Antecedent Control:
Modeling, Guidance, and
Situational Inducement
Chapter 18
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Modeling
• A procedure whereby a sample of a given
behavior is presented to an individual to
induce that individual to engage in a similar
behavior
• Commonly-used procedure by the general
public
• Generalized imitation
– An individual, after learning to imitate a number of
behaviors, learns to imitate a new response on the
first trial without reinforcement
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Modeling
• Factors influencing the effectiveness of
modeling:
– History of being reinforced (or punished) for
imitating others
– More likely to imitate someone who is similar to
you in various ways
– Perceived competence of the model in obtaining
desired consequences
– The number of people modeling a particular
behavior
– Most effective when combined with with rules
and other behavioral strategies
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Guidelines for Using Modeling
• If possible, select models who are friends or peers of the client and
who are seen as competent individuals with status or prestige
• If possible, use more than one model
• The complexity of the modeled behavior should be suitable for the
behavioral level of the learner
• Combine rules with modeling
• Have the learner watch the model perform the behavior and be
reinforced
• If possible, use natural reinforcers; if this is not possible, arrange
for reinforcement
• If behavior is complex, then modeling should be sequenced from
very easy to more difficult approximations for the learner
• To enhance stimulus generalization, the modeling scenes should be
as realistic as possible
• Use fading as necessary so that stimuli other than the model can
take control over the desired behavior
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Physical Guidance
• Application of physical contact to induce
an individual to go through the motions
of the desired behavior
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Guidelines for Using
Physical Guidance
• Make sure the learner is comfortable and relaxed
while being touched and guided
• Determine the stimuli that you want to control the
behavior so that they can be conspicuously present
during guidance
• Consider using rules or cue words during guidance so
that they may eventually control behavior
• Reinforcement should be given immediately after the
successful completion of the guided response
• Guidance should be sequenced gradually from very
easy to more difficult behavior for the learner
• Use fading as necessary
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Situational Inducement
• Influencing a behavior by using situations
and occasions that already exert control
over behavior
• Categories of situational inducement:
– Rearranging the surroundings
– Moving the activity to a new location
– Relocating people
– Changing the time of activity
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Guidelines for Using
Situational Inducement
• Clearly identify the desired behavior to be strengthened, and, if
appropriate, the undesirable behavior to be decreased
• Brainstorm all possible environmental arrangements in the
presence of which the behavior has occurred in the past or is
likely to occur
• From your list, identify those stimuli that could be easily
introduced to control the target behavior
• Arrange for the learner to be exposed to the stimuli that control
the behavior in the desired way and to avoid locations and
arrangements that do not have this control
• Try to make sure undesirable behavior does not occur in the
presence of situations introduced to strengthen desirable
behavior
• When the desirable behavior occurs in the presence of the new
arrangement, be sure that it is reinforced
• Use fading to bring the behavior under desired stimulus control
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.