
● Use varied reinforcers
● Use a direct rather than indirect reinforcement contin-
gency whenever possible
● Combine response prompts and reinforcement
● Reinforce each occurrence of the behavior initially, then
gradually thin reinforcement schedule
● Use contingent praise and attention
● Gradually increase their response -to -reinforcement delay
● Gradually shift from contrived to naturally occurring reinforcers
