Response Generalization: What it is and why it's important

Just What is Response Generalization Anyway?

Technical definitions of response generalization can be difficult to understand so I will start with two examples of response generalization. In my early teens I was taught to type on a keyboard. Much later, I used those same typing skills to learn how to use swipe-to-text on my phone. Here’s another example. I learned about street safety as a child during a course in elementary school with my bike. I started using the same safety skills when walking. Now the definition. Essentially, response generalization has occurred when a person uses a new skill, that can be similar to a known skill, to access a known consequence. Let’s break down these 2 examples;

Example 1

I was taught to drive in a specific car. It was a manual and sometimes the engine would turn off on a left turn. When I finally got another car, I learned to drive it, despite it being an automatic and the engine staying on. 

Example 2

Did you have a street safety course in elementary or primary school? Our parking lot was made to look like a city block, with streets, fake shops, and street signs. Those of us with bikes were asked to bring them and everyone else walked. I had a bike and learned how to navigate streets. About a year later we moved somewhere new and much closer to the school so I stopped riding my bike. I used the same safety rules I learned on my bike, while walking in a new place.

Doesn't Response Generalization Happen on Its Own?

For many people, response generalization happens naturally. Driving a car is a perfect example. No one had to specifically teach you how to drive each car, but sometimes it isn’t that easy. Individuals with developmental disorders tend to struggle with spontaneous generalization and benefit strongly from ABA programs that specifically teach for response generalization (Pratt, Wickerd, & Steege, 2019).

Why is Response Generalization important?

Response generalization is important and often an explicit goal of ABA intervention because it allows individuals to independently use new versions of skills they have been taught in situations where a known consequence is available; like the example of me learning to use swipe-to-text on my phone by myself after being taught to type on a keyboard. The effect of response generalization helps  extend the effects of ABA intervention to new environments where ABA services may not be available. To put it another way, the skills being taught in any specific environment, like the clinic or the school, are more likely to be used in other places, like the home and the community, when response generalization is a goal in treatment.

How Do You Support Response Generalization?

Supporting Generalization is a major goal of ABA treatment and is addressed throughout the entire course of treatment (Pratt, Wickerd, & Steege, 2019). Let’s look at an example first and talk about the steps after. When you are teaching a child to ride a bike, you may start with training wheels, or you may hold onto them. You will also likely stay relatively close to your home, likely on your street. As your child gets more stable, you may remove a training wheel, or a hand. If they remain upright you may remove both training wheels or let go. If they stay up, they may start to ride further and further away from the house.

The idea is that you support the child as they are learning a skill (it doesn’t have to be bike riding) while being thoughtful of the places and situations where they will eventually use the skill. If I wanted to teach someone a skill I would use these basic steps. Let’s use the example of “riding a bike” used above.

• Use a variety of examples of any materials used in the skill

In the case of riding a bike there are a few different things used, from bikes, to helmets, to safety and road signs. It is important to make sure that the child you are teaching has exposure to different types of all of these materials, like seeing or using different bikes or helmets.

• Practice using the skill in different places and situations

When teaching someone to ride a bike, it would be important to make sure that they practice to ride in a few places, like on their home street, at an intersection, or at a stoplight. It is impossible to take your child for supervised practice everywhere they will ever ride a bike. What is important is to practice at places they will encounter that are similar everywhere you ride a bike, like responding to a stop sign.  

• Make sure the person knows when they can, and can’t, use the skill

When teaching any skill it is important to also teach times and situations where using the skill is appropriate, as well as teaching times and situations that are not appropriate. For riding a bike every family will be different and that is okay. It is important to be clear about when bike riding can, and cannot, take place like; “Be home before dinner” or “You can ride your bike after you finish your homework and chores”. This also includes rewarding the child for riding their bike during the correct times (it can be simple, like saying, “You are so fast on your bike! Nice work!”)

Making it Fun

When your child learns a new skill, be energetic and animated for them to show you the skill. Have them practice the skill, or practice with them, using different materials, like encouraging a child using pencils to try using paint. It can serve as quality time together that also serves a purpose of helping your child become more independent and flexible. Response generalization can also be an incredibly rewarding experience to be a part of. Being part of a child’s play when they learn that they can do things on their own is really special. 

References

Pratt, J. L., Wickerd, G. D., & Steege, M. W. (2019). Generalization and maintenance. In S. G. Little & A. Akin-Little (Eds.), Applying psychology in the schools book series. Behavioral interventions in schools: Evidence-based positive strategies (p. 97–111). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000126-006

Is it a Reward, or a Bribe?

One of the misunderstandings in ABA therapy is that the use of positive reinforcement, which is rewarding a behaviour that has occurred, is the same as bribing a child to do something you want them to do. The main point here is that, with bribery, you are promising a reward in response to the lack of a desired behaviour; whereas, with positive reinforcement, you and the child agree on a reward for an appropriate behaviour before any behaviour has occurred. Let’s look at an example; 

If a child begins to scream and whine while waiting in line at the grocery store and the parent responds by saying “If you stop crying now I will give you a candy bar”, that is bribery. The parent promised their child a candy bar after the child started to scream and whine.This actually has a better chance of increasing the chances that the child will scream and whine the next time they are waiting in line at the grocery store, due to being positively reinforcing. Let’s look at an example of that next, in a similar situation. 

A child begins to scream and whine in a grocery store and their parent acts as though nothing is happening, but moves quickly to pay. The parent takes the child home and, when the child is calm again, says, “I can tell that staying patient in the line while shopping is tough for you, tell you what; if you can wait quietly in line with me next time, I will buy you a candy bar you can eat during the drive home. Then, if the child is able to wait patiently, their parent gives them a candy bar. This is most likely to increase the chances that the child will wait quietly in line the next time they are at the grocery store. 

