Chapter 10 Prompting and Transfer of Stimulus Control

Chapter 10 Prompting and Transfer of Stimulus Control Chapter Outline An Example of Prompting and Fading: Teaching Little Leaguers to Hit the all What is Prompting? What is Fading? Types of Prompts Response Prompts Verbal Prompts Gestural Prompts Modeling Prompts Physical Prompts Stimulus Prompts Within-Stimulus Prompts Extra-Stimulus Prompts Transfer of Stimulus Control Prompt Fading Prompt elay Stimulus Fading How to Use Prompting and Transfer of Stimulus Control 1. Choose the most appropriate prompt Strategy 2. Get the learner s Attention 3. Present the S 4. Prompt the Correct Response 5. Reinforce the Correct ehavior 6. Transfer Stimulus Control 7. Continue to Reinforce Unprompted Responses Prompting and Transfer of Stimulus Control in Autism Treatment Chapter Summary Key Terms Practice Test Applications Misapplications Chapter 10, Quiz 1 Chapter 10, Quiz 2 Chapter 10, Quiz 3 Ideas for Class Activities 1. Set up a role play in the front of the class in which you play the role of a therapist and a student from class volunteers to play the role of an autistic youngster. The therapist must teach the student a simple skill using prompting and fading. Choose a skill that can be easily prompted (imitation of motor movements such as touch your head ). After showing the class how to conduct the procedure, switch roles and have the student play the role of therapist as you ply the role of autistic youngster. The student should now demonstrate prompting and fading skills. 101

2. Provide a number of descriptions of scenarios in which prompting and transfer of stimulus control would be used to teach skills. Have the students describe how to use the procedures in each scenario. Have students use response prompts with some examples and stimulus prompts with other examples. Have students use prompt fading as well as prompt delay procedures. Answers to Practice Test Questions 1. A prompt, an antecedent stimulus that evokes a response, is used to increase the likelihood that an individual will engage in the correct behavior at the correct time. In behavior modification, prompts are used during discrimination training to help a person engage in the correct behavior in the presence of the S. 2. Response prompts involve the behavior of another person (a trainer) used to get the desired response to occur. With a verbal prompt, the verbal behavior of another person results in the correct response in the presence of the S. A gestural prompt is any physical movement or gesture of another person that leads to the correct behavior in the presence of the S. A modeling prompt (or modeling) is any demonstration of the correct behavior by another person that makes it more likely that the correct behavior will occur at the right time. With a physical prompt, another person physically assists the individual to engage in the correct behavior at the right time. 3. From the example in the chapter, when Coach McCall told Luke how to hit the ball correctly, he was using a verbal prompt; Coach McCall used a gestural prompt with Tom when he motioned to him how to swing the bat. With Matt a modeling prompt was used when Coach McCall showed him the target behavior. Coach McCall provided a physical prompt to Trevor by physically guiding him through the correct behavior until he could do it himself. (Note: in each case a verbal prompt was provided as well.) 4. A stimulus prompt involves some change in a stimulus or the addition or removal of a stimulus to make a correct response more likely. There are two types of stimulus prompts: When the S is altered, this is referred to as a within-stimulus prompt. When another stimulus or cue is added to the S, it is considered an extra-stimulus prompt. 5. Coach McCall used a within-stimulus prompt when he had Coach ave throw easy pitches for the kids to hit at first. An example of an extra-stimulus prompt is a picture prompt used to help adolescents with intellectual disabilities complete complex vocational tasks correctly. 6. Least-to-most prompting, also called the system of least prompts, is defined as providing the least intrusive prompt first and using more intrusive prompts only as necessary to get the correct behavior to occur. Least-to most prompting is a method of fading across prompts. For example, Ralph s job coach first uses the least intrusive prompt, a verbal prompt, to get Ralph to remove the paper stuffing out of the shoe. If Ralph does not respond in 5 seconds, the job coach repeats the verbal prompt and points at the paper in the shoe (provides a gestural prompt). If Ralph does not respond in 5 seconds, the job coach models the correct behavior and provides the verbal prompt. If Ralph still does not respond, the job coach uses physical guidance as he provides the verbal prompt. 7. With most-to-least prompting, the most intrusive prompt is used first and is then faded to less intrusive prompts. For example, in using most-to-least prompting the job coach should start by providing a physical prompt together with a verbal prompt. He would then start to fade the physical prompt as Ralph successfully executed the behavior. Once he faded the physical prompt he would provide a verbal and gestural prompt. Then as Ralph continued to be successful, he would fade the verbal prompt as Ralph correctly took the paper out of the shoe with no assistance. 8. The flashing lights are a stimulus prompt, in particular, an extra-stimulus prompt. 9. Once stimulus or response prompts have been used to get the correct response to occur, the prompts have to be eliminated to transfer stimulus control to the natural S. Transfer of stimulus control is important, because it ensures that the correct behavior occurs at the right time without any assistance (prompts). 10. With fading of response prompts (prompt fading), a response prompts is gradually removed across learning 102

