Chapter 13 (Cooper) Chapter 17 (Sulzer-Azaroff) Prompting.

Chapter 13 (Cooper)Chapter 13 (Cooper)Chapter 17 (Sulzer-Azaroff)Chapter 17 (Sulzer-Azaroff)

PromptingPrompting

Effective Goal SettingEffective Goal Setting

• Be realistic

• Shape

• Goals should be SDs

Prompting and Prompt FadingPrompting and Prompt Fading

• Prompts: – supplemental stimuli that control the target response but are not

a part of the natural SD that will eventually control the behavior

• (Touchette & Howard, 1984) – Prompts are given before or during the performance of a

behavior; they help behavior occur so that the teacher can provide reinforcement

– Only introduced during the acquisition phase of instruction

• Prompt Fading: – technique to gradually change the antecedent stimulus: Stimuli

are faded in or out.

• Transfer of Stimulus Control – :technique used to fade response and stimulus prompts

2 Types of Prompts2 Types of Prompts

• Response Prompts: stimuli added to a child’s response– Verbal Directions– Modeling– Physical Guidance

• Stimulus Prompts: Stimuli used in conjunction with the task stimuli or instructional materials– Movement Cues– Position Cues– Redundancy Cues

Response prompts: stimuli added Response prompts: stimuli added to a child’s responseto a child’s response

• Verbal directions: – can be one word or several in length and are used very often in typical classrooms

• e.g., When teaching a child to tie a shoe –can say remember to make the bows big

• e.g., remind the student what they need to do –Remember do your math worksheet and then we can go to the party– but can be used with children with autism

• Child must have responding that is rule-governed or use familiar language

• Make sure they are not prompts but critical variables of concern– E.g., instructions –can be taught to response to these pair with

modeling


• Modeling prompts – a behavior can be modeled by demonstrating the

desired behavior so that it can be imitated. It can be used in combination with other prompts

– Child must have genrealized imitation

• e.g., words on a card to be copied – writing activity schedules

• e.g., videotaping the actions of a play script• e.g., drawing the components for an art script• E.g., posture and attention


• Physical guidance: – an instructor manually guides a child through

the entire target response

• e.g., teaching a child to dress –not pulling the pants up for a child but putting your hands over the child’s and guiding them pull them up

Ways to Fade Response PromptsWays to Fade Response PromptsWolery and Gast (1984)Wolery and Gast (1984)

• Most-to-Least Prompts

• Graduated Guidance– Shadowing and spatial fading

• Least-to-Most Prompts

• Time Delay

Response Prompt FadingResponse Prompt Fading

• Most-to-least : – the instructor initially guides the student physically

through the entire performance then gradually reduces the amount of physical assistance provided as training progresses from session to session.

• e.g., dressing• Graduated guidance

– is defined as the teacher provides a physical prompt only when it is needed and then it is faded immediately whenever the student responses correctly.


• Foxx and Azrin (1973) recommend using shadowing and spatial fading with the graduated guidance procedure as soon as the student is performing the skill independently.

• Shadowing– has the teacher following the student’s movements with her

hands very near but not touching the child. The teacher then gradually increases the distance of her hands from the student.

• Spatial fading – involves gradually changing the location of the physical prompt.

• e.g., if the physical prompt is used for a hand movement, the teacher can move the prompt from the hand to the wrist, to the elbow, to the shoulder, and then to no physical contact.

•


• Least to most prompts – involves giving the student the opportunity to

perform the response with the least amount of assistance on each trial. Greater degrees of assistance are provided as successive opportunities are required.

– This procedure requires that a latency interval (frequency 5 seconds) occur between the presentation of the natural SD and the opportunity to emit the response.

Least-to Most Least-to Most

– Wolery and Gast (1984) List 4 basic Guidelines to be followed1. The natural SD to which stimulus control will be transferred is

presented at each prompt level2. a constant latency interval follows the presentation of each natural

SD or prompt within which time the student has an opportunity to response without additional assistance

3. Increased assistance is presented at each prompt level4. Each correct response is positive reinforced even if prompted

• Advantages:– the student always has an opportunity to response and the

student’s behavior determines the level of prompting needed for a correct response increasing assistance as necessary.

• Disadvantages – multiple errors.

