Psychology Study Guide Chapters 19-25 â€“ Miltenbergerâ€™s Behavior Modification Principles and Procedures

CHAPTER 19â€“ STUDY GUIDE
Promoting Generalization

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn strategies that are used to promote generalization.
2. Learn what it means to have behavior â€œcontact natural contingencies of reinforcementâ€.
3. Learn what it means to teach a â€œfunctionally equivalent responseâ€.
4. Learn what it means to teach a â€œself-generated mediator of generalizationâ€.
5. Consider the steps that should be followed when implementing strategies to promote generalization.

Programming for generalization increases the likelihood that the behavior change will occur in all relevant situations or circumstances in a personâ€™s life.

Generalization Defined: The occurrence of the behavior in the presence of stimuli that are similar in some way to the SD that was present during training.
- A class of similar stimuli develops stimulus control over the behavior.
In behavior modification, generalization is defined as the occurrence of the behavior in the presence of all relevant stimuli outside the training situation.

Strategies for Promoting Generalization:

1. Reinforcing occurrences of generalization- Reinforce the behavior when it occurs outside the training situation in the presence of relevant stimuli. All relevant stimuli develop stimulus control over the behavior.

Drawback: Not always possible to provide reinforcement for the behavior outside the training situation.

2. Training skills that contact natural contingencies of reinforcement - If you cannot provide reinforcement for the behavior in relevant situations outside the training situation, it is important for natural reinforcers to be present. (pg.397)

Drawback: Not always possible to teach skills that will contact natural contingencies of reinforcement.

3. Modifying contingencies of reinforcement and punishment in the natural environment- Desirable behaviors will occur in relevant situations outside the training situation if the behavior is reinforced in those situations (and if punishment contingencies are not operating in those situations). If the trainer cannot reinforce the behavior in the natural environment, the trainer should teach others in the natural environment to reinforce the behavior.

- One way to promote generalization is to eliminate any punishment contingency that would suppress the desirable behavior outside the training situation.

Drawback: Sometimes, natural punishment contingencies make generalization of the
desirable behavior less likely.

4. Incorporating a wide range of relevant stimulus situations in training- The goal of generalization programming is for the behavior to occur in all relevant situations after training is completed, one obvious method to promote generalization is to incorporate many of the relevant situations in training. Stokes and Baer (1977) and Stokes and Osnes (1989) referred to this strategy as training the learner to respond to enough stimulus exemplars until the behavior generalizes.

- If the learner is trained to respond correctly to a range of relevant stimulus situations (stimulus exemplars), the behavior is more likely to generalize to all relevant stimulus situations.

General Case Programing Defined: Using multiple training examples (stimulus exemplars) that sample the range of relevant stimulus situations and response variations.

5. Incorporating common stimuli - Incorporate stimuli from the generalization environment (target situation) into the training situation. In other words, if the training and generalization situations have some features or stimuli in common, generalization is more likely to occur.

- Similar to that in which a wide variety of relevant stimulus situations is incorporated into the training situation.

6. Teaching a range of functionally equivalent responses- Different responses that achieve
the same outcome and each response serve the same function for the person. (pg. 403)

7. Providing cues in the natural environment - provide cues or reminders in the natural environment that can make the target behavior more likely to occur in the correct circumstances.

Note: It is important to note that, although cues or reminders might evoke the correct behavior and increase generalization of the target behavior, for the behavior to be maintained there must be some form of reinforcement for the behavior in the natural environment.

Example: use an electronic device to provide a buzzer or vibration to remind a parent, teacher, or staff person to engage in the correct behavior at the correct time.

8. Incorporating self-generated mediators of generalization- Stokes and Osnes (1989) defined a mediator of generalization as â€œa stimulus that is maintained and transported by the client as part of treatmentâ€ (p. 362).

- The mediator (a cue or reminder) may be a physical stimulus, or a behavior exhibited by the person.
- The mediator has stimulus control over the target behavior, so the behavior generalizes beyond the training situation when the mediator is present.
- Any behavior that cues the appropriate behavior in the target situation can be regarded as a self-generated mediator of generalization.
Example: - Self-recording is an example of a self-generated mediator of generalization.
- Self-instruction is another mediator of generalization.

Implementing Strategies to Promote Generalization:

In implementing strategies to promote generalization, you should observe the following guidelines.

1. Identify the target stimulus situations for the behavior. The goal of a behavior modification program is for the behavior change to generalize to all relevant stimulus situations.

2. Identify natural contingencies of reinforcement for the behavior. Once the natural contingencies of reinforcement are identified, training can focus on strengthening the behaviors that will contact those existing contingencies.

3. Implement appropriate strategies to promote generalization. Once you have analyzed the three-term contingency for the behavior outside the training situation, you are able to choose appropriate strategies to promote generalization.

4. Measure generalization of behavior change. You must collect data on the occurrence of the behavior in the target stimulus situations to determine whether your efforts to promote generalization have been successful. Your assessment should also include information on natural contingencies, to determine whether the behavior continues to be reinforced in the target situations.

Promoting Generalized Reductions in Problem Behaviors:

â€¢ Improvement in functioning is defined not only by a decrease in or elimination of the problem behavior but, more importantly, by the development and maintenance of new skills or the strengthening of existing alternative behaviors and an increase in the quantity of positive reinforcement.
â€¢ To achieve a generalized reduction in a problem behavior, the focus of the intervention efforts should be on developing appropriate functionally equivalent alternative behaviors as replacements for the problem behavior.
â€¢ The focus on developing and increasing appropriate replacement behaviors is known as the constructional approach to treating problem behaviors.
guidelines to achieve a generalized reduction in problem behaviors

1. Conduct a functional assessment of the problem behavior. A thorough understanding of the antecedents and consequences of the problem behavior and alternative behaviors is critical for the success of any behavior modification intervention.

2. Plan for generalization in advance. The intervention for the problem behavior should be planned from the beginning to maximize the likelihood of producing a generalized reduction in the behavior.

a. NOTE: When planning an intervention, you should use the known strategies for promoting generalization.

3. Focus on functionally equivalent alternative behaviors to replace the problem behaviors. Generalized reductions in problem behaviors are best achieved when there are generalized increases in appropriate alternative behaviors that serve the same function as the problem behavior

4. Maintain extinction (or punishment) contingencies across situations and over time. It is important that reinforcement for the problem behavior be eliminated (or minimized) in all situations for as long as the person continues to engage in the problem behavior.

a. NOTE: If extinction (or punishment) contingencies are discontinued prematurely, there is a risk that the problem behavior may begin to occur more frequently.

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