Motivating operation
An environmental variable that temporarily changes how reinforcing a stimulus is and changes how often behavior that has produced that stimulus occurs.
A motivating operation (MO) has two effects. First, it changes the value of a consequence: it makes something more or less reinforcing (or punishing) right now. Second, it changes how often behavior occurs that has produced that consequence in the past. Being thirsty makes water more valuable and makes asking for a drink more likely.
There are two types. An establishing operation (EO) increases the value of a reinforcer and evokes the related behavior, as deprivation does. An abolishing operation (AO) decreases the value of a reinforcer and abates the related behavior, as satiation does. Other MOs include pain, being cold, illness, lack of sleep and difficult tasks, which can make escape more reinforcing.
An MO is different from a discriminative stimulus. An SD signals that a reinforcer is available for a response; an MO changes how valuable that reinforcer is at the moment. A client may see a cookie jar (SD for asking) but not ask because they just ate (AO).
For an RBT, MOs explain why the same client acts differently across days and why reinforcers lose or gain power within a session. Changes such as missed sleep, hunger, illness or medication can act as MOs, which is why the RBT Test Content Outline asks RBTs to report variables that might affect progress.
Example and non-example
| Example | A client who skipped breakfast makes many requests for snacks and works hard for food reinforcers. Hunger is functioning as an establishing operation for food. |
|---|---|
| Non-example | A client asks for a ball only when the ball is visible on the shelf. The visible ball signals that asking can be reinforced; it functions as an SD, not an MO. |
Don't confuse it with
| Discriminative stimulus | An SD signals that reinforcement is available for a response; an MO changes how valuable the reinforcer is. |
|---|---|
| Setting events | Setting events is a broader, less technical term for background conditions such as illness or poor sleep that affect behavior; many of them work as MOs, which specifically alter reinforcer value and behavior. |
Test yourself
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Question 1Why are preference assessments repeated often, in some cases before each session?
Show answer
A: Preferences shift with satiation, deprivation, and time. The value of an item changes with motivating operations such as satiation and deprivation, and with time. Frequent brief assessments keep the team's list of likely reinforcers current.
- B: There is no BACB rule requiring a preference assessment every session; frequency is a clinical decision.
- C: Items lose value temporarily with satiation; it is not permanent.
- D: Teaching choice-making is not the purpose of repeating an assessment.
Task B.1 · 40-hour curriculum section D · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 2A client picks a tablet first in a morning MSWO. After using the tablet for 40 minutes at lunch, the client picks a puzzle first in an afternoon MSWO. Which process best explains the change?
Show answer
A: Satiation. Satiation is a decrease in the value of a reinforcer after recent extended access to it. Long tablet use temporarily lowered its value, so the client chose something else.
- B: Extinction means a previously reinforced behavior no longer produces reinforcement.
- C: Deprivation, a period without access, increases an item's value.
- D: Stimulus generalization is responding to new stimuli similar to the original; it does not explain lower value after use.
Task B.1 · 40-hour curriculum section D · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 3A teen who has not eaten since breakfast picks food items first in an afternoon preference assessment, though they usually pick music. Which statement best explains this?
Show answer
C: Deprivation increased the current value of food. Deprivation is an establishing operation: going without food temporarily increases its value as a reinforcer, so food is chosen more often.
- A: Satiation decreases an item's value.
- B: Extinction is not involved; music was simply less valuable than food at that moment.
- D: Nothing in the scenario punished choosing music.
Task B.1 · 40-hour curriculum section D · 40-hour curriculum section A
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.1 Positive and negative reinforcement in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.