 |
 
| The Basics of
Behavior Analysis
|
| Parents
|
| Love & Sexuality
|
| Employees & Bosses
|
| OneScience
|
|
 |
 |
Behavior Analysis
Stimulus Control
At some point in your life a soda machine
meant nothing to you. It was just a big red
box that didn't interest you. Eventually you
learned that there was something that came
out of that box that tasted sweet. You also learned
that when you were playing and got hot and sweaty
that you could drink something and feel better. You learned that a "big red
box" means reinforcers are available when you're thirsty.
Now that you know how to operate a soda machine, and you know what
it's good for, let's say you attempt to buy a soda from a machine that looks
a little old and rusty. Maybe the logo of the drink in the machine is an
older logo that the company doesn't use anymore. And say the soda
machine only takes change, unlike newer ones that can receive dollar bills
too.
So you put your money in this older machine and nothing happens. This will
effect how you use soda machines in the future. In the future, you will be
more likely to avoid using older looking soda machines because your
experience has been that older soda machines may not work. This is due to
something called Stimulus Control.
A stimulus is something in the environment that influences behavior. An
"antecedent stimulus" is a feature of the environment that communicates
information to a living being on how to behave. For example, a red light
signals to a driver that stopping his car is a good idea. A green light tells
the driver that it is safe to go. The antecedent stimulus tells a living being
what consequences can be expected for which behaviors. When
you behave in a manner that is determined by the antecedent
stimuli in your environment, we say that your behavior is under
control of that stimulus. And that's what we call Stimulus Control.
Here's another example. The phone rings (antecedent) - you pick
it up and say hello (behavior) - your friend says hello and you have a
conversation (consequence). The phone ringing is an antecedent stimulus
that controls your behavior of picking up the phone and saying hello.
What if the only time your phone rang was when your mother-in-law was
calling to gripe at you about something? Then a ringing phone would
motivate you to avoid answering the phone (in order to avoid getting
griped at). Your friend calling reinforces your behavior of answering the
phone. Your mother-in-law influences you to avoid answering the phone.
Newer phones can be programmed to ring differently depending on who is
calling. So let's say you program your phone to go "riiiiiiiiing" when your
friend calls and to go "ring ring" when you mother-in-law calls. Now the
"riiiiiiiiiing" is a stimulus that tells you that answering the phone will likely
be reinforced. The "ring ring" is a stimulus that tells you that answering the
phone will likely get you griped at.
Behavior analysts use their knowledge of behavior in a variety of ways to
help people engage in more productive behavior for themselves and those
around them. Come back often as we expand this review and help you understand yourself and surrounding environment.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
An easy to follow discussion on the basics.
How does BA affect your life? |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Receive Behavior-related info in your E-mail box free with "Consequently".
|
|
|
|
|
|
