UNIT 4

Question 1

Describe the relationship between

diagnosis and stability

Answer 1

ASD seem to have more stable preference assesement.

Question 2

According to a survey conducted by Graff and Karsten (2012), how often did most BCBAs say they conducted full-scale preference assessments?

Answer 2

Less than once a month

Question 3

Research conducted by Zhou, Iwata, Goff, and Shore (2001) has suggested greater stability in stimuli ranked in what part of the preference hierarchy?

Answer 3

The top of the hierarchy

Question 4

Research examining preference stability as a function of diagnosis has generally suggested what?

Answer 4

Preferences may be more stable for persons diagnosed with ASD

Question 5

Which of the following has been suggested as a determining factor in whether or not frequent preference assessments help increase accuracy?

Answer 5

If preferences vary

Question 6

. List the two things to which the

effectiveness of a reinforcer can refer

Answer 6

The effectiveness of a reinforcer can
refer to both
1. Its momentary capacity to support
responses that produce it
2. Its utility in producing long-term behavior
change

Question 7

What operations might alter the prolonged

value of a stimulus?

Answer 7

Repeated exposure?
 Value enhancing effects (mere exposure)
 Learning how to extract reinforcement?
 Explains displacement of leisure items by
food?
 Reinforced engagement?
 Value diminishing effects (long-term satiation)
 Stimulus-stimulus pairings?
 Contingency?

Question 8

Describe the general conclusions from

the Hanley et al. studies

Answer 8

Hanley et al. (1999, 2003, 2006):

Shifting activity preferences: Can we
make something preferred when it was
not already?
 By pairing less preferred activity with
established reinforcers through contingent
delivery?
 By pairing less preferred activity with
established reinforcers through
noncontingent delivery?

Question 9

Hanley, Iwata, & Lindberg (1999):

Answer 9

Examined choices between activities in a
concurrent chain
 First link determined the subsequent
activity
 Differing arrangements/schedules in the
subsequent activity
 Measured proportion of selections as
function of
 Reinforcement delivered for engagement
(not choosing) in the less preferred activity
 Does this impact choices?

Question 10

Describe the effect delays have on the

value of a reinforcer

Answer 10

Generally, delays to reinforcement can
weaken the effectiveness of behavioral
arrangements
 And result in decreases in the value of
a reinforcer 
Primary, directly consumable
reinforcers are discounted more steeply
than conditioned reinforcers

Question 11

Leon, Borrero, & DeLeon (in preparation):

Answer 11

Delayed food produced greatest persistence
 Delayed tokens produced most rapid
decreases in responding
 Immediate token delivery with a delayed
exchange opportunity equaled (David) or
exceeded (Chris) effects of delayed food
 Conditioned reinforcers less susceptible to
adverse effects of delay?
 Seems to depend on when they are earned
and exchanged

Question 12

Determinants of Stimulus Value:

Rate

Answer 12

Rate of reinforcement: Shown to affect relative

response allocation

Question 13

Matching law (ML):

Answer 13

Matching law (ML): Organisms will distribute
behavior among concurrently available
alternatives in same proportion that reinforcers
distributed among those alternatives
 In humans, the ML obtains for
 Problem behavior
 Academic responding
 Communicative behavior

Question 14

Determinants of Stimulus Value:

Quality

Answer 14

Conceptualized
in terms of level of preference (higher
preference = better quality)
Higher preference, better quality reinforcers
may function as relatively more potent reinforcers

Question 15

Determinants of Stimulus Value:

Magnitude

Answer 15

Mixed results obtained from studies
examining effects of magnitude
 Some suggest positive relation between
magnitude and responding
 Others suggest no relation

Question 16

Trosclair-Lasserre, Lerman, Call, Addison, &

Kodak (2008):

Answer 16

Magnitude may
also play an
important role
when thinning
schedules of
reinforcement

Question 17

Which of the following did Hanley et al. conclude regarding shifts in preference produced through conditioning procedures?

Answer 17

Effects seemed to be transient

Question 18

Research examining the effects of delay to
reinforcement has generally suggested
which of the following?

Answer 18

Effects seemed to be transient

Question 19

Research examining the effects of delay to reinforcement has generally suggested which of the following?

Answer 19

Delays can decrease the value of a reinforcer

Question 20

Research examining the effects of reinforcer quality has generally suggested which of the following?

Answer 20

Better quality reinforcers may function as more potent reinforcers

Question 21

Research examining the effects of reinforcer
quality has generally suggested which of the
following?

Answer 21

Better quality reinforcers may function as more potent reinforcers

Question 22

Magnitude of reinforcement can vary according to which of the following properties?

Answer 22

Quantity, intensity, or duration

Question 23

List the two functions of motivating

operations

Answer 23

Reinforcer establishing function:
Momentary alters the reinforcing
effectiveness of other events
2. Evocative function: Momentarily alters
the frequency of occurrence of the type
of behaviors that produces those other
events as a consequence

Question 24

What is a Motivating operation again?

