Case 1 Brendan
Provide the rationale for the behaviorist 's selection of behavior chaining to help Brendan.
The rationale for the behaviorist’s selection of behavior chaining to help Brendan would be to break down his learned behaviors in steps so that each response to the steps already learned leads to the next step, “A behavior chain is a specific sequence of discrete responses, each associated with a particular stimulus condition,” (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007).
Discuss the concepts of primary and secondary reinforcement and how these work in behavior chaining. You may provide a different example to illustrate these concepts if necessary.
Primary reinforcement fulfills the need of the behavior, “A stimulus change that functions as reinforcement
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Forward chaining breaks things down into a way that one can understand and manage what he or she is trying to achieve from the beginning to end, “ In forward chaining the behaviors identified in the task analysis are taught in the naturally occurring order,” (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). So what the behaviorist could do is identify the target behavior which is hitting the serve with enough speed or accuracy, after this has been analyzed it can be broken down into steps for Brendan to do first. After Brendan has mastered the first step the behaviorist can add a second step to the first doing the first and second steps together until mastered and so on. In order for Brendan to start a new step he must master each step before moving to the next step then all combined together. The backward chaining is like the forward chaining but teaches from end to the beginning. The behaviorist could use this if it would be easier for Brendan to learn with the last step first and the first step last so hitting the ball first then the first normal steps last until all is mastered in steps, “When a backward chaining procedure is used all the behaviors identified in the task analysis are initially completed by the trainer, except for the …show more content…
(2) Identify target behaviors and rules (3) Select a menu of backup reinforcers (4) Establish a ratio of exchange (5) Write procedures to specify when and how tokens will be dispensed and exchanged and what will happen if the requirements to earn a token are not met. Will the system include a response cost procedure? And (6) Field-test the system, before full-scale implementation,” (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). The rationale for forming the six steps in a token economy system are, (1) the tokens are there for Ms. Riley to give to the kids when good behavior is displayed these tokens can be collected by the child and then exchanged for a reward like a privilege (extra 10 mints of computer time) or if bad behavior is displayed that child could lose tokens also. (2) Ms. Riley will need to explain the system and the target behaviors to her class and the rules of the system (3) Ms. Riley will need to come up with some back-up reinforcers this could replace the tokens like food, extra time on an activity or classroom jobs, or other big things like special responsibilities that the children can pick from or an outing. (4) Ms. Riley should put value on the token for example, if the reward is something big like two weekends of not homework then the value of the token should be high or if the reward is an
teach new skills and decrease challenging behaviors” (pg. 24). Based on my own observation, I’ve seen teachers implement a token economy (e.g., happy faces, stars, and stickers of different forms) to shape and reinforce positive behavior in the classroom. To maintain instructional control, tokens would be delivered immediately to a student when following simple instructions (e.g., following circle time, cleaning
There are many challenges and ethical dilemmas that can arise when working in the behavioral field, the present paper reviews different ethical dilemmas that a Behavioral Analyst can encounter when working with clients and how according to the BCBA guidelines these dilemmas can be solved. Legal and socio-cultural aspects have being included in this paper.
Skinner argues that ‘learning is accelerated by reinforcement: a stimulus that increases the probability of a response’ called ‘operant conditioning’ and it is not reliant on what triggered the response but...
In my Behavioral Analysis class this semester, we were required to read several research articles detailing various studies conducted within the field of behavior analysis. As this is my major field of interest, I thought it both wise and prudent to share two of the more fascinating studies on my website. Behavior analysis is most commonly associated amongst the general public with rats and a laboratory setting. Pavlov’s conditioning and his dog salivating at the sound of a bell or rats being trained to press levers for food reinforcers most frequently come to mind when asked to give an example of behavior analysis’s capabilities. The field, however, is also extremely capable of creating lasting and effective treatments for people with developmental disorders and addiction.
Behaviourism is a theory of learning which suggests that all behaviours are obtained as a result of conditioning...
...ormation is introduced even if the previous pattern of behavior has been already established by reinforcement (Cherry, 2011).
The main subset of Applied Behavior Analysis is “Stimulus, Operant conditioning, positive reinforcement and punishment and consequences” Stimulus is events and the relationship it has on the Individual Behavior. The relationship of stimulus can be revealed through a method behavior analyst call the ABCs analysis. The more formal term for this method is called “Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence” analysis. The stimulus is represented by the antecedent (events prior to the occurred, behavior) and the Consequence. (Events that precedes a behavior). Behavior Analysis believes these are imperative to understanding behavior and the influence of events. Furthermore, the term operant conditioning behavior corresponds to the stimuli of the consequence. Moreover, the Consequence that precedes a behavior can be positive or negative. The significance of these stimuli is the ability to influence and affect the contingency of the individual target behavior.