Here are the Important Differences:

Positive Reinforcement or Reward

Positive reinforcement, or a reward, is any consequence that increases the chances that a behaviour will occur again. Rewards are often known to the person before they engage in the desirable behavior, but they are only given after a behaviour. Remember the example above. With reward, the child only got a candy bar after they showed their parent that they could wait in line quietly. It is “paying” someone for the behaviour you want, rather than “paying” for them to change their inappropriate behaviour.  Rewards are very effective at increasing and shaping behaviour, but be careful, sometimes things that seem like rewards are bribes, and some things that seem like a punishment, can actually be rewarding.

Bribery

Bribery is an attempt to get someone to change the current behaviour into something that is more appropriate to the setting, like telling a child they can have a candy bar if they stop crying. Bribery can be effective in the moment, but often worsens situations in the long term, due to it actually being a reward for inappropriate behaviour. In the example above, the child’s parent promises a candy bar after the child begins to scream and whine. This is actually more likely to be a reward for screaming and whining, than it is a reward for stopping. What happens is that the parent and child get trapped in a loop, with the child screaming and whining because, in the past screaming and whining has given them the opportunity to access candy by stopping.

Bribery doesn’t often shape or change the behaviour we want it to. With the above example, the behaviour being changed is screaming and whining, but it is being increased not decreased. After bribery is used for a while the person may begin to expect some type of reward, (or promise) to be given before the desirable behaviour is engaged in, like a child demanding time on their iPad before agreeing to clean their room. 

Implementing Reinforcement or Reward

Rewards can be incredibly effective at motivating others to perform certain behaviours. The use of reinforcement differs from bribery in that the reinforcer (reward), is given immediately after the desirable behaviour. In this sense, the person learns that only by engaging in appropriate behaviours are they able to access rewards.

Let’s look at some more examples to see how rewards can be implemented into everyday situations to increase desired behaviour 

Another Example:

It’s the weekend and your child has chores to do. The first thing to do would be to make sure that your child knows exactly which chores they are supposed to do and by what time they should be done. One strategy is to give them the option to either choose their chores or choose the order they do them in; this can give them a feeling of empowerment. After they choose, you can talk with your child and decide together what the reinforcer or reward should be for completing the task. After the child completes their chores you deliver the reward. It is important to note that providing the reward as quickly as possible is more effective than delivering it after some time has passed. 

 Tips

• Keep rewards balanced with the behaviour

  • Cleaning up a room isn’t worth a $80 video game, but maybe keeping a room clean for 2 months is, feel free to be creative and discuss different options

• Be Flexible

  • Communicate with your child about what rewards they are interested in

  • Be willing to switch up the reward

• Make sure you have enough resources for a reward (like time, money, space, etc.)

  • Remember that rewards do not have to be monetary

    • You could read a book together

    • You could go on a walk

    • You could play 20 questions

Negative Reinforcement and Punishment What’s the Difference?

What’s the Difference?

 Though they often get confused, it is probably best to first explain what those in the ABA field mean by the terms negative reinforcement and punishment.

Negative Reinforcement

 Negative reinforcement involves the relief of something undesirable being removed. An example would be when you get into your car and it starts beeping before you put on your seatbelt. The beeping is undesirable and engaging in the behaviour of putting on your seatbelt removes the beep. This type of reinforcement is aimed at increasing a behaviour and should not be thought of as punishment.

 Punishment

 Punishment on the other hand is a strategy designed to decrease behaviour and refers to something being added or removed immediately after the behaviour takes place. Many people think of punishment as typical aversive procedures, like reprimands, scolding, and even spankings, but often these things don’t reduce behaviour the way we would like. There are two types of punishment: positive and negative. It might help to think of positive punishment as pain, and negative punishment as cost.

Positive Punishment

Positive punishment can be thought of as pain, though not necessarily physical. As humans we tend to avoid pain as best we can and reduce doing things that lead to pain. Think of your mother saying she is “really disappointed in you”, or falling on some ironshore when rough-housing on the beach. The uncomfortable feeling hurts and we are less likely to engage in the behaviour again.

Negative Punishment

Negative Punishment can be thought of as cost, or loss. As humans we tend to want to minimize our costs and avoid losing things that are precious to us. Think of lending a favorite item to a friend and never seeing it again, or getting a speeding ticket. The loss, or cost, isn’t desirable and we are less likely to engage in the behaviour again.

 What is the Confusion?

So, how does negative reinforcement get confused with punishment? Consider this example. A child struggles with math and often whines and “acts up” right before and during maths class. A typical way for a teacher to “punish” the child may be to send them to the office for their behaviour, but this may not be punishing at all. In fact, it is possible that being sent to the principal's office for “acting out” in maths class is preferable to attending maths class for this child. While the teacher was attempting to decrease the child’s disruptive behaviour, they may have actually increased it instead.

How to tell the Difference

In ABA the way we learn about a person’s behaviour is by watching them. What this means is that the more an ABA practitioner sees a behaviour, the more likely it is that the person is getting some kind of reward or relief from the behaviour. Extending the above example, if a child is repeatedly being sent to the office during maths class, then being sent to the office isn’t acting as punishment because it isn’t reducing the child’s “acting up” behaviour, it is maintaining it.

 If you are interested in learning more, check out this clip from the famous show Big Bang Theory where Sheldon provides an explanation on the difference between Negative Reinforcement and Positive Punishment.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhI5h5JZi-U