Q&A Hero

Q: Which statement correctly states the definition of extinction? A. Extinction is a procedure that provides zero probability of reinforcement. B. Extinction is a procedure in which punishment of a previously punished behavior is discontinued. C. Extinction is a procedure in which a behavior is put on a continuous reinforcement schedule D. None of the above.

Q: Susie spent most of the day sitting on her bedroom floor, rocking back and forth. While she was rocking, she would flap both of her hands back and forth. Which of the following extinction procedures is the most appropriate choice? A. Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement. B. Extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement. C. Extinction of behavior maintained by positive punishment. D. Extinction of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement.

Q: When Bobby was given a work sheet in class, he screamed and crawled under his desk. Bobby would continue to scream and remain under his desk until his teacher removed the work sheet and left him alone. Which of the following extinction procedures is the most appropriate choice? A. Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement. B. Extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement. C. Extinction of behavior maintained by positive punishment. D. Extinction of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement.

Q: When Timmy wanted a drink, he generally screamed at his mother until she gave him a drink. Which of the following extinction procedures is the most appropriate choice? A. Extinction of behavior maintained by positive reinforcement. B. Extinction of behavior maintained by negative reinforcement. C. Extinction of behavior maintained by positive punishment. D. Extinction of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement.

Q: Which of the following statements is not a common misuse of the term extinction? A. Referring to any decrease in behavior B. Confusing forgetting and extinction C. Confusing noncontingent reinforcement and extinction D. Withholding of reinforcers that maintain the behavior.

Q: ________________ is a technical term used to identify the procedure of withholding reinforcers that maintain behavior. A. Reinforcement B. Punishment C. Extinction D. Time-Out

Q: Which of the following is not associated effects of extinction? A. Spontaneous Recovery B. Aggression C. Extinction Burst D. Stable Responding

Q: One advantage to backward chaining procedure is: a. It is the only chaining procedure in which the student gets reinforced for completing the task. b. It is the chaining procedure that results in the most immediate access to the reinforcer following the display of a correct response in the behavioral chain. c. It doesnt rely on prompting procedures like the other chaining methods. d. It doesnt rely on reinforcement procedures like the other chaining methods.

Q: If you are teaching a student to make a peanut butter sandwich, which of the following represents a total-task chaining approach? a. Having the trainer complete all steps except the last one (putting the bread together). The student puts the bread together himself. When he has mastered that step, the trainer completes all but the last two steps, and the student completes those. And so on b. Having the student complete the first step (getting out the bread) and the trainer completing the remaining steps. When the student has mastered that step, the student completes the first two steps while the trainer completes the rest. And son on c. Having the student complete all steps of the task, while the trainer provides the necessary level of prompt at each step. d. Having the trainer model all steps of the task on all occasions.

Q: Before you use a chaining procedure, it is recommended that you task analyze the skill to be taught. What does it mean to task analyze a skill? a. Make a sequential list of all the smaller substeps of the task to be trained. b. Plan your prompting strategy carefully. c. Conduct a reinforcer assessment prior to beginning training. d. Analyze the response class and reinforce successive approximations to the terminal behavior.

Q: Assume you are working with a student who really likes McDonalds. When you are out in the community with this student and you drive past a McDonalds, the student always begins to whine about going to McDonalds. If you say, No, the student begins to cry. If you still say, No, the student begins to kick and scream and whack his head on the car window. Assume you want to break this inappropriate chain of behaviors by removing the initial SD and substituting an alternative SD. What would be one way of doing so? a. Use total-task chaining to help him learn the appropriate chain of behaviors. b. Tell the student that if he doesnt whine when you go past McDonalds you will stop for something to eat. c. Use shaping to teach the student to sign McDonalds. d. Avoid driving by McDonalds whenever possible. Instead drive past Wendys and give the cue, Would you like to stop and get something to eat?

