j&p chapter 4 defining response class. strategies of defining response classes
TRANSCRIPT
J&P Chapter 4
Defining Response Class
Strategies of Defining Response Classes
Unit of Analysis
• The constituent part of the whole phenomenon that serves as a basis for experimental study
• Unit of analysis vs. unit of measurement
• Child sat at desk (unit of analysis) for a duration of x minutes (unit of measurement)
Skinner’s contribution
• Stimuli defined not just in terms of physical properties but also by the correlation with a particular class of responses
• Responses defined NOT by topography but rather as a class of events controlled by particular stimuli
Bed making
• Unit of analysis that is itself a relation between responses and stimuli– Series of movements – OR– Whatever responses result in a bed that is
made to a certain standard
Origins of Response Class
• Behavior occurs within an environmental context
• Antecedent and consequent events have either differential or no effect – Genetic endowment – sweet taste– Stimulus pairing – stimuli paired with sweet
taste– NO effect – color of walls in room
What do stimuli do?
• If a stimulus functions to change behavior:– Organize behavior into response classes
• Class of respondents (reflexes)– Creating conditioned reflexes = classical, respondent, or
Pavlovian conditioning– Respondent classes (eye blink) & stimulus classes (all
stimuli that elicit eye blink)
• Classes of operants (individuals responses that share a particular effect on the environment
Respondent
S – R
Free Operant (2 term contingency)
R – S
Discriminated Operant(3 term contingency)
S – R – S Respondent
Operant
Fundamental Units of Analysis
• Respondent classes• Free operant classes• Discriminated operant classes • These units:
– Smallest bits of integrated behavior– Not necessary to move to a nonbehavioral level of
analysis– Not defined on logical grounds – rather defined based
on functional relationship with nature
Functional vs. Topographical Units of Analysis
Functional Response Classes
• Form or topography of response may vary
• Class includes those reponses whose occurrence depends upon particular classes of stimuli that either preceded or follow responses
Topographical Response Classes
• Specify requirements for form or topography
• Members of such a response class may include only a subset of a broader functional response class
• Example: door opening
Define Self Injurious Behavior(pgs. 71 & 72)
• Functional definition
• Topographical definition
Consequences of Definitional Strategies
• Determines what aspects of behavior are observed and recorded and are then available for DECISIONS about how the experiment should be conducted and what INTERPRETATIONS are warranted
Baseline Intervention
Defined Class
Class A
Class B
Effects of including different functional response classes in a defined class
Goals of Definitional Strategies
• Defined behavior should suit the needs of the experimental questions
• Meet needs for experimental control• Definitions consequences for
measurement• Craft definition so that it selects a class of
responses in the subject’s repertoire that share common functional relations with the environment.
Tactics of Defining Response Classes
Functional Response Class Definitions
• Properly developed = miniature experiment
• Consider the proposed response class in colloquial terms
• Speculate on events that may preceded or follow response class members
• Try out possible definitions and see how they perform
• Example STEALING
Problems and Solutions
• Problem with knowing whether or not permission given in the stealing example– Modify research environment to ease
definitional task
• Problem: more than one response class– Risk increased variability in data
Topographical Response Class Definitions
• Press the easy button
Variations and Refinements
• Temporal dimensions
• Response products
• Group definitions
Selecting a Unit of Analysis
• Specificity: size of the unit of analysis– More molar units of analysis may obscure
important changes in responding
• Sensitivity: potential to be influenced by independent variables– If under control of extraneous variables, may
not be at all susceptible to influence of independent variable
Labeling Response Classes
• Taxonomic language of behavior
• How responses classes are defined?
• Generality? Accrue to relations studied, not labels
• How are researchers to communicate?
What can be done?
• Use sound functional definitional practices
• Be aware of the problem when considering ways to refer to a response class
• Choose labels that emphasize the relaiton of the movement to the environment
• No ultimate solution
Operational Definitions
• Not another way of defining behavior
• Operationism
• Relevant to problem of labeling response classes.