ExampleExample

• e.g., “Joe point to the number 8 “• no response• “Joe point to the number 8. It’s the one between 7 and 9 on your • number line.”• No response• “Joe want me point to the number 8 on your paper. Now you point • to the number 8.”• He points to the 9• “Join point to the number 8. The tutor placed his hand on top of

Joe’s and moves his hand close to the number 8”• He points to 9• “Joe, point to the number 8. The tutor guides Joe’s fingers to the • number 8”


• Time delay– delays the presentation of the prompt after the natural stimulus has

been presented.

• Snell and Gast (1981) describe two time delay procedures:• Progressive time delay:

– starts with a zero time delay between the presentation of the natural stimulus and the response prompt. The time delay is then gradually and systematically increased usually in 1-second intervals. The time delay can be increased after a specific number of presentation after each session or after a specific number of sessions.

• Constant time delay: – begins with several trials using a zero second delay. Then for all other

trials the response prompt is delayed for a fixed time interval after the presentation of the natural stumbles.

•

Stimulus prompts: stimuli added to an SStimulus prompts: stimuli added to an SDD prior to a child emitting a response.prior to a child emitting a response.

• Movement prompts– pointing to or looking at the target stimulus.

• e.g. when teaching a student to discriminate a penny from a dime you might point to correct coin.

• Positional prompts – moving the target stimulus closer to a child.

• e.g., if asking for a dime –move it closer• Redundancy prompts

– when additional dimensions (e.g., color, size shape) of the target stimulus are exaggerated.

• e.g. prompt is exaggerating the lettering on a dime –criterion related

• e.g., placing the correct coin on a white sheet of paper –non-criterion related

Fading Stimulus PromptsFading Stimulus Prompts

• Stimulus prompts are typically faded through errorless learning procedures such as stimulus shaping, transposition, and stimulus fading (LaBlanc & Etzel, 1981)


• -Stimulus fading: – highlighting a physical dimension (e.g., color, size,

position) of a stimulus to increase the likelihood of a correct response.

– The highlighted or exaggerated dimension is faded gradually in or out.

• e.g., fully highlighting a letter “A” to teach handwriting –criterion related prompt

• e.g., 17 and 71 –in puzzles –give them a one and have them place the one in the correct position to make 17 or 71 –eventually fade this to a writing task

• –criterion related prompts ensure that the child is attending to the relevant dimension of the stimulus.


• Superimposition of stimuli is – Frequently used with stimulus fading. – Two specific classes of stimuli are presented

to prompt a response. – In one instance the transfer of stimulus control

occurs when one stimulus is faded out; in another application one stimulus is faded in as the other stimulus is faded out.


• E.g. Terrace (1963): – colored lights (red & green)– Lines superimposed on lights– Lights faded out

• e.g., 5 + 2 = 7• 1-2-3-4-5- 6-7

• E.g., Pg 320 –criterion related?


• -Stimulus shaping occurs when the overall configuration or topography of the stimulus is changed.

• e.g., picture of a car –gradually changing to the written word car –criterion related

•

Discriminative & Motivational Discriminative & Motivational Functions of StimuliFunctions of Stimuli

• To demonstrate stimulus control1. A response characteristic such as probability

of occurrence is altered whenever a change is made in a particular property of an antecedent stimulus

2. A response in the presence of an antecedent stimulus is followed with reinforcement

Discriminative & Motivational Discriminative & Motivational Functions of StimuliFunctions of Stimuli

• To demonstrate stimulus control– 3. The SD condition is correlated with an increased

frequency of reinforcement as opposed to the S– -differential reinforcement is critical!– -Sometimes, a stimulus change alters the rate of

probability of a response occurrence and appears to have an SD effect without any history of effective differential reinforcement correlated

– deprivation and satiation states– Michael uses the terms “establishing operations” and

“establishing” stimuli to distinguish the discriminative and motivational function of stimulus

Contextual VariablesContextual Variables

• Setting Events

• Establishing Operations– Establishing Stimulus

Setting EventsSetting Events

Setting Events (Conditional Discrimination)the presence or absence of an SD that alters the function of any other SD in a general way

SD : Context : Movie TheatreS R SR

See Minimal Avoidfriends Conversation Complaints

Setting EventsSetting Events

• Setting events acquire their function through a history of differential reinforcement, just as any other sort of discriminative stimulus does. – Examples of contextual stimuli related to classroom

performance• E.g., faster rates of presentations of instructional stimuli are

associated with both lower rates of disruption and higher rates of correct responses that are slower-paced presentations.