Q: Ms. March is teaching Matthew to do his laundry. She has written a task analysis for doing laundry, which consists of 36 steps. She conducted an initial assessment to identify which steps Matthew could already do, and she discovered that the only step he can presently do independently is to open the lid to the washer. She decides to use total task presentation as her method of teaching this complex chain of behaviors, using a least-to-most prompting strategy. What might be one disadvantage to this procedure? a. This procedure is likely to make each training session quite long. b. Matthew may become confused with the sequence of the task because the teaching procedure involves having him do the last step, then the last two steps, and so on. c. Because Matthews present behavior will be placed on extinction until he emits a new behavior that is closer to the terminal behavior, he will likely become very frustrated. d. All of these are reasonable concerns given the teaching context.

Q: One advantage to the procedure being used by Mr. Worms is that: a. Sandie will get immediate access to the reinforcer for completing the chain of behaviors. b. Sandie will get to practice every step of the chain each time Mr. Worms conducts a training session. c. Sandie will always start with the first step of the task whenever a training session is conducted. d. All of these are advantages of the procedure Mr. Worms is using.

Q: Mr. Worms is teaching an adult (Sandie) who lives in his group home to make macaroni and cheese from a box. Mr. Worms prompts Sandie to do all steps of the task using full physical prompts, except for the last step, which is to serve the macaroni and cheese on a plate. For this step, Mr. Worms is using a most-to-least prompting sequence. When Sandie has mastered that skill, Mr. Worms plans to have Sandie do the stirring and the serving (the last two steps of the task). What procedure is Mr. Worms using? a. Forward chaining b. Backward chaining c. Total-task chaining d. Shaping

Q: Name at least 3 factors that can impact an individuals performance on a behavior chain. Explain each factor and how it impacts performance.

Q: Identify at least 3 ways that a learner could have difficulty with SDs that signal incorrect performance in a behavioral chain and how you would go about correcting these problems. Specifically, what changes would you make to the environment or task analysis to correct the problem?

Q: When might you want to interrupt a behavior chain? How would you go about implementing a behavior chain interruption strategy, and what kind of response should you expect from the learner?

Q: Consider the task analysis listed above. Compare and contrast how you would conduct a baseline assessment of a persons performance on this task analysis using the single- versus multiple-opportunity method. In your answer, be sure you identify how the two forms of assessment would be similar and how they would differ.

Q: Assume you want to teach an individual how to use a public telephone. You conduct a task analysis of the skill and end up with the following steps: i. Locate the telephone ii. Find the telephone number iii. Choose the correct change iv. Pick up receiver in left hand v. Put receiver to ear and listen for dial tone vi. Insert first coin vii. Insert second coin viii. Dial 7-digit number ix. Wait for telephone to ring a minimum of 5 times x. If someone answers, initiate conversation xi. If telephone is busy or no one answers, hang up and collect money Carefully describe how you would implement forward, backward, and total-task chaining for this task analysis.

Q: What advantage does adding a limited hold component to a behavior chain serve?

Q: Define a behavior chain and clearly explain the role each step in the chain serves relative to other steps in the chain.

Q: In backward chaining, the individual learns to complete the steps of a task in reverse order.

Q: The research literature has repeatedly shown that the total-task chaining procedure is the most effective method of chaining.

Q: When using the multiple-opportunity method of assessment during assessment of a task analysis, there is greater risk for co-mingling of assessment and instruction than there is for the single-opportunity method of assessment.

Q: The single-opportunity method of assessing a persons skills on a task analysis means that they only get one chance to demonstrate the skill before instruction begins; whereas with the multiple-opportunity method of assessment, a persons skills are assessed multiple times before instruction begins.

Q: A task analysis for one person can look completely different from a task analysis for another person, even if it for the same skill.

Q: Once you have developed a task analysis, you should not change the sequence of steps, add steps, or remove steps in the analysis. This invalidates the task analysis.

Q: In order to construct a task analysis, it is acceptable and valid to perform the behavior yourself and write down the steps to the skill ask you perform them.

