Behavioural Activation

Behavioural Activation

Notes from Don’t shoot the dog by Karen Piper

This book is a fascinating one, Karen Piper is basically an animal trainer who stated to try her dolphin training tips on people.  It worked.  This book is great if you want to modify someone’s behavior  without them knowing you are doing it.

There is a wonderful  episode of the Big Bang theory where Sheldon uses Behaviour modification with Penny by giving her a sweet every time she does something right.

Positive reinforcement

·         Positive reinforcement is better than reward, so encourage when a behavior is attempted or achieved.

Negative reinforcement

·         Reinforcers that are stopped as soon as behavior changes

·         Not punishment as it is the loss of something desirable.  Punishment does not result in predictable change!

Timing

·         Reinforcer must be in conjunction with the act it is meant to modify.

Jackpots

·         Every now and then a treat 10 times the normal reinforce.

Conditional reinforcer

·         Initially pair something else with the reinforcer a sound or a movement.  For example a clicker when the dogs food is being given him.

“One can and should lavish children and spouces with love and attention, unrelated to any particular behavior, but one should reserve praise, specifically, as a conditional reinforce related to something real.” (p. 15)

“Deprevation of reinforcement is one factor, I think, in states of anxiety and depression.” (P.34)

Shaping

·         Using intentional goals to get to the desired behavior

·         Shaping depends on persistence

Shaping methods and principles

·         Method to teach skills, breaking them down into their separate elements.

Principles

1.       Raise criteria in increments small enough that the subject always has a realistic chance for reinforcement.

2.       Train one aspect of any behavior at a time, don’t try to shape for two criteria simultaneously.

3.       During shaping, put the current level of response onto a variable schedule of reinforcement before adding or raising the criteria.

4.       When introducing a new behavioural skill temporarily relax the old ones.  Focus on the new shaping behavior.

5.       Stay ahead of your subject: plan your shaping program completely so that if your subject makes sudden progress you are aware of what to reinforce next.

6.       Don’t change trainers in midstream; you can have several trainers per trainee, but stick to one shaper per behavior.

7.       If one shaping procedure is not eliciting progress, find another; there are as many ways to change behavior as there are trainers to think them up.

8.       Don’t interrupt the training session gratuitously, that may be seen as punishment.

9.       If behavior deteriorates go back to the beginning and quickly review the whole shaping process with a series of early earned reinforcers .

10.   End each session on a high note, if possible, but in anycase quit while you are ahead.

“Removal of attention is a powerful tool, so don’t use it carelessly or unfairly” (p.149)

Shaping without words

“The  reinforce can be verbal, tactile, or whatever you think the room mate would be likely to respond to or accept. People are not dumb; they modify their behavior on just a handful of reinforcers. (p.65)

When the signal is ignored

Stand ground and repeat.  Don’t agree, don’t explain, don’t deliberate.

Reinforcement

Method 1:  Shoot the dog

Method 2:  Punishment

·         “Evasiveness increases rapidly under a punishment regime – a sad situation in the family setting and not so great in society at large either.” (p.106)

·         “Punishing is also reinforcing for the punisher because it demonstrates and helps to maintain dominance” (p.108)

Method 3: Negative reinforcement

·         “Guilt and shame are forms of self-inflicted punishment” (p.108)

·         “Naggers for example, may eventually get results, and this reinforcement to the nagger” (p.110)

Method 4: Extinction

·         “Extinction in human interactions best applies, it seems to me, to verbal behavior – whining, bullying, quarreling, teasing etc. (p.177)

Method 6: Put the behavior on cue

·         “identify the cues and this will enable change to start.”

Method 7: Shape the absence

Method 8: Change the motivation

To change behavior 7 of the methods are good to use.  As many as possible will facilitate change quicker.