THE RESPONSEPSY 3570: Practicum with Special Populations

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Correct or Incorrect Response One line on the monitoring form

But that doesn’t mean it’s not important Most important part of the trial Correct responses lead to reinforcement Incorrect responses are teaching

opportunities There are many different types of

responses

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Verbal Responses

We have a few different types of procedures requiring a vocal response Echoics (IM Words/IM Prases) Manding (Child-specific) Tacting (Label objects, noun/verb) Intraverbals (Sentence completion)

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Verbal Responses

Why do verbal responses require more attention? Shaping/Differential Reinforcement Many of the children cannot enunciate the

responses very well Your job is to determine if each utterance was

correct, or at least an acceptable approximation Consistently requiring approximations that are

closer and closer to the desired terminal response should result in clear, correct responses over time (example on next slide)

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Shaping Up the Word “Bubbles”1. Child says “buh” YES/REINFORCE

(first close approximation – keep reinforcing until you have a different closer approximation)

2. Child says “muh” NO/DON’T REINFORCE (different but not a closer approximation)

3. Child says “buh buh” YES/REINFORCE (different and a closer approximation)

4. Child says “bah” after already saying “buh buh” DON’T REINFORCE because we are only accepting the response “buh buh” or closer approximation to “bubbles” at this point

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Selection Responses

An SD denotes the correct stimuli/action, and the child must select that response out of the available options ID objects, Direction Following, ID body

parts, etc. Wait for a clear, distinct response to be

made Watch out for scrolling

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Matching Responses

There is a sample stimulus presented and the child must select a corresponding stimulus from an array

The sample stimulus will be placed next to, or on top of, the corresponding stimulus We don’t necessarily care about topography, as

long as it is clear that the match has been made For example, the child may pick up the picture on the

desk and hold the matching pictures together in his hands

Check with your supervisors if you are unsure if a topography is acceptable

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Multi-Component Responses Some responses have more than one part to

them, which can make distinguishing between correct and incorrect responses confusing

In these cases, reading the procedure carefully will be the best thing you can do Does each component have to be independent? Can prompting be provided for some steps? Providing social reinforcement for intermediate

steps

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Sustained Responses

Some procedures require that a response be maintained for a certain amount of time Box work, bike, etc.

In these cases, the response is only correct if the response is maintained the whole time with no interruptions However, some procedures allow a certain

number of prompts to be given before a response is considered incorrect

ALWAYS READ THE PROCEDURE CAREFULLY

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“Non” Responses

Some procedures even SEEM to require the lack of a response in order to receive reinforcement Quiet hands, Sit Quietly, etc

In these cases, the response is only correct if no other behaviors “interrupt” the desired behavior

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Common Issues - Scrolling

Scrolling The child might “try” every response in an

attempt to find the right one and get reinforcement Why?

Make sure to only reinforce distinct responses

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Common Issues - Indiscriminate responses

Sometimes it’s hard to determine if a response was correct or incorrect Make a quick decision, and react

accordingly Call over a supervisor if one is available Inform the SC, TA, or supervisor if patterns

develop