trials until the prompt is no longer provided. For example, when Coach McCall provided fewer and fewer instructions to Luke as he hit the ball, Coach McCall was fading a verbal prompt. 11. Least-to most prompting and most-to-least prompting are methods of fading across prompts. With least-tomost prompting, the least intrusive prompt is provided first and the more intrusive prompts provided only as necessary, from verbal prompts to gestural prompts to modeling prompts to physical prompts. The same sequence is subsequently repeated until the learner responds correctly. Over trials, the correct response will be made before the physical prompt is needed, then before the modeling prompt, and then before the gestural prompt, until eventually no prompts are needed. With most-to-least prompting, a physical prompt together with a verbal prompt would first be provided. The physical prompt would then be faded as the learner successfully executed the behavior. Once the physical prompt was faded, a verbal and gestural prompts would be provided. As the learner continued to be successful, the gestural prompt would be faded and only the verbal prompt would be provided. Finally, the verbal prompt would be faded as the learner successfully executed the behavior. 12. Fading of stimulus prompts (stimulus fading) entails gradually removing the stimulus prompts to transfer stimulus control to the natural S. For an extra-stimulus prompt, fading would involve the gradual removal of that additional stimulus as the response began occurring reliably in the presence of the S. For example, when a student is using flash cards to learn multiplication facts, the answer on the others side of the flashcard is the stimulus prompt. The student is using stimulus fading when she looks at the answers to the problems less and less as she goes through the flash cards. For a within-stimulus prompt, fading would involve gradually changing the S from its altered form to its natural form. For example, Coach McCall used a stimulus prompt when he had Coach ave throw easy pitches for his players to hit. Stimulus fading involved gradually increasing the speed of the pitches until they were being thrown at normal speed. 13. In the prompt delay procedure, you present the S, wait a certain number of seconds and, if the correct response is not made, you provide the prompt. With the constant prompt delay procedure, the number of seconds which pass before the prompt is provided remains constant. For example, in teaching adolescents with intellectual disabilities to read common words, a word was presented on a flashcard (S ) and, if the student did not respond in 4 seconds, a verbal prompt was provided. With the progressive prompt delay procedure, the number of seconds which pass before the prompt is provided progressively increases. For example, in teaching children with autism to say thank you upon receiving a toy, a toy was given to the child, and if the child said thank you, an edible reinforcer and praise were delivered. When a child did not say thank you, a verbal prompt was initially provided after 2 seconds. When the child said thank you when the prompt delay was 2 seconds, it was gradually increased by 2 second intervals until the prompt delay was 10 sec. Eventually the child started to say thank you before the prompt was given. 14. In using a verbal and physical response prompts to get an autistic child to pay attention to you as you conducted a learning trial, you would use prompting and transfer of stimulus control procedures according to the following guidelines: To begin you would choose the most appropriate prompting strategy, in this case verbal and physical response prompts. The verbal prompt could be J.R. (for example), look at me. For a physical prompt you could gently guide the child s head (by the chin) with your hand so that he is looking at you. The next step is to present the S, which is the relevant stimulus that should evoke the correct response in the learner once training is completed. In this case, you sitting in a chair across from the child may be the S. Next, prompt the correct response. If the child does not look at you when you sit down across from him, the verbal and physical prompts should be provided. Next, reinforce the correct behavior. When the child looks at you (whether prompted or unprompted), immediately provide a reinforcer, perhaps a small edible in this case. Next, transfer stimulus control. As soon as possible, prompts should be eliminated to transfer stimulus control from the prompt to the natural S. In this case a progressive time delay procedure would be appropriate. The prompts could initially be provided after a period of two seconds had elapsed following the presentation of the S. As the child began to execute the target response within that 2 second period, the time before the prompt was provided could then be gradually increased by 2 second intervals, until no prompts were needed. Finally, you would continue to reinforce unprompted responses. Whenever the child looked at you when you sat down across from him after prompts have been eliminated, continue to provide a reinforcer. As the child continues to engage in the correct behavior, change from a continuous reinforcement schedule to an intermittent reinforcement schedule. 15. In using stimulus prompts and fading to learn definitions for the behavior modification procedures described 103

