On "Setting events" and related concepts.
Swap "setting event" for "establishing operation" to speak and think with laser focus on what is boosting reinforcer power right now.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The author looked at the term "setting event." He said the words were fuzzy.
He offered a cleaner label: "establishing operation." The paper is pure theory.
What they found
The new term won. "Establishing operation" tells you exactly what the variable does. It makes something else more reinforcing right now.
How this fits with other research
Jones et al. (2010) gave the idea legs. They withheld attention, then saw problem behavior soar. The data showed an EO in action.
Hastings et al. (2001) stretched the idea further. They said response deprivation itself is an EO. Restrict a kid’s iPad time and suddenly iPad minutes become gold.
Roper (1978) set the stage. He warned that old reinforcement rules were too thin. The 1984 paper answered with a sharper vocabulary.
Why it matters
Use "establishing operation" in your reports and team talks. The phrase cues you to ask, "What just made this reinforcer stronger?" Then you can alter that variable and see behavior change in real time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The term "setting event" is examined in light of recent interest in the possible utility of the concept. The term was found to characteristically include properties of environmental variables, functional relations already defined, and other functional relations either unspecified or not identified with any generally-accepted term. "Setting event" as a technical term may be too general and functionally unclear and should thus be viewed with caution. An alternative approach is examined in the recently-proposed term, "establishing operation," which is viewed as a more limited, functionally specific, and therefore preferable approach to the adoption of new technical terms.
The Behavior analyst, 1984 · doi:10.1007/BF03391884