08 Abpc3303 T4

Topic X Basic
4 Principles and
Techniques of
Behaviour
Modification
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Explain the principles of extinction, stimulus discrimination and
generalisation, shaping, fading, and chaining;
2. Distinguish between stimulus discrimination and stimulus
generalisation;
3. Explain how behaviour can be strengthened using escape and
avoidance conditioning in our day-to-day experience; and
4. Select suitable techniques to learn or unlearn a new behaviour.
X INTRODUCTION
In Topic 3, you were introduced to some of the basic principles and techniques
of behaviour modification, i.e. reinforcement, reinforcement schedules and
punishment. In this topic, we will discuss other principles and techniques which
include:
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40 X TOPIC 4 BASIC PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES OF BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION
(a) Extinction
(b) Stimulus Control

(i) Discrimination
(ii) Generalisation
(c) Respondent conditioning
(d) Shaping
(e) Fading
(f) Chaining
(g) Escape and avoidance conditioning
These principles will be repeated rather frequently throughout the module;

hence, it is important to understand, and be familiar with, each of them. Let us
start with extinction.
4.1 THE PRINCIPLE OF EXTINCTION

Every time Joseph drives to the shopping mall, he parks his car at the special
parking lot dedicated for people with handicap or disabilities near the mall
entrance. The car park manager does not want people to misuse the special
parking lot, so he chains all ineligible cars. One day, when Joseph comes out
from the mall, he finds that his car has been chained and he has to pay a fine.
Joseph parks at the same spot during his next visit a few weeks later and, again,
he finds his car chained. From then on, Joseph stops parking at the special lot.
The basic principle that is illustrated in Josephs example is extinction. Josephs

behaviour of parking at the special lot was reinforced at first as he did not have
to find parking space, and the special parking lot was close to the entrance of the
mall. Once the reinforcement stopped, Joseph became engaged in the behaviour
less and less, and he ultimately stopped engaging in the behaviour.
Extinction occurs when a behaviour that has been previously reinforced no

longer results in the reinforcing consequences and, therefore, the behaviour stops
occurring in the future.

TOPIC 4 BASIC PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES OF BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION W 41
Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of extinction for

decreasing problem behaviours in children and adults, e.g. tantrum, self-
injurious behaviour, and others. In one example, Lovaas and Simmons (1969)
used extinction to reduce the self-destructive behaviour of a child with mental
retardation (please refer to Figure 4.1). Lovaas and Simmons believed that the
childs head-hitting behaviour was reinforced by parents attention. Extinction,
therefore, involved removing adults attention whenever the child hit himself.
The results showed that the frequency of the head-hitting behaviour decreased
from 2,500 times in an hour to zero in an hour. The extinction took ten sessions.
Figure 4.1: Reducing a childs self-destructive behaviour through extinction
4.1.1 Extinction Burst

One characteristic of the extinction process is that once the behaviour is no longer
reinforced, it often increases briefly (sometimes sharply) in frequency, duration,
or intensity before it decreases and ultimately stops. This increment of behaviour
is known as the extinction burst.
A child who cries at night will cry more intensely, or longer in duration, during
the first few times when his/her parents stop reinforcing his/her crying
behaviour. A person who wants to go on a diet will feel more hungry (more
likely to crave for certain food) during the first few days of a diet plan.
Imagine what you would do when you put some money into a vending machine but
nothing comes out from it. Most people will push the buttons repeatedly and, if
nothing comes out, behaviours such as shaking and kicking the machine may occur.
The childs crying and the violent reaction towards the vending machine are all
examples of an extinction burst.

