What Are Motivating Operations?
Motivating operations (MOs) are environmental variables that alter the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness of a stimulus and simultaneously alter the frequency of behavior that has been reinforced or punished by that stimulus. First described by Jack Michael, the concept of motivating operations is one of the most important and frequently tested topics on the BCBA exam.
MOs have two defining effects:
- Value-altering effect - Changes the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer or punisher (makes it more or less reinforcing/punishing)
- Behavior-altering effect - Changes the frequency of behavior that has been reinforced or punished by that stimulus (evokes or abates behavior)
Establishing Operations (EOs)
An establishing operation increases the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus and evokes behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus.
Example: Food deprivation (not eating for several hours) is an EO for food as a reinforcer. It increases the value of food as a reinforcer (value-altering effect) and evokes behaviors that have historically produced food, such as going to the kitchen, ordering a meal, or asking someone for food (behavior-altering effect).
Clinical Applications of EOs
- Creating teaching opportunities: A therapist might briefly restrict access to a preferred toy before a mand training session. The restriction serves as an EO that increases the value of the toy and evokes manding behavior.
- Understanding problem behavior: If a child engages in aggression when presented with difficult academic tasks, the task demands serve as an EO for escape as a reinforcer (the aversive stimulus establishes the value of escape).
Abolishing Operations (AOs)
An abolishing operation decreases the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus and abates behavior that has been reinforced by that stimulus.
Example: Eating a large meal is an AO for food as a reinforcer. It decreases the value of food (satiation reduces the value-altering effect) and abates food-seeking behaviors (behavior-altering effect).
Clinical Applications of AOs
- Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR): Providing free access to attention on a time-based schedule creates an AO for attention as a reinforcer. When attention is freely available, attention-maintained problem behavior decreases because the MO for attention has been reduced.
- Antecedent interventions: Giving a student a break before difficult tasks can serve as an AO for escape, reducing escape-maintained problem behavior during subsequent task demands.
Unconditioned Motivating Operations (UMOs)
UMOs are motivating operations whose value-altering and behavior-altering effects are unlearned. They are related to biological needs and do not require a learning history to function.
Examples:
- Food deprivation (EO for food)
- Water deprivation (EO for water)
- Sleep deprivation (EO for sleep)
- Painful stimulation (EO for anything that reduces pain)
- Satiation (AO for the relevant reinforcer)
Conditioned Motivating Operations (CMOs)
CMOs are motivating operations whose value-altering and behavior-altering effects are learned through experience. Michael identified three types:
CMO-Surrogate (CMO-S)
A stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned MO and acquires the same value-altering and behavior-altering effects. A neutral stimulus paired repeatedly with food deprivation may come to function as a CMO-S that evokes food-seeking behavior even in the absence of actual deprivation.
CMO-Reflexive (CMO-R)
A stimulus that signals the worsening of conditions, making its own removal reinforcing. Any stimulus that precedes an aversive condition becomes a CMO-R that establishes its own removal as reinforcement.
Example: A teacher's warning ("If you do not finish your work, you will miss recess") functions as a CMO-R. The warning establishes its own removal (compliance removes the threat) as reinforcing and evokes compliance behavior.
CMO-Transitive (CMO-T)
A stimulus that establishes the reinforcing value of another stimulus by making it necessary to access reinforcement. The MO establishes the effectiveness of a stimulus that was not previously relevant.
Example: A locked door establishes the reinforcing value of a key. The locked door (CMO-T) makes the key valuable as a reinforcer and evokes key-seeking behavior.
MOs vs. Discriminative Stimuli
One of the most commonly tested distinctions on the BCBA exam is the difference between MOs and discriminative stimuli (SDs):
- SDs signal the availability of reinforcement but do not change the value of the reinforcer. A vending machine signals that inserting money will produce a snack, but it does not make you hungry.
- MOs change the value of the reinforcer and alter behavior accordingly. Hunger makes food more reinforcing and evokes food-seeking behavior, regardless of whether a vending machine is present.
In practice, both often operate simultaneously. A hungry person (EO for food) who sees a restaurant sign (SD for food availability) is more likely to enter the restaurant than either variable alone would produce.
Exam Tips
- When a question describes something that changes the VALUE of a reinforcer, think MO. When it describes something that signals AVAILABILITY, think SD.
- NCR works by creating an AO, not by being a form of extinction
- Be able to identify EOs and AOs in clinical scenarios, not just from their definitions
- Remember the three types of CMOs and be able to provide examples of each