Three-Term Contingency: Basic Unit of Analysis for Operant Behavior

Three-Term Contingency Post
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Operant behavior refers to behavior impacted significantly by its consequences, and the three-term contingency is the primary unit of analysis for such behavior. According to Cooper et al. (2014), three major elements of the three-term contingency include the antecedent, the behavior, and the consequences. The antecedent refers to a stimulus or an event that comes before the event, while the stimulus or event that comes after the behavior is known as the consequence. Substantially, behavior refers to the response or action between the two events or stimuli, the antecedent, and the consequence. Bouton and Balleine (2019) posit that the three-term contingency can be fundamental in predicting and controlling operant behavior.
Two kinds of consequences can significantly impact the behavior of a person: reinforcement and punishment. Cooper et al. (2014) observe that reinforcement doubles the probability of the occurrence of a particular behavior in the future, while punishment reduces the chances that such behavior will reoccur in the future. Positive reinforcement happens when a reinforcing stimulus presentation follows a behavior; when aversive behavior removal follows a behavior, negative reinforcement happens (Fisher et al., 2011). Moreover, positive punishment occurs when aversive stimulus behavior follows a behavior (Brewer et al., 2018). While on the other hand, negative punishment results from a behavior following a reinforcing stimulus removal (Fisher et al., 2011). Michael (1975) argues that positive reinforcement implies added stimuli while negative reinforcement means removed stimuli, although the distinction between the two is ambiguous and confusing.
The impacts of reinforcement and punishment on a person's behavior are demonstrated through the matching law, which according to Seniuk et al. (2019), argues that the relative rate of a response to a particular choice equals the relative reinforcement rate gained from such choice. The general suggestion of the matching law is that a person will allocate their innate behavior depending on the rate of reinforcement and punishment for each option.
One of the positively reinforced behaviors in my experience is the urge to exercise regularly. The particular three-term contingency of my behavior comprises the antecedent of noticing my exercising equipment, the normal exercising behavior, and the consequence of getting the accomplishment feeling and pleasure after my workout. Such consequences make me experience positive reinforcement, and thus they reinforce my behavior of exercising regularly and increase the probability of undertaking such exercises in the future. On the other hand, procrastination accrues to the punishe...