| Related sites for http://server.bmod.athabascau.ca/html/prtut/reinpair.htm |
| Lab_Online Database of laboratory products and services. Page includes articles on recent discoveries within the industry and research centers. | | LabLocator A searchable database of testing labs, and consultants with related expertise. | | Links999 Portal for information about technology, robotics, security issues, and computing web locations worldwide. | | ParalleMIC An information center on parallel mechanisms (Stewart platforms, and parallel kinematic machines). | | Sitereview_org Post science and technology website reviews or read and vote on those posted by others. | | Sol-Gel_Gateway A place where chemists physists, materials scientists, and device technologists meet to invent the materials of the next millennium. | | Systems_and_Control_Engineering_Resource_Center A resource for systems and control engineers or researchers. | | Techexpo Listings of hi-technology companies in engineering, medical and life sciences. | | Temperature_World Temperature related news, links and resources. Topics include science, technology, health, sensors, controls, instrumentation, earth and environment. | | Thermal_Connection Provides a resource site for the thermal design engineer. It features free thermal data, calculators, wizards, FAQs, links and TAK 2000 information. | | Tom_Duffey\'s_WWW_Links Portal to personal computers, science, technology and electronic engineering resources. | | Top_20_Engineering Online directory for engineering education in materials, environmental, aerospace, chemical, civil, electrical, software and other scientific links. | | WWW_Virtual_Library_for_Engineering A collection of links to on-line information resources related to engineering, including academic and research institutions, announcements, and products and services. | | CalPal The Cologne Radiocarbon Calibration and Paleoclimate Research Package is designed to support research on hominid behavioural response to pleistocene climate change. | | CalPal_-_Online_Radiocarbon_Calibration Dates between 50.000 and 1 BP will be calibrated using the calibration curve CalPal2004_SFCP. | | How_Stuff_Works__Carbon-14_Dating Introductory tutorial. | | Informath Dating related papers and articles by Douglas J. Keenan. | | RadioCarbon International journal of radio-isotope dating: Article indexes; sales of subscriptions and back issues. | | Radiocarbon_Web-Info Extensive information concerning the radiocarbon dating method from Tom Higham, Radiocarbon Laboratory, University of Waikato, New Zealand. | | Carbon_Clock_Could_Show_the_Wrong_Time From PhysicsWeb, Carbon dating is a mainstay of geology and archaeology, but an enormous peak discovered in the amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere between 45 thousand and 11 thousand years ago cast | | Flexagon_Re\'flex\'ions Several possibly new trihexaflexagon phenomena are presented. The wide spectrum of findings including explorations with magic squares, palindromes, and much more freshly fans the flexagon fun. | | Flexagons Includes a definition of the word, instructions on how to make a Trihexaflexagon, how to flex it and information about it and another flexagon. | | Flexagons Contains instructions on how to fold a flexagon, history of flexagons and printable models of some. | | Flexagons Contains an introduction and history of Flexagons and a tutorial in how to make a Hexa-hexa-flexagon. | | Flexagons 1962 technical report which includes an introduction to the history of Flexagons. | | Hexaflexagon_Toolkit A free application that can generate a hexaflexagon template and folding instructions from six user selected images. Examples Source Code included. | | Berkeley_Geomorphology_Group Information about faculty, courses, research, and publications at this University of California campus. | | Carolina_Bays Investigation into the possible origin of these enigmatic wetland depressions scattered across the Eastern U.S. coastal plain from souther | | Deserts__Geology_and_Resources USGS online book, written for a general audience. Covers desert climates, desert landforms, sand dunes and aeolian processes, evaporite mineral deposits, and related topics. | | Geomorphological_Processes Terrain Classification System For British Columbia. | | Geomorphology_Home_Page,_University_of_Virginia Information and research on fluvial geomorphology and landform evolution on Mars. | | Is_Geomorphology_within_Geography_or_Geology? Extended discussion of the question whether geomorphology is a subdiscipline of geology or of physical geography. | | Landforms_of_the_World Educational site about earth landforms. | | Mystery_of_Pothole_Origins Photo essay on potholes of the Niagara Escarpment. Links to other sites on potholes. | | Origins_of_Niagara_Falls_-__A_Geological_History