1. Principles of Behavior Sixth Edition
Richard W. Malott
Western Michigan University
Power Point by Nikki Hoffmeister

2. Unlearned Reinforcers & Unlearned Aversive Stimuli
Chapter 9
Unlearned Reinforcers & Unlearned Aversive Stimuli

3. What is an Unlearned Aversive Condition?
A stimulus that is aversive,
though not as a result of pairing with other aversive stimuli.
Example: Electric shock

4. What is an Unlearned Reinforcer?
A stimulus that is a reinforcer,
though not as a result of pairing with another reinforcer.
Examples: Food, water, sex

5. What is Deprivation? Deprivation: Withholding a reinforcer
increases relevant learning and performance.

6. Deprivation Example
When Mae worked with Jimmy, she used food as a reinforcer.
Food deprivation improved Jimmy’s performance of behavior he had previously learned with food reinforcers.
Food deprivation improved Jimmy’s learning of new behaviors with food reinforcers.

7. Jimmy has not had breakfast.
Deprivation
Before
Jimmy has no cereal.
Behavior
Jimmy touches his ear.
After
Jimmy has cereal.
Deprivation
Jimmy has not had breakfast.
Behavior

8. What are Learning and Performance?
By relevant learning and performance, we mean
the learning of a response reinforced by that reinforcer
and the performance of a response previously reinforced by that reinforcer.

9. What is Satiation? Satiation:
Consuming a substantial amount of a reinforcer
temporarily decreases relevant learning and performance.

10. Satiation Example
When Jimmy responded often, he received a lot of cereal. This caused him to become full.
Food satiation then involved a decrease in Jimmy’s performance.
If Jimmy already had breakfast, satiation affected his learning new skills.
Thus, food satiation decreased relevant learning.

11. Jimmy has had breakfast.
Satiation
Before
Jimmy has no cereal.
Behavior
Jimmy touches his nose.
After
Jimmy has cereal.
Satiation
Jimmy has had breakfast.

12. Learning Deprivation at the time of reinforcement
increases the impact the delivery of a single reinforcer has
on the subsequent frequency
of the reinforced response.

13. Performance Deprivation at the time to perform that response
increases the frequency of that previously reinforced,
and thus previously learned, response.

14. Example of Satiation
After a male and female rabbit have been together for a while, their frequency of having sex will decrease.
Before
Rabbit has had no sexual stimulation.
Behavior
Rabbit copulates.
After
Rabbit has sexual stimulation.
Satiation
Rabbit has recently had sexual stimulation.

15. What is this decrease in the frequency of the copulation an example of?
Satiation
Does this satiation effect show itself in a decrease in learning or performance?
Performance

16. More Examples Before Behavior After Satiation Rudolph has no water.
Rudolph presses the lever.
After
Rudolph has water.
Satiation
Rudolph has recently had water.

17. Before Behavior After Deprivation
Rudolph has no sexual stimulation.
Behavior
Rudolph copulates.
After
Rudolph has sexual stimulation.
Deprivation
Rudolph has not had sexual stimulation for 72 hours.

18. What is a Motivating Operation?
Motivating Operation (MO):
A procedure or condition that affects learning and performance
with respect to a particular reinforcer or aversive condition.

19. Examples of Motivating Operations
Deprivation
Satiation
What are Reflexive MOs?
An MO for aversive conditions.
In an escape contingency, the MO is the same as the before condition…
So we don’t diagram it separately.

20. Reflexive MO Turning on the shock (shock on).
What is the MO in this escape contingency?
Before
The shock is on.
Behavior
Rudolph presses the lever.
After
The shock is off.
Turning on the shock (shock on).

21. The Don’t Say Rule: A Refresher
Rudolph will start pressing the lever because he knows he’ll get water…or…
Rudolph learned that he would get water.

22. What should you say?
Rudolph will start pressing the lever on Tuesday because lever pressing was reinforced on Monday.
And that he was deprived of water on both Monday and Tuesday.

23. What is the Premack Principle?
If one activity occurs more often than another,
the opportunity to do the more frequent activity
will reinforce the less frequent activity.

24. Example of the Premack Principle
A teacher allowed her 3-year-old students to get up and run around the room for 2 minutes.
Then she rang a bell.
The kids sat down and listened to her lesson.
After a few minutes, another bell rang, and the kids got up and ran around for 2 minutes.

