Generalized conditioned reinforcer
A conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with many different reinforcers, such as money, tokens, or attention, so its value does not depend on any single motivating operation.
A generalized conditioned reinforcer is a conditioned reinforcer that has been paired with, or can be exchanged for, a wide variety of other reinforcers. Money is the standard example: it can buy food, entertainment, transport and much more. Tokens that can be traded for many backup reinforcers, and attention or approval from others, work the same way.
Because its value is tied to many reinforcers, a generalized conditioned reinforcer stays effective across different motivating operations. A child who is full may not want to work for chips, but may still work for tokens that can be traded for a toy, a game or a break. This makes generalized conditioned reinforcers less prone to satiation than a single item.
Generalized conditioned reinforcers are also practical: tokens and praise can be delivered immediately, can be given without stopping instruction, and are easy to fade into natural systems such as grades or a paycheck. Token economies, which RBTs implement under task C.11, are built on this principle.
Their power still depends on the backup reinforcers staying valuable and available. An RBT keeps exchanges on the schedule the plan sets and lets the supervisor know if a token system seems to be losing its effect.
Example and non-example
| Example | A student earns tokens during reading practice and, at exchange time, chooses from a menu of a snack, five minutes of drawing, or helping hand out materials. |
|---|---|
| Non-example | A sticker that is never exchanged for anything and has been paired only with one snack is a conditioned reinforcer but not a generalized one. |
Don't confuse it with
| Conditioned reinforcer | Every generalized conditioned reinforcer is a conditioned reinforcer, but only one paired with many different reinforcers is generalized. |
|---|---|
| Backup reinforcer | The backup reinforcer is the item or activity a token is exchanged for; the token itself is the generalized conditioned reinforcer. |
Test yourself
-
Question 1Attention and approval from other people are often described as generalized conditioned reinforcers. What makes them "generalized"?
Show answer
B: They have been paired with many different reinforcers over a person's life.. A generalized conditioned reinforcer has been paired with many other reinforcers, not just one. Attention, approval, money and tokens that can be traded for many items are common examples.
- A: Conditioned reinforcers depend on each person's learning history, so they do not work the same for everyone.
- C: Reinforcers that need no learning history are unconditioned, not conditioned.
- D: The schedule on which a reinforcer is delivered does not make it generalized.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
-
Question 2Why are tokens that can be traded for many different items less likely to lose their effectiveness during a long session than a single type of snack?
Show answer
A: Their value does not depend on one specific motivating operation.. Because tokens can be exchanged for many backup reinforcers, they stay valuable even when the client is satiated on one item. A single snack loses value as the client has more of it.
- B: Tokens are conditioned reinforcers, and they can lose value if their backup reinforcers lose value.
- C: Tokens can be delivered on many schedules, including intermittent ones.
- D: Preference varies by client; tokens are not always preferred over edibles.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
-
Question 3Which feature of a token system is most likely to keep tokens effective across a long session?
Show answer
C: A menu of several preferred backup reinforcers the client can choose from. A variety of backup reinforcers makes tokens less dependent on any one motivating operation, so they stay valuable even if the client becomes satiated on one item.
- A: A single backup item can lose value through satiation, and the tokens lose value with it.
- B: Long delays to exchange, especially early on, weaken the pairing of tokens with backup reinforcers.
- D: Free tokens are not contingent on behavior and weaken the token system.
Task C.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.2 Conditioned reinforcers in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.