How bedrock geology and glacial meltwater interacted to form an impressive waterfall. | | Pediment_Formation_in_the_Mojave_Desert_of_California Short article describing the process of formation. | | Selected_Geomorphological_Features_in_Austria_and_in_the_Alps Short discussions of several glacial and fluvial landforms. | | A_Survey_of_Quaternary_Terrace_Formations_in_the_Conterminous_U_S_ Fluvial, lacustrine, and coastal terraces. | | The_Virtual_Geomorphology Electronic textbook assembled from links to on-line resources. Languages: English, Polish. | | British_Columbia_Grasslands_Conservation_Council A link between British Columbia and other grassland related programs in Canada, the United States, and the world. |
|
Positive Reinforcement Tutorial  Positive Reinforcement: A Self-Instructional ExerciseIntroductionThe purpose of this exercise is to teach the concept of positivereinforcement and also to provide an idea of the kind ofself-instructional exercises used in many Athabasca University coursepackages. Some technical notes about this lesson are available. A page of frequentlyasked questions about positive reinforcement is also available.In the first part of this exercise, the concept of positivereinforcement is defined and illustrated in six example/nonexamplepairs. In an example/nonexample pair, an example of a concept isslightly altered to form a nonexample; this enables the student totell the difference between examples and nonexamples that have similarcontent.In the second part of this exercise, students classify 14 examplesand nonexamples and are given feedback about their performance. Thistask gives the student practice at responding to novel examples andnonexamples, ones that have not been previously presented.Note that if positive reinforcement were being taught in a standardcourse, much more background material would be provided about theconcept to give students an appropriate context in which to understandthe concept, relate it to other concepts, and eventually to be able toapply the concept. In this tutorial, however, this background materialis omitted in favor of demonstrating some important features ofself-instructional exercises that can be effectively used in distanceeducation.This tutorial is intended for students at the university level, andshould require from .5 to 1.5 hours to complete.Concept Definition: Positive ReinforcementPositive reinforcement is one of the key concepts inbehavior analysis, a field withinpsychology. Positive reinforcers are something like rewards, or thingswe will generally work to get. However, the definition of a positivereinforcement is more precise than that of reward. Specifically, wecan say that positive reinforcement has occurred when three conditionshave been met: A consequence is presented dependent on a behavior. The behavior becomes more likely to occur. The behavior becomes more likely to occur because and only because the consequence is presented dependent on the behavior.Illustrative Example/Nonexample Pair #1: TheImportance of an Increase in the Level of the Behavior Example of positive reinforcement of smiling:Stephan and Cody were two mentally disabled boys who seldomsmiled at other people. Dr. Hopkins used a procedurein which he would take them for walks, and if they smiled at passersby, he would give them some pieces of M & M's candy. Thisprocedure caused Stephan and Cody to smile much more often than theyhad before. Nonexample of positive reinforcement of smiling:Stephan and Cody were two mentally disabled boys who seldomsmiled at other people. Dr. Hopkins used a procedurein which he would take them for walks, and if they smiled at passersby, he would give them some pieces of M & M's candy. Stephan andCody ate the candy quickly. AnalysisThe first item is an example of positive reinforcement. First, aconsequence was presented dependent upon the target behavior. Thecandy was dependent on smiling because there was an if-thenrelationship between smiling and candy: If smiling occurred, candy waspresented; but if no smiling occurred, no candy was presented. Second,there was an increase in the level of smiling. Third, the increase inthe level of smiling was due to the relationship between smiling andcandy.The second item is not an example of reinforcement because there isno mention of an increase in the level of the target behavior. Theremust be an increase in some measure of the behavior in order to saythat reinforcement has occurred.Source: Hopkins (1968)Illustrative Example/Nonexample Pair #2: Importance ofResponse-Dependent ConsequencesExample of positive reinforcement of cooperative play:Martha was a five-year-old girl who attended preschool.She seldom played with the other children. Workersat the preschool began praising and admiring Martha whenshe engaged in cooperative