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Behavior

1. Motivating Operations and Differential Reinforcement:
   Motivating operations are environmental variables that alter behavior by either
   encouraging or discouraging certain traits. They function mainly to reduce or enhance the value
   of reinforcement. Establishing operations is a motivating operation that increases the value of the
   reinforcer, which may either be an object, stimulus, or even an event, consequently evoking a
   behavior (Roantree & Kennedy, 2006). Abolishing operations, on the other hand, entails
   decreasing the value of a reinforcer, and the resulting effect is abating a behavior. I would use
   these motivating operations (MOs) to achieve behavior change because behavior is usually
   motivated by something. Thus, after identifying the event, object, or stimulus that motivates a
   certain behavior, then it is easy to modify the behavior accordingly.
   I would use abolishing operations and establishing operations to manipulate behavior
   because their value-altering effect can either entail an increase or a decrease. Thus, the MOs are
   effective in both reinforcing and punishing. The establishing operations make the reinforcer or
   punisher more effective while the abolishing operations reduce their effectiveness. They can
   produce either an evocative or abative effect. Further, the two altering effects are not permanent
   but rather momentary (Roantree & Kennedy, 2006). Thus, the value of a certain consequence is
   easily re-established upon withdrawal of the MO. Further, multiples motivating operations could
   have effects on different behaviors. It is possible for only one MO to influence many behaviors.
   Conversely, certain behavior may be influenced or altered by more than one MOs. These
   defining features of MOs make them effective in planned behavior change.

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There are different types of Differential Reinforcement. Differential reinforcement of
other behavior (DRO) entails delivering a stimulus that has reinforcing effects if the problem
behavior does not occur during a specified period of time ((LeGray et al., 2013). Differential
reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI) involves reinforcing specified behaviors that are
not compatible with the undesirable behavior (LeGray et al., 2013). During this period,
reinforcement for the problem behavior is withheld. The third procedure is differential
reinforcement for alternative behavior (DRA), which entails reinforcing or strengthening a
behavior that is a viable replacement or alternative for the problem behavior (LeGray et al.,
2013). DRA does not necessarily imply that the alternative behavior is not compatible with the
problem one. Lastly, there is differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL), which is a procedure
that aims at reducing the number of times that a certain behavior occurs (LeGray et al., 2013).
DRL does not aim at completely eliminating the behavior but rather just reducing the frequency
of its occurrence. When a certain behavior occurs below a predetermined criterion, then
reinforcement is delivered.
DRO can be used to discourage a certain behavior that is unpleasant. For instance, a
teacher has a student who keeps pulling her hair during class time. The teacher can use DRO to
reinforce the absence of the student pulling her hair. The teacher sets a timer. Every five minutes
that pass without the student pulling her hair, she is reinforced. The reinforcement can be candy
or a small reward. The timer is then reset again. On the other hand, DRL can be used to reduce
the frequency of certain behavior. For instance, Ann, a student, has the tendency to compliment
her peers. However, she does so up to five times during a class period. Using DRL, the teacher
can lower the number of times that she gives the compliments without completely eliminating
the behavior. Thus, by delivering reinforcement to Ann, she gets a pen if she gives two

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compliments only during a class period. If she gives more than two compliments, she does not
receive any reinforcement.
Other procedures that may be incorporated alongside differential reinforcement include
extinction. Extinction is a procedure that discontinues the reinforcement of behavior that was
previously being reinforced. Since differential reinforcement entails implementing a
reinforcement to support only the desired behavior, extinction makes it effective by ensuring that
all other responses resulting in the problem behavior are eliminated.