in this chapter, you could make flashcards which had the term on one side (S ) and the definition on the other (stimulus prompt). You would be using stimulus fading when you looked at the definitions less and less as you went through the flashcards. Once you knew the meanings of all the terms and no longer looked at the back of the cards for the definition, stimulus control will have transferred from the written definition (stimulus prompt) to the term (the S ). Answers to Applications 1. In this situation, the S is your command Come ; the response is your dog coming to you; and the reinforcer is a dog treat plus praise. With the leash, you can provide a physical prompt during training trials. Go to a playground where there are no distractions. Put the dog on the leash and let it walk a few feet away from you. Give the command Come as you pull the dog toward you using the leash. When the dog gets to you, say Good dog and put a treat in its mouth. Again, let the dog wander a couple feet away from you, give the command, and pull the dog toward you with the leash. Always provide praise and a treat when the dog gets to you. Repeat these training trials a number of times, and fade the physical prompt. When you pull on the leash, let up as soon as the dog starts to come to you on its own. Provide the prompt again if it stops coming to you. Over trials, the dog will begin to make the response when the S is presented; you will have to pull the dog less and less. Once the dog comes to you without prompts from a few feet away, extend the distance to 5 feet and repeat this process. When the dog comes to you without prompts from 5 feet, extend the distance to 10 feet, then 15, and finally 20 feet. Once the dog comes to you without prompts from any distance while on the leash, begin training without the leash. Present the S when the dog is off the leash a few feet from you, and provide a treat and praise when it comes. Gradually increase the distance over training trials. Remember that, when using the treats as the reinforcer, you must conduct the training before the dog's mealtime and perform only a handful of trials, so that the dog does not become satiated. Once the dog has learned the behavior, switch to an intermittent reinforcement schedule with the treats. Praise the dog each time it comes on command, but provide a treat only occasionally. 2. There are a number of ways you could use stimulus prompts to improve your putting. First, you could increase the size of the hole. This will make your putting more successful. Then, when you are making all your putts, gradually decrease the size of the hole back to normal. Second, for every putt, make a chalk line on the green that shows you the path the ball should take to the hole. Gradually eliminate the chalk lines as you hit the putts into the hole more successfully. Third, draw concentric circles around the hole, one foot apart. Practice putts from one foot, then two feet, then three, and so on; move a foot further away from the hole as you become more successful at each distance. Gradually remove the circles from the green. Fourth, modify the putter so that it has a pointer attached to it. When you take your stroke, the pointer will show the correct line to the hole. As you are more successful, make the pointer smaller and smaller until it is gone from the putter. In each of these examples, the stimulus situation was modified to make a correct response more likely, and the modifications were gradually eliminated. 3. Assume that the behavior you want to teach involves shifting into drive, pressing the accelerator, staying on the right side of the road that circles the mall, and stopping at each stop sign. The most intrusive prompt is a physical prompt, which is probably not necessary in this situation. Instead, you can provide verbal prompts and a modeling prompt. You describe each behavior as you drive around the mall and show Edie the behaviors. After observing your model and listening to your instructions, she gets behind the wheel and drives around the mall as you continue to provide verbal prompts. You praise her for each correct behavior. After a few trips around the mall, you provide fewer and fewer verbal prompts until she is driving with no assistance. 104

