Stimulus Control

I guess it is about time for me to write another post. I originally started this blog because I felt like I had many stories to share about behavior analysis, but lately any time I think about writing, my mind just goes blank. Honestly I was not sure if anyone cared or enjoyed what I wrote about, so in a way, my blogging behavior was being punished by the removal of a reinforcer: positive feedback from readers. But today, I checked in on my blog stats and saw that I had a new follower of my blog, so this post is dedicated to my new follower. You have positively reinforced my blog writing behavior and have increased the likelihood I will write again. 

So, today I wanted to elaborate a little more on something I have mentioned briefly in The "P" Word and The Basics. The concept is stimulus control. When I talked about behaviors being influenced by their environments such as my bed and my rude neighbors yard, I was talking about stimulus control. First, I guess I have to answer the question of what is a stimulus. Merriam - Webster says that a stimulus is "an agent that direct influences the activity of a living organism or one of its parts". In behavior analysis we have several different types of stimuli that we are concerned with, but for now I am just going to talk about general stimulus control. So, my question from The "P" Word was why do I only avoid the rude man's yard when I forget to bring a bag and I am walking my dog? Well, the answer is .... stimulus control. The stimuli involved with the man punishing my behavior include the visuals of his house, yard, him and his car in the driveway. There are likely sounds and smells associated with the punishment, but I am not consciously aware of those. Obviously, it is not necessary for me to know about the control those stimuli exert over my behavior. Even if I were not an almost behavior analyst, I would still not walk Igor by that man's house if I forgot to bring a bag with me. 

How does knowing about the concept of stimulus control help us in our daily lives? Well, in my line of work it helps me immensely. Because of my knowledge about stimulus control I can prepare to have to think about how I am going to get the skills I teach individuals in one setting, to transfer to other settings. In your life it may help you to know that even though you have potty trained your child or your dog at your house, initially that skill may not carry over to other environments. Of course that is one of many examples and it may not apply to your life, but knowing about stimulus control of behaviors can help you to understand why certain behaviors only occur in some settings and not in others. This could possibly reduce some frustration with those in your life (not that any of you would ever get frustrated). 

Also, I think this topic begs the question: What stimulus control does my presence assert over others? Does my presence contribute to people in my life engaging in appropriate behaviors or problem behaviors? If my presence does not assert the stimulus control I would like it to, how do I change that? Those questions, specifically the last will have to be tackled in another post. 

If any of you have any questions, comments or smart remarks about what you would like to read about in the future or any improvements I can make, I would love to hear them. 

(Yes smarty pants, I am soliciting reinforcement for my blog writing behavior.)

The Good Stuff

Since my last blog was about punishment, it is only fair that I talk about reinforcement now. A reinforcer is the exact opposite of a punisher: a stimulus that occurs immediately after a behavior, which increases the probability that the behavior will happen in the future.

Again, we all contact reinforcers every day in our natural environments. If we did not contact reinforcement, we would not continue behaving. My behavior of taking my dog out at O-dark thirty is reinforced by escaping the inevitable "accident" that will occur on my floor if I don't take her out. My behavior of starting a home maintenance project that I want my husband to do is reinforced when he inevitably finishes it for me. My husband's behavior of leaving the dishes in the sink is (or has been) reinforced by me putting them in the dishwasher. My behavior of constantly searching for a house to rent on craigslist has been reinforced by finding new, possible houses each time I look (I am obsessed about this right now, it is not healthy!).

The thing that I think is really neat (imagine a nerdy laugh and me pushing glasses up my nose here) is that you don't have to know that your behavior is being reinforced for it to happen. Actually, typically you don't know that your behavior is being reinforced, but it still increases the likelihood that you will engage in that behavior in the future.

So, I told you that I would share with you how you can use these principles of behavior in your own life. How can you do that you ask? Simply by changing which behaviors you choose to reinforce in others. For example, if I want my husband to stop leaving his dishes in the sink, I can stop putting them in the dishwasher for him and instead cook him something special when he does put his dishes in the dishwasher. Is this being manipulative? Maybe, but would it be better to yell at him every time he leaves his dishes in the sink? I submit not. Now think about this. What is reinforcing my behavior of intentionally leaving his dishes in the sink? Do you see? I reinforce his behavior, but he also reinforces (or punishes) mine. So, as I see it, we manipulate others behaviors whether we are doing it intentionally or not. I would rather be aware of what I am doing, so that I can reinforce appropriate behaviors rather than unintentionally reinforcing the behaviors I don't want to see.

P.S. My husband is a wonderful man and I love him dearly, even if he doesn't always do the dishes.

