Operant Extinction

Operational Definition

In this section, you're to define a behavior YOU or SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU engages in that you would want to apply an extinction procedure. For example, let's say you have a cousin who sends annoying memes and images via text. In the past, you would provide attention to the text by asking the cousin to stop sending memes/images. In the past, you learned the sooner you send a text asking him to stop sending you memes, the fewer memes and messages he'll send. After learning about operant extinction, you've started to ignore the memes/images and, in time, the cousin stops sen'

ding you these messages. Once you've identified the behavior, like the one from the example, you're to operationally define the behavior. You can either define the behavior topographically (what the behavior looks like), e.g., "anytime Carlos copies and pastes a meme on their iPhone and sends it over to me via text". Or you can define the behavior functionally (the function or purpose of the behavior), e.g., "anytime Carlos sends meme via text for attention"

Antecedent(s)

In this section, consider the antecedents for this target behavior. Think about what happens immediately before the behavior, i.e., Discriminative Stimulus. Also, think about what may be motivating the person to engage in the behavior at that particular moment, i.e., Motivating Operation. Using the example listed above, the EO could be "Carlos was deprived of attention from his cousin all day". Also, the SD in this situation may be "Carlos finds a meme on Instagram" This section is worth 30 points.

Consequence(s)

In this section, consider what comes immediately after the target behavior. What is maintaining this behavior? Using our previous example, a potential consequence for Carlos' meme-sharing behavior could be "Cousin sends text to Carlos asking him to stop sending memes". In other words, consider what is reinforcing or maintaining this behavior? How is the person currently getting what they want?