Psych 282 - Chapter 15 - Differential Reinforcement PDF

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Chapter 15 – Differential Reinforcement Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior  Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior: A procedure for decreasing a problem behavior by reinforcers a functionally equivalent alternative behavior (a competing behavior) to replace the problem b...

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Chapter 15 – Differential Reinforcement Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior  Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior: A procedure for decreasing a problem behavior by reinforcers a functionally equivalent alternative behavior (a competing behavior) to replace the problem behavior  The desirable behavior is reinforced each time it occurs, which results in an increase in the future probability of the desired behavior  DRA involves combining reinforcement for desirable behaviors and extinction of undesirable behaviors When to Use DRA  To determine whether DRA is appropriate, you must answer three questions: o Do you want to increase the rate of a desirable behavior? o Is the behavior already occurring at least occasionally? o Do you have access to a reinforcer that you can deliver after the occurrence of the behavior?  The desirable behavior must be occurring at least occasionally if you are to reinforce it  If you cannot identify a reinforcer or if you have no control over the reinforcer, you cannot use DRA How to Use DRA  Define the desirable behavior  Describe the undesirable behavior  Identify the reinforcer o Important to determine a reinforcer specific to the person whom you’re working with o One possibility is to use the reinforcer that is currently maintaining the undesirable behavior (you already know that this reinforcer is effective) o Another way to identify a reinforcer is to observe the person and note which activities or interests he or she pursues o Another way to identify reinforcers for specific people is to ask them questions o Another option is to try out a variety of different stimuli and see which ones the person prefers  Preference Assessment: A process of denitrifying reinforcers for an individual that involves presenting potential reinforcers and measuring whether the individual approaches, manipulates, or consumes the item  Single Stimulus Assessment: Each potential reinforcer (from an array of potential reinforcers) is presented, one at a time, to see whether the individual approaches the stimulus or not o After each stimulus is presented numerous times, the researcher calculates the percentage of times that the individual approached each stimulus to indicated which stimuli are likely to be reinforcers  Paired Stimulus Assessment: Two potential reinforcers (from an array of potential reinforcers) are presented to the individual and the researcher records which stimulus the individual approaches o Each stimulus is presented with every other stimulus multiple times and the researcher calculates the percentage of times that the individual approaches each stimulus, indicating which stimuli are likely to reinforcers  Multiple Stimulus Assessment: An array of potential reinforcers is presented to the individual and the researcher records which potential reinforcer the individual approaches or chooses first o This stimulus is then removed from the array and the researcher records which stimulus the individual chooses next o That stimulus, in turn, is then removed from the array and the process continues until the individual has approached/chosen all of the stimuli o The array of stimuli is presented a number of times (with the stimuli in different locations on the table each time) to identify the order in which the stimuli are chosen  Reinforcer Assessment: A process in which an item from a preference assessment is delivered contingent on a behavior to see if the behavior increases – if the behavior increases, the item functions as a reinforcer o Another technique to assess reinforcers is to make each potential reinforcer contingent on an operant response  Reinforce the desirable behavior immediately and consistently o A delay in the reinforcement of the desirable behavior will make DRA less effective o You should reinforce the desirable behavior every time it occurs  Eliminate reinforcement for the undesirable behaviors o You must identify and eliminate the reinforcer for undesirable behaviors o IF it cannot be eliminated completely, it must at least be minimized so that the contract between the reinforcement of the desirable and undesirable behaviors is maximized  Use intermittent reinforcement to maintain the target behavior  Program for generalization o Generalization means that the target behavior should occur outside the training situation in all relevant stimulus situations Using Differential Negative Reinforcement of Alternative Behaviors  When differential reinforcement is use successfully, the desirable behavior should increase, and the undesirable behavior should decrease

Variations of DRA

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Differential Reinforcement of an Incompatible Behavior (DRI): A type of DRA procedure in which a physically incompatible behavior is reinforced to replace a problem behavior Differential Reinforcement of Communication (DRC): A type of DRA procedure in which a communication response is reinforced to replace the problem behavior o Also called “Functional Communication Training”

Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior  Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO): A procedure in which the reinforcer is delviered after intervals of time in which the problem behavior does not occur – involves reinforcing the absence of the problem behavior Defining DRO  The reinforcer is contingent on the absence of the problem behavior  The reinforcer is no longer delviered after the problem behavior (extinction), but the reinforcer is delviered after an interval of time in which the problem behavior does not occur  Although the name of the procedure suggests that you will reinforce other behavior, in fact, you will reinforce the absence of the problem behavior Implementing DRO  Identify the reinforcer for the problem behavior  Identify the reinforcer to use in the DRO procedure  Choose the initial DRO time interval o To implement DRO, you must choose the initial time interval for delivering the reinforcer o The length of time should be tied to the baseline rate of the problem behavior  If the problem behavior occurs frequently, the DRO interval will be short  If the problem behavior occurs infrequently, the DRO internal will be longer o As the frequency of the problem behavior decreases, the DRO intervals can be lengthened gradually  Eliminate the reinforcer for the problem behavior and deliver the reinforcer for the absence of the problem behavior  Reset the interval if the problem behavior occurs  Gradually increase the interval length Research Evaluating DRO Procedures  Whole-Interval DRO: A type of differential reinforcement of other behavior procedure in which the problem behavior must be absent throughout the entire interval of time for the reinforcer to be delivered – most DRO procedures involve the whole-interval o Behavior is absent throughout the entire interval o Reinforcer is delivered  Momentary DRO: A type of differential reinforcement of other behavior procedure in which the reinforcer is delivered if the person is refraining from the problem behavior at the end of the DRO interval – the problem behavior does not have to be absent throughout the entire interval for the reinforcer to be delivered o Behavior is absent when the interval ends o Reinforcer is delivered o Typically not effective unless it follows the use of a whole-interval DRO procedure Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates of Responding  Differential Reinforcement of Law Rates of Responding (DRL): A procedure in which a lower rate of a particular behavior is reinforced to decrease the rate of the behavior – involves reinforcing the absence of the problem behavior Defining DRL  In DRL, the reinforcer is delivered when the rate of the problem behavior is decreased to a criterion level – used when a low rate of the problem behavior can be tolerated of when the behavior is a problem only because of its high rate  In DRL procedure, you do not reinforce the absence of the behavior, as in the DRO procedure; rather, you reinforce a lower rate of the problem behavior Variations of DRL  Full Session DRL: A type of differential reinforcement of low rates of responding procedure in which the reinforcer is delivered if fewer than a specified number of responses occur in a specific period (the session) – it is used to decrease the rate of behavior o Fewer than X responses occur in the session o Reinforcer is delivered  Spaced-Responding DLR: A type of differential reinforcement of low rates of responding procedure in which the reinforcer is delivered when responses are separated by a specific time interval o Response occurs after an interval of time since the last response o Reinforcer is delivered  When the behavior occurs after the end of the DRL intervals, the behavior is reinforced o However, if the behavior occurs before the end of the DRL interval, the behavior is not reinforced, and the interval is reset

How are DRO and Spaced-Responding DRL Different?

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In DRO, the reinforcer is delviered for the absence of the behavior after an interval of time has passed – if the behavior occurs, the reinforcer is not delivered In spaced-responding DRL, the reinforcer is delivered for the occurrence of the behavior after an interval of time has passed since the last instance of the behavior DRO is used when you want to eliminate a problem behavior; spaced-responding DRL is used when you want to decrease the rate of a behavior that occurs too frequently Interval DRL: A type of differential reinforcement of low rates of responding procedure that involves dividing a session into consecutive intervals or time and providing the reinforcer if no more than one response occurred in each interval

