Transcript Learning

Learning and Behavioral
Assessment
William P. Wattles, Ph.D.
Francis Marion University
Use quotes sparingly
• Interferes with the flow of the report.
• Undermines professional tone
• Ms. Thomas reflected back on the course of
the last year having explained that she
recalls her husband and sister always having
a “close relationship but having never felt
uncomfortable with it,” and never having
felt as though it was an “intimate
relationship.”
• Her husband has been her sole source of
emotional and physical support; she
explained “he was my whole life until he
ruined it by being with that whore.”
Improving reports
• Consider all aspects of the person
– Strengths
– Social life
What is learning?
• How organisms come to behave in new
ways.
– motivation
– knowledge
– change in behavior
Behaviorism
• The study of observable behavior with an
emphasis on the role of environment in
determining behavior in terms of operant
and classical conditioning.
Stimulus
• a property of the
environment that you
can detect with your
senses.
Response (Behavior)
• Something you do.
• What is this couple
not doing?
• Are they not reading?
• Or are they not
sleeping?
• Not doing something
is not a behavior.
Response
• Something you do. Also called behavior
• Response = Behavior
• Behavior can be
– elicited
– emitted
Elicited Behavior
• A behavior such as a
reflex that results from
the presentation of a
stimulus and is not
voluntary.
• Example: Patellar
reflex
Emitted Behavior
• A voluntary behavior.
The organism may or
may not make this
response.
Classical Conditioning
• Pavlov’s Dog
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Meat powder
Salivation
Metronome
Salivation
CS
conditioned stimulus
metronome
CR
conditioned stimulus
salivation
elicits
US
Unconditioned stimulus
meat powder
UR
unconditioned response
salivation
Classical Conditioning
• The dog learns to
associate meat powder
with the metronome.
• The dog learns pairing
• the dog learns what
goes with what.
Operant Conditioning
• Thorndike’s cat
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cage
food
pulling the rope
getting the food
Antecedent
• a stimulus that tells or
reminds the organism
about a relationship
between a behavior
and another stimulus
• called the
discriminative
stimulus
Behavior
• Behavior or response.
Something the
organism can do.
Consequence
• A stimulus or property
of the environment
that is presented
contingent on the
behavior.
Antecedent
Behavior
Consequence
Contingent
• The consequence is
contingent on the
behavior. No behavior
no consequence.
Contingent
• The consequence is
contingent on the
behavior. No behavior
no consequence.
Operant Conditioning
• The cat learns the
consequences of its
actions.
• The cat learns what to
do to get what you
want.
Operant conditioning
Behavior
Behavior
Decreases Increases
Something is Punishment Positive
added
Reinforcement
Something is Response
removed
Cost
Negative
Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement
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Antecedent
Response
Consequence
What happens to the behavior?
Response Cost
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Antecedent
Response
Consequence
What happens to the behavior?
Negative reinforcement
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Antecedent
Response
Consequence
What happens to the behavior?
Punishment
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Antecedent
Response
Consequence
What happens to the behavior?
Three requirements for
reinforcement
• The behavior must increase
• The consequence must be contingent on the
behavior
• The contingency must cause the increase in
behavior.
Extinction
When reinforcers are no longer provided, the
behavior stops
Extinction Burst
When you begin to stop delivering a
reinforcer, the behavior first increases
before it decreases to zero.
Partial Reinforcement Schedules
Intermittent reinforcement schedules take
longer to extinguish.
Continuous Reinforcement (CRF)
• is the first and most basic of the Schedules.
Under this schedule, every time the target
behavior occurs, it is reinforced. The ratio
of reinforcement to behavior is then 1:1.
Fixed Schedules of reinforcement
• are an extension of the CRF concept.
Instead of one reinforcement for each
behavior, a predetermined number of
behaviors are required to earn reinforcer.
• A Fixed Ratio of 3:1 then would mean that
the individual would have to demonstrate
the target behavior 3 times in order to
receive a reinforcement.
Variable Schedules of reinforcement
• are the ultimate goal of any intervention. A
Variable Ratio Schedule of 3:1 means that
on the average the person is reinforced for
every 3 demonstrations of the target
behavior.
Ratio Strain.
• This happens when the Schedule of
Reinforcement is set too high and the
individual "gives up" before the next
reinforcement becomes available.
stimulus generalization
• Reinforcements will generalize across
similar stimuli producing secondary
conditioning
What Is Behavior Analysis?
• Direct measurement of behavior through
systematic observation and recording systems..
• Functional analysis of the causes of behavior: find
factors that prompt and maintain the behavior of
interest.
• An emphasis on using positive reinforcement to
build and maintain desirable behavior.
Functional Analysis
• Antecedent
• Behavior clearly specified and measurable
• Consequences (maintaining variable)
Problem Behavior
Concrete Definition
Trish is aggressive.
Trish hits other students during recess when she
does not get her way.
Carlos is disruptive.
Carlos makes irrelevant and inappropriate
comments during class discussion.
Jan is hyperactive.
Jan leaves her assigned area without permission.
Jan completes only small portions of her
independent work.
Jan blurts out answers without raising her hand.
Functional Analysis
• In the field of applied behavior analysis.
This is the process of determining the cause
(or "function") of behavior before
developing an intervention.
Methods to determine function
(a)interviews and rating scales,
(b)direct and systematic observation
of the person's behavior, and
(c)manipulating different
environmental events to see how
behavior changes.
Types of behavior
• a) behavior that produces attention and
other desired events (e.g., access to
toys, desired activities),
(b) behavior that allows the person to
avoid or escape demands or other
undesired events/activities, and
(c) behavior that occurs because of its
sensory consequences (relieves pain,
feels good, etc.).
Competing Response
• Differential Reinforcement of Other
– Reinforce a competing response to decrease a
behavior.
Response prevention
• Escape or avoidance conditioning.
Catch ‘em being good.
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Benefits of reinforcement over punishment.
Energy
Self-image
Feelings toward teacher
Mood
Potential for abuse
The End
The End