Answers to Misapplications 1. Prompting and fading are not appropriate in this situation because it is not possible to prompt a behavior that the individual is not yet capable of exhibiting. If Gloria has never before said words, prompts will not be able to evoke this behavior. Shaping is a more appropriate procedure in this case. With shaping, the parents can start reinforcing the recognizable word sounds in Gloria's babbling and then reinforce successive approximations to the words that they want her to say. With the baby in her arms, Gloria's mother will respond enthusiastically when Gloria makes the m sound. Eventually, when Gloria says ma, her mother will reinforce this behavior with her attention. As a result, Gloria will say ma more frequently and, eventually, she will put two of them together and say mama. This is the target behavior; Gloria's mother will reinforce it enthusiastically each time it occurs. Gloria's father will use a similar shaping process. 2. Prompting and fading would not be the most appropriate procedure in this situation because the problem is due to noncompliance. Roger has successfully set the table for supper in the past, but is now refusing to do so because he is engaging in a competing activity--watching Jeopardy --that presumably is more reinforcing. Instead of relying on prompting and fading to develop stimulus control over the behavior of setting the table, Roger's father needs to use procedures that address Roger's noncompliant behavior. Procedures for noncompliance will be covered in more detail in later chapters. riefly, using extinction or punishment would make the interfering behavior (watching Jeopardy ) less likely, and using positive or negative reinforcement would make it more likely that Roger will set the table. 3. The problem in this example is that Michelle's teacher has never faded the physical prompts she used to help Michelle type. The physical prompts continue to have stimulus control over the words that Michelle types. Anytime that physical (or any other) prompts are used to generate a behavior in another person, the prompts must be faded so that the behavior is under stimulus control of the natural S. For example, the teacher asks Michelle, What is the color of an apple? and, with the teacher's assistance, Michelle types red. We cannot be certain that Michelle has learned the correct response to the question (the S ) until she types the word red without the prompt. If she types the answer to the question only with the aid of the physical prompt, we must assume that the prompt has stimulus control over the behavior. If Michelle cannot type without the teacher's hand over her hand, she has not really learned to type. Answers to Quizzes Quiz 1 1. verbal 2. modeling 3. within-stimulus and extra-stimulus 4. fading 5. response prompts 6. S 7. wait x number of seconds 8. stimulus fading 9. stimulus (extra-stimulus) 10. the gradual elimination of a prompt Quiz 2 1. prompts 2. response 3. stimulus 4. verbal, gestural, modeling, physical 5. physical 6. verbal 7. stimulus prompts 8. transfer stimulus control 9. gradual elimination of a prompt 10. wait x number of seconds before presenting the prompt Quiz 3 1. after 2. gestural 3. physical 4. gradually 5. prompt 6. prompt delay 7. fading, prompt delay, stimulus fading 8. prompts 9. least-to-most prompting and fading 10. verbal, gestural, modeling, physical 105

Test Questions 1. Matt s ad is teaching him to shoot a basketball. His ad takes the ball and demonstrates to Matt how to shoot it through the hoop. The use of antecedent stimuli by his ad in order to get Matt to engage in the right behavior at the right time is called: a) fading b) prompting c) shaping d) stimulus control 2. A teacher used prompting in order to get a student to pronounce written words correctly. When the student begins pronouncing the words correctly just by seeing them, the teacher begins to remove the prompts. The gradual removal of prompts while the behavior is occurring in the presence of the discriminative stimulus is called: a) prompt withdrawal b) shaping c) fading d) reduction C 3. The procedures of prompting and fading are used to: a) develop stimulus control b) get existing behavior to occur at the correct time c) develop new behaviors d) all of these 4. In order for prompting and fading to lead to stimulus control, the prompts must be presented in the presence of : a) the target behavior b) the discriminative stimulus c) the S-delta d) the reinforcer 5. Prompting and transfer of stimulus control is used by: a) coaches b) teachers c) parents d) all of these 6. Which of the following is (are) necessary for prompting and transfer of stimulus control to be considered complete? a) prompts have been completely removed b) behavior is under control of the natural discriminative stimulus c) behavior consistently occurs when the prompt is presented d) A and 106

