OpenStax College (2017). Psychology. https://openstax.org/details/psychology. Read the following: Chapters 5 and 6Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). (n.d.). Shown in PowerPoint presentation attached. V

Cooper, Heron, and Howard (2007) provide the following definition of Applied Behavior Analysis:

Applied Behavior Analysis is the science in which t he principles of the analysis of behavior are applied systematica lly to improve socially significant behavior and experimentation i s used to identify the variables responsible for behavior cha nge. What does this mean? •ABA focus on principles that explain how learning o ccurs. We are all surrounded by these principles and they help us lea rn from our environment and others.

• One such instance is positive reinforcement. If we engage in a behavior and receive reinforcement (some sort of re ward), we are more likely to engage in that behavior in the futur e.

• ABA uses scientifically valid treatments to make si gnificant changes in behavior. Reinforcement •It has been referred to as “reward”, although this is not always the case.

• Reinforcement always increasesthe likelihood that a behavior will occur again in the future.

• It is important to note that if a behavior does not increase, then the added stimulus is not considered a reinforcer.

• Example: Dina’s mother offers her a piece of candy in order for her to finish her homework. Dina refuses and therefore her mom be lieves that reinforcement does not work.

• In this example, candy is not a reinforcer because it is not motivating enough for Dina to complete her homework. Say, for example, her mother offers her 30 minutes on her computer if she finish es her homework. Dina finishes her homework promptly. The computer is con sidered a reinforcer. Positive Reinforcement •A stimulus is addedand it will increasethe likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

• Examples: •Claire raises her hand in class and is called on. S he is more likely to raise her hand in the future.

• Every 2 weeks Matthew gets paid for working. He is more likely to work in the future.

• Marco is successful in hitting his sister in order to get her toys. He is more likely to continue hitting her when he wants her to ys. Negative Reinforcement •A stimulus is removedand it will increasethe likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

• Examples: •Keira’s brother hits her every time he wants to play with her toys. In order to stop his hitting, she gives him her toys. She will more likely continue giving him her toys when he starts hitting her.

• Martin starts crying because he wants attention. Be cause the noise frustrates his mom, she readily picks him up and it stops the crying. She will more likely continue picking him up to stop the crying. Punishment •Punishment always decreasesthe likelihood that the behavior will occur again in the future.

• It is important to note that punishment may sometim es lead to some aggression and/or frustration.

• In addition, the punisher may become an aversive st imulus to the individual being punished.

• Finally, it is possible that although the behavior being punished decreases, it may present itself as a different beh avior. Positive Punishment •A stimulus is addedand it will decreasethe likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

• Examples: •One day Tim starts biting his brother and his broth er bites him back. He is less likely to bite his brother again.

• Mark is changing the wall outlet without turning of f the electricity. When he’s handling the wires he is mildly electrocuted. He wi ll not likely change any wall outlets without turning off the electricity in the future.

• Betty is late for a presentation and receives a wri tten warning. She is less likely to arrive late for a presentation again. Negative Punishment •A stimulus is removedand will decrease the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

• Examples: •Mikey is fighting with his sister over a toy and th eir mother removes the toy from both of them. They are less likely to fight ov er a toy again.

• Chantel is playing with her friends when she refuse s to share and starts being disruptive. Her mother places her on timeout. She i s less likely to hit her friends again.

• A student talks back to his teacher. The student th en loses recess. He is less likely to talk back to his teacher in the future. Functions of behavior •Even though the topography of a behavior (e.g., cry ing) may look the same, they might have different functions.

• In order to appropriately respond to a behavior, on ce must know the function of the behavior.

• There are 4 functions of behavior •Attention • Escape/Avoidance • Tangibles • Sensory Functions of behavior •Attention •Individual engages in a behavior in order to gain a ttention. •Escape/Avoidance •Individual engages in a behavior in order to escape /avoid a stimulus. •Tangibles •Individual engages in a behavior in order to gain a ccess to a stimulus or activity. • Sensory •Individual engages in self-stimulatory behavior (wh ich is self-reinforcing).

Example: Matt bites his nails when he’s nervous. Behavior Analysis in every day life •Beth tells her daughter that she needs to clean up her toys. Beth starts crying and throwing a tantrum. Beth… Places her on time-out. Beth believes she is punish ing her daughter by placing her on time-out. However, the reason her daughter i s throwing a tantrum is to escape a demand (cleaning her toys). Therefore, taking her away from such demand is positively reinforcing her tantrum behavi or. In the future, she will most likely throw a tantrum in order to escape a de mand. •What could have Beth done instead? When the function of the behavior is escape/avoidan ce, it is important to follow through. In this scenario, Beth should have followed through with her demand (having her daughter clean up her toys). Behavior Analysis in every day life •Aydin is on the phone with his wife when little Mar k starts screaming, “dad, dad, dad, dad!” Aydin turns to his son and te lls him to be quiet.

Little Mark continues to scream until Aydin is off the phone. Aydin… Believes that he was disciplining his son by scolding him to be quiet. In fact, he was positively reinforcing his attention-seeking be havior •What should have Aydin done instead? Because the function of the behavior is attention-s eeking, more appropriate responses need to be taught and inappropriate atten tion-seeking behaviors need to be ignored. Beware of extinction burst!(behaviors get worse before they get better).

Optional video example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T2R8pTpcoo Behavior Analysis in every day life •Shaun is playing with his favorite toy when his mom tells him he needs to go to bed. He continues playing with his toy until his mom comes up to him and takes it away from him. Shaun starts crying and throwing himself on the floor. His mom, seeing how frustrated he is, gi ves him the toy back and tells him he can have 10 more minutes with it. His mom… Believes she was being lenient and giving him an opportunity to calm down. As it turns out, by giving back his toy after his tantrum, she positively reinforced the tantrum. •What should have Shaun’s mom done? In this scenario, proactive approaches could have b een attempted (such as giving him a warning, e.g., “you have 10 minutes before bed time ”). As a consequence to removing a tangible object, it is always best to not give ba ck the object after a tantrum. A-B-C In order to determine the function of the behavior, we need to look at the ABCs of the situation. • A – Antecedent • B – Behavior • C – Consequence For example: Beth told her daughter to put her toys away and she threw a tantrum, resulting in a time-out.

Antecedent – Beth asking her daughter to put her toy s away Behavior – Beth’s daughter throwing a tantrum Consequence – Time-out for Beth’s daughter. Summary •By finding out the ABCs of the behavior, we can bes t determine how to react to different situations given the function of such behavior.

• Our behavior and those of others are shaped through consequences (positively or negatively reinforced/punished). Beh avior modification is complex but the basic principles applies to all of us.

• Applied Behavior Analysis has been most popular use d with children diagnosed with Autism and other developmental disab ilities, but it can be used in other fields such as: animal trainin g, gerontology, organizational behavioral management, counseling, e xercise, language acquisition, substance abuse, education, e tc. References •Cooper J. O., Heron T. E., Heward W. L. (2007) Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.