Implementing DRL Procedures  Determine whether DRL is the appropriate procedure to us o If the goal is to decrease the rate of a behavior but not to eliminate the behavior, DRL is appropriate  Determine an acceptable level of the behavior o In full-session DRL – you must decide how many responses per session are acceptable o In speed-responding DRL – you choose the interval of time that must elapse between each occurrence of the behavior  Decide whether to implement full-session DRL or spaced-responding DRL o If timing of behavior is important and it is necessary to have an interval of time between responses, spaced-responding DRL is most appropriate o If the timing of each response is less important and you simply want to decrease the overall rate of the behavior in a session, full-session DRL is most appropriate  Prior to implementing the DRL procedure, you should inform the client about the procedure so that they know the criterion for reinforcement o In full-session DRL – you should tell the client that maximum number of responses that is acceptable in the session o In spaced-responding DRL – you should tell the client how much time you expect between each instance of the behavior  Often useful to give the client feedback on their behavior when implementing the DRL procedure Research Evaluating DRL procedures  Stereotypic Behavior: Repetitive behaviors that do not serve any social function for the individual – they are often called “selfstimulatory behaviors” because they function to produce some form of sensory stimulation for the individual  Inter-response Time (IRT): The time between the occurrence of consecutive responses Chapter Summary  DRA involves reinforcing a desirable behavior and extinguishing undesirable behaviors that may interfere with the desirable behavior o The desirable behavior must be occurring at least occasionally so that it can be reinforced  DRO involves reinforcing the absence of the problem behavior during intervals of time o When the problem behavior does not occur in the interval, the reinforcer is delviered, and when the problem behavior occurs, the interval for reinforcement is reset o DRL involves reinforcing a lower rate of the behavior o The reinforcer may be contingent on fewer than a set number of responses occurring in a time period, or the reinforcer may be contingent on the behavior when a specified inter-response time (IRT) occurs  DRA should be used when you want to increase the frequency of an existing desirable behavior o DRO should be used when you want to eliminate a problem behavior o DRL may be used when you want to decrease but not necessarily eliminate a target behavior  Reinforcement is involved when the alternative behavior (DRA), the absence of the behavior (DRO), or a lower rate of the behavior (DRL) is reinforced o Extinction is used when the problem behavior occurs (DRA and DRO) or when the rate of the behavior exceeds the criterion for reinforcement (DRL)  Negative reinforcement is sued in DRO or DRA when termination of an aversive stimulus is the reinforcer for an alternative behavior (DRA) or the reinforcer for the absence of the problem behavior (DRO)

Practice Test – Chapter 15

1.

Define differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA).

2.

Provide an example of DRA.

3.

What two behavioral principles are involved in differential reinforcement?

4.

When is it appropriate to use DRA?

5.

Provide an example of a situation in which you would not use DRA.

6.

Describe three ways to identify reinforcers for a person.

7.

When using DRA, at what point do you use a continuous reinforcement schedule?

8.

When using DRA, at what point do you use an intermittent reinforcement schedule?

9.

What is the Premack Principle? Provide an example.

10. What is generalization? How do you program for generalization when using DRA?

11. How does DRO differ from DRA?

12. What does DRO stand for? Describe the implementation of the DRO procedure.

13. Provide an example of DRO.

14. Why is it important to use extinction for the problem behavior when implementing DRO?

15. How do you establish the length of the interval for reinforcement in the DRO procedure? Provide an example.

16. When implementing DRO, what do you do if the program behavior occurs before the end of the interval for reinforcement?

17. How is a whole-interval DRO procedure different from momentary DRO procedure? Which one is preferable?

18. What does DRL stand for? What are two types of DRL procedures?

19. Describe the implementation of full-session DRL. Provide an example.

20. Describe the implementation of spaced-responding DRL. Provide an example.

21. How does the purpose of DRO differ from that of DRL?

22. How does the implementation of DRO differ from the implementation of spaced-responding DRL?

23. When implementing the spaced-responding DRL procedure, what do you do if the behavior occurs before the end of the interval?...