4.1.2 Spontaneous Recovery

Extinction occurs when a behaviour begins to fade or disappear. However, some
behaviours may occur again even after they have not occurred for some time.
This is known as spontaneous recovery.
Once in a while, the child may cry at night long after extinction, and you may
occasionally put in some money into the vending machine hoping to get a drink.
Joseph may still try to park his car at the special parking lot months later. But if
the behaviours are not reinforced, they will not recur for a very long time, or
occur again. Spontaneous recovery is the natural tendency for the behaviour to
recur in situations that are similar to those in which it occurred before extinction.
4.2 STIMULUS CONTROL

In the discussion on reinforcement, extinction, and punishment, we saw the
importance of consequences in the control of a behaviour. A behaviour is
strengthened by a reinforcing consequence, and weakened by a no longer
existing reinforcing consequence (extinction). A punishing consequence also
weakens a behaviour. Although a behaviour is strongly affected by its
consequences, the same behaviour may not lead to the same consequence all the
time under different circumstances. For example, speaking loudly and clearly at
a public speaking forum will earn you a round of applause (reinforcement), but
speaking loudly and clearly in the library will not be appropriate. How do we
know if we are doing the right thing at the right time and place?
(a) Stimulus Discrimination

To answer the above question, we have to understand what prompts a
behaviour, and the prompt is known as the antecedent. An antecedent can
be anything from a person, an object, or an event that can affect behaviour.
Identifying the antecedents and consequences of a behaviour is sometimes
referred to as the ABC (Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence) assessment.
Consider the following example.
When you arrive at an intersection and the traffic light turns red, you stop;
when it turns green, you go.

Figure 4.2: Stimulus control
Figure 4.2 illustrates the principle of stimulus control. The behaviour is

reinforced only in the presence of a particular antecedent stimulus traffic lights
at an intersection. For example, if you press the brake pedal when you are
driving on a highway (without the presence of a red traffic light), you will not
avoid an accident; in fact, you are more likely to cause an accident. The
antecedent stimulus that is present when a behaviour is reinforced is known as
the discriminative stimulus (SD), while any antecedent stimulus that is present
when a behaviour is not reinforced is known as the S-Delta (S).
ACTIVITY 4.1
Identify the antecedent stimulus, behaviour and consequence for each

of the following:
1. When the phone rings, you pick it up and talk to your friend who
calls.
2. When you have a headache, you take painkillers and you feel
better after that.
(b) Stimulus Generalisation

Stimulus generalisation takes place when a behaviour occurs in the
presence of stimuli that are similar in some ways to the SD that are present.
Instead of discriminating between two stimuli, an individual responds in
the same way to two different stimuli. Thus, stimulus generalisation is the
opposite of stimulus discrimination. One of the best examples that illustrate
stimulus generalisation was the classic experiment on Little Albert
discussed in Topic 1.

Little Albert was a child who was not afraid of white rats (please refer to
Figure 4.3). However, after several pairings of white rats with a loud noise
produced by a metal bar, little Albert began to fear white rats. Following
that, little Albert was presented with several items which were white and
furry. Generalisation soon occurred and little Albert was afraid of many
items which were white and furry, e.g. white rabbit, Santa Claus mask,
towards the end of the experiment.
Figure 4.3: Little Albert

Source: damninteresting.com
Stimulus generalisation happens in our daily lives too. When a person

experiences nausea or diarrhoea right after consuming some shellfish from a
roadside stall, the person may conclude that the sickness was caused by
improperly prepared food. Instead of discriminating which type of food actually
caused the sickness, this person may generalise the cause of the sickness to
include all seafood, or even all food prepared by any roadside stall.
In summary, stimulus generalisation occurs when an event similar to the original

conditioned stimulus (food from the roadside stall) triggers the same conditioned
response (feeling sick). The more the stimulus resembles the conditioned
stimulus, the stronger the conditioned response is.

ACTIVITY 4.2
Generalisation can be used by advertisers to help them sell their
products. Many of us who have a favourable attitude towards a
particular brand name are likely to generalise this attitude to include
other products with the same brand name. Can you think of an
example from your experience?
4.3 RESPONDENT CONDITIONING

Operant behaviours are controlled by their consequences; operant conditioning
involves the manipulation of consequences. In contrast, respondent behaviours
are controlled by antecedent stimuli, and respondent conditioning, also known
as classical conditioning, involves the manipulation of antecedent stimuli. Details
will be discussed in Topic 5.
4.4 SHAPING
We have discussed how a reinforcer can be used to strengthen a behaviour that
has already occured, and how to decrease a behaviour by not reinforcing a
particular behaviour. What about getting someone to perform a new behaviour?
Shaping is used to develop a target behaviour that is not presently performed by
an individual.
Shaping is sometimes known as the method of successive approximations

