Seminar in Learning:
Behavior Modification
Principles in Practice
Anthony S. Rauhut, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
1219 James Hall (Rector Science Complex)
Office Phone: (717) 245 – 1079
E-mail: rauhuta@dickinson.edu
Office Hours: T: W: 2 - 3 pm, Thursday: 2 – 3 and By Appt.
Fall Semester, 2009
Course Number: Psych 410_01
Lecture Component: TR: 10:30-11:45
Room: Kaufman 178
What’s this Course About?
The attempt to modify and control a person’s behavior has long been a goal of many
psychologists. At times, a psychologist’s attempt to modify or control someone’s
behavior is for the “good” of the person. For example, a child who wets the bed during
the night and is embarrassed by the accident or a person who’s afflicted with Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder and habitually washing his/her hands. In both of these cases, the
person may strongly desire to change his/her behavior and psychology can be helpful in
such change. Unfortunately, modifying or controlling someone’s behavior is NOT
always for the person’s good. In fact, the desire to modify or control someone’s
behavior may be done for ulterior, less-than-noble reasons. A perusal of the history of
psychology reveals that at times behavior modification techniques have been employed
to change a person’s behavior for a particular reason: making them more subservient,
less violent, more productive, etc. In this course, we will review ways in which behavior
modification (“behavior mod,” for short) has been used in “good” and “not-so-good”
ways. We’ll review how behavior modification has been used to change everyday
behavior (e.g., a husband who continually forgets to pick up his dirty underwear) as well
as not-so-everyday, maladaptive behaviors such as a teen-ager who continually cuts
himself and a young woman who vomits after eating a meal. A discussion-style
approach will be taken in the course.
The Texts
Required Texts:
1) World as Laboratory: Experiments with Mice, Mazes, and Men (2005). Rebecca
Lemov. Hill and Wang publishers.
2) What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, Marriage. Amy Sutherland. (2009).
Random House Trade Paperback Edition, New York.
Resource Texts:
These books have been placed on reserve at the Library’s Circulation Desk.
3) Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures (3rd Edition). Raymond G.
Miltenberger. Thomson/Wadsworth publishers.
4) The Principles of Learning and Behavior (5th edition) by Michael Domjan.
Copyright © 2003 by Thomson/Wadworth.
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Selected Readings
The selected readings for the course have been placed on Moogle under the Reserved
Readings section.
1) Shaping Attention Span: An operant conditioning procedure to improve
neurocognition and functioning in schizophrenia. Silverstein et al. (2001).
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 27(2): 247-257.
2) The Premack Principle: Professional engineers. Makin & Hoyle (1993).
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 14(1): 16-21.
3) Increasing spontaneous language in three autistic children. Matson et al.
(1990). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23(2): 227-233.
4) A preliminary evaluation of two behavioral skills training procedures for
teaching abduction-prevention skills to schoolchildren. Johnson et al.
(2006). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39(1): 25-34.
5) The persistence of classically conditioned brand attitudes. Grossman & Till
(1998). Journal of Advertising, 27(1): 1-11.
6) What makes extinction work: An analysis of procedural form and function.
Iwata et al. (1994). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27(1): 131-144.
7) Flooding therapy: Effectiveness, stimulus characteristics, and the value of
brief in vivo exposure. Marshall et al. (1977). Behavior Research & Therapy,
15(1): 79-87.
8) Treatments that weaken Pavlovian conditioned fear and thwart its renewal
in rats: Implications for treating human phobias. Rauhut et al. (2001).
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 2: 99-114.
9) Effects of bonuses for punctuality on the tardiness of industrial workers.
Hermann et al. (1973). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6(4): 563-570.
10) Reinforcing operants other than abstinence in drug abuse treatment: An
effective alternative for reducing drug abuse. Iguchi et al. (1997). Journal of
Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 65(3): 421-428.
11) Stimulus control treatment of insomnia. Haynes et al. (1975). Journal of
Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 6(4): 279-282.
12) Decreasing dangerous infant behavior through parent instruction. Mathews
et al. (1987). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20: 165-169.
13) Effects of group response cost procedures on cash shortages in a small
business. Marholin & Gray (1976). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9(1):
25-30.
14) Is a homosexual orientation irreversible? McConaghy (1976). British Journal
of Psychiatry, 129: 556-563.
15) Efforts to Modify Sexual Orientation: A Review of Outcome Literature and
Ethical Issues. Throckmorton (1998). Journal of Mental Health Counseling,
20(4):283-304. (This review article can be obtained from the PsychInfo
Database.)
16) Programming resource room generalization using lucky charms. Ayllon et
al. (1982). Child Behavior Therapy, 4: 61-67.
17) A behavioral approach to the treatment of adolescent obesity. Weiss
(1977). Behavior Therapy, 8(4): 720-726.
18) Behavior modification of anorexia nervosa. Agras et al. (1974). Archives of
General Psychiatry, 30(3): 279-286.
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19) Evaluation of staff management strategies to increase positive interactions
in a vocational setting. Suda & Miltenberger (1993). Behavioral Residential
Treatment, 8: 69-88.