Q: If a person has a number of behaviors already in their repertoire, chaining can be used to put these behaviors together in unique sequences in order to teach them a new behavior.

Q: There are only a few skills in every day life that are considered behavioral chains.

Q: A behavior chain with a limited hold results in performance that is both accurate and fluent.

Q: Every step in a behavior chain serves two functions: an SD for the subsequent step and as a conditioned reinforcer for the preceding step.

Q: Sadie goes to an aerobics class on M, W, and F (on a good week!). The aerobic routines they do have many, many steps and constitute behavioral chain. The aerobics teacher has everyone perform one step of the routine multiple times and asks, Does everyone get it? The students all yell, Yep! Then, she says, Adding on! and she shows them another step. Once they have that step down, she has them do the first step, followed by the second step. Then she adds on again. This process is repeated until the students are doing a very long, complex routine by the end of the hour. What teaching procedure does Sadies aerobics instructor use? a. Total task presentation b. Forward chaining c. Backward chaining d. Stimulus shaping

Q: Give a novel (i.e., an example not provided in the text or in class discussion) example of shaping new performance across each of the following dimensions of behavior: topography, frequency, latency, duration, and amplitude.

Q: What is a successive approximation?

Q: Given an example of how shaping can misapplied to inadvertently shape a problem behavior.

Q: Define shaping.

Q: Give an example of shaping across a response topography and shaping within a response topography. Explain why your examples fall into each of these categories.

Q: Diagram an example of shaping. Select a behavior to shape, analyze the response class, and make a diagram that shows how the shaping process might proceed. Your diagram should show at least 4 shaping steps. At each step, make it clear what response receives reinforcement and what occurs for the previously reinforced response. Also, be sure to indicate how response differentiation would be expected to occur (i.e., what responses do you expect to increase and what responses do you expect to decrease?).

Q: Ma Yao wants to shape the behavior of play dead in her dog. She wants her dog, Skardu, to lay on the floor, on his back, with is feet up in the air for at least 5 seconds when she gives this command. Her dog can already sit and lay down on command. However, he will only stay in these positions for a couple of seconds. (Hes only 8 months old.) He can also roll over on command. In following the guidelines for effectively using shaping, she notes that she must first identify what the initial behavior that will receive reinforcement will be. What two considerations should she make in determining the first behavior to reinforce, what behavior would you reinforce first, and why?

Q: You are consulting with a care provider who is implementing shaping to teach a young adult to brush her own hair. The care provider asks you if you think he is changing his criteria for reinforcement too quickly, too slowly, or just right. You ask him to see his graph of the childs performance. He shows it to you. What will you look for in order to answer his question? How will the data influence your answer?

Q: If a learner is making frequent mistakes during a shaping process, this is a signal that the criteria for reinforcement are being raised too quickly.

Q: It is important for trainers to ensure that a successive approximation is well established in the clients repertoire before increasing the criteria for reinforcement. This will ensure that the shaping process moves along more quickly.

Q: The shaping process will proceed more quickly if the trainer makes the criteria for each successive approximation much larger than the last.

Q: If an individual becomes stuck during shaping (i.e., he/she does not seem to be able to meet the newly-increased criteria for obtaining reinforcement) and frustrated, the trainer should continue to the next step of the shaping sequence. This will allay any frustration the individual is experiencing.

Q: If one implements response prompts during the shaping process, it is not necessary to fade those prompts over time. The shaping process will automatically eliminate the need for prompts.

Q: One way to make the shaping process proceed more quickly is to implement response prompts along with the shaping procedures.

Q: In fading, behavior is changed by changing antecedent stimuli, while in shaping, behavior is changed by gradually changing the response requirements.

Q: It is not uncommon for problem behaviors to be learned via shaping processes.

Q: Melania has bee working with a child to shape his handwriting. When Melania started working with the child, he could hold his pencil and write the letters of his name, but the marks were so faint that one could hardly see them. Over time, Melania taught the boy to press his pencil hard enough so that people could easily see the marks he had made. The shaping procedure Melania used is an example of shaping across a response topography.

