Behavior Analysis for

Effective Teaching

EDU 422 – Week 11 Lecture 1 & 2

March 25th 2024
Aaishay Haque
Increasing Desirable Behaviors
with Reinforcement
 On Terms: Schedule of Reinforcement

◼ Schedule of Reinforcement refers to the rules that determine the

conditions under which the specified behavior will produce reinforcement
(direct access/escape or socially mediated).

Intermittent
CRF EXT

Each occurrence of Some occurrence of No occurrence of the

the target behavior is the target behavior is target behavior is
reinforced. reinforced. reinforced.
 Schedules of Reinforcement

Intermittent Reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement Schedule
Schedule
 Schedules of Reinforcement

Natural Schedules of Reinforcement Therapeutic Schedules of Reinforcement

 On Terms: Post-Reinforcement Post
◼ Post-Reinforcement Pause (PRP) refers to the typical pause in
responding that occurs after the delivery of a reinforcer; PRP is an
observation about behavior, it does not suggest a mechanism.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

After long bouts of work we tend to take PRP… Just think about the May Trip.
 Review: Extinction
◼ Extinction refers to an environmental condition in which reinforcement for a
previously reinforced response is withheld; as a result the future probability of
behavior decreases.

SR EXT Total withholding of SR can result in decrease of

target behavior to zero levels.

Removing the reinforcer for a response renders

the behavior non-functional

Identification of the maintaining reinforcer is

essential for successful extinction.
Sessions
 Side Effects of Extinction
A condition change to extinction produces reliable side-effects:

Extinction Burst. An initial increase in frequency and intensity of target behavior

following implementation of extinction.
Gradual Decrease in Behavior. Target behavior will gradually decrease over time
(or sessions); depends in history of reinforcement.
Operant Variability. During extinction, dimensions of the behavior and response
class will vary beyond typical range.

The side-effects of extinction must be taken in to

account when developing an extinction-based
intervention.
 On Terms: Resistance to Extinction
◼ Resistance to Extinction (RtE) describes the extent to which a behavior
will continue when reinforcers are withheld; RtE varies as a function of
learning history and the specific dimensions of the S R schedule.

Although EXT produced a decrease in behavior

across time, some behaviors will occur at
extreme rates before an observed decrease.

Example: I engage in high-rates of

Dad/Husband humor under very low rates of S R.
 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Schedule: Fixed Ratio.

◼ Definition: Reinforcement following

X number of responses, where X is the
number of response required.

◼ PRP: Yes, pronounced; patters of stop

and go responding.

◼ RtE: Highly susceptible to EXT.

 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Schedule: Variable Ratio.

◼ Definition: Reinforcement following

XVAR number of responses, where XVAR
varies around some mean.

◼ PRP: Minimal post reinforcement

pause; rapid pace of responding.

◼ RtE: Resistance to EXT; dependent

on upper limits of ratio.
 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Schedule: Fixed Interval.

◼ Definition: First response following

Y interval is reinforced, where Y is
interval length.

◼ PRP: Clear PRP pattern of

responding; scallop.

◼ RtE: Susceptible to EXT

 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Schedule: Variable Interval.

◼ Definition: First response following

YVAR interval is reinforced, where YVAR
varies around some mean..

◼ PRP: Minimal, steady and consistent

performance.

◼ RtE: Resistant to EXT, dependent on

upper limits of interval
 On Terms: Basic Schedule of SR
Schedule Type

Ratio Interval
Parameter

Fixed Fixed Ratio Fixed Interval

Variable
Variable Variable Ratio
Interval
 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Noncontingent Reinforcement Schedule refers to a schedule in which
reinforcers are delivered after a fixed (FT) or variable (VT) amount of time,
regardless of what behavior occurs.

