December 2011
11 posts
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Functions of Behaviour: Look At Me!
Continuing on with, “Why does he do that?”…today’s featured function is attention.
The function of attention exists when what we do results in others interacting with us. It is commonly labelled “attention seeking”. I dislike this term however because the negative connotation leaves people only looking for the “bad” forms of attention seeking...
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behavioralintervention said: Thanks! Btw, I love your blog. I was so relieved to find out (from reading your blog) that behaviour analysts still work one-one with clients! It seems like the ones I know just do supervision, training and consulting front line staff.
Thank you for the feedback. I have an interesting role where I actually do most of those things (minus the supervision) while...
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Four-Term Contingency Of The Day: Love My Duvet
Motivating Operation: It's cold!
Antecedent: Laying in bed, duvet is at the foot of the bed.
Behaviour: Pull up the duvet and curl up underneath it.
Consequence: Start to feel warm (positive reinforcement); feelings of being cold subside (negative reinforcement).
Here's a 4-term contingency to highlight a sensory behaviour some of us engage in. The soft, plushy and warm features of a duvet offers the reinforcers of warmth and comfort. Since these are sensations I enjoy, I am likely to make use of the duvet again. In talking to other people, I get the sense that it is mostly the women I know who love their duvet while some men (i.e., Eric) could care less for it. To them, the duvet does not provide reinforcement and may even be punishing if, "It's too hot!" is any evidence to that. In our case, it actually works out where I get more of the duvet to snuggle with, which equals more reinforcement for me!
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Functions of Behaviour: Feels Good, Looks Good,...
Why does he do that?
If you have ever asked yourself this question, you may be interested to know that the ‘why’ of any given behaviour falls under one of four functions - or purposes. The four functions of behaviour are: 1) sensory; 2) attention; 3) escape/avoidance; and 4) tangible.
People do what they do because it works. All behaviour in a person’s repertoire serves a...
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Anonymous asked: I found your blog on twitter, so I thought I'd send a question your way that I've been wondering about. I was wondering, do you know of any ABA interventions for motor dysfunction associated with autism spectrum disorders or Asperger's? A google scholar search turns up lots of sensory integration pseudoscience, but no applied behavioral interventions. I was thinking that maybe...
behavioralintervention asked: What makes you a "radical" behaviourist?
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Three-Term Contingency of the Day: Tweets to my...
Antecedent: Sitting at my computer; twitter page is open and I have a thought I'd like to make public.
Behaviour: I tweet my thought
Consequence: Someone replies to my tweet and we engage in a conversation (positive reinforcement in the form of attention)
Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr are a fascinating source of behaviour, highlighting many examples of reinforcement. The "social" in social media is maintained through the attention our posts get and in some cases by being replied to, liked or retweeted. This form of social approval and exchange then encourages us to keep posting, which we invariably do.
Ever notice that certain Facebook friend of yours posting every traumatic event in their life is also getting the most comments and assurances that things are okay? It's the feedback and the comments that maintain these types of posts. And while we can withhold ourselves from saying anything, there will no doubt be someone who will comment.
So, having said that...feel free to reinforce my blog postings with a 'like' and/or a comment. ;)
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Today's Reinforcement Was Brought To You By...
Simon and Garfunkel
Supertramp and…
Chocolate Milk
There was a bit of a mix-up at work today which meant that there wasn’t someone to cover for a new client coming to the clinic. I got to stand in this afternoon on the fly and had a brief second to familiarize myself with their likes, interests etc. So, while mom talked to the doctor and other clinicians, I pulled out these...
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Police Can Deliver Reinforcement Too →
Now here’s a refreshing idea. Instead of giving out tickets, dishing out fines and taking away demerit points for bad driving - all meant to “punish” (though I question that they really do), police officers in Hamilton, Ontario are reinforcing the behaviour of good drivers (in this case, sober drivers) with a free ticket to a hockey game.
As a society, we have agreed that sober...
