Behavior Technology and Training Services

This post is a continuation of the Antecedent → Behavior → Consequence post from Jan. 28th. I said at the end of the other post I’d discuss how to use this to change behaviors. I think a little more explanation will be helpful first.

I’m going to give examples of each by using this YouTube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUlX1QHKFuM
In this video the speaker is working with a dog to get her to perform on cue. He asks for multiple behaviors but I’m only going to address the “Speak” and “Danger.”

Antecedent: man says Speak
Behavior: dog barks
Consequence: man tosses a treat

There may be a pattern of events (antecedents) preceding his cue to Speak, there may not. There’s not enough information in this video for us to be able to determine that. The antecedent is Speak. The behavior is a bark. It’s a behavior because it can be observed and measured. The consequence is tossing the treat. This consequence appears to be reinforcing to the dog because she eats it quickly. Using a consequence the dog finds reinforcing increases the likelihood that the dog will perform the behavior when the same antecedent is presented. (The man saying Yes is irrelevant to this sequence.)

Antecedent → Behavior → Consequence → Antecedent

Antecedent: man says Danger
Behavior: dog growls
Consequence: man tosses a treat

The antecedent in this incidence is Danger. The behavior is a growl. The consequence is tossing the treat. Using a consequence the dog finds reinforcing increases the likelihood that the dog will perform the behavior when the same antecedent is presented.

The antecedent is different and evokes a different behavior. The consequence is the same. However, it’s still reinforcing and will increase the likelihood that the dog will perform the behavior when the same antecedent is presented.

A couple times, he says Speak and she growls instead of barking. This is a training issue and is relevant to the A → B → C chain because the antecedent didn’t evoke the behavior desired. Depending on the man’s standards, this may be acceptable or it may mean he will need further work on getting the specific behavior following the antecedent presented.