2. Stimulus Control, Maintenance & Generalization:
   Stimulus refers to a change in energy whose effect is felt on one or more senses of a
   living organism. This may include smell. Stimulus class, on the other hand, refers to a group of
   stimuli that share one or more of temporal, physical, and functional dimensions. An example of a
   stimulus class will be if I ask a friend to bring me glasses. She brings five glasses. Each time she
   comes with different types of glasses. All the glasses brought are in the same stimulus class.
   Stimulus control is any variations in responding when a different stimulus is present.
   Stimulus control occurs in almost every activity in people’s daily lives. Stimulus control is
   established by using differential reinforcement of the targeted behavior or through discrimination
   training (Cooper et al., 2006). It can be achieved through stimulus discrimination training, which
   requires one behavior and two antecedent stimuli. The behavior is reinforced in the presence of
   the first stimuli, but it is not reinforced when the second stimuli are present. Discrimination of
   stimuli entails establishing the difference between two stimuli (the conditioned and the
   unconditioned one). Thus, a response is given only in the presence of a specific stimulus. For
   instance, if bell sound is the conditioned stimulus, then discrimination of stimuli entails being
   able to distinguish between bell sound and sounds made by other objects. Stimulus

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generalization entails the inability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and other
stimuli that are similar to the conditioned one. For instance, a child cries after seeing a rat. The
child elicits a similar response when they see similar furry objects. In this case, there are stimuli
generalization, and the child cannot differentiate between the conditioned stimuli and other
unconditioned stimuli.
Jasmine does not know how t write her name independently, but the aim is to ensure that
she can accomplish the task on her own. First, I would use stimulus prompt fading to teach her.
After writing the name several times by checking on the sheet provided, I would start by altering
one letter at a time. For instance, I would replace ‘J’ with ‘G’ and then watch to see if she can
correctly write her name starting with ‘J’ and not ‘G.’ further, I would also use DRO by asking
Jasmine to write her name two times without referring to the top of her sheet. Every time she
gets it correctly, I reinforce her by giving her time to play with her toys.

3. Verbal Behavior
   The behavioral approach to language is referred to as verbal behavior. Verbal behavior
   attempts to examine how language is shaped by environmental factors. It also examines the
   process of acquiring and expanding language as well as the process of maintaining the language
   that has been learned. In young children, language development takes a predictable pattern. B.F.
   Skinner proposed a framework for analyzing language. According to Skinner, verbal behavior is
   founded on the intercession of the audience (Fryling, 2017). Skinner attempted to analyze the
   variables that affect verbal behavior. The operant paradigm controlling variables were examined
   closely. Important concepts that were examined include reinforcement, deprivation, and
   stimulus. The speaker and the listener both actively participate in verbal behavior. Verbal

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operants are important components of expressive language. The main verbal operants are mand,
tact, echoic, and interverbal.
Mand is a verbal operant that is controlled by what one wants. Asking for things and
items that one wants is the main form of motivation. The reinforcement of mand is thus a
characteristic consequence (Fryling, 2017). A good example is that when a child wants to play,
they ask for a toy. The listener then gives them the toy, and they proceed to play outside. Tact is
a form of verbal behavior where the speaker gives names to things based on sense modes. When
a speaker makes contact with the environment, they name the things that they come in contact
with. The control is founded on one’s senses, which implies that it is controlled by a nonverbal
stimulus. Tact results in conditioned reinforcement. Through discriminative training, the
nonverbal stimulus becomes the S D (Fryling, 2017) . An example is when a child sees a cup, and
they say that that is a cup. The child has used their sense of sight, and the result is that they have
named the items that they have seen.
Echoic is verbal behavior that results when a speaker imitates the verbal behavior of
another speaker (Fryling, 2017). It results from a conversation between two people. When one
person uses a word or phrase, the other person repeats what the other person has just uttered. The
influence in these operant falls under the verbal stimulus. There exists a point-to-point
correspondence between the stimulus and the response. Formal similarity can also be present if
the stimulus and the response bear some form of resemblance (Fryling, 2017). For example, a
speaker says coffee. A second speaker repeats the same word coffee. The operant can help the
second speaker learn to pronounce words correctly. It can also help ensure that the second
speaker retains the words that have been mentioned by the first speaker. Intraverbal occurs when
the response is attached when the response attached to the verbal behavior is different. It is

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characterized by the deferential response to the verbal behavior of another individual. Another
important characteristic is the fact that the verbal response does not have a point to point
correspondence with the stimulus (Fryling, 2017). For example, when a person enquires where I
bought my trouser because it looks good and I respond by stating that I bought the trouser at the
mall. It helps in the expansion of language.

