Establishing Operations

Establishing operations (EOs) have emerged in behavior analysis over the past decade as a way of understanding motivation. EOs were originally incorporated into behavior analysis in the 1950s, but for reasons that are unclear, they were not included in subsequent conceptualizations of operant behavior. Instead, behavior has been conceptualized as having three key elements: Discriminative stimuli (SD), responses (R), and reinforcing stimuli (SR). These elements are also referred to more generally as antecedents, behaviors, and consequences. In this three-term contingency, an SD is an event that signals the availability of a reinforcing stimulus if a response is emitted (i.e., SD→R→SR). For example, when a friend enters the playground (SD), a student greets the child (R), and the friends begin interacting (SR). This three-term unit is also referred to as an operant, because the behavior operates to alter the environment. This arrangement has served researchers well in understanding how events occurring immediately before and after responding influence behaviors.

However, the three-term contingency lacks one important element: motivation. It was Michael who reintroduced the EO concept as a means of integrating motivation back into behavior analysis. He suggested that reinforcement and motivation be treated as functionally related but separate processes. Reinforcement is a stimulus that is presented (positive reinforcement) or removed (negative reinforcement) following a [Page 1300]response and that increases the probability of the response reoccurring in the future. Reinforcement is the causal mechanism underlying operant behavior. EOs describe motivational processes that momentarily alter the value or strength of a reinforcer.

Figure 1 A Behavioral Unit for Conceptualizing

Note: Each of the basic processes illustrated in this figure is described in the text. SR = discriminative stimulus; EO = establishing operation; R = response; SR = reinforcing stimulus.

Figure 1 shows a schematic of the three-term contingency, with an EO added. Note that the EO occurs prior to the response (i.e., an antecedent) but affects responding by altering the value of reinforcers (i.e., a consequence). EOs alter the value of reinforcers but are antecedents to responding. Also note that other antecedents, such as SDs, serve functions separate from EOs but also occur prior to the behavior. This has required researchers to expand the meaning of antecedents to responding to include both SDs and EOs.

An example of children on a playground can illustrate how EOs work. The entrance of a friend onto the playground serves as an SD, the greeting of the child already on the playground occasions the friend's attention, and the two play together. The motivational component of this social interaction is how the positively reinforcing value of socializing varies from time to time. If the child has not seen her friend for days or weeks, then social interaction might be very positively reinforcing. This might result in her choosing to play with her friend instead of engaging in other activities. However, if these two children have played together for an extended period of time (e.g., they spent the weekend together), then an interaction between them might not be very reinforcing. This could result in her choosing to play alone or with other children, even though her friend is available to play with.

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