Behavior Bubbles

Learning more about motivating operation (MO) is valuable for an instructor/parent to know. By understanding the underlaying concepts of MO, this helps the instructor/parent to understand why some behaviours might occur, and helps them to utilise reinforcers more effectively for the learner.

What is Motivating Operation (MO)?
According to Cooper, Heron, and Heward (2007), a motivating operation is “an environmental variable that (a) alters (increases or decreases) the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of some stimulus, object, or event; and (b) alters (increases or decreases) the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced or punished by that stimulus, object, or event.

In everyday terms, the MO looks at seeing how much a learner wants something and how much they will work to get it (Michael, 1982)

MO commonly split into 2 terms, the establishing operation (EO), and the abolishing operation (AO).
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Establishing Operation (EO)
The EO looks at increasing the effectiveness of an item/activity as a reinforcer as it makes it more valuable in the eyes of the learner.

This means that by increasing the EO of a learner through deprivation of the item/activity the learner will be more likely to engage in a behavior (i.e. sitting nicely) for the reinforcer/ consequence in comparison to their typical behavior.

For example, looking at a real life scenario, if you had not drank anything since morning, you would desire water. As such, water would serve as a more desirable reinforcer, increasing the behaviors associated with water, such as walking to the fridge and getting a drink to fulfil the desire.

Abolishing Operation (AO)
The AO looks at decreasing the effectiveness of an item/activity as a reinforcer and makes it less valuable in the eyes of the learner.

This means that by decreasing the AO of the learner through satiating the learner with the item/activity, the learner will be less likely to engage in a behavior (i.e. sitting nicely) for the reinforcer/ consequence in comparison to their typical behavior.

For example, looking at a real life scenario, if you had just eaten a heavy lunch, you would be full. As such, food would be a less desirable reinforcer, decreasing the behaviors associated with eating such as accepting cookies from your colleague to munch on.
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Example of how EO and AO can be Seen in a Natural Scenario
EO: Sarah loves playing with the iPad. In a typical day, Sara has free access to her iPad. Should the iPad be withheld from Sara by her parents (deprivation) and only given after she finishes her work, Sara’s desire for the iPad will increase. As such, she will be willing to finish her work in order to access her desired item (i.e. the iPad).

AO: Looking at the same example, should Sara be given free access to the iPad the whole day (satiation) be it whether she finishes her work or not, her desire of the iPad will decrease. As such, she will have less motivation to finish her work .
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I hope this post has helped you to better understand what a motivating operation is and provided you with an idea on how to utilise it with your learners.

Happy Teaching!

References
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Michael, J. (1982). Distinguishing between discriminative and motivational functions of stimuli. Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 37(1), 149-155. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1333126/pdf/jeabehav00072-0149.pdf