20) The habit-reversal technique in treating trichotillomania. Rosenbaum &
Ayllon (1981). Behavior Therapy, 12(4): 473-481.
21) Treating bruxism with the habit-reversal technique. Rosenbaum & Ayllon
(1981). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 19(1): 87-96.
22) Preliminary report on the application of contingent reinforcement
procedures (token economies) on a “chronic” psychiatric ward. Atthowe &
Kransner (1968). Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 73(1): 37-43.
23) An operant reinforcement method of treating depression. Azrin & Besalel
(1981). Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 12(2): 145-151.
24) Using humor in systematic desensitization to reduce fear. Ventis et al.
(2001). The Journal of General Psychology, 128(2): 241-253.
25) Case study: Exposure and response prevention for an adolescent with
Tourette’s Syndrome and OCD. Woods et al. (2000). Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(7): 904-907.
26) Persistence training: A partial reinforcement procedure for reversing
learned helplessness and depression. Nation & Massad (1978). Journal of
Experimental Psychology: General, 107(4): 436-451.
Class Attendance/Participation
Attendance/participation in class is expected and will compromise ~22% of your overall
grade. At the beginning of each class I will take roll or distribute a roster for you to sign.
If you are not in class at the time roll is taken or the roster is distributed, then you will be
marked absent for that day. Marks regarding your in-class performance also will be
made during the class.
Discussion Questions
Discussion questions pertaining to chapter in the books will be assigned. The questions
are to be answered in the course of reading the book chapters. These questions also
will serve as discussion questions for our in-class discussions. Answers to discussion
questions will be graded for “completeness.” Assignments deemed complete will be
awarded 5 points; answers deemed partially complete will be awarded 2.5 points; and
assignments deemed incomplete, due to lack of effort or failure to submit, will be
awarded 0 points.
Writing Assignment
There will be one writing assignment in the course (worth 50 points). Briefly, the
assignment will be for you to design a behavior modification program. The program that
you design should be “real-world-related” and employs behavioral-therapeutic
techniques based on classical and/or operant conditioning principles. As part of your
paper, you should 1) describe the problem under consideration, 2) describe the design
and method of assessment of your behavior modification program, and 3) identify the
classical and/or operant conditioning principles highlighted by the therapy. This paper
will be due on Tuesday, December 15 by 5 pm. This is the date/time that our Final
Examination would be scheduled. Further details regarding the paper will be given later
3
in the semester. Your paper will be assessed based on adhering to the abovementioned factors as well as clarity of thought and conciseness of writing.
Oral Presentations
Throughout the semester, each of you will be expected to present two of the articles.
Assignment of articles will be determined during the first half of the semester. Each
presentation will be worth 25 points. Your presentation should explain 1) the hypothesis
or question of interest, 2) Background, 3) Methodology, 4) Results, and 5) Conclusion.
Movie Review
You will be asked to write a critical review of the movie, “A Clockwork Orange.” This 3page, double-spaced, type-written review will be worth 25 points. The particulars of the
review will be forthcoming.
Field Trip
We will take one field trip to the Vista School for Autistic Children this semester.
Because of the size of our class, and the school’s ability to only accommodate 5-6
visitors at a time, two different Thursday class periods will be taken to visit the school.
Right now, the plan is to leave campus in a van at 10:20 am, arrive in Hershey around
11 am, and stay at the school until noon. We will return to campus by 1 pm. Everyone
is required to attend this field trip. If this field trip presents a problem with your
schedule, then please let me know as soon as possible. You will be asked to write a
brief, one-page reflection on the experience.
Extra Credit
There may arise opportunities for you to gain extra credit points via departmental
activities. Extra credit given for departmental activities must adhere to the following
criteria:
1) The activity must be approved in advance by me.
2) If other incentives (e.g., money) are given for participation, then you must choose
between the extra credit and the other incentives. You may not receive both
incentives.
3) Points are awarded for the amount of time required for the activity. You will be
awarded 2 and 4 points for activities requiring 30 and 60 minutes, accordingly, of
your time. You will be awarded 5 points for activities requiring more than 60
minutes of your time.
4) You are eligible to accumulate 12 extra-credit points for departmental activities.
5) You may receive extra credit for only one course.
Swine Flu Outbreak
With a possible swine flu (H1N1) outbreak this fall, this semester presents a unique
situation for the execution of the course. The Center on Disease Control (CDC) has
recommended that person’s coming down with the swine flu be quarantined for a 7-day
period. Thus, if you come down with the swine flu, then please do NOT come to class.
The College is recommending that you limit your exposure to others as much as
possible. If you come down with the swine flu, and are absent for a period of time, you
will not penalized for your absence if your absence causes you miss an examination, fail
to attend class or laboratory session, or fail to submit homework or computer
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assignments. When you return to class, I will work with you on developing a schedule
to make-up homework or an examination. However, make-up of homework or an
examination will NOT based solely on your personal preference as to when and how
you make-up the absent work. Please be aware that I ultimately will make the
decision, in consultation with you, on when and how the absent work is to be
completed.
