Focus Pocus: Becoming a Stimulus Control Freak
You know, it's fascinating how differently two people can perceive the same thing. When both of us step into a space, the things that catch your eye might be entirely different from what captures mine. Why is this so? A large part of this difference can be attributed to our unique learning histories and personal experiences. These phenomena influence what has stimulus control over our attention in a given situation.
Take children, for instance.
I remember an incident from last Halloween. As decorations adorned every house, there was one particular residence at an intersection with an imposing ghost hung from their tree—a somewhat controversial choice considering the young audience. Amazing what people will do nowadays to get their gory, supernatural experiences—at the expense of the little ones around them, nonetheless. Another behavior analytic topic, for another day. Anyways, my son, who was not even two at that time and had a keen interest in basketball, was with me in the car. Given his age, I was slightly concerned that the eerie decor might mess with him.
As we drove away from that house, he exclaimed, "Did you see that, Dad?" I braced myself. I thought, “Here come the bad dreams." As I readied myself, he responded. "That house had a big, BIG, ‘basset-baw’ (basketball) hoop!" It got me thinking about stimulus control and how—even when two people are presented with the exact same scenario—they might focus on entirely different aspects of it. He saw basketball. I saw a sleepless night.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. He’ll routinely spot the logo for our favorite basketball team (Indiana University logo, “I” overlapping a “U) on a stranger’s hat or sweatshirt at distance. But, it was still remarkable. I mean…he was so obsessed with basketball that he didn’t even see the creepy thing hanging from the tree that was right in front of him And it got me thinking (again) about how important attention and stimulus control are for our learners.
Teaching our learners to look for and attend to the right stimuli in their environment might help them on a grand scale.
Our individual experiences, inclinations, and values steer us toward what we attend to or orient toward. What we attend/orient to shapes our perceptions of events and landscapes. For me, entering someone's living room might lead me to compliment their cozy fireplace, given my penchant for warmth and comfort. You, on the other hand, might be immediately drawn to a striking Picasso knock-off on the wall.
However, it's essential to understand that it's not about seeing things differently. It's about attending to different things. Our priorities and interests dictate what captures our attention in new environments. In my son's case, his love for basketball made him oblivious to the potential scare of a ghostly decoration. In fact, and this amazes me, it equipped him to look past…or ignore…the bad thing that was right in front of him.
And now for a more applicable point: It's crucial to guide our learners to attend to the most pertinent features of any skill we teach them.
Recognizing that not every part of a program or skill carries the same weight is key. Amidst a sea of stimuli, pinpointing and emphasizing the most relevant, or valuable stimuli is our responsibility.
Consider driving. While on the road, we're bombarded with countless stimuli—from scenic views, billboards, houses, trees, cars with bumper stickers, and cars with bumpers falling off. Yet, over time and with training, we've learned to prioritize. Stop signs, traffic lights, speed limit indicators, and the behavior of other vehicles take precedence. It's a mix of innate prioritization and external reinforcement.
As behavior analysts, it's imperative to fine-tune our programs in the same way these civil engineers fine tune our road ways. That means, putting things into place that will push our learner's attention, helping them discern and focus on what truly matters. It's about sifting through all of the stimuli and highlighting the essential, ensuring effective and targeted learning.
So, how do we do that? Uhh. Great question! I’ll provide several examples next week.
But first, a few takeaways.
#1. We need to understand that—at any given moment—there are tens of hundreds of stimuli waiting to distract our learner from what really matters in the task at hand. Sometimes this stimuli distracts them from the task at hand all together.
#2. As Behavior Analysts we need to hone our OWN ability to easily recognize the most pertinent, critical features of every concept we teach.
#3. As such, we need to know how to program for stimulus control. We need to know how to write programs that help them prioritize the right stimuli.
A quick thought exercise: Think of a disagreement you’ve had with another person in the past. On the subject you’ve disagreed on, what are the points that they’re attending to most regarding the topic. What are the points you’re attending to? Why are these things different?
Attention is everything!