Answer 24

An environmental event, operation, or

stimulus condition that serves 2 functions

Question 25

Describe stimulus satiation

Answer 25

``` Stimulus satiation  Momentarily decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of the stimulus  Momentarily decreases the frequency of behaviors that have produced the stimulus as a consequence ```

Question 26

Describe stimulous deprivation

Answer 26

``` Stimulus deprivation  Momentarily increases the reinforcing effectiveness of that stimulus  Momentarily increases the frequency of behavior that p ```

Question 27

Describe the effects of motivating operations on preference rank and responding

Answer 27

Conclusions on motivating operations  Can influence preference assessment results  May influence reinforcer value, but not necessarily under naturalistic conditions  More interesting examples may not involve deprivation or satiation, but conditioned establishing operations  Transitive CEO manipulated to enhance motivation for mands in response chains  Are there different “kinds” of satiation?

Question 28

Determinants of Stimulus Value: Motivating Operations  Gottschalk, Libby, & Graff (2000):

Answer 28

Deprivation and satiation effects with food on preference assessment outcomes • Control: Regulated (premeasured) access for 24 hr before assessment • Deprivation: 48 hour deprivation for one stimulus at a time; regulated access for others • Satiation: 10 min free access before assessment; regulated access for other  Paired-stimulus preference assessment following manipulations

Question 29

Stimulus satiation is defined as a motivating operation which functions to momentarily _______ the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus and momentarily ________ the frequency of behavior that produce the stimulus as a consequence.

Answer 29

Decrease; decrease

Question 30

The results of a study conducted by Vollmer and Iwata (1991) examining rates of simple responses under conditions of deprivation and satiation revealed which of the following?

Answer 30

Satiation decreased mean response rate

Question 31

The results of studies examining the effects of motivating operations (MOs) on preference and reinforcer assessment outcomes have generally found that:

Answer 31

MOs can influence preference assessment results and may influence reinforcer assessments

Question 32

Determinants of stimulus value: | Behavioral economics

Answer 32

``` Can the effectiveness of a reinforcer be influenced by the nature of other, qualitatively different reinforcers in the environment?  Behavioral economics: Imports principles of microeconomics to the study of operant behavior ```

Question 33

Elasticity of Demand

Answer 33

Elasticity of demand = sensitivity to price  Extent to which changes in unit price influence consumption of the commodity Elastic demand: Changes in price produce larger than proportional changes in consumption

Question 34

Inelastic demand:

Answer 34

Changes in price produce less than proportional changes in consumption E.g., 1% increase in price produces < 1% decrease in consumption

Question 35

Elasticity of Demand

Answer 35

``` Stimuli with equivalent initial consumption (under low cost conditions) may have very different demand profiles ```

Question 36

What Influences Elasticity of | Demand?

Answer 36

``` Open vs. closed economies  Open economy: Consumption of reinforcer not dependent on responding within earning context Supplemental access to reinforcer provided outside of earning context  Closed economy: Consumption of reinforcer entirely dependent on responding within earning context No supplemental access ```

Question 37

What Influences Elasticity of | Demand?

Answer 37

Nature of available alternatives  Demand is more elastic when substitutable reinforcers are concurrently available  Substitutable reinforcers: Reinforcers that share important functional properties  E.g., two food items

Question 38

Describe whether demand is more or less elastic under open economies

Answer 38

``` Greater defense of consumption (less elastic curves) under closed economies than open economies ```

Question 39

Describe whether demand is more or less elastic when substitutable stimuli are available

Answer 39

Demand is more elastic when substitutable reinforcers are concurrently available  Substitutable reinforcers: Reinforcers that share important functional properties  E.g., two food items

Question 40

Which of the following best describes inelastic demand?

Answer 40

Changes in price produce less than | proportional changes in consumption

Question 41

Which of the following best describes elastic | demand?

Answer 41

Changes in price produce greater than | proportional changes in consumption

Question 42

Which of the following best defines an open economy?

Answer 42

Consumption of reinforcer not dependent on | responding with experimental environment

Question 43

Which of the following have been suggested to | influence the elasticity of demand?

Answer 43

Constraints on income re: “luxury goods” vs. “necessary goods” b. Open and closed economies c. Nature of available alternatives

Question 44

Demand appears to be less elastic under | which of the following conditions?

