PSY5280: Advanced Concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis

PSY5280 moves ABA students from understanding basic principles to applying advanced concepts in designing effective, individualized behavior support. These concepts — stimulus control, motivating operations, rule-governed behavior, BST — are not abstract theory; they are the technical tools that distinguish a BCBA's thinking from an untrained practitioner's intuition.

Stimulus control and discrimination training

Stimulus control exists when a behavior occurs more reliably in the presence of a specific stimulus (the discriminative stimulus, S^D) than in its absence. Discrimination training — differentially reinforcing behavior in the presence of S^D and not reinforcing (or reinforcing on an extinction schedule) in the presence of S-Delta (S∆, the "not-S^D") — produces stimulus control. Stimulus generalization (responding to stimuli similar to the S^D) and stimulus discrimination (differentiating between stimuli) are both clinically important: appropriate generalization (skills transferring from training to natural settings) is desired, while overgeneralization (responding to incorrect stimuli) must be reduced. Errorless learning procedures (Terrace, 1963) — most-to-least prompt fading, progressive delay, stimulus shaping — minimize error responses during acquisition and are particularly important for learners with developmental disabilities.

Motivating operations (MOs)

The motivating operation (MO) concept, refined by Jack Michael, refers to environmental events or conditions that: (1) alter the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of a stimulus (the value-altering effect), and (2) alter the frequency of behavior that has previously produced that stimulus (the behavior-altering effect). Establishing operations (EOs) increase the effectiveness of a stimulus as reinforcer and increase the relevant behavior — food deprivation is an EO for food as reinforcer and for food-seeking behavior. Abolishing operations (AOs) decrease reinforcer effectiveness and decrease the relevant behavior — satiation is an AO. In clinical ABA, MOs are essential for FBA because problem behavior often occurs under specific motivational conditions (a tantrum when preferred activities are withheld is motivated by an AO for demands and an EO for escaping). Understanding MOs allows practitioners to both conduct more accurate functional analyses and design interventions that manipulate antecedent conditions.

Rule-governed behavior

Rule-governed behavior (Skinner, 1969; Cerutti, 1989) refers to behavior controlled by verbal descriptions of contingencies, rather than by direct contact with those contingencies. A rule ("If you complete your homework, you may watch TV") functions as an antecedent stimulus that controls behavior even before the individual has experienced the actual contingency. Rule-governed behavior is critical for understanding how humans respond to instructions, laws, social norms, and long-delayed consequences (retirement savings, health behavior) without requiring direct experience of each contingency. The PSY5280 coverage of rule-governed behavior bridges to Relational Frame Theory (RFT) — the behavioral account of human language and cognition — and to its clinical application in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Key advanced topics in PSY5280

• Behavior skills training (BST — Parsons et al., 2012): A four-component staff and caregiver training model: Instructions (explain the skill), Modeling (demonstrate the skill), Rehearsal (trainee practices the skill), Feedback (corrective or reinforcing). BST consistently outperforms instruction-only training and is the evidence-based gold standard for training parents, teachers, and paraprofessionals in behavioral procedures.
• Behavioral momentum: Nevin's (1988) concept that high-rate, well-established responding (in a context of rich reinforcement history) is resistant to disruption — analogous to physical momentum. Clinically, behavioral momentum is used in high-probability request sequences — presenting two or three requests the individual reliably complies with before presenting the target request — to increase compliance with low-probability demands. This is an antecedent-based strategy for non-compliance and refusal.
• Shaping: Differential reinforcement of successive approximations to a terminal behavior. Shaping is the method for establishing new behaviors that are not currently in the individual's repertoire. Critical parameters: the starting behavior must be chosen well (must already occur); the size of each approximation step must be appropriately small; and reinforcement must be immediate and consistent.
• Task analysis and chaining: Breaking complex skills (tooth brushing, making a sandwich, crossing a street) into discrete steps; forward chaining (training first step first), backward chaining (training last step first, always ending with reinforcement of task completion), and total task presentation (training all steps simultaneously with prompting throughout).
• Conditioned reinforcers and token economies: Stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties through pairing with primary (unconditioned) reinforcers. Token economies — systematic programs using tokens (stars, chips, points) as generalized conditioned reinforcers exchangeable for backup reinforcers — are among the most evidence-supported behavioral interventions for classrooms, residential settings, and correctional facilities.
• Behavior intervention plan (BIP) design: Integrating FBA findings with evidence-based antecedent modifications, reinforcement-based procedures, and extinction/punishment procedures into a written, measurable, and fidelity-checkable plan; implementation planning, staff training (BST), and progress monitoring protocols

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