Q: The process of differential reinforcement produces response differentiation.

Q: __________________ is the process by which one systematically and differentially reinforces successive approximations to a terminal behavior. a. Task analysis b. Training for stimulus generalization c. Stimulus fading d. Shaping

Q: Shaping a behavior within a response ________________ means that the form of the behavior remains constant, but differential reinforcement is applied to a dimension of the behavior. a. Schedule b. Chain c. Topography d. Contingency

Q: Travis has been training his puppy, Belle, to sit by the back door and bark when she wants to go outside and do her business. First, Travis let her out, provided her with tons of praise, and gave her a treat (all presumed reinforcers) if she sat by the back door and then when outside and urinated. Then, Travis withheld reinforcement for this behavior and provided the reinforcers only if she sat by the door and made a small noise (i.e., a whine). Now that she does that well, Travis is withholding reinforcement for that behavior and only providing the reinforcers if she sits by the door and makes a bark. What has Travis been doing? a. Shaping sitting by the door and barking when Belle has to urinate. b. Using differential reinforcement to teach Belle to sit by the door and bark when she has to urinate. c. Using backward chaining to teach Belle to sit by the door and bark when she has to urinate. d. A & B e. B & C

Q: When shaping a new behavior, it is important to: a. Carefully analyze the response class to identify the discrete behaviors that are part of the terminal behavior. b. Know the terminal behavior you are shooting for. c. Have a plan for how you will reinforce the behaviors that are part of the terminal behavior. d. A, B, and C e. A & B only

Q: When just beginning to shape a new behavior, what reinforcement schedule should you use for the initial responses each time you increase the criteria for reinforcement? a. Variable b. Intermittent c. Continuous d. Interval

Q: After you have shaped a successive approximation to a terminal behavior, what reinforcement schedule should you use before increasing your criteria for reinforcement? a. Various b. Intermittent c. Continuous d. Interval

Q: Continuing with the question above Assume that Gretchen analyzes the situation further. Typically, Glen has been allowed to bring an Elmo doll into the bathroom with him when he uses the toilet. (Earlier, Elmo was used as a reinforcer for using the toilet.) Glen sits Elmo on a little potty chair in the bathroom while he uses the toilet. Gretchen notices that the entire time Glen is in the bathroom, he looks at Elmo, talks to him, and sings Sesame Street songs. How should Gretchen use this information? a. She should consider removing Elmo from the bathroom. It may be distracting Glen from attending to the relevant cues for pulling up his pants. b. She should sing along with Glen and play with Elmo while he is toileting. Perhaps making toileting more fun will improve the success of the shaping intervention. c. She should add other Sesame Street toys to the bathroom to make toileting more fun to improve the success of the shaping intervention. d. She should let Glen hold Elmo in one hand while he is pulling up his pants with his other hand so that Elmo is not as distracting.

Q: Gretchen has been trying to teach Glen, a preschooler, to pull up his pants by himself after using the toilet. She has been using a shaping model. She began by reinforcing him with an animal cracker for bending over and touching his waistband. He is now doing that consistently. Next, she wants him to start pulling his pants a little bit. However, she has become very frustrated because Glen continues to simply touch his pants rather than pull a bit. What should Gretchen do? a. Gretchen should pull up his pants for him. Glen is not ready to do this behavior ad will grow into it over time. b. Gretchen should intermittently give Glen a reinforcer for touching his pants to make sure he doesnt get too frustrated. c. Gretchen should reanalyze her task analysis and chunk the skills into bigger steps. d. Gretchen should add a prompt of some sort (e.g., a verbal or physical prompt) to help make the shaping process more efficient.