Answer 44

When functionally dissimilar stimuli are | concurrently available

Question 45

``` Determinants of stimulus value: Contingency a. Describe research on the effects of past effort on the current value the reinforcer itself ```

Answer 45

Clement et al. (2000): Assessed effects of past effort on the current value of SD associated with identical reinforcers DeLeon et al. (2011):  Free reinforcers lose value more rapidly than earned reinforcers

Question 46

Contingency and Stimulus Value

Answer 46

Variable effects:  Contingent stimuli do not always increase in value and greater effort is not related to greater increase in value  Consistent effects:  Noncontingent delivery may devalue stimuli more rapidly  Did contingency at least help to preserve value against what might be a natural decline?  Is the decrement sufficient to impact clinical intervention?

Question 47

Which of the following conditions resulted in the largest percentage increase in selection percentage and break point in the study conducted by DeLeon et al. (2011)?

Answer 47

. Restricted access

Question 48

Studies examining the effects of contingency on stimulus value have suggested which of the following as a consistent finding?

Answer 48

. Noncontingent delivery may devalue stimuli | more rapidly

Question 49

Determinants of stimulus value: Accumulation and continuity a. Describe accumulated reinforcement

Answer 49

``` Reinforcer Accumulation  “…reinforcers need not be consumed following each completion of a schedule requirement but rather can be accumulated, then collected and consumed later.” McFarland & Lattal (2001) JEAB  We want kids to accumulate reinforcers  Does not interrupt ongoing behavior  Requires fewer teacher resources  But…the inherent d ```

Question 50

What promotes accumulation?

Answer 50

Consumption cost (Yankelevitz et al., 2008) Consumption cost (Yankelevitz et al., 2008)  Interest for savings?  The nature of the reinforcer? Continuity?

Question 51

Procedures that interrupt continuity

Answer 51

``` Procedures that interrupt continuity might alter the quality of the reinforcer, thus discounting its effectiveness (Hackenberg & Pietras, 2000) The effectiveness of some reinforcers (e.g., video) might partly depend on uninterrupted access  Is the individual willing to “pay” to preserve continuity ```

Question 52

Continuity and Stimulus Value

Answer 52

Continuity and Stimulus Value

Question 53

Continuity and Stimulus Value: | Amount of Work

Answer 53

``` Is demand for delayed, accumulated access more or less elastic as an equal amount of immediate, but distributed access?  2 Concurrent-schedule demand curves: 1. First series (No tokens):  Test stimulus (Escalating option): Increasing FR across phases (FR1, FR2, FR5, FR10, FR20, etc.)  Second stimulus, constant FR1 Is demand for delayed, accumulated access more or less elastic as an equal amount of immediate, but distributed access?  2 Concurrent-schedule demand curves: 2. Second series (Tokens):  Token later exchangeable for test stimulus (Escalating option): Increasing FR across phases (FR1, FR2, FR5, FR10, FR20, etc.)  Second stimulus, constant FR1 ```

Question 54

Accumulated access, mediated through | tokens…

Answer 54

``` Supports faster work  Supports greater overall quantity of work  Is preferred by learners  Why do we care? “Dissimilar” reinforcers may produce more “durable” TX when (1)Problem behavior is reinforced, and (2)Reinforcement of appropriate behavior thinned Tokens exchanged for accumulated activities (1)Have same desirable qualities as edibles (2)May produce similar therapeutic effects (3)Lack “undesirable qualities” ```

Question 55

c. Describe the conclusions about | accumulation

Answer 55

```  Accumulated access, mediated through tokens…  Supports faster work  Supports greater overall quantity of work  Is preferred by learners  Why do we care? “Dissimilar” reinforcers may produce more “durable” TX when (1)Problem behavior is reinforced, and (2)Reinforcement of appropriate behavior thinned Tokens exchanged for accumulated activities (1)Have same desirable qualities as edibles (2)May produce similar therapeutic effects (3)Lack “undesirable qualities” Accumulated access, mediated through tokens…  Supports faster work  Supports greater overall quantity of work  Is preferred by learners  Is it really about continuity? ```

Question 56

Delivery of a brief period of access each time a small response requirement is met best describes which of the following?

Answer 56

. Distributed reinforcement

Question 57

Delivery of all reinforcement at the same time following the completion of a larger response requirement best describes which of the following?

Answer 57

b. Accumulated reinforcement

Question 58

All of the following are general conclusions regarding research on accumulated access mediated through tokens EXCEPT which?

Answer 58

Is not preferred by learners

Question 59

Determinants of stimulus value: Stimulus variation a. Define stimulus variation

Answer 59

Determinants of Stimulus Value: Stimulus Variation  Stimulus variation: Arranges for rotation of different reinforcers following responding  Found to increase response rate and decrease interresponse time  May be preferred even if the varied reinforcers are of lesser preference but still moderately preferred  Stimulus variation appears to have some effect but only in so far as the stimuli that are being presented are moderately to highly preferred

