Transcript ABA Presentation - Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

The Science of
Consequences
From Nature-Nurture Systems
to Large Scale Behavior Change
Susan M. Schneider, PhD
University of the Pacific
Consequences Are Everywhere
Overfishing on the Grand Banks
Consequences and Sustainability
Lamiot
Outline
Part One
Origins and Biology
Part Two
Applications Everywhere
Part One
Origins and Biology
Variety rocks!
gina pina at http://flickr.com/
photos1406748@N00/4381185218
Reinforcing
Variability
levers
Rats on left and
right levers
vs
People choosing
"1" or "2" on keyboards
Neuringer, A., Deiss, C., & Imig, S. (2000). Comparing choices and
variations in people and rats: Two teaching experiments. Behavior
Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 32, 407-416.
Choice
Rats on left and
right levers
vs
People choosing
"1" or "2" on keyboards
Neuringer, A., Deiss, C., & Imig, S. (2000). Comparing choices and
variations in people and rats: Two teaching experiments.
Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 32, 407-416.
Choice
Banna, K. M., DeVries, D., & Newland, M. C. (2011). Choice in the
bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). Behavioural Processes, 88, 33-43.
Consequences and "Instincts"
Consequences and Instincts
-in Bobwhite Chicks
How flexible is a chick's preference for
its own species' imprinting call?
Bobwhite chick
Bobwhite father
Consequences and Instincts
Condition
Imprinting Call Preference
Bobwhite Japanese NoPref
Naive
28****
5-min Japanese Quail call 13
--contingent
5-min Japanese Quail call 18**
--noncontingent
4
12
8
12
8
5
Harshaw, C., Tourgeman, I. P., & Lickliter, R. (2008). Stimulus contingency
and the malleability of species-typical auditory preferences in Northern
bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) hatchlings. Developmental Psychobiology,
50, 460-472.
Origins
► Primeval
breakthrough!
Presumably only a few effective consequences
for only a few behaviors
► Greater
variety of consequences, motivating
behaviors of greater variety
► Arbitrary
behaviors began to work: Different
behaviors, same consequence
► Generalized
pleasure and pain centers
► Discrimination
Origins
► Delays
► Generalization
► Concrete
categories like “berries”
► Abstract categories like “red”
► Arbitrary categories linked only by common
consequences
► Weighting choices (bigger consequences count
more, delayed count less)
► Consequences for vocalizations, gestures, and
tool use - leading to true animal cultures
"Pleasure Centers,"
the Mesocorticolimbic System, & More
Kelley, A. E., & Berridge, K. C. (2002). The neuroscience of natural rewards. Journal of Neuroscience, 22, 3306-3311.
"Pleasure Centers"
"Pleasure Centers"
Direct pleasure center stimulation
is reinforcing for:
Snails
Goldfish
Iguanas
Dogs
Dolphins
People
Turning on Genes
Operant learning activates a
synaptogenesis gene
Stress reduces mRNA activity in
interleukin 2 receptor (immune
system response)
Exercise activates pgc1-alpha gene
(metabolism adjustment)
Epigenetics: A New Frontier
Chromatin marks - like DNA methylation
(Also other epigenetic mechanisms)
*****
Affected by behavior & environment,
reversible,
--and sometimes inheritable!
Epigenetics: A New Frontier
The Dutch "Hunger Winter"
of World War II
Epigenetics: A New Frontier
The Case of the Stressed-out Moms
Tania Roth's rat foster moms, pup abuse,
& epigenetic changes (e.g., BDNF)
Michael Meaney's stress research
- Includes epigenetic changes
- Similar mechanisms in humans
Chris Salt
Operant learning & classical conditioning involved
Roth et al. (2009). Lasting epigenetic influence of early-life adversity on the BDNF gene. Biological Psychiatry,
65, 760-769.
EnrichmenT
In rats, performance on a schedule of
reinforcement:
* Reversed behavioral & physiological
effects of stress (restraint, cold, new
environment)
* Reversed some of the effects of lead
exposure (Cory-Slechta et al., 2009)
Cory-Slechta, D. A., Virgolini, M. B., Rossi-George, A., Weston, D., & Thiruchelvam, M. (2009). Experimental manipulations
blunt time-induced changes in brain monoamine levels and completely reverse stress, but not Pb+/-stress-related
modifications to these trajectories. Behavioural Brain Research, 205, 76-87.
IT'S A SYSTEM: Genes & Neurotransmitters+
Rhesus monkeys raised by (unrelated) mothers or
by each other (peers)
Serotonin transporter gene 5-HTT, short & long
forms
Short gene form - problematic for peer-reared
- beneficial for mother-reared
Impulsivity and aggression - "subject to major
modification by specific early experiences . . ."
- Suomi, 2003
Dominance hierarchies & parenting
Epigenetics
Aiwok, Rhesus Macaque with two babies in Shimla Himachal Pradesh near the Jakhu temple.
Acrobatic Rats
1. Acrobatic group
- lots of operant
learning
2. Exercise group
3. Inactive control
group
Acrobatic Rats
Mean # of motor cortex synapses per neuron
Kleim, J. A., Lussnig, E., Schwarz, E. R. , Comery, T. A. ,& Greenough, W. T. (1996).
