Ch. 11 hw 7 e

My goal with this homework assignment is for you to un-

derstand more fully the concepts of learned reinforcers and

learned aversive conditions and how they come to be

learned (through a pairing procedure). You will need to create three examples: a learned reinforcer, a learned aver-

sive condition, and a generalized learned reinforcer. If you

skim through all of my examples in this homework, you will notice that they are all somewhat related to each other-

- they all contribute to one overall example or situation. I

try to draw my examples from my everyday life. I encour-

age you to do the same, this will help you to apply the prin-ciples of behavior analysis to real-world situations of eve-

ryday living rather than hypothetical situations.

First, let's check out some relevant definitions....

Definition: Concept

Learned Reinforcer

A stimulus that is a reinforcer

because it has been paired with another reinforcer.

Definition: Concept

Unlearned Reinforcer

A stimulus that is a reinforcer

though not as a result of pairing with another reinforc-

er.

Examples:

Food

Water

Sexual stimulation

Aggression reinforcers

Warmth

Visual stimulation

Auditory stimulation

Definition: Procedure

Pairing Procedure

The pairing of a neutral stimulus with

a reinforcer or aversive stimulus.

Definition: Principle

Value-altering Principle

The pairing procedure

converts a neutral stimulus into

a learned reinforcer

or learned aversive stimulus.

Chapter 11

Conceptual Work Sheets for

Learned Reinforcers and

Learned Aversive Stimuli

Name: ______________________ __ Instructor: _____ __________ Grade: _ ___ _ LO: 99

Name: _____________________________ Instructor: _______________ Red Grade: _______ Black Grade: ________

Revised by Sarah Lichtenberger on 11/21/13 2

Pairing vs. Value Altering

Let's work on getting these two concepts correctly into your

repertoire before we get ahead of ourselves. A neutral stim-

ulus, event or condition becomes a learned reinforcer or learned aversive condition because it has been paired with

either another reinforcer or aversive condition. The origi-

nal reinforcer or aversive condition which the neutral

stimulus is paired with could be either an unlearned or

an already-established, learned reinforcer or aversive

condition.

Students often fail to distinguish between the pairing pro-cedure and the value-altering principle. We will try to make

that distinction clearer here. The pairing procedure is just

that, a procedure. It is the procedure of pairing a neutral stimulus with a reinforcer or aversive condition. What are

the results of this procedure? The result is an altering of the

value of the neutral stimulus that was paired. What value is altered? It was neutral and it becomes either reinforcing or

aversive. The value-altering principle describes the result of

the pairing procedure. The pairing procedure converts a

neutral stimulus into a learned reinforcer or learned aver-sive condition.

1. In your own words, explain the distinction between the

pairing procedure and the value-altering principle.

Common Confusion

Let's tackle this common confusion right away. When dia-

gramming the pairing of the two stimuli, it is easy to fall in-

to the trap of diagramming a behavior with an after condi-tion; behaviors anywhere in the pairing diagram are wrong.

We need to make that clear now, before you get to the end

of this assignment and realize you have done it all wrong--

that is, foolishly analyzing behaviors in stimulus pairing di-agrams. The pair of stimuli have to pass the stimulus,

event or condition test because they’re stimuli, not be-

haviors; they cannot be behaviors of the behaver to

whom you will be referring in the contingency diagram.

2. Can we pair behaviors?

A. Yes

B. No

No way! When diagraming a pairing, you diagram two

stimuli. It is very easy to fall into the trap of diagramming a behavior and an after condition. Don’t do it, it is wrong.

Here is an incorrect example. Remember the definition of

a Pairing Procedure: Pairing of a neutral stimulus with a reinforcer or aversive condition.

Incorrect pairing:

Correct pairing:

3. When diagramming a pairing procedure, what pink

Contingency-Diagramming Test must both boxes pass?

___________________________________________

4. Do we diagram a behavior and an after condition with

this pairing diagram?