because every learned behaviour leading to the target behaviour is reinforced.
Many behaviours are taught and learned by shaping. For example, most parents
use the shaping procedure in teaching their children to talk. When shaping is
used to develop language, the successive approximations include babbling, word
sounds, part words, whole words, strings of words, and sentences. When a child
learns to babble, the child makes sounds like mmm and daa, and these
sounds usually receive reinforcers from parents such as hugs, smiles, and kisses.
The sounds eventually progress to ma-ma and da-da. At a later stage,
reinforcement is given after the child says mommy and daddy.
Shaping is common in everyday life but most people are not aware of it, eg:
learning how to cycle with additional wheels fixed to the wheels and then slowly
removing them. Learning how to swim, drive and dance are all examples of how
shaping takes place.

ACTIVITY 4.3
Shaping is very common in our everyday life. Briefly describe the
shaping steps for cycling, swimming and dancing, or any behaviour
or activities you have learned. Post your answer online.
4.4.1 The Effective Application of Shaping

The guidelines for the effective application of shaping are shown in Figure 4.4:
Select the target

behaviour
Select an
appropriate and
effective
reinforcer.
Identify the
starting
behaviour.
Choose the
shaping steps by
listing all
successive
approximations
of the target
behaviour.
Figure 4.4: Guidelines for the effective application of shaping

4.5 FADING
While shaping involves reinforcing every little success towards a final behaviour,
fading is the gradual change, on successive trials, of stimulus that controls a
response, so that the response eventually occurs on its own.
Fading is involved in many everyday situations in which one person teaches a

behaviour to another person:
(a) When teaching a child how to write, the teacher may begin with holding
the childs hand until the child is able to hold the pencil correctly to write.
(b) When guiding a person to dance, footprints may be placed on the floor as
prompts until the person is able to remember all the steps. The footprints
will eventually be removed.
4.5.1 Stimulus Fading

When prompts are used to get a correct response to occur, eventually the
prompts must be removed through a process of stimulus fading. If the prompt
involved adding a stimulus to elicit the correct response, stimulus fading would
involve gradually removing that additional stimulus as the response began
occurring reliably, e.g. removing the footprints when a person is able to
remember all the dance steps. Stimulus fading is also used when the prompt
involves a change in dimensions, e.g. speed and intensity. For example, when
training a child to hit a ball, the ball is initially thrown out at a lower speed.
When the child is able to hit the ball, the speed will be increased.
4.5.2 The Effective Application of Fading

Let us go through the steps in the effective application of fading:
Step 1 Choose the final desired stimulus.
Step 2 Select an appropriate reinforcement.
Step 3 Choose the starting stimulus and fading steps.

Step 4 Prompt the correct response. A prompt is an antecedent stimulus or event

used to evoke the appropriate behaviour in a particular situation.
Prompts can be divided into two categories:
(a) Response Prompts

A response prompt is the behaviour of another person that evokes
the desired response in the presence of the discriminative stimulus
(SD). Examples of response prompts include verbal prompts,
gestural prompts, modelling prompts, and physical prompts.
(b) Stimulus Prompts

A stimulus prompt involves some changes in a stimulus, or the
addition or removal of a stimulus. There are two types of stimulus
prompts: within-stimulus prompts and extra-stimulus prompts.
Consider these examples:

A dance teacher wants to teach a child some steps. The teacher may draw
footsteps on the floor as prompts. These line drawings would be an extra-
stimulus prompt and could gradually be erased over trial. In the same
example, if the teacher wants the child to take note of steps that he/she is
not familiar with by highlighting those steps with different colours, the
teacher would be using a within-stimulus prompt.
Step 5 Reinforce the correct behaviour.
Step 6 Transfer stimulus control by fading or prompting delay.
Step 7 Continue to reinforce unprompted responses.
SELF-CHECK 4.1
1. What is a prompt?
2. Can you give examples for each type of prompt?

