Comments for Behavior Modification

Comment on Wrong about negative reinforcement by Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:15:59 +0000

Hi! You left a nice comment on my blog so I figured I would return the favor. I discovered your blog a few months ago when I was searching for ABA/education resources and I have really enjoyed reading it.

You asked if I am putting my M.Ed. to use. And I am proud to say that I am! I am currently working as a therapist with three children who have autism. I am getting ready to be the lead of a team of therapists with another child. And in the fall I’m going back to school to take the last three courses I need for board certification so I can consult in the near future.

Thanks for the nice words! And I look forward to reading more!

Comment on Florida Autism conference by Cross Country Running Shoes

Cross Country Running Shoes — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 05:47:11 +0000

i have a brother that is autistic and we love him so much and gave all of our support on him “.’

[spam link removed--Ed.]

Comment on Getting negative reinforcement wrong by Ludivina Masker

Ludivina Masker — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 06:04:35 +0000

This page Getting negative reinforcement wrong at Behavior Modification hit the nail on the head. I am sure to check back here frequently to find out what you may have to express. You earned a subscriber.

[Ed.: spam link removed]

Comment on True-false question by JohnL

JohnL — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:14:04 +0000

So, before I alerted a group of folks from the Precision Teaching gang to the presence of this question, fewer "false" than "true" responses were being entered. In my view, however, once the PT folks weighed in on the item, the switch to the false tipped the balance toward the correct answer. It would be a bit of stretch to say that the perspectives of B. F. Skinner and Carl Rogers were diametrically opposed, but they certainly were different. Whereas Skinner drew heavily on evidence about lawful relationships about behavior, Rogers predicated his views on theories and personal life experiences. Indeed, in their once-celebrated co-authored article in Science, Skinner and Rogers clearly disagreed about the purpose and utility of behavioral science. Rogers raised the objections to Skinner's scientific views that one often still hears raised to behavior modification today: "Who will exercise control? What type of control will be exercised? Most important of al, toward what end or what purpose, or in the pursuit of what value, will control be exercised?" (p. 1057).

Rogers, C. R., & Skinner, B. F. (1956). Some issues concerning the control of human behavior. Science, 124, 1057-1066.

Comment on Fryer’s incentives study by Regina

Regina — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:14:59 +0000

Hi John,
I agree with your points but I might split hairs even a little further just for chatting purposes – a reward can also be given contingent on a behavior, but it’s the influence on the future probability on rate, intensity or magnitude, latency, duration, etc. that determines whether it is functioning as a reinforcer. Bribery to me is in a whole other ball game – not only being the offer, but the delivery of something in advance of a behavior in the hope that it will happen much as you offer Junior a sucker in the hopes that he will stop screaming in Target.

Og Lindsley recognized that we don’t know the impact until that future event, and it was also part of moving to Plain English from technical jargon.

Lindsley, O. R. (1983). Say reward, relief, punishment, or penalty. Journal of Precision Teaching, 3(4), 100-101.
Lindsley, O.R. (1991). From technical jargon to plain English for application. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24(3), 449–458.

I find it kind of funny that people expect children who are susceptible to all kinds of competing reinforcing and punishing contingencies (whether recognized or not) to perform for the “love of learning” vs. some kind of targeted tangible consequence, and yet we also train the value of a “report card”, letter grade, or GPA which to me is a deferred consequence of some abstraction, and at least as artificial as the money which is being criticized. In the article itself, I found the children’s comments (and the children’s opinion matters to me as much as any post hoc write up) interesting…they’re kids but they know what matters to them.

Just thinking out loud.

Comment on Better and Worse Ways of Giving Directions by Regina

Regina — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 12:17:29 +0000

Now, mind you my youngest child has a significant disability, but I’ve discovered that anything that can be legitimately answered with “no”, “I don’t know”, “I don’t think so”, or is unnecessarily provocative on my part is probably not the best way for me to deliver an instruction and have reliable cooperation and compliance. Interestingly enough, clarity seems to work equally well with my “typical” child and even my spouse.

Thank you for highlighting a simple strategy that may not be given as much weight as it could.

Comment on Some resources by Angela Mouzakitis

Angela Mouzakitis — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:08:23 +0000

Hey, thanks for the mention! I have fallen off the blogging a bit but am back on now that i’m catching my breath after being a mom for a bit! thanks again.

Comment on Doesn’t have to happen by Maddie Council

Maddie Council — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:00:19 +0000

Hey. I couldn’t get through to this page the other day. Anyone else had the problem?

Comment on Physical punishment repudiated by Corporal punishment needs to be beaten at Teach Effectively!

Corporal punishment needs to be beaten at Teach Effectively! — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:32:24 +0000

[...] the executive summary here and review an earlier post on TE about corporal punishment. Link to the entry about punishment on Behavior Mod Info. Share and [...]

Comment on Florida Autism conference by Florida Autism Conference at EBD Blog

Florida Autism Conference at EBD Blog — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:32:33 +0000

[...] Mod Info there’s a post describing an up-coming conference on behavior analysis and Autism. Link to the post. Share and [...]