Behavior modification is based on the principles of operant conditioning, which were developed by American behaviorist B.F. Skinner. In his research, he put a rat in a cage later known as the Skinner Box, in which the rat could receive a food pellet by pressing on a bar. The food reward acted as a reinforcement by strengthening the rat's bar-pressing behavior. Skinner studied how the rat's behavior changed in response to differing patterns of reinforcement. By studying the way the rats operated on their environment, Skinner formulated the concept of operant conditioning, through which behavior could be shaped by reinforcement or lack of it. Skinner considered his discovery applicable to a wide range of both human and animal behaviors(“Behavior,” 2001).
Springer Publishing Company, New York, NY. Martin, G., & Pear, J. (1999) The 'Secondary' of the 'Second Behavior Modification: What it is and how to do it. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Meichenbaum, D., & Cameron, R. (1974).
First of all, I was highly interested in the concept and various factors that together make up positive reinforcement. I had a premise that I could do some experimental work on the three children for whom I baby-sit during the week after school. They leave school full of energy and it is my job to get them to complete a series of tasks before the end of the evening. I imagined that some positive reinforcement might get them on their way to handling their responsibilities in a timelier manner. My first step was to come up with a specific instrumental response that would produce reinforcement. This took no time at all because by far the most painfully difficult thing for me to do is get the children to sit down and do their homework. I then spoke specifically to each child and asked them what they would rather choose as an after school activity. They named video games, television, and going to play with other neighborhood children. I had expected these types of answers from the children and made them into the positive reinforcers that would be contingent on the children’s performance of the instrumental response; namely completing their homework. I explained to the children that if they behaved and finished their homework, then directly following they could spend an hour doing an activity of their choice.
There are many intriguing branches of psychology, but behaviorism captured many aspiring psychologists and young minds in the 1920s and 1930, and has been the dominant orientation since the mid 30s. Behaviorism was the radical revision of the method of psychological research. Consciousness was not accepted at the time and behaviorism called for the ban of introspection. Behaviorism is a branch of psychology that started with John B. Watson’s “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it.” Even though considered innate, researching this topic will show behavior is learned more by environmental factors through modeling and observing. The founder, Watson, created classical conditioning, and later B.F. Skinner contributed with operant conditioning. Watson’s evidence was his most famous experiment, the “Little Albert Experiment.”
Applying behaviorist theories in the classroom is called direct instruction (Campana, 2011). As Campana’s (2011) video explains, these forms of direct instruction include breaking down tasks into smaller and easier steps, modeling by the instructor, repetition and review, and structured/systematic planning. There are many proven advantages to using behaviorist techniques in the classroom. As in Skinner’s theory of learning, the implementation of reinforcements can improve behavior, increase motivation, and raise self-esteem in students.
He articulated that the principle of reinforcement is highly used among many looking to guide the behaviors of others. These principles are widely used by parents, employers, judicial systems, sports teams, to name a few in attempts to change one’s own behavior as well as the behavior of others. He introduced radical behaviorism to the psychological community. His numerous accomplishments will be recycled throughout psychological history as very pertinent information to the field.
The behavioral perspective is a theoretical perspective that says that abnormal behavior is caused by flawed learning experiences (Halgin and Whitbourne, 2013). B.F Skinner, the most common behaviorist, believed a person’s environment or anything external can influence a person mentally (AllPsych, 2011). The main point of the behavioral perspective is how the environment affects a person’s overall behavior (AllPsych, 2011). The three types of behavioral theories are classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and contiguity theory. Operant conditioning is when a person learns behaviors through reinforcement (Halgin and Whitbourne, 2013). Skinner studied operant conditioning by doing experiments using dogs that he placed in a “Skinner Box” (McLeod, 2011). Contiguity theory says that any stimulus and response that is connected will be associated with each other (Ramo and Howe-Tennant). Contiguity theory comes from the work of E. R. Guthrie (Ramo and Howe-Tennant). Classical conditioning is a learning connection between an original stimulus and a naturally evoking stimulus that causes an automatic reflexive reaction. Classical conditioning was the first type of learning to be discovered (Halgin and Whitbourne, 2013). Classical conditioning was also the first to be studied by behaviorist (Halgin and Whitbourne, 2013). Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov (AllPsych, 2011). During Pavlov’s experiments, he would put meat powder in dogs mouths that had tubes inserted in different organs to measure the dogs body responses (AllPsych, 2011). Pavlov found that the dogs began to salivate before the meat powder was presented to them (AllPsych, 2011). He also found that the dogs began to salivate as soon as the person feedi...
Behaviorism is the point of view where learning and behavior are described and explained in terms of stimulus-response relationships. Behaviorists agree that an individual’s behaviors is a result of their interaction with the environment. Feedback, praise and rewards are all ways people can respond to becoming conditioned. The focus is on observable events instead of events that happen in one’s head. The belief that learning has not happened unless there is an observable change in behavior. “The earliest and most Ardent of behaviourists was Watson (1931; Medcof and Roth, 1991; Hill 1997). His fundamental conclusion from many experimental observations of animal and childhood learning was that stimulus-response (S-R) connections are more likely to be established the more frequently or recently an S-R bond occurs. A child solving a number problem might have to make many unsuccessful trials before arriving at the correct solution” (Childs, 2004).