play with other children.As a result of this procedure Martha's level of cooperativeplay with the other children increased.Nonexample of positive reinforcement of cooperative play:Martha was a five-year-old girl who attended preschool. She seldomplayed with the other children. Workers at the preschool beganpraising and admiring Martha more than they had before. As a result ofthis procedure, Martha's level of cooperative playwith the other children increased.AnalysisThe first item is an example of positive reinforcement. First thepraise and admiration were presented dependent on cooperative playbecause there was an if-then relationship between cooperative play andpraise and admiration. Second, the level of cooperative playincreased. Third, the increase in cooperative play was due to thedependency between cooperative play and praise.The second item is not an example of positive reinforcement becausethe presentation of the consequences, praise and admiration, was notresponse-dependent. In order to say that an increase in behavior isdue to reinforcement, the behavior must have a response-dependentconsequence; there must be an if-then relationship between thebehavior and the consequence. In this example, there is no mention ofan if-then relationship between the cooperative play and presentationof praise and admiration. When there is no consistent if-thenrelationship between a response and a stimulus presentation, thestimulus presentation is said to be response-independent.Source: Hart, Reynolds, Baer, Brawley, and Harris(1968)Illustrative Example/Nonexample Pair #3: UsingRules or Instructions to do Something More Often is not PositiveReinforcementExample of positive reinforcement of quiz answers:Students in Professor Ohno's class were given a weekly quiz. Thestudents' percent correct quiz responding on thefirst quiz was low, so Professor Ohno began praising the performanceof those students who answered the quiz questions correctly. As aresult of this procedure, the students' quiz performance improved onthe rest of the quizzes.Nonexample of positive reinforcement of quiz answers: Students in Professor Ohno's class were given a weekly quiz. Overthe years Professor Ohno had given a lecture in which he emphasizedtwo rules for success in his class: study hard, and pay carefulattention to your work. Ohno would sometimes give the rules before thestudents had done any work, and would sometimes give it after they hadtaken several quizzes. No matter when he gave the lecture, it wouldalways improve the students' percent correct quizresponding.AnalysisThe first item is an example of positive reinforcement. Praise wasdependent on correct quiz responses, correct responses increased, andcorrect responses increased because of the dependent relationship ofresponses and consequences.The second item is not an example of reinforcement. Here theincrease in the target behavior is due to a rule or instruction toengage in a behavior, not to positive reinforcement. Giving a rule oran instruction to engage in a behavior can sometimes strengthen abehavior, but this strengthening is not due to response-dependentconsequences. That the strengthened behavior in the second item wasnot due to a response-dependent consequence is shown by the fact thatOhno's rules improved the students' performance even when they werepresented before the target behavior had occurred. In general, do notclassify items in which rules or instructions to engage in thebehavior are used as examples of reinforcement.Illustrative Example/Nonexample Pair #4: InPositive Reinforcement, the Consequence is Dependent on BehaviorOccurrences, not Behavior NonoccurrencesExample of positive reinforcement of on-feet behavior:Dee was a three-year-old girl enrolled in nursery school. Shecrawled, crouched, or sat 93% of the time at school and was on herfeet only 7% of the time. The teachers implemented a procedure inwhich Dee was not given any attention for off-feet behavior.Conversely, when she was on her feet the teachers gave Dee specialattention and tried to make her feel liked and appreciated. Thisprocedure resulted in Dee engaging in on-feetbehavior almost all the time like the other children at theschool.Nonexample of positive reinforcement of on-feet behavior:Dee was a three-year-old girl enrolled in nursery school. Shecrawled, crouched, or sat 93% of the time at school and was on herfeet only 7% of the time. The teachers implemented a procedure inwhich whenever Dee was off-feet, she was made to stand in a corner ofthe room for five minutes with her back to the room. This procedureresulted in Dee engaging in on-feet behavior almostall the time like the other children at the school.AnalysisThe first item is an example of positive reinforcement becausepresentation of attention was dependent upon the target behavior