Question 60

. Describe effect on stimulus value

Answer 60

``` Determinants of Stimulus Value: Stimulus Variation Effect of stimulus variation seems to be idiosyncratic across individuals Moderately to highly preferred stimuli seem to have some effect on response rate and IR ```

Question 61

Describe findings of relevant | research on stimulous variation

Answer 61

Determinants of Stimulus Value: Variation and Choice  Can varying reinforcers or providing choice of reinforcers produce beneficial effects?  Several methods for incorporating different reinforcers  Frequent preference assessment (e.g., DeLeon et al., 2001)  Stimulus variation  Pre-session selection  Post-response reinforcer choic

Question 62

Which of the following best defines stimulus | variation?

Answer 62

b. | Arranges for rotation of different reinforcers following responding

Question 63

 Stimulus variation appears to have some effect on response rate and interresponse time provided that the stimuli that are being presented are of what level of preference?

Answer 63

Moderately to highly preferred

Question 64

Determinants of stimulus value: Choice a. Define pre-session selection

Answer 64

Pre-session selection  Ask the learner which reinforcer they would like to earn in the following instructional session

Question 65

Define within session choice

Answer 65

``` Within-session (post-response) choice  Permit the learner to choose from a small array of reinforcers each time the schedule requirement is met ```

Question 66

Describe how yoking is used in | research on choice

Answer 66

``` Graff & Libby (1999):  Pre-session  Participant chose1 of 3 HP edible items prior to each session  That stimulus used to reinforce responding throughout the session  Within-session choice  3 HP edible items placed behind response  Participant chose 1 of 3 after meeting schedule requirement Determinants of Stimulus Value: Choice  Choice vs. no choice  Lerman et al. (1997): Within-trial subject or experimenter choice Choice  Subject selected among 2 HP stimuli Yoked No Choice  Reinforcer selected by experimenter on the basis of order chosen in the preceding choice condition  Yoking studies suggest no effects of choice  The problem with yoking procedures  Although they approximate a method of control for momentary fluctuations in preference,  They are not perfect because preferences may change across brief time spans or as a function of exposure in preceding sessions  How, then, to perfectly isolate the effects of choice? ```

Question 67

 Which of the following best describes presession choice?

Answer 67

Learner selects reinforcer they would like to | earn in the following instructional session

Question 68

 Which of the following best describes within | session choice?

Answer 68

Learner chooses reinforcer each time the | schedule requirement is met

Question 69

Which of the following best describes yoking | procedures used in research on choice?

Answer 69

Reinforcer selected by experimenter on the basis of order chosen in the preceding choice condition

Question 70

Which of the following best describes the general conclusions regarding research on the effects of choice?

Answer 70

Choice may be preferable but not always | beneficial

Question 71

What if “Reinforcement” Doesn’t | Work?

Answer 71

 Reinforcement is defined by its effect on the response upon which it is made contingent – it increases responding

Question 72

Procedural Mismatches

Answer 72

The stimulus used was not a reinforcer  It was perhaps chosen arbitrarily or based upon conventional wisdom, but never directly evaluated for its reinforcing efficacy  E.g., this may happen often with social praise  Preference and/or reinforcer assessment should be used to systematically determine or at least to estimate the likely effectiveness of the stimulus as a reinforcer before it is incorporated into the relevant context The stimulus was not a reinforcer under the specific conditions in which it was arranged  The item delivered contingent upon the target response was insufficiently effective relative to that response  It may have been tested for reinforcer effectiveness under separate (perhaps less stringent) conditions and found effective, but efficacy did not extend to current conditions  Important to test reinforcer effects under conditions that approximate the conditions of their use in the relevant context The stimulus used was no longer a reinforcer under these conditions  It was once a reinforcer under these conditions, but effectiveness has since been altered by some other event  E.g., satiation, developmental changes  The use of ineffective stimuli in the relevant context can be avoided by repeated preference assessments across time

Question 73

Which of the following is a possible solution | when the stimulus used was not a reinforcer?

Answer 73

Conduct PA and/or reinforcer assessments

Question 74

Which of the following is a possible solution when the stimulus was not a reinforcer under the specific conditions in which it was arranged?

Answer 74

Test reinforcer under conditions that approximate | the conditions of their use in the relevant contex

Question 75

Which of the following is a possible solution when the stimulus followed the wrong response?

Answer 75

. Ensure that the reinforcer is contingent on the | behavior of interest

Question 76

What if “Reinforcement” | Decreases Responding?

Answer 76

``` Again assuming that the contingency was executed with fidelity, a decrease in responding may result from  Overjustification (previously covered)  Punishment: Time-out from preferred activity  Discriminative properties of reinforcers: Reinforcer evokes incompatible behavior ```

Question 77

Which of the following best describes how punishment can result in a decrease in responding when a “reinforcement” contingency is arranged?

Answer 77

Time-out from preferred activity

Question 78

 Which of the following best describes how the discriminative properties of reinforcers can result in a decrease in responding when a “reinforcement” contingency is arranged?

Answer 78

Reinforcer evokes incompatible behavior