A. yes

B. no

Jaci answers

questions in class

Dr. Malott gives

Jaci an approving

smile

Approving smile Nice comments


5. Please explain what the common confusion is in diagramming a pairing procedure.

Generic Example

When thinking of an example of a learned reinforcer, it is

important to analyze it carefully. It is necessary that during

pairing, the original reinforcer follow the neutral stimulus within a few seconds.

You need to determine what the neutral stimulus was ini-

tially paired with. Are you with us? A learned reinforcer must have been just a plain old neutral stimulus, event or

condition at one point. The neutral stimulus requires a pair-

ing procedure for it to become reinforcing. So you have this neutral stimulus, what was it paired with? Once you have

determined both the neutral stimulus and what it was paired

with, you can refer to the following generic template for di-

agramming the pairing. Note: Position is important! The

left box PRECEDES the right box!

Remember: The original reinforcer can be an unlearned

reinforcer or an already established learned reinforcer.

6. Pairing these two stimuli demonstrates the

A. pairing procedure

B. value-altering principle

7. During pairing, did the original reinforcer follow the

neutral stimulus within a few seconds?

A. yes (Good) B. no (Then it probably wasn't a pairing procedure.)

Eventually, through repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus becomes a learned reinforcer.

8. Becoming a learned reinforcer demonstrates the

A. pairing procedure B. value-altering principle

It is important to understand in what way the neutral stimu-

lus (left box, first pairing diagram), changes when it be-

comes a learned reinforcer (left box, second pairing dia-gram). The stimulus itself does not change; only its value

changes. It went from being neutral to being reinforcing, so

we have a new name for it.... a learned reinforcer.

9. Does the physical property of the neutral stimulus

change when it becomes a learned reinforcer (i.e., does

it change color or become louder or something like

that)? A. yes

B. no

10. What changes?

A. the stimulus itself

B. the value of the stimulus

11. With respect to a pairing procedure, can you pair a neu-

tral stimulus with an unlearned reinforcer?

A. yes

B. no

12. With respect to a pairing procedure, can you pair a neu-

tral stimulus with an already-established, learned rein-

forcer? A. yes

B. no

Before: Behavior: After:

Learned reinforcer

(original neutral stim.)

Unlearned reinforcer

(original reinforcer)

No

learned

reinforcer

Respond Learned

reinforcer

Original neutral

stimulus

Original

(unlearned)

reinforcer


13. During pairing, did the original reinforcer follow the neutral stimulus within a few seconds?

A. yes

B. no

14. Let’s look at establishing attention as a learned rein-forcer. A child receives attention every time he or she

gets food. After repeated pairing the attention becomes

a learned reinforcer. Please diagram this pairing.

How do we know the neutral stimulus has become

a learned reinforcer?

To answer this question, let’s go back to the basics.

15. What is the definition of a reinforcer?

16. If we assume the neutral stimulus has become a learned

reinforcer, what will happen to the behavior when it is presented contingent on a response (refer to the defini-

tion you just wrote)?

A. increase

B. decrease C. nothing will happen

So, if we want to prove that a neutral stimulus has been converted into a learned reinforcer (value-altering effect),

we present the stimulus contingent on a behavior. If the be-

havior increases, we have a learned reinforcer. If the behav-

ior does not increase, the stimulus is not a reinforcer. Refer to the previous generic template.

Notice that you don't use the unlearned reinforcer in the contingency diagram at all. Many students make the mis-

take and often stick the original reinforcer in the behavior

box (remember the original reinforcer is the one that was

paired with the neutral stimulus, thus making the neutral stimulus a learned reinforcer). Don't make that mistake.

The behavior box is where the particular behavior that you

are using for the example goes. All three boxes in the con-

tingency diagrams should always be filled out.

Let’s go back to the Skinner box. For Rudolph we pair the

click with water several times.