Q: Laura would like to shape the tidiness of her husband, who always leaves his clothes in a pile on the floor at the end of the day instead of throwing them in the clothes hamper, which is in the laundry room. She begins by providing him with lavish praise and offering to make him a nice dinner when he puts his clothes in a heap in the laundry room rather than in a heap on the bedroom floor. Now, he is consistently putting his clothes in a heap in the laundry room. Next, she plans to provide praise and a nice dinner only if her husband sorts his laundry into whites and colors and puts his laundry into the appropriate laundry basket. What do you think about her plan? a. Given how well Lauras plan has worked to date, this should work fine. b. Laura should proceed in more gradual steps to increase the likelihood of her husbands success. c. Lauras husband is likely to become frustrated and receive little or no reinforcement for quite some time. d. Laura should stop the intervention and be pleased that she has gotten her husband to come this far. e. B & C

Q: Which of the following is an example of shaping to teach an individual to sign please to get access to a toy? (A please sign consists of placing an open palm on the chest and making a circular motion.) a. First reinforce lifting the hand, then reinforce lifting the hand to the chest, then reinforce lifting the hand to the chest and making a circular motion. b. Provide full physical assistance to lift the hand to the chest and making a circular motion, then providing partial physical assistance to lift the hand to the chest and make a circular motion, then providing a model of lifting the hand to the chest and making a circular motion, then providing a verbal prompt to sign please. c. Provide a verbal prompt to sign please. If the individual doesnt sign please, provide a model. If the individual doesnt sign please, provide partial physical assistance to lift the hand to the chest and make a circular motion. If the individual still doesnt sign please, provide full physical assistance to raise hand to chest and make a circular motion. d. Provide a cue to sign please. If the individual signs please, provide reinforcement. If the individual does not sign please, withhold reinforcement.

Q: Describe what the elements of Striefels (1974) imitation training program are and explain why each is important.

Q: Explain why a behavior occurring due to controls of a discriminate operant is similar to, or not similar to, a behavior occurring due to modeling and imitation. Provide examples to help clarify your answer.

Q: State the five elements of Striefels (1974) imitation training program.

Q: In the early stages of imitation training, practitioners should reinforce each occurrence of either a prompted or true imitation.

Q: To maintain quick and active imitation training, practitioners should us short (10-15 minute) training sessions.

Q: Delayed behaviors using the topography of an imitative behavior, by definition, are imitative.

Q: Typically developing children and children with developmental disabilities initially acquire many skill by imitating planned and unplanned models.

Q: Once an imitative behavior has been demonstrated, that behavior comes under the influence of modeled behavior.

Q: A controlling relation between the behavior of a model and the behavior of the imitator is inferred when a novel model evokes a similar behavior in the absence of a history of reinforcement.

Q: When the topography of a previous imitation occurs in the absence of the model it is not imitative behavior.

Q: If progress breaks down while conducting imitation training, the practitioner should: A. Reduce the speed of the lesson B. Back up and move ahead slowly C. Change to alternate behaviors then return D. Remove that behavior from the repertoire

Q: Teaching learners to do what the model does regardless of the behavior modeled is the major objective of what? A. Imitation training B. Antecedent control C. Formal modeling D. Formal similarity

Q: After the model evokes an imitation, that behavior comes into contact with contingencies of: A. similarity B. antecedent control C. reinforcement D. punishment

Q: When a model and the behavior physically resemble each other and are in the same sense mode, this is known as: A. Formal similarity B. Formal modeling C. Formal sensing D. Antecedent control

Q: All antecedent stimuli with the capacity to evoke imitation are potentially: A. planned echoic stimuli B. unplanned echoic stimuli C. planned models D. unplanned models

Q: The model and the behavior must have: A. formal similarity B. environmental relations C. behavioral relations D. imitative behaviors

Q: An antecedent stimulus that evokes the imitative behavior is: A. a chaining of behaviors B. an imitative response chain C. an operative behavior D. a model

Q: Name and describe four ways to transfer stimulus control from prompts to natural stimuli.

Q: Give a novel example of the trained and untrained relations that occur when attempting to achieve stimulus equivalence.