7. When using prompting and transfer of stimulus control, the use of gets the correct behavior to occur, and the use of transfers stimulus control to the natural discriminative stimulus. a) fading ; prompting b) reinforcement ; extinction c) prompting ; fading d) reinforcement ; punishment C 8. Which of the following is a major category of prompts? a) response b) stimulus c) behavioral d) A and 9. When the behavior of one individual leads to the desired behavior of another individual in the presence of the discriminative stimulus it is called a prompt. a) antecedent b) stimulus c) behavioral d) response 10. A change in a stimulus or the addition of a stimulus in order to get the behavior to occur is called a prompt. a) behavioral b) stimulus c) response d) antecedent 11. A prompt should be delivered the discriminative stimulus and the behavior. a) after ; before b) before; after c) before; before d) after; after A 12. When using prompting and transfer of stimulus control, a reinforcer should be delivered when the behavior occurs: a) in the presence of the discriminative stimulus b) following removal of a prompt c) following a prompt d) all of these 107

13. Which of the following is NOT a type of response prompt? a) verbal b) modeling c) within-stimulus d) gestural C 14. Tammy s ad is teaching her to drive. As they approach a stop sign, Tammy s ad tells her to step on the brake and slow down. This is an example of a prompt. a) stimulus b) gestural c) verbal d) modeling C 15. Tony s basketball coach just put him into the game, but Tony does not know which player on the opposing team he is supposed to guard on defense. The coach points to the player that Tony is to guard. This is an example of a prompt. a) modeling b) physical c) gestural d) stimulus C 16. Jennifer s Mom is teaching her how to ride a bicycle. Her Mom gets on the bike and rides it around the yard. y demonstrating the entire behavior, Jennifer s Mom is using a prompt. a) modeling b) gestural c) physical d) stimulus A 17. Paul s shop teacher is teaching him how to use an electric sander. The shop teacher places his hands over Paul s and guides Paul through the correct motions. Hand-over-hand guidance is an example of a prompt. a) gestural b) modeling c) physical d) extra-stimulus C 18. A prompt is the least intrusive and a prompt is the most intrusive. a) verbal ; physical b) gestural ; modeling c) modeling ; physical d) gestural ; verbal A 108

19. rian is teaching his son to shoot a basketball. Initially, rian lowers the backboard and uses a smaller ball in order to make it more likely that his son will correctly shoot the ball. This is an example of a(an) prompt. a) response b) within-stimulus c) extra-stimulus d) and C 20. When a student uses flash cards with questions on one side and answers on the other side to study for a test, it is an example of a(an) prompt. a) within-stimulus b) extra-stimulus c) physical d) response 21. Which of the following is NOT a method of transferring stimulus control? a) prompt fading b) prompt satiation c) prompt delay d) stimulus fading 22. A coach is using verbal and modeling prompts to teach John how to swing a golf club properly. As John begins to swing the club correctly, the coach provides fewer and fewer prompts. This is an example of: a) stimulus delay b) prompt fading c) prompt delay d) stimulus fading 23. When only one type of prompt is faded it is called fading and when fading occurs across different types of prompts it is called fading. a) within prompt ; across prompts b) first order ; higher order c) one-dimensional ; multidimensional d) isolated ; generalized A 24. Which method of prompting and fading is used when it is believed the learner does not need a physical prompt to engage in the correct behavior? a) primary b) least-to-most c) most-to-least d) secondary 109

25. Amy s Mom is using flash cards to help Amy study for a history test. Amy s Mom shows her the question on one side of the card and, if Amy does not give the correct answer in a certain period of time, her Mom shows her the answer on the other side. This is an example of: a) prompt fading b) prompt delay c) stimulus fading d) stimulus delay 26. When using prompt delay, the period of time between the presentation of the discriminative stimulus and the prompt can be: a) constant b) progressive c) increased d) A and 27. rian has been teaching his son to shoot a basketball correctly. Initially, rian lowered the backboard and used a smaller ball to increase the chances his son would shoot the ball correctly. Once his son begins having success, rian begins to raise the backboard and use a larger ball. This is an example of: a) stimulus delay b) stimulus fading c) prompt delay d) prompt fading 28. In which of the following situations would it be appropriate to use prompting and transfer of stimulus control? a) the person has not learned the behavior b) the person has learned the behavior but refuses to do it c) the person does not do the behavior in the correct situation d) A and C 29. When a novel behavior is being taught it is best to use prompts, and when you want a person to make a correct discrimination prompts are best. a) response ; stimulus b) more intrusive ; less intrusive c) stimulus ; response d) less intrusive ; more intrusive A 30. Which of the following is a guideline for using prompting and transfer of stimulus control correctly? a) present the discriminative stimulus and the appropriate prompt b) transfer stimulus control to the natural discriminative stimulus c) reinforce the correct behavior d) all of these 110