17. What is the click before the pairing?

A. neutral stimulus

B. unlearned reinforcer

C. original reinforcer D. none of the above

18. What is the water?

A. neutral stimulus B. unlearned reinforcer

C. original reinforcer

D. b and c

Now we want to prove that the value-altering principle

(neutral stimulus has been converted to a learned reinforc-

er) has taken place.

19. In order to prove that the neutral stimulus (click)

has been converted to a learned reinforcer we must...

A. present the click randomly to Rudolph B. present the click contingent on Rudolph’s response

C. present the water randomly to Rudolph

D. present the water contingent on Rudolph’s response

20. OK, now let’s diagram this procedure as it happens

in the Skinner box--careful, this may be tricky (2).

21. Does the original reinforcer get placed into the be-

havior box of the contingency diagram?

A. yes B. no

22. What concept is relevant for the before and after

conditions?

A. the original reinforcer B. the learned reinforcer

Before Behavior After


Now that you have the basics down you're ready to start applying your behavior analytic repertoire to the rest of this

assignment. Refer back to this entire section as you go

through the rest of this assignment to make sure you are on

the right track.

My example of a Learned Rein-

forcer

Let me point out that my example analyses will illustrate a higher-order pairing, the pairing of the neutral stimulus

with an already-established, learned reinforcer1.

Many

of our everyday life examples are higher-order pairing. For some examples of pairing with unlearned stimuli, refer to

Principles of Behavior (Chapter 11).

I use my computer to watch my favorite television shows

online. Once on the website, I click on my favorite show. Sometimes, when I first attempt to watch a show it does not

load right away. But, within a second or so, I see the load-

ing pinwheel on the screen, and then I’ll immediately be able to watch my favorite show. Therefore, through pairing

the original reinforcer (my favorite show), with the neu-

tral stimulus (loading pinwheel), the loading pinwheel has

become a learned reinforcer.

23.Please diagram the pairing procedure, in my example,

illustrating the value-altering principle by placing the

learned reinforcer into the contingency diagram (Don't for-get the behavior too!)(4)

1 rather than an unlearned reinforcer.

Dotted Line: The dotted line shows that the learned rein-forcer should be placed in the after box. A lot of students

make the mistake of putting the original reinforcer in the

after box. But to show that a neutral stimulus has become a

learned reinforcer, we must show that it will reinforce a be-havior. Therefore, we must present it after the behavior and

see if it increases the frequency of the behavior.

24. Did you put the stimulus that occurred first in the top, left box, and the stimulus that occurred second in the

top, right box?

A. yes (Good) B. no (Revise)

25. Did you put a behavior in the pairing procedure di-

agram?

A. yes (Revise) B. no (Good)

26. Does the after condition follow the behavior by 60

seconds or less? A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)

27. Does the behavior pass the reinforceable response-unit test?

A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)

28. Do the stimuli in the pairing diagram pass the stimulus, event, or condition test?

A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)

29. Is the learned reinforcer placed into the behavior

box?

A. yes (Revise)

B. no (Good, go on)

30. Is the original reinforcer placed anywhere in the

contingency diagram?

A. yes (Revise) B. no (You got it!)

31. What kind of contingency is this?

A. escape B. reinforcement by the presentation of a reinforcer

C. punishment

D. penalty

32. During pairing, did the favorite show follow the loading pinwheel within a few seconds?

A. yes

B. no



33. Originally, what was the pinwheel? A. neutral stimulus

B. original reinforcer

C. learned reinforcer

D. none of the above

34. What has the pinwheel become?

A. neutral stimulus

B. original reinforcer C. learned reinforcer


35. Does the physical property of the neutral stimulus change when it becomes a learned reinforcer?

A. yes

B. no

36. What is my favorite show in this contingency?

(Warning: Tricky question. Please reread the 1st and 2nd

paragraph at the start of this section.)

