Using fading to increase cooperation with medical and hygiene procedures

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2019

First Committee Member

Dickson, Chata

Second Committee Member

Thompson, Rachel

Third Committee Member

Sassi, Jessica

Abstract

"Terrace (1963) devised an errorless procedure for teaching pigeons to perform simple discriminations between colors. He began with the S+ at full intensity and gradually faded in features of the S- stimulus. Until this time, researchers believed that discrimination learning required contact with the differential reinforcement contingency programmed for correct responses and errors. Researchers now understand that errors are not required for learning stimulus discrimination. This understanding holds for other types of performances as well. For example, in teaching someone to tolerate aversive situations, failure to participate in the aversive event is not required for learning to occur. Just as S- stimuli are faded in, stimuli that are aversive to an individual also may be faded in."

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