Behaviorism Study Guide

Behaviorism Study Guide

Objectives:

• Identify when the use of behaviorist strategies is most appropriate
• Describe a system of reinforcers and punishers you might use in your future classroom
• Discuss the differences between classical and operant conditioning

Key Terms:

Pages 241-252

Learning (Behaviorist definition) – Process where experience causes permanent change in knowledge or behavior.

Contiguity – Association of two event because of repeated pairing.

Stimulus – An event that activates behavior.

Response – Observable reaction to a stimulus.

Classical conditioning – Association of automatic responses with new stimuli. (Pavlov's dogs)

    Neutral stimulus – Stimulus that's not connected to a response.

    Unconditioned stimulus (US) – Stimulus that automatically produces an emotional or physiological response.

    Unconditioned response (UR) – Naturally occurring emotional or physiological response.

    Conditioned stimulus (CS) – Stimulus that evokes an emotional or physiological response after conditioning.

    Conditioned response (CR) – Learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Generalization (not in text) – the tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli.

Discrimination (not in text) – the ability to perceive and respond to differences among stimuli... more advanced form of generalization.

Operant conditioning – Learning in which voluntary behavior is strengthened or weakened by consequences or antecedents.

Reinforcement/Reinforcer – Use of consequences to ALWAYS strengthen behavior, or an event that follows a behavior to increase likelihood their do it again.

Positive reinforcement – strengthening behavior by presenting a desired stimulus after behavior.

Negative reinforcement – Strengthening behavior by removing an adverse stimulus then the behavior occurs.

Punishment – Process that ALWAYS weakens or suppresses behavior.

Presentation punishment – Decreasing the chances that a behavior will occur again by presenting an aversive stimulus following the behavior; also called Type I punishment.

Removal punishment – Decreasing the chances that a behavior will occur again by removing a pleasant stimulus following the behavior; also called Type II punishment.

Continuous reinforcement schedule – reinforcer comes after every appropriate response.

Intermittent reinforcement schedule – reinforcer comes after some but not all responses.

Extinction – disappearance of a learned response.

Cueing – providing a stimulus that “sets up” a desired behavior.

Pages 253-268

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) – The application of behavioral learning principles to understand and change behavior.

Premack Principle – states that a more-preferred activity can serve as a reinforcer for a less-preferred activity.

Shaping – reinforcing each small step of progress toward goal or behavior.

Positive practice – practicing correct responses immediately after errors.

Response cost – punishment by loss of reinforcers.

Group consequences – rewards or punishments given to a whole class for adhering to or violating rules.

Contingency contract – contract between teacher and student that specifies what student must do to earn a reward or privilege.

Token Economy (token reinforcement system) – system where tokens are earned for academics and behavior which can be exchanged for a reward.

Fading (not in text) - behavior modification where an initial prompting to perform an action is gradually withdrawn until the need for it fades away.

Summary:

There are lots of ways to condition or train people to respond in desirable ways. You can do individual conditioning or group/class conditioning. I'll need to figure out what kinds of things I'll be able to do in my school and what kinds of conditioning would be best for my classes. I found the severe behavior problems information interesting. Students with severe behavior problems seem to behave better when they can earn something monetary. I really liked the contingency contract for completing assignments graph. I like how the chart moves up so it shows progress always in an upward slant. I like the idea of students being able to gauge how they are doing with this chart. I could make a standard chart for everyone in the class and they could fill out their progress as we go throughout the semester with regular check ups. My only question would be what the chart looks like if they got behind on one section and was on track later... so they might have several late assignments.