Lucky
Hat

“Magical”
Requests
 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Response Duration Reinforcement Schedule is where the
continuous amount of time of a target behavior is the determinant for
delivery of the reinforcer

Fixed Response Variable Response

Duration (FRD) Duration (VRD)
e.g. time spent on-seat e.g. time spent on-seat
(15 mins = preferred average of 15 mins across
activity) x periods = preferred
activity)
 Name that Schedule

You enrolled in EDU 422 because of the golden

ticket rule! The behavior required of you is to
submit 4 study guides by the stipulated deadlines to
get the reinforcer (bonus 2% on your grade).
 Name that Schedule

You are a professional CP-er. You are praised by the

instructor for speaking in class. Sometimes you get a
“that was a great point!” on your first CP. On other
occasions, you speak 5 or 6 times before you get an
“excellent!”.
 Name that Schedule

Sarah is a 6th grade teacher. To make sure students

are on-task and engaged, he sets a timer to an
average of 5 min. When the timer goes off, he
delivers a reinforcer to each student that is on-task
and engaged at the time the timer sounded.
 Name that Schedule

A teacher gives a quiz every Friday at the end of the

class, which is graded instantly. Students tend to sit
and study only on Thursday for the quiz they know
will take place the next day.
 Response -Reinforcer Dependancy
Response-reinforcer dependency is
a phenomenon in which an individual's
behavior becomes increasingly dependent
on the presence of a specific reinforcer.

To tackle this, you could:

1. Gradually reduce the frequency or amount
of reinforcement provided for a particular
behavior,
2. Shift to more naturalistic reinforcers such
as positive feedback or praise, that are
related to the activity itself.
3. Adjust the Schedule of Reinforcement
 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Adjusting the Schedule. The schedule of reinforcement can be changed
(often increased) to increase or maintain the overall amount of behavior
(ratio schedule) or interval length (interval schedule).

A ratio schedule of reinforcement can be

systematically increased to produce a high rate
of responding under a lean schedule of
reinforcement.

FR1 FR2 VR3 VR5

VR8 VR12 VR18 VR 25

 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Adjusting the Schedule aka Schedule Thinning can be done by:

1. Changing Schedule Parameter & Type

Fixed Variable E.g.

FI >VI
FR > VR
Ratio Interval
FR > FI
VR > VI
FR > VI
FI > VR
 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Adjusting the Schedule aka Schedule Thinning can be done by:

2. Changing Interval Duration

FI 2min FI 5min FI 10min FI 15min
[Fixed Interval 2 [Fixed Interval 5 [Fixed Interval [Fixed Interval 15
minutes] minutes] 10 minutes] minutes]

OR

VI 2min VI 5min VI 10min VI 15min

[Variable Interval [Variable Interval [Variable Interval [Variable Interval
2 minutes] 5 minutes] 10 minutes] 15 minutes]
 On Terms: Basic SR Schedule
◼ Adjusting the Schedule aka Schedule Thinning can be done by:

3. Changing Response Requirement

FR 5 FR 8 FR 12 FR 17
[Fixed Ratio 5 [Fixed Ratio 8 [Fixed Ratio 12 [Fixed Ratio 17
responses] responses] responses] responses]

OR

VR 5 VR 8 VR 12 VR 17
[Variable Ratio 5 [Variable Ratio 8 [Variable Ratio [Variable Ratio
responses] responses] 12 responses] 17 responses]
 Foundations of Operant Conditioning
Ratio Strain. Refers to disruption of the pattern of responding as a
result of increasing the reinforcer response requirements too
abruptly or too much; can approximate an extinction condition.

Current Condition: Flipping the switch produces light on FR 1

New Condition: Flipping the switch produces light on FR 860

 Foundations of Operant Conditioning
Some behavior analysts have even suggested
that some of the behavior changes – or angst –
that occurs in a teenage years is, in part, a
function of ratio strain.

Just consider how much changes from

Elementary school to Junior high, in terms of
expectations and response requirements.

Further, this transition is not slow but rather

rapid, which would likely increase the effects of
ratio strain.