A. neutral stimulus B. original reinforcer

37. What else is my favorite show?

A. already established learned reinforcer B. unlearned reinforcer

38. In your own words explain how the loading pin-

wheel has become a learned reinforcer.

My Answer -- The sight of the loading pinwheel was im-mediately paired with seeing my favorite TV show several

times. The pairing of those two stimuli converted the sight

of the pinwheel into a learned reinforcer. My behavior of clicking on my favorite show is now reinforced by the load-

ing pinwheel; reinforcement by the presentation of a rein-

forcer contingency.

Some student examples:

Dan’s girlfriend’s perfume has been paired with

her reinforcing presence, so he sniffs her fragrance at Hud-son’s. Really?

o Jay’s new car doesn't beep when she leaves the lights on; so the battery runs down. And when the battery

runs down, her remote car door opener doesn’t work,

and pushing the button on the remote doesn’t produce

that satisfying click, one which she might never have noticed, had she not experienced the no click => no

working car pairing, as well as the click => working

car pairing. And, of course, the learned reinforcing val-ue of the click reinforces pushing the button on her re-

mote. (Note that to some extent, Jay’s talking about

that little emotional rush that comes with the presenta-tion of some reinforcers; the emotional rush is not part

of the definition of the reinforcer and may not be essen-

tial to something being a reinforcer, but it may be a

nice indicator that we are dealing with a reinforcer and that that reinforcer could be used to increase the fre-

quency of behavior. Also, let me note that Jay need not

be aware of her reaction of the click or even that she’s heard the click for it to be a reinforcer; awareness is not

necessary for reinforcement.)

o In a similar manner, all we have to do is look at school kids’ reaction to the recess bell to infer that it would be

a great reinforcer, hypothetically, if we were to make it

contingent on study behavior, for instance. And, of

course, the bell acquired its learned reinforcing power through pairing with recess and its good times.

o In working with Jimmy, the autistic child, Sue pairs her

praise with food reinforcers, causing the praise to be-come a learned reinforcer.

o The Simpson’s song was paired with the enjoyment of

watching TV with my sister. So hearing the sound of

the Simpson’s song reinforced flipping through the channels until I found the Simpson’s on.

o When I turn on the TV, it makes an electric buzzing

sound. The buzzing was paired with a relaxing TV show. Thus the buzz became a learned reinforcer that

reinforced turning on the TV.

Your example of a Learned Rein-

forcer 39. Now, your example, please. Please describe your

example of a learned reinforcer. Try to make it something

that you have actually witnessed or even experienced.


40. Please diagram the pairing procedure, in your ex-ample, illustrating the value-altering principle by placing

the learned reinforcer into the contingency diagram (Don't

forget the behavior too!). Remember...No behaviors in-

volved in the pairing procedure diagram, only in the con-tingency diagram (4).

Use the pink Contingency-Diagramming Job Aid to an-

alyze the example.

41. Did you put a behavior in the pairing procedure di-

agram? A. yes (Revise)

B. no (Cool)



B. no (Revise)


A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)


A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)

45. Is the original reinforcer placed into the behavior

box?

A. yes (Revise) B. no (Good, go on)

46. Is the learned reinforcer placed anywhere in the

contingency diagram?

A. yes (You got it!) B. no (Revise)

47. During pairing, did the original reinforcer follow the neutral stimulus within a few seconds?

A. yes (Good)

B. no (Revise)

48. In your own words explain how the neutral stimu-lus has become a learned reinforcer.

My example of a Learned Aver-

sive stimulus

Now that you have applied your repertoire to the analysis

of a learned reinforcer, you are ready to analyze a learned aversive stimulus. Remember during pairing, the original

aversive stimulus must follow the neutral stimulus within a

few seconds.

First, let's check out a relevant definition....

Definition: Concept:

Learned aversive stimulus

o A stimulus that is aversive o because it has been paired with another aversive stimu-

lus.

I remember when I was working on Principles of Behavior 6.0. I used an outline/word processor we'll call Bugs.

