Behavior Modification

WHAT IS BEHAVIOR ?

Essentially behavior is anything that a person says or

does..

Technically is any muscular, glandular, or electrical

activity of an organism..
Behavior can be :
#Overt(visible) behavior.
E.G. Walking, talking…

#Covert (private, internal)

behavior. E.G. Thinking,
feeling..
 Behavior
Modification
 Behavior Modification

Involves the systematic application of learning principles and

techniques to assess and improve individuals' covert and
overt behaviors in order to enhance their functioning..
Basic behavioral principles and
procedures
Maintenance or removal
: of a response
& Reinforcement
Extinction
 Definitions

Reinforcement :
An event, or a condition that increases the
likelihood that a given response will recur in a
situation like that in which the reinforcing
condition originally occurred.

Reinforcer :
A stimulus, such as a reward, that maintains or
strengthens a desired response.
Ex: gift - money
Getting A behavior to occur more often
with positive reinforcement
#Positive reinforcer : is an event that,
when presented immediately
following a behavior, causes the
behavior to increase in frequency (or
likelihood of occurrence)…
 Factors influencing the effectiveness
of positive reinforcement

1-Selecting the behavior to be increased.

2-Choosing reinforces.

3-Reinforcer size.

4-Reinforce immediacy.

5- Contingent versus non-contingent Reinforcement

1-Selecting a behavior to be increased :
-Behavior to be reinforced must be identified
specifically.

Ex: if you start with general behavior such as(being

friendly) you should then identify specific behavior
such as(smiling)
 2- Choosing reinforces..
•Different individuals are frequently turned on by
different things.
•The important thing is to use a reinforce that is
effective with the individual with whom you are
working…
Negative Reinforcement or Escape Conditioning:
The removal of an event following a response.
3- Reinforcer size:

The size(magnitude)of reinforcer is an

important determinant of its effectiveness.
4-Reinforce immediately :

For maximum effectiveness , a reinforcer

should be giver immediately after the desired
response.
5-Contingent versus non-contingent
Reinforcement :
Contingent reinforcement:
When a behavior must occur before a reinforcer will be present .
Ex: child doing his homework after that the mother reward him
with a chocolate.

Non-contingent reinforcement:
If a reinforcer is presented at a particular time , regardless of
preceding behavior.
Ex: The teacher told the student that he’s smart and he can do
the test ,after that the student confidently take the test.
 Decreasing a behavior with extinction
If a response has been increased in frequency
through positive reinforcement, then completely
ceasing to reinforce the response will cause it to
decrease in frequency.

:Example
 Stimulus Control

*When a particular behavior is more likely to occur

in the presence of a particular stimulus and not
others, we say that the behavior is under the control
of that stimulus.

*The term stimulus control refers to the degree of

the correlation between stimulus and subsequent
response.

stimulus response
*Through experience, we learn to
refrain from performing certain
behaviors in the presence of certain
stimuli because we have learnt that
those behaviors will go
unreinforced.
 Shaping
• Shaping is used to develop a
target behavior that a person
does not currently exhibit.

• Shaping is defined as: the

differential reinforcement of
successive approximations of
a target behavior until the
person exhibits the target
behavior.
 Differential Reinforcement
• A procedure in which a reinforcer follows a
specific desirable behavior but other
undesirable behaviors are not reinforced
• The result is an increase in the desirable
behavior and extinction of the other behaviors
)Miltenberger, 2012(
 Successive Approximation
• In the process of shaping, a successive
approximation is a behavior that more closely
resembles the target behavior.
)Miltenberger, 2012(
 Target Behavior
• Is the behavior one want to see demonstrated;
the end goal.
)Miltenberger, 2012(

Reinforcer
•Is a stimulus or event that increases the future
probability of a behavior when it occurs. It is
contingent on the occurrence of the behavior.
 What is shaping??
• having a target (goal) behavior in mind
• Establishing steps that work toward that
target behavior
• positively reinforcing only a specific behavior
at a time while ignoring all other behaviors
• once one step has been accomplished,
shaping requires moving on to the next step,
only ever reinforcing the current step until the
target behavior is reached
There are five aspects or dimensions of
behavior that can be shaped :
•topography,
•frequency,
•duration,
•latency,
•and intensity.
 DIMENSIONS OF BEHAVIOR THAT CAN BE SHAPED

Dimension Definition Example

Topography (form) Physical movement Walking
involved in the behavior
Amount: frequency Number of instances of Number of times to
the behavior in given exercise
time
Amount: duration Continuous amount of Length of time of
time behavior lasts exercise
Latency Time between the Time between time and
controlling stimulus and exercising
the behavior
(Reaction time)
Intensity (force) Amount of energy Force of a punch in
expended on the boxing
behavior
 Steps to shaping
1. Define the behavior
2. Determine whether shaping is the most
appropriate procedure
3. Identify the starting behavior
4. Choose the shaping steps
5. Choose the reinforcer
6. Differentially reinforce successive approximations
7. Move through the steps at a proper pace
 Define the behavior .1
•The first stage in shaping is to identify clearly the final desired
behavior, which is often referred to as the terminal behavior.

• A precise statement of the final desired behavior increases the

chances of consistent reinforcement of successive
approximations of that behavior.

• The final desired behavior should be stated in such a way that

all the relevant characteristics of the behavior (its topography,
amount, latency, and intensity) are identified.

• The conditions under which behavior is or is not to occur

should be stated, and any other guidelines that appear to be
necessary for consistency should be provided.
Determine whether shaping is the .2
most appropriate procedure

•If the person already demonstrates the behavior on

occasion you can use other techniques to strengthen
that behavior.
•If you can tell the person to do the target behavior,
if you can physically assist the person in doing the
behavior, or if you can show the person the correct
behavior you do not need to use shaping
 Identify the starting behavior .3
•Because the final desired or terminal behavior does not occur
initially, and because it is necessary to reinforce some behavior
that approximates it, you must identify a starting point.
• This should be a behavior that occur often enough and it should
approximate the final desired behavior.
 Choose the shaping steps .4
•It is helpful to outline the successive approximations through which the
person will be moved, in the attempt to approximate the final desired
behavior.
•There are no specific guidelines for identifying the ideal step size.
•Whatever guidelines or guesses are used, it is important to try to stick
to them and yet be flexible if the trainee does not proceed quickly
enough or is learning more quickly than had been expected.
 Choose the reinforcer .5
•Must be a strong reinforcer for the participant
being shaped.
•Must be able to be delivered immediately following
a behavior (i.e. clicker with animals)
Differentially reinforce successive .6
approximations
•Reinforce each behavior until they happen on their
own.
•Once the participant masters a stage, you move on to
the next approximation and only reinforce that
behavior, putting the previous approximation on
extinction.
 Move through the steps at a proper pace .7

•It is advisable not to move too fast from an approximation to

another; on the other hand, it is advisable not to move too
slowly.
•Need to master each approximation before moving on.
 Shaping is so common in everyday life that often
people are not even aware of it. Sometimes the
shaping proceeding is applied systemically,
sometimes no systemically, and sometimes shaping
occurs from consequences in the natural
environment.