A learned behavior is one that does not come from instincts – it is created by practice or experiences. Learned behavior can be controlled by two systems – reflective or reflexive, which in turn create
cognitive learning and habitual learning. A reflex is a stimulus response that happens due to a biological response and is mediated by the nervous system. Habitual learning can then be a result of this reflex happening time after time, as we get used to the stimuli – this is where the antecedent comes in. while antecedent stimuli that have been paired with punishing consequences activate brain centers involved in
fear. Antecedents play a different role while attempting to trigger positive and negative outcomes. The latter is particularly important when it comes to antecedents, as bad stimuli in the environment lead to behavioral consequences.
Reinforcement theory states that the consequences of behavior drives the behavior itself – positive behaviors are rewarded and negative behaviors are either ignored or punished.
Evidence There are some scientific papers that argue that there are two different types of antecedent variables. Discriminative stimuli are found to be present “when a behavior is reinforced”. states that antecedent variables can be proximal (things like financial stressors or
job satisfaction), and conducted an experiment to see if these stimuli could induce relapse to alcohol problems. states that culture is antecedent to behavior, but that culture can also have a direct or indirect effect on the behavior. These areas of concentration (resources, facilities, etc.) are the stimuli that would be considered the second variablesetting events. This type of competitiveness affects not only where the tourists are planning on visiting, but it also affects the employees that work in tourist towns. Things like gift shops, hotels, and restaurants depend on the flow of tourism to keep their businesses thriving. This makes businesses continuously improve and change their business ways to meet
consumer demands. All of these variables change the behavior of all parties involved.
Interventions There are a number of studies that have been done in order to prevent past learned behaviors using antecedent variables. One intervention talked about preventing bad behavior in classrooms as a positive alternative to punishment. This goes against reinforcement theory, which states that the consequence of the behavior drives the behavior. When it comes to behaviors in schools, the antecedent here (without intervention) could be a number of things: • Attention from the teacher/peers • An instruction from peers/teachers that the child does not want to do • Communication from staff and students when the child in question has limited/no vocal language Each of these antecedents caused a learned behavior that is unfavourable, and this article suggests some interventions to overcome the bad behavior. For example, in order to override antecedent 2, gain the students’ attention and immediately request something (e.g., a high five), before praising them and providing positive reinforcement. This intervention fits in with the idea of classical conditioning, as the child is rewarded with positive affirmation when they complete a task. A different study agrees that these antecedent interventions do not work on reinforcement theory, and aim to reduce the probability of unwanted behavior occurring rather than punishing unwanted behavior with consequences. This article similarly agrees with another that setting events and discriminative stimuli are the two antecedent variables, and that both of these can be used in different ways in interventions. For example, behavior that happens due to discriminative stimuli (like a hard mathematics test leading to a student destroying it and being sent to the principal's office) is likely to reoccur again and again (as the child got out of doing the test by performing the behavior). To counter this, the article, suggests that the environment should be rearranged in some way so as not to provoke the individual. Changing the antecedent from a hard maths test to an easier or shorter one, or warning the child prior, had a positive effect on the behavior observed. There are still questions surrounding the role of antecedent interventions within society, as they are relatively new and not a lot is known about its applicability cross-culturally. However, it is evident that there is potential for antecedents to be used in behavioral interventions, and they have been proven to positively influence behaviors like self-injury and aggression. == References ==