1. Prompting and transfer of stimulus control are used in the process of to develop appropriate over a particular behavior. stimulus discrimination training; stimulus control 2. What is used to increase the likelihood that an individual will engage in the correct behavior at the correct time? prompts 3. Once prompts have been faded, the behavior should be under the of the natural. stimulus control; S 4. The two major categories of prompts are prompts and prompts. response, stimulus; stimulus, response 5. Verbal, gestural, modeling and physical prompts are all examples of what category of prompts? response 6. prompts are least intrusive and prompts are most intrusive. Verbal; physical 7. If a baseball coach throws slower pitches to his players at first to help them hit the ball, this is called a(n) - stimulus prompt. Plastic outlet covers to prevent children from playing with outlets, is a(n) - stimulus prompt. within; extra 8. When the correct behavior occurs at the right time without any assistance, has occurred. transfer of stimulus control 9. In the prompt delay procedure, you present the, wait 4 seconds and present the prompt. S 1. T F Prompts are used to get the correct behavior to occur so it can be reinforced. T 2. T F Teaching is complete when prompts are no longer being used to get the behavior to occur. T 3. T F Ultimately, the discriminative stimulus must have stimulus control over the behavior. T 4. T F Response prompts are intrusive. T 5. T F Prompt delay is the most commonly used method of transferring stimulus control. F 6. T F If a person who used to engage in a behavior now refuses to, prompting and transfer of stimulus control is an appropriate procedure to get the person to engage in the behavior. F 7. T F The learning trial always starts with the presentation of the discriminative stimulus. T 111

8. T F Verbal, gestural, modeling and physical prompts are stimulus prompts. F 9. T F In the prompt delay procedure, you provide the prompt, wait 4 seconds and then present the S. F 10. T F Fading involves the abrupt removal of a prompt after the learner starts to make the correct response. Matching F a. verbal prompt b. gestural prompt c. modeling prompt d. physical prompt 1. Motioning how to swing a bat. 2. Telling the correct way to swing a bat. A 3. Hand over hand assistance in swinging a bat. 4. Having a child watch you swing a bat. C 1. Identify four types of response prompts. Four types of response prompts are verbal prompt, gestural prompt, modeling prompt, and physical prompt. 2. What is fading? Fading is the gradual removal of a response prompt across learning trials until the prompt is no longer provided. 3. escribe how you would use flash cards to learn psychology terms using prompting and fading. You could make flashcards which had the term on one side (S ) and the definition on the other (stimulus prompt). You would be using stimulus fading when you looked at the definitions less and less as you went through the flashcards. Once you knew the meanings of all the terms and no longer looked at the back of the cards for the definitions, stimulus control will have transferred from the written definition (stimulus prompt) to the term (the S ). 4. What is a stimulus prompt? Stimulus prompt involves some change in a stimulus or the addition or removal of a stimulus to make a correct response more likely. 112

5. What are the 3 types of procedures to transfer stimulus control? fading. Three types of procedures to transfer stimulus control are prompt fading, prompt delay, and stimulus 6. What is least-to-most prompting and fading? Least-to-most prompting is defined as providing the least intrusive prompt first and using more intrusive prompts only as necessary to get the correct behavior to occur. Least-to-most prompting is a method of fading across prompts. With least-to-most prompting, the least intrusive prompt is provided first and the most intrusive prompts provided only as necessary, from verbal prompts to gestural prompts to modeling prompts to physical prompts. The same sequence is subsequently repeated until eventually no prompts are needed. 7. What is most-to-least prompting and fading? With most-to-least prompting, the most intrusive prompt is used first and is then faded to less intrusive prompts. With most-to-least prompting, a physical prompt together with a verbal prompt would first be provided. The physical prompt would then be faded as the learner successfully executed the behavior. Once the physical prompt was faded, a v4erbal and gestural prompt would be provided. As the learner continued to be successful, the gestural prompt would be faded and only the verbal prompt would be provided. Finally, the verbal prompt would be faded as the learner successfully executed the behavior. 113