25. Analysis
The children behaved so well during the teacher’s lesson because the teacher reinforced appropriate school work (less preferred activity),
with the ability to run around for 2 minutes (preferred activity).

26. How can I tell if something will act as a reinforcer before I use it?
Measure the frequency of occurrence of the potentially reinforcing activity.
Measure the frequency of the response you want to reinforce.
If the potentially reinforcing activity occurs more often than the response you want to reinforce,
then that potentially reinforcing activity will be an effective reinforcer for that response.

27. Basic Enrichment You deprived Rudolph of water for 23 hours.
He rapidly learned lever pressing, and now presses the lever rapidly.
But one day, you forgot to deprive him of water.
He has been drinking his fill for the last few days.
Now he barely contacts the lever.

28. This is an example of… Satiation
In this case, what did satiation hurt: learning or performance?
Performance

29. Another Example
You forgot to remove the water bottle from Rudolph’s cage before the first few lab sessions.
How effective would water be as a reinforcer?
Not too effective
In this case, what did satiation hurt?
Learning

30. Intermediate Enrichment
Unlearned Reinforcers with Direct Biological Benefits
Food and water provide us with direct biological benefits
Unlearned Reinforcers that Don’t Provide Biological Benefits
Visual stimulation
Pigeons in cages will face out through an opening of the cage door rather than the inside where it’s dark.

31. Examples Animal has little visual stimulation.
Before
Animal has little visual stimulation.
Behavior
Animal turns toward opening.
After
Animal has more visual stimulation.
Before
Baby has little visual stimulation.
Behavior
Baby turns toward TV.
After
Baby has much visual stimulation.

32. Monkey can see train running.
Another Example
A monkey’s lever press opened a window.
Then the monkey could see a toy train running around a track.
The monkey often pressed the lever.
The monkey had no previous experience with the train.
Before
Monkey can’t see train.
Behavior
Monkey
presses lever.
After
Monkey can see train running.

33. Example of Sound as an Unlearned Reinforcer
Sound will act as a mild reinforcer for rats
It will maintain a low frequency of lever press responses.
Before
Rat hears no sound.
Behavior
Rat presses lever.
After
Rat hears sound.

34. No-Calorie Sweetners
People dump non-nutritive sweeteners in their coffee by the tons.
Before
Person has no sweet coffee.
Behavior
Person dumps sweetener in coffee.
After
Person has sweet coffee.
Before
Rat has no sweet taste.
Behavior
Rat drinks saccharine water.
After
Rat has sweet taste.

35. How do you know if it was learned or unlearned?
The rats were born and raised in the lab, where the experimenters controlled their diet and withheld all sweet tastes.

36. Indirect Reinforcers
Unlearned reinforcers may have indirect biological benefits.
Orienting toward sights and sounds helps animals (and us) to avoid injury and death (to survive).
Before
Animal less likely to survive.
Behavior
Animal orients toward stimulus.
After
Animal more likely to survive.

37. But… This is an ineffective natural contingency…
It does not control behavior.
So through evolution, nature has added a performance management contingency to control behavior.
Before
Animal has no audio-visual reinforcer.
Behavior
Animal orients toward stimulus.
After
Animal has audio-visual reinforcer.

38. Unlearned Reinforcers & Aversive Stimuli
2 Types of Unlearned Reinforcers:
Directly cause biological benefits
Indirectly cause biological benefits
2 Types of Unlearned Aversive Stimuli
Directly cause biological harm
Indirectly cause biological harm

39. Unlearned Aversive Stimuli
Directly cause biological harm:
Predator’s bite
Spoiled food
Indirectly cause biological harm:
Shadow of a hawk
A loud noise
Taste/smell of spoiled food

40. Unlearned Reinforcers with No Biological Benefits
Sensory Stimulation:
Unlearned reinforcer with no known biological benefit (direct or indirect)
Example: Hand Flapping

41. On DickMalott.com Chapter 9 Advanced Enrichment Section
Approaching Reinforcers vs. Escaping Aversive Stimuli
The Incentive Operation
The Motivating and Incentive Operations and Aversive Stimuli
The Motivating Operation: Escape vs. Reinforcement
The Incentive Operation: Escape vs. Reinforcement
The Incentive Operation: Punishment

42. Join us for Chapter 10: Special Motivating Operations