Synaptogenesis and FOS expression in the motor cortex of the adult rat after motor skill
©1996 by Society for Neurosciencelearning. Journal of Neuroscience, 16, 4529-4535.
Braille while Blindfolded
Plasticity in the Visual Cortex
fMRI z-score differences between groups
Merabet, L. B. et al. (2008). Rapid and reversible recruitment of early visual cortex for touch. PLoS One, 3. e3046.
Part Two
Applications Everywhere
Help for Stroke Victims
(Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy)
Taub, E. et al. (2006). A placebo-controlled trial of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy for upper
extremity after stroke. Stroke, 37, 1045-1049.
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Early Intensive Behavioral Treatment
(Applied Behavior Analysis)
Lovaas (1987)
Cohen, Amerine-Dickens, & Smith (2006)
- and many more
Surgeon General: "the treatment of choice"
Many children can be mainstreamed! (but not all)
Addiction to Illegal Drugs
2008 meta-analysis: "Contingency management"
had "the strongest effect"
Percentage of Negative Drug Tests
DeFulio et al. (2009). Employment-based abstinence reinforcement as a maintenance intervention for the treatment of
cocaine dependence: A randomized controlled trial. Addiction, 104, 1530-1538.
Smoking Cessation (& more)
on a Large Scale
Real-time video streams twice per day
Quick feedback; payments for abstinence
Stoops, Dallery, et al. (2009). An internet-based abstinence reinforcement smoking cessation intervention in rural
smokers. Alcohol & Drug Dependence, 105, 56-62.
Language Has Consequences
Baby Babbling
Routh, D. K. (1969). Conditioning of vocal response differentiation in infants. Developmental Psychology, 1, 219-226.
The Case of "Eve"
Mom: "What is the child doing?"
Eve: "She is running."
Mom, approvingly: "She is running."
► Natural teaching frequently
throughout each day
► Each sentence type: 100,000 times per month
► Reinforced imitation: up to 100 times greater
than chance
Moerk, E. L. (1990) . Three-term contingency patterns in mother-child verbal interactions during first-language
acquisition. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 54, 293-305.
Hart & Risley's
Meaningful Differences
42 families, kids observed 1 hour/
month, from 9 months to 3 years old
Five critical factors including guidance style,
feedback tone, and responsiveness
Professional families: 3 times the number of
words as welfare families (hundreds more
words per hour)
Working class: the whole range in between
Meaningful Differences
Prediction Power
Correlations
.77
Combined measure at age 3 vs. IQ at age 3
*********************************
.78
Combined measure at age 3 vs.
Test of Language Development at age 9-10
*********************************
Hope: Harlem Children's Zone
Meaningful Differences
The Positives-Negatives Ratio
Average Number per Hour
The Positives-Negatives Ratio
Parenting
“Most of us are quick to criticize and slow to praise. We
have a responsibility as parents to reverse this order.”
- Faber & Mazlish, How to Talk So Kids will Listen and Listen So
Kids will Talk
*****
Gerald Patterson's Research on Violent Teens:
►Appropriate
behaviors seldom got
reinforced
►Inconsistent consequences
The Positives-Negatives Ratio
Other Human Applications
Teaching
Prisons
Relationships
Workplaces
Consequences in Education
Robert Rosenthal and the case of the
self-fulfilling expectations
Teachers with expectations did MORE
interacting
nodding
smiling
Consequences at Work
Applied Behavior Analysis at Work
Costs from Accidents and Injuries
Fox, D. K., Hopkins, B. L., & Anger, W. K. (1987). The long-term effects of a token economy on
safety performance in open-pit mining. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 215-224.
The Positives-Negatives Ratio
Stress-free Medical Care for Monkeys
Cortisol Levels
Before blood test
After test
Traditional
20.1
33.8
Positive Reinf.
19.6
22.3
- and the training can take as little as 1 hour!
Reinhardt, V. (2003). Working with rather than against macaques during blood collection. Journal of
Applied Animal Welfare Science, 6, 189-197.
That Sinking Feeling
Delay Discounting
Richards, J. B., Mitchell, S. H., de Wit, H., & Seiden, L. S. (1997). Determination of discount functions in rats
with an adjusting-amount procedure. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 67, 353-366.
Context and Delay Discounting
Dixon, M. R., Jacobs, E. A., & Sanders, S. (2006). Contextual control of delay discounting by
pathological gamblers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 413-422.
The Problem with Delays
Societal
► Overfishing
Individual
► Obesity
► Addictions
► Debt
Consequences and Self-Control
►Recording
progress on checklists
and charts
►Social support
►Healthier alternative rewards
►Successful models to follow
►Informal commitments
►Behavioral contracts
►Rules, laws, and social norms
Applied Behavior Analysis
Percentage Electricity Saved
for Sustainability on a Large Scale
Bekker et al. (2010). Encouraging electricity savings in a university residential hall through a combination
of feedback, visual prompts, and incentives. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43, 327-331.
Consequences Are Everywhere
► Critical
role in the nature-&-nurture system
--influencing genes, neurophysiology, etc.
► Language
development and education
► Everyday and societal self-control--as in weight
management and sustainability
► "Catch 'em being good" and timeouts
--instead of harsher parenting methods
► More
positive workplaces--with wiser incentive
systems and improved safety programs
► Help
for medical and psychological conditions
► Animal applications
www.scienceofconsequences.com