Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Online Tutorial
	Module 5: Teaching New Skills and Behaviors Reinforcement Recap To be considered a reinforcer by definition, it is not enough for an event to be considered a “pleasant” consequence. By definition, a reinforcer must INCREASE the future rate of behavior. For example, a teacher may think that giving out fuzzy bunny stickers to her high school students is reinforcement. However, students of this age might not like those stickers. If the stickers did not motivate the students to have good behavior in the classroom, then the stickers were not actually reinforcers. We can also "accidentally" reinforce a "problem" behavior. For example, a child might cry and scream when we ask him to do flashcards for labeling common objects. If we put away the flashcards, and let the child play with a toy instead, we have possibly reinforced the crying and screaming. In this case, the 3-term contingency would look like this: Teacher says, "Let's do flashcards" and places the cards on the table. (Antecedent). Child cries and screams. (Behavior). Teacher says, "Ok, let's do that later" and gives the child a toy. (Consequence). This may actually reinforce the child and encourage him or her to cry and scream again when given an activity he or she does not want to do. This issue will be discussed further in the module on reducing problem behaviors. For now, we will focus on reinforcement of behaviors we want to increase. The following video provides a brief overview of ABA and reinforcement in a public school classroom. Video by Autism Speaks Review: To be considered a reinforcer, an event must ______________ the future rate of a behavior that it follows. Next --> Principles of Effective Reinforcement