4. Derived Stimulus Relations:
   It refers to a relation between two or more stimuli that is not directly taught. Also, it is
   not based primarily on the stimuli’s physical properties. Derived stimulus relations are
   fundamental functional-analytic components of human cognition and language (Barnes-Holmes
   et al., 2018). Their study was from the onset focused on the development of human language. At
   first, it was seen as the development of untrained or unreinforced responses, which matched with
   each other that developed from a small set of trained responses. For instance, when an individual
   was training to match two stimuli that were abstract to a third one, then matching responses that
   were untrained often appeared when no extra training was done. The concept of equivalence
   relations was consequently formed after the occurrence of such a pattern of unreinforced
   responses. Using the concept of relational frame, scholars were able to capture ways through
   which human language and cognition alter people’s responses to the environment around them
   (Barnes-Holmes et al., 2018).
   B.F Skinner provided the first development of a study of human language and cognition
   that was based on behavior. He defined verbal behavior is a type of behavior that is reinforced
   through the intervention or involvement of other individuals. The behavior must also respond in
   ways that have, in the past, been conditioned to reinforce the speaker’s behavior. Verbal
   behavior is similar to derived stimulus relations in that in both; the response is in reaction to an

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already conditioned stimulus. In both, the speaker receives little training through conditioned
stimuli. Also, reinforcement for the development of language and cognition to occur is by other
people. Verbal behavior derives its primary properties from the fact that it entails social
reinforcement. Although the two share some commonalities, they also differ (Maria de Lourdes,
2012). Unlike derived stimuli relations, verbal behavior exists only in a verbal environment,
where it is shaped and sustained.
Stimulus equivalence has certain defining features. They must be reflexive, symmetrical,
and transitive. Stimulus equivalence, just like discrimination or reinforcement, represents a
unique function whose primitive nature makes it impossible to derive it from other behavioral
processes. Stimulus equivalence refers to a condition where two or more stimuli that are related
to each other produce similar responses (Pilgrim, 2016). For a stimulus to meet the mathematical
description of equivalence, then it must have the three parts of equivalence. The first part is
reflexivity and is shown when here is identity matching. This implies that a sample match with
itself. The chosen stimuli are also the sample. Symmetry occurs when two-way matching occurs
(Pilgrim, 2016). For instance, if ‘S’ is the chosen stimulus and ‘T’ is the sample, and ‘T’ is
chosen as the stimulus and ‘S’ as the sample, then there is the occurrence of symmetry stimulus
equivalence. The last part is the transitivity stimulus equivalence. It occurs when the first
stimulus is matched to the second one, which is consequently matched to the third one. When
represented in the form of an equation, it would be something like this, S=T and T=U, and S=U.
Evidently, the first stimulus matches with the third, and the second stimulus also matches with
the third.

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References

Barnes-Holmes, D., Finn, M., McEnteggart, C., & Barnes-Holmes, Y. (2018). Derived stimulus
relations and their role in a behavior-analytic account of human language and
cognition. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 41(1), 155-173.
Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2006). Applied behavior analysis. (2nd ed.). Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
Fryling, M. J. (2017). The functional independence of Skinner’s verbal operants: Conceptual and
applied implications. Behavioral Interventions, 32(1), 70-78.
LeGray, M. W., Dufrene, B. A., Mercer, S., Olmi, D. J., & Sterling, H. (2013). Differential
reinforcement of alternative behavior in center-based classrooms: Evaluation of pre-
teaching the alternative behavior. Journal of Behavioral Education, 22(2), 85-102.
Maria de Lourdes, R. D. F. (2012). BF Skinner: the writer and his definition of verbal
behavior. The Behavior Analyst, 35(1), 115-126.
Pilgrim, C. (2016). Considering definitions of stimulus equivalence. European Journal of
Behavior Analysis, 17(1), 105-114.
Roantree, C. F., & Kennedy, C. H. (2006). A paradoxical effect of presession attention on
stereotypy: antecedent attention as an establishing, not an abolishing, operation. Journal
of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 381–384.
Urcuioli, P. J. (2013). Stimulus control and stimulus class formation.