The "P" Word

PUNISHMENT

Oh, no! What a horrible thing to talk about right? Wrong. We all contact punishment for behaviors in which we engage and each time we are punished we somehow come out unscathed. In behavior analysis, punishment simply means a stimulus that occurs immediately following a behavior that decrease the likelihood that the behavior will occur in the future.

Finally I get to share one of my stories that was part of the reason for starting this blog!

The Man's House 

Yesterday I showed you a picture of my dog Igor. Well, we live in an apartment building and do not have a backyard, so I have take Igor outside on walks to do her business every day. One day, last fall, I was walking Igor and she decided it was time to relieve her bowels in the neighbor's yard. Much to my dismay, I had forgotten to grab a plastic bag on the way out the door, so I had no way to clean up after her. So as Igor was using our neighbor's yard as her toilet, I noticed that the neighbor was sadly outside doing some yard work at that very moment. As Igor finishes her business, the man gruffly says to me "Are you going to pick that up?" I politely tell him that I forgot a bag and I will be right back with one to pick it up. He huffs and puffs about it and Igor and I promptly turn around to get a bag from the apartment building right next store. When we return to the scene of the crime he is still in his yard. He sees me clean it up and what do you think he does? Nothing, he stands there and watches me but does not say thank you or anything of the sort!

I have always been very sensitive to any sort of disapproval. When I was a child, one sideways glance was enough to punish any behavior and send me into a crying frenzy. So when this man showed his disapproval of me, even though I don't know him, he punished my behavior. To this day, I will not take Igor down the sidewalk that leads past his house, if I forgot to grab a bag when leaving the apartment.

So, thats one example from my life of punishment. I am not scarred from the occasion, although my behavior did change because of it. This story of punishment leads to many possible discussions to continue with in my next blog such as: Why do I not remember to always bring a bag with me because he punished my behavior or why will I only not go in his yard when I forget to bring a bag? We will have to tackle those questions another day though.

What about you? Can you think of any silly situations in which your behavior was punished? I would love to hear them.

The Basics

What is considered behavior? 

We can use the "dead man test": if you are alive, you engage in behaviors. Anything you do throughout your day that is not a reflex (blinking), can be considered behavior. So, when I fix my coffee first thing in the morning while half awake, behavior; when I drive my husband to work at 6am, behavior; typing this blog when I should be studying, behavior. Believe it or not, emotions and thoughts are behaviors as well. So as I was laying in bed last night thinking about all of the things I have to figure out in the next couple of weeks, I was behaving. Are you starting to get the picture that almost every moment of our lives is spent behaving?

So, now that we know what behavior is, it is important to understand that all behavior happens within specific environments. Many of my behaviors which I described above happen in the environment of my home. This picture shows the environment that is associated with worrying (and of course sleeping) for me. Each person has many different environments in which they engage in behaviors. Those specific environments play a very important role in shaping the behaviors you and I engage in. Even without any human involvement the environments we are in can change our behaviors.

All of this is very boring and probably reminds you slightly of a science class. It is necessary for me to explain all of these things in order for me to eventually share my insanely nerdy stories about how my behavior has been shaped and how I shape others' behaviors in my life.

My dog Igor

Coming up next: Learn about the principles of behavior that can be used to change the behaviors of your children, your husband, your boss and even your dog!

The First

Blogging... I never thought I would do this. I am not a big reader of blogs, although there are a few that I enjoy checking in with from time to time. The purpose for starting this blog is to give me a place to talk about all of the things that I notice throughout my day that relate to the field of study I am a part of. I am studying to be a behavior analyst. Any time I tell someone that, I get asked the same question: "What is a behavior analyst and what do they do?" 

The answer to the first part of the question is rather simple. A behavior analyst is a person who studies behavior and how to increase, decrease or change that behavior. The second part of that question is more difficult. Behavior analysts can do many different things. There are behavior analysts who work for businesses, helping increase productivity, employee satisfaction and safety within the workplace. There are also behavior analysts who study the behavior of criminals and help catch the bad guys, by looking at patterns of behavior and predicting, based on the scientific process, what the criminal is most likely to do next. There are also behavior analysts who work with the elderly. I will be a behavior analyst who works with children with developmental disabilities. I am currently working with children with developmental disabilities, but I am not yet a behavior analyst. 

The purpose of this blog is not to talk about my job, as I cannot really do that and maintain the confidentiality of my clients. Rather, I would like to show people through this blog that behavior analysis is a big part of everyone's life. I probably do not have the time right now to be starting a blog, but hopefully this will help me get some information out of my head, so my thoughts are not always swirling around in my brain at night keeping my awake. I also hope that my blog will get other people interested in the field of behavior analysis.