ofbeing on-feet, and this resulted in an increase in the level of thetarget behavior.The second item is not an example of positive reinforcement becausethere was no stimulus presentation dependent upon the targetbehavior. Instead, in the second item, the stimulus change wasdependent upon behavior other than the target behavior (i.e.,dependent on not engaging in the target behavior). In order to saythat positive reinforcement has occurred, a stimulus must be presentedfollowing and dependent upon the target behavior, not dependent onbehavior other than the target behavior or dependent on the failure toengage in the target behavior.Source: Harris, Johnston, Kelley, and Wolf (1964)Illustrative Example/Nonexample Pair #5: OstensiblyUndesirable Consequences can be Positive Reinforcers if They Functionto Strengthen a BehaviorExample of positive reinforcement of disruptive classroombehavior:In an elementary school classroom research was conducted to studythe effects of teacher behavior on student behavior. During one phaseof the study, the teacher began disapproving of the students'disruptive behaviors when they occurred. This resulted in anincrease in the level of disruptive behaviors.Nonexample of positive reinforcement of disruptive classroombehavior:In an elementary school classroom research was conducted to studythe effects of teacher behavior on student behavior. During one phaseof the study, the teacher began disapproving of the students'disruptive behaviors when they occurred. This resulted in adecrease in the level of disruptive behaviors.AnalysisThe first item is an example of positive reinforcement becauseteacher disapproval was presented dependent on the disruptivebehaviors, and this caused an increase in the level of the targetbehaviors. The second item is not an example of positive reinforcementbecause the procedure caused a decrease in the target behavior levels,not an increase.As illustrated in the first item, stimuli and events that seemnegative, undesirable, or even painful can act as positivereinforcers.Source: Thomas, Becker, and Armstrong (1968)Illustrative Example/Nonexample Pair #6:Positive Reinforcement Involves Stimulus Presentation, not StimulusRemovalExample of positive reinforcement of physiotherapeuticbehavior:Phoenecia was a 67-year-old woman who had had a stroke six monthsearlier. As a result she was unable to use her left forearm, becauseshe could not flex her left elbow. To solve this problem, a researcherset up an apparatus in which a counter indicated a number ofpoints. Phoenecia earned points on the counter by flexing herleft elbow 5 degrees. After the physiotherapy session,Phoenecia could exchange the points for money. As a result of thismethod, Phoenecia flexed her left elbow much more often than she hadbefore. After 19 sessions, Phoenecia could flex her elbow as much as70 degrees.Nonexample of positive reinforcement of physiotherapeuticbehavior:Phoenecia was a 67-year-old woman who had had a stroke six monthsearlier. As a result she was unable to use her left forearm, becauseshe could not flex her left elbow. To solve this problem, a researcherattached electrodes to Phoenecia's right forearm and administered anelectric shock. Phoenecia could turn off the shock by flexingher left elbow 5 degrees. As a result of this method,Phoenecia flexed her elbow much more often than she had before whenthe shock came on. After 19 sessions, Phoenecia could flex her elbowas much as 70 degrees.AnalysisThe first item is an example of positive reinforcement, becausepresentation of points was dependent on flexing the elbow, and theprocedure caused an increase in the level of flexing the elbow. Thesecond item is not an example of positive reinforcement because theremoval of a stimulus, the shock, was dependent on the targetbehavior. Positive reinforcement involves the response-dependentpresentation of a stimulus, not the response-dependent removal of astimulus.Source: Ince (1969) NextYou have now reached the end of this section and may proceed to aninteractive exercise that will give you practice in correctlyidentifying examples of positive reinforcement. In the exercise, youwill be asked to respond to several different types of examples andnonexamples of positive reinforcement. To complete the exercise, youmust correctly answer each example subtype and each nonexample subtypeonce. The computer will keep track of your performance andperiodically give you a summary of how well you are doing. On to the practice exercise![[ counter ]](http://server.bmod.athabascau.ca//cgi-bin/Count.cgi?ft=1) visitors since January 12, 1996Centrefor Psychology Home Page |Athabasca University Home PageDate created: January 12, 1996 by Lyle K. GrantLast modified: October 18, 2004Copyright © 1996-2004 Athabasca University _uacct = "UA-304386-1";urchinTracker(); |
|