Sometimes it would put a bug in one of the files that held

one of my beloved chapters. Then a strange thing would

happen, when I pressed the control/page-down buttons to move from one page to another. A cute, little black dot

would appear on the edge of my computer screen, the

words would rapidly disappear, and all would be lost--very aversive.



49. Please diagram the pairing procedure, in my exam-ple, illustrating the value-altering principle by placing the

learned aversive stimulus into the contingency diagram

(Don't forget the behavior too!)(4).

Use the pink Contingency-Diagramming Job Aid to an-

alyze the example.

50. Does the after condition follow the behavior by 60 seconds or less?

A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)


A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)

52. Do the stimuli in the pairing diagram pass the

stimulus, event, or condition test?

A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)

53. Is the learned aversive stimulus placed into the be-

havior box?


54. Is the original aversive stimulus placed anywhere

in the contingency diagram? A. yes (Revise)

B. no (You got it!)


A. reinforcement B. escape

C. punishment by the presentation of an aversive

stimulus

D. penalty

56. During pairing, did the loss of words follow the

sight of the black dot within a few seconds?

A. yes (You're groovin’ )

B. no (Oh, you almost had it...revise)

57. What was the sight of the black dot?

A. neutral stimulus

B. original aversive stimulus C. learned aversive stimulus

D. both b and c

58. What has the sight of the black dot become? A. neutral stimulus

B. original aversive stimulus

C. learned aversive stimulus


59. What is the loss of words in the previous example?

A. neutral stimulus

B. original aversive stimulus

60. What else is the loss of words?

A. learned aversive stimulus

B. unlearned aversive stimulus

61. In your own words explain how the sight of the

black dot has become a learned aversive stimulus.

My answer: Well, that black dot was immediately paired

with my loss of a few hours’ worth of words. So the black

dot took on the aversive properties of that loss. And it's oc-casional, but immediate, following of my trying to move

from one page to the next, effectively punished my behav-

ior, a punishment by the presentation of an aversive stimu-lus contingency. Therefore, I spent a whole week searching

for another program to use in its place. I ended up with Lo-

tus Manuscript--the program I'm writing these very words

with, at this very moment.



Your example of a Learned Aver-

sive stimulus

62. Please describe your example of a learned aversive

stimulus.

63. Please diagram the pairing procedure, in your ex-

ample, illustrating the value-altering principle by placing

the learned aversive stimulus into the contingency diagram (the behavior too!). This should be an escape or a punish-

ment contingency (4).

Use the Contingency Diagram Job Aid to analyze the

example.

64. Does the after condition follow the behavior by 60 seconds or less?

A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)


A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)



A. yes (Good!) B. no (Revise)

67. Is the learned aversive stimulus placed into the be-havior box?

A. yes (Revise)

B. no (Good, go on)

68. Is the original aversive stimulus placed anywhere in the contingency diagram?

A. yes (Revise)

B. no (You got it!)


A. reinforcement

B. escape C. punishment by the presentation of an aversive

stimulus

D. penalty

70. During pairing, does the original aversive stimulus follow the neutral stimulus within a few seconds?

A. yes (You're groovin’ )

B. no (Oh, you almost had it...revise)

71. In your own words explain how the neutral stimu-

lus has become a learned aversive stimulus.

Your Example of a Generalized

Learned Reinforcer

72. Please describe your example of a generalized

learned reinforcer (Note: In all the homework, I

greatly prefer that your examples be real, from your real life, something interesting, not just some

contrived example that fits the contingencies but

doesn’t help us gain insight into how the real world really works.)



73. What are some examples of the many other rein-forcers that the neutral stimulus was paired with?

74. Please diagram the pairing procedure, in your ex-

ample, illustrating the value-altering principle by

placing the learned reinforcer into the contingency

diagram (the behavior too!)(4).

Use the Contingency Diagramming Job Aid to analyze

the example.