• So too are frequent praise, clear signals, consistency within a setting, and immediate feedback.

Establishing OperationsEstablishing Operations

• Any change in the environment which alters the effectiveness of some object or event as reinforcement and simultaneously alters the momentary frequency of the behavior that has been followed by that reinforcer.– E.g., salt ingestion, perspiration and blood loss are

establishing operations for water consumption– Others?

• Note that establishing operations resemble events that other learning theorists might have labeled “drives” or “motivational” variables.

Establishing OperationsEstablishing Operations

• A history of differential reinforcement is much less relevant with establishing operations than with setting events.

• Establishing operations is less dependent on learning than setting events– e.g, first time a bay is nauseated he or she will refuse

food. The b aby does not have to have learned previously that eating will be punished.

• Establishing operations is not the same as a discriminative stimulus and does not obtain it controlling properties in the same way.

Establishing StimulusEstablishing Stimulus

• The effectiveness of conditioned reinforcement is altered but not the effectiveness of unconditioned reinforcement

• If there is an increased likelihood of the occurrence of behavior that in the past has produced the conditioned reinforcement associated with the second stimulus change

Establishing StimulusEstablishing Stimulus

• Michael (1982) describes an establishing stimulus as a form of conditioning that produces an evocative relation similar to that of an establishing operation.

• That is an antecendent-response relation between when you find yourself “desperately seeking” or “needing” an item or event, person, tool, or different environment and when you respond according to your prior experiences

• A response cannot occur unless some stimulus change enables it to happen – E.g., you cannot drive your car unless you have the key, but you

have misplaced it. So you look in all the familiar places until you find it. Locating the key is a conditioned reinforcing event, whereas hunting for it was evoked by the stimulus event –no key.

Differences?Differences?• An establishing operation alters the effectiveness of

reinforcement for all members of a species. Not affected by individual history

• E.g., water deprivation for humans• An establishing stimulus does depend on individual history

in altering the effectiveness of reinforcement. Does not effect all members of the species in the same way

• E.g., teacher tell student to complete math worksheet 4. One student lost his worksheet so asks the teacher for another copy

• Student cannot complete worksheet and then receive reinforcement, if does not have a worksheet. Establishing Stimuli are the worksheet and thus asking the teacher for a worksheet –worksheet then becomes conditioned reinforcer because completion of it leads to reinforcement.

Questions to answer when Questions to answer when selecting a prompt:selecting a prompt:

• What is the target response?• Does my prompt lead to the target response?• What is the natural stimuli that should control this

behavior?• Does my prompt lead to that stimuli controlling the

behavior?– Order your SDs in a hierarchy from the most natural to the most

artificial and select from there• E.g. eye contact –why you wouldn’t say “look” or “hands

down”• E.g., teaching a student to discriminate “b” and “d”

– Extra stimlus prompt-non-criterion related prompts– Within-stimulus prompts –criterion related prompts –magnified

critical features

Information to remember when Information to remember when fading prompts:fading prompts:

• Am I producing a shift in attention from my prompt to the relevant discriminative stimuli?

• Am I decreasing the likelihood of prompt dependency while preventing errors?

• -e.g., fading prompts in a timely fashion• Am I using an error-correction procedure if the

child makes a mistake?• Am I reinforcing only when I reduce my level of

prompt –giving the child an incentive to independently perform the response?

Coping with Stimulus Coping with Stimulus overdependence and overdependence and

overselectivityoverselectivity• Children with autism’s behavior may be

controlled by a limited number of even just one –often non-relevant stimulus -of the complex stimulus

• E.g., placement of an object, its color, person doing the teaching

• Can recall someone’s name when they are sitting in their seat in the classroom –pass them on the street and I’m in trouble

• How do you fix this?

Correcting OverselectivityCorrecting Overselectivity

• Control has to be transferred over to the critical features of the SD

• Alternate trials involving single components of the complex stimulus with trials containing the intact complex stimulus

• Use intermittent schedules of reinforcement –may promote attending

Chapter 13 (Cooper) Chapter 17 (Sulzer-Azaroff) Prompting.

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Transcript of Chapter 13 (Cooper) Chapter 17 (Sulzer-Azaroff) Prompting.