4.6 CHAINING
Prompts are used to evoke a behaviour, and the transfer of stimulus control is
used to fade the prompts. Most often, these procedures are used to develop
simple discriminations. However, many situations call for complex behaviours
that have multiple responses. A complex behaviour consisting of many
component behaviours that occur together in a sequence is called a behavioural
chain, or a stimulus-response chain.
The following example illustrates a behavioural chain:
Amy is doing her laundry. First, she puts all the clothes into the washing
machine. Then, she adds in some detergent, and turns on the washing machine.
When the wash cycle completes, Amy removes the clothes from the washing
machine and put them into a dryer. An hour later, she removes her clothes from
the dryer and folds them nicely.
Each behaviour in the chain can be completed only after the previous behaviours
in the chain have been completed in sequence. Amy cannot turn on the washing
machine before she puts the clothes into it. Neither can she fold them nicely
before she removes them from the dryer. Each component behaviour in the chain
depends on the occurrence of the previous behaviour.
4.6.1 Task Analysis

As you can see from Amys example, the behavioural chain involves a chain of
small tasks. The process of analysing a behavioural chain by breaking it down
into its individual components is called a task analysis.
Once the task analysis of a complex skill has been developed, the next step is to
choose a strategy. The strategies are known as the chaining procedures. There are
three types of chaining methods: forward chaining, backward chaining and total
task presentation.

4.6.2 Chaining Methods

Let us explore further the three types of chaining methods.
(a) Forward Chaining

Forward chaining is a chaining procedure that begins with the first task in
the chain and progresses to the last task, e.g. Chaining begins with task 1,
followed by task 2. Task 3 will begin after the completion of task 2. An
example of which includes teaching a person how to use an autopay
parking machine. This task involves six steps:
(i) You get the person to insert the parking ticket into the designated slot;
(ii) Then, the person will read the amount of money he/she has to pay;
(iii) The person will insert money into the autopay machine;
(iv) Following that, the person will have to collect the returned ticket;
(v) The person will press a button to request for a receipt; and
(vi) The final step involves the person collecting the receipt from the
machine.
(b) Backward Chaining

Similarly, backward chaining can be used to guide a person through how to
use an autopay parking machine. It may not seem to make much sense to
some people because the term backward may have given you an
impression that the sequence of the tasks is reversed. Naturally, that is not
true. In fact, a lot of tasks are taught to us using backward chaining.
Let us use the example of using the autopay machine again. When teaching
a child how to use an autopay machine, many parents will perform tasks 1
to 5 and show a child where to collect a receipt from the machine on their
first attempt. Following that, the next time when they use an autopay
machine, they may perform tasks 1 to 4 and show the child which button to
press to request for a receipt, and then collect a receipt. In this case, the
chaining takes place in a reverse order.

(c) Total Task Presentation

Finally, the same behaviour chain can be taught using total task
presentation too. Each time when a parent wants a child to learn how to use
an autopay machine, the child will be asked to follow through all six steps.
Prompts will be used to guide the child, e.g. verbal prompt now insert
the ticket, or physical prompt by pointing at the button. The child will
attempt all six tasks until all steps are mastered. Prompting will be faded
after each step is mastered.
As you can see in the example of teaching someone to use an autopay

machine, all three types of chaining methods can be used, and each one has
its advantages and disadvantages.
SELF-CHECK 4.2
Chaining, fading, and shaping involve progressing gradually through a

series of steps to produce a new behaviour. It is important to keep clear
the distinctions among the three. Can you describe the differences
among the three procedures?
4.7 ESCAPE AND AVOIDANCE

Finally, behaviour can also be strengthened by the principle of escape
conditioning (also known as negative reinforcement, refer to Topic 3) and
avoidance conditioning. Examples of escape conditioning include turning on the
fan to escape from the hot air in the room, and closing the window to escape
from the noise from the street.
Escape conditioning has the disadvantage in that the aversive stimulus must be
present for a response to occur. In contrast, with the principle of avoidance
conditioning, behaviour occurs to prevent an aversive stimulus from occurring.
For example, as soon as you hear your mum walking up the stairs, you quickly
clean up your room. In doing so, you avoid the nagging from your mum.
Similarly, when you see the traffic light turning red, you quickly step on the
brake pedal. In doing so, you have avoided an accident or a traffic ticket.

Behaviour is strengthened by a reinforcing consequence, and is weakened

when the reinforcing consequence no longer exists. Extinction occurs when a
behaviour that has been previously reinforced no longer results in the
reinforcing consequences and, therefore, the behaviour stops occurring in the
future.
Extinction will normally involve an extinction burst, in which the unreinforced

behaviour temporarily increases in frequency, intensity, or duration.
Spontaneous recovery refers to the recurrence of a behaviour after extinction.