Grading
How is Your Grade Calculated
Source
Discussion Questions
10
Writing Assignment
1
Oral Presentations
1
2
Movie Review
Reflection on Field Trip
Class Attendance/Participation
Point Value
50
50
Total Class Points =
25
25
25
5
50
230
Your Grade =
Your Total Point Value (Discussion Questions, Presentations, Movie Review & Class Attendance) + Extra Credit X 100
225
Grading Scale
Letter
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Percentage
93 – 100
92 – 90
89 – 88
87 – 83
82 – 80
79 – 78
77 – 73
72 – 70
69 – 68
67 – 63
62 – 60
59 or below
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Tentative Discussion Material Dates
Date
Tues, Sept 1
Topic
Opening Ceremonies
Chapter(s)
Lemov Introduction
Thurs, Sept 3
Strange Fruits & Virgin Births
Running the Maze
Lemov Ch 1
Lemov Ch 2
Tues, Sept 8
Embracing the Real
Psychic Machines
Lemov Ch 3
Lemov Ch 4
Thurs, Sept 10
Circle of Fear
In and Out of the South
Lemov Ch 5
Lemov Ch 6
Tues, Sept 15
An Ordinary Evening in New Haven
The Biggest File
Lemov Ch 7
Lemov Ch 8
Thurs, Sept 17
Anthropology’s Laboratory
The Impossible Experiment
Lemov Ch 9
Lemov Ch 10
Tues, Sept 22
The Real World
Lemov Ch 11
Conclusion
Thurs, Sept 24
Movie: “A Clockwork Orange”
Tues, Sept 29
Movie: “A Clockwork Orange”
Thurs, Oct 1
Is Modifying Sexual Orientation Ethical?
- Aversive Conditioning (Homosexuality) McConaghy (1976)
- Modifying Sexual Orientation (Review) Throckmorton (1998)
Tues, Oct 6
What Shamu Taught Me
Sutherland Chs 1-3
Thurs, Oct 8
What Shamu Taught Me
Sutherland Chs 4-6
Tues, Oct 13
What Shamu Taught Me
Sutherland Chs 7-9
Thurs, Oct 15
What Shamu Taught Me
Sutherland Chs 10, Epilogue
Oct 16 @ 5 pm – Oct 21
Fall Pause
Thurs, Oct 22
Shaping
- Shaping (Schizophrenia)
- Premack Principle & Workplace
Miltenberger Ch 9
Silverstein et al. (2001)
Makin & Hoyle (1993)
Tues, Oct 27
Prompting and Transfer of Control
- Prompt Delay (Autism)
- Conditioning & Ads
Miltenberger Ch 10
Matson et al. (1990)
Grossman & Till (1998)
Thurs, Oct 29
Applying Extinction
- Extinction (Self-Injurious Behavior)
- Flooding (Phobias)
Miltenberger Ch 14
Iwata et al. (1994)
Marshall et al. (1976)
Tues, Nov 3
- Problem of Renewal
Rauhut et al. (2001)
Thurs, Nov 5
Differential Reinforcement
- DRA (Jobs)
- DRO (Drug Abuse)
Miltenberger Ch 15
Hermann et al. (1973)
Iguchi et al. (1997)
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Tues, Nov 10
Antecedent Control Procedures
- Pavlovian Discrimination (Insomnia)
Negative Punishment Procedures
- Time-outs & Children
Miltenberger Ch 16
Haynes et al. (1975)
Miltenberger Ch 17
Matthews et al. (1987)
Thurs, Nov 12
- Response Cost (Cash Shortage)
Positive Punishment Procedures
Marholin & Gray (1976)
Miltenberger Ch 18
Tues, Nov 17
Promoting Generalization
Self-Generated Mediators (PBiS)
Operant Discrimination (Obesity)
Negative Reinforcement (Anorexia)
Miltenberger Ch 19
Ayllon et al. (1982)
Weiss (1977)
Agras et al. (1974)
Thurs, Nov 19
Field Trip to Vista School
Tues, Nov 24
Habit Reversal Procedures
- HR (Trichotillomania)
- HR (Bruxism)
Tues, Nov 24 @ 5 pm
Thanksgiving Break
Tues, Dec 1
Course Evaluations
The Token Economy
- Token Economies (Brain Damage)
Behavioral Contracts
- Positive Reinforcement (Depression)
Miltenberger Ch 21
Rosenbaum & Ayllon (1981)
Rosenbaum & Ayllon (1981)
Miltenberger Ch 22
Atthowe & Krasner (1968)
Miltenberger Ch 23
Azrin & Besalel (1981)
Thurs, Dec 3
Field Trip to Vista School
Tues, Dec 8
Fear and Anxiety Reduction
Miltenberger Ch 24
- Systematic Desensitization (Phobia) Ventis et al. (2001)
- Response Prevention (Tourettes-OCD) Woods et al. (2000)
Thurs, Dec 10
Learned Helplessness
- LH (Depression)
Pizza Party
Tues, Dec 15 @ 5 pm
Final Paper Due
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Nation & Massad (1978)