B. no (Revise)

76. Does the behavior pass the reinforceable response-

unit test? A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)


A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)

78. Is the generalized learned reinforcer placed into the

behavior box?

A. yes (Revise)

B. no (Good, go on)

79. Are any of the original reinforcers placed anywhere

in the contingency diagram?

A. yes (Revise) B. no (You got it!)

80. During pairing, did all of the original reinforcers follow the neutral stimulus within a few seconds of each

other?

A. yes (Good)

B. no (Revise)

81. On what occasions would that pairing have taken

place?

A. when I was deprived of those other reinforcers, the backup reinforcer.

B. when I was not deprived of them.

C. it doesn’t matter whether or not I was deprived of them.

82. In your own words explain how the neutral stimu-

lus has become a generalized learned reinforcer.

OPTIONAL:

My example of a Generalized

Learned Reinforcer

Now let's try out your repertoire on the analysis of a gener-

alized learned reinforcer. However, this is a very complex

example of a generalized learned reinforcer.

Points to consider:

Power and control seems to be the stimulus condi-

tion of having done something that produced the

intended results.

The more difficult the task the more rewarding.

Power and control become generalized learned re-

inforcers early on in life (i.e. Infant crying followed

by bottle, etc.)

Make sure you check out the definition prior to working on

the problems.

Definition: Concept

Generalized Learned Reinforcer

o A learned reinforcer that is a reinforcer, o because it was paired with a variety of other

reinforcers.


Learned Reinforcer o A stimulus that is a reinforcer

o because it has been paired with another reinforcer.

The crucial difference between these two concepts is that a

learned reinforcer is paired with only one other reinforcer and the generalized learned reinforcer is paired with many

other reinforcers.

I've been known to spend 20 to 30 hours in a single week-end, fiddling with my computer and programs. What's the

generalized learned reinforcer maintaining all this? Power.

Control. (Incidentally, 5 out of 20 PSY 1400 students have been sucked into their computer unnecessarily for five

hours in a row, a moderate level of computer degeneracy.)

Why is control a generalized learned reinforcer? Control

over our environment has been immediately paired with all sorts of other reinforcers, like getting water from a tap, a

soft drink from a vending machine (in Japan, you can get

beer that way!), getting your car to start, especially on a cold winter's morning, getting the furnace to start, etc. One

of the reasons why control over the computer is so effective

may be that it's so immediate, even though it may be inter-mediate. When you make the right response, your computer

does all sorts of amazing tricks, immediately; you have

immediate power and control.

83. Illustrate the value-altering principle by diagram-ming an example of the pairing procedure other than the

computer tricks example.

84. Now fill in the contingency diagram so as to show

that power and control have become learned reinforcers.

Use the Contingency Diagram Job Aid to analyze the

example.

85. Does the after condition follow the behavior by 60 sec-

onds or less?


86. Does the behavior pass the reinforceable response-

unit test? A. yes (Good!)

B. no (Revise)




88. Is the generalized learned reinforcer placed into the

behavior box?


89. Are any of the original reinforcers placed anywhere

in the contingency diagram? A. yes (Revise)

B. no (You got it!)

90. During pairing, did the many other reinforcers al-ways follow the power and control within a few seconds of

each other?

A. yes (Good)

B. no (Revise)

91. What are some examples of the many other rein-

forcers that the power and control were paired with (be-

sides computer tricks)?

92. On what occasions would that pairing have taken

place?

A. when I was deprived of those other reinforcers, the backup reinforcer.

B. when I was not deprived of them.

C. it doesn’t matter whether or not I was deprived of

them.

When I was deprived of those other reinforcers? Yes, that's

right, keep going....

93. In your own words explain how the neutral stimu-lus has become a generalized learned reinforcer.

Incidentally, 19 out of 20 PSY 1400 students agreed with

this analysis and that power and control are powerful rein-

forcers for all of us.


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Ch. 11 hw 7 e

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