If the behaviour is not reinforced, the behaviour may not recur for a long
time, or occur again.
It is important to identify what causes a behaviour to occur, and what affects

the frequency of a person engaging in a behaviour. The analysis is known as
the Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence analysis (ABC analysis).
The antecedent stimulus that is present when a behaviour is reinforced is

known as the discriminative stimulus (SD), while any antecedent stimulus
that is present when a behaviour is not reinforced is known as the S-Delta
(S). When a second stimulus is confused with the SD, the process is known as
stimulus generalisation.
Shaping is used to develop a target behaviour that is not presently performed

by an individual. It is sometimes known as the method of successive
approximations because every learned behaviour leading to the target
behaviour is reinforced.
Fading is the gradual change, on successive trials, of stimulus that controls a

response, so that the response eventually occurs on its own.
Chaining procedures are used to teach a person to engage in a behavioural

chain. The procedures involve prompting and fading. There are three
types of chaining methods: forward chaining, backward chaining and total
task presentation.

Antecedent, behaviour, consequence Forward chaining

analysis
Generalisation
Avoidance conditioning
Prompt
Backward chaining
Respondent conditioning
Chaining
S-Delta
Discrimination
Shaping
Escape conditioning
Spontaneous recovery
Extinction
Task analysis
Extinction burst
Total task presentation
Fading
Chance, P. (2002). Learning and behaviour (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Lovaas, O. I., & Simmons, J. Q. (1969). Manipulation of self-destruction in three

retarded children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2, 143157.
Retrieved May 18, 2009 from
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1311058
Martin, G., & Pear, J. (2003). Behaviour modification: What it is and how to do it
(7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Miltenberger, R. G. (2008). Behaviour modification: Principles and procedures

(4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

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Topic X Basic

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(b) Stimulus Control

(c) Respondent conditioning

(g) Escape and avoidance conditioning

These principles will be repeated rather frequently throughout the module;

4.1 THE PRINCIPLE OF EXTINCTION

The basic principle that is illustrated in Josephs example is extinction. Josephs

Extinction occurs when a behaviour that has been previously reinforced no

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Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of extinction for

Figure 4.1: Reducing a childs self-destructive behaviour through extinction

4.1.1 Extinction Burst

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4.1.2 Spontaneous Recovery

4.2 STIMULUS CONTROL

(a) Stimulus Discrimination

Consider the following example.

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Figure 4.2: Stimulus control

Figure 4.2 illustrates the principle of stimulus control. The behaviour is

Identify the antecedent stimulus, behaviour and consequence for each

(b) Stimulus Generalisation

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Figure 4.3: Little Albert

Stimulus generalisation happens in our daily lives too. When a person

In summary, stimulus generalisation occurs when an event similar to the original

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4.3 RESPONDENT CONDITIONING

Shaping is sometimes known as the method of successive approximations

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4.4.1 The Effective Application of Shaping

Select the target

Figure 4.4: Guidelines for the effective application of shaping

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Fading is involved in many everyday situations in which one person teaches a

4.5.1 Stimulus Fading

4.5.2 The Effective Application of Fading

Step 1 Choose the final desired stimulus.

Step 2 Select an appropriate reinforcement.

Step 3 Choose the starting stimulus and fading steps.

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Step 4 Prompt the correct response. A prompt is an antecedent stimulus or event

(a) Response Prompts

(b) Stimulus Prompts

Consider these examples:

Step 5 Reinforce the correct behaviour.

Step 6 Transfer stimulus control by fading or prompting delay.

Step 7 Continue to reinforce unprompted responses.

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The following example illustrates a behavioural chain:

4.6.1 Task Analysis

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4.6.2 Chaining Methods

(a) Forward Chaining

(b) Backward Chaining

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(c) Total Task Presentation

As you can see in the example of teaching someone to use an autopay

Chaining, fading, and shaping involve progressing gradually through a

4.7 ESCAPE AND AVOIDANCE

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Behaviour is strengthened by a reinforcing consequence, and is weakened