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Motivating Operation

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Definition

Motivating operations (MO) is a general term to describe antecedent events which momentarily alter the effects of a reinforcing or punishing consequence, and therefore alter the future frequency of behavior related to that consequence. Motivating operations alter the effectiveness of reinforcers and punishers in two ways, which designates different classifications of MOs. Establishing operations (EO) increase the effectiveness of a consequence (see “Establishing Operations”), and abolishing operations (AO) decrease the reinforcing or punishing effectiveness (see “Abolishing Operations”) (Laraway et al. 2003). The term MO is important because it refers to “not only how much someone wants something, but how hard they will work to get it” (Langthorne and McGill 2009, p. 22).

Historical Background

Establishing operation was a term originally coined by Keller and Schoenfeld (1950) to describe a series of motivational events and their effect on behavior. Since, the designation,...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Center for Children with Special Needs, Glastonbury, CT, USA

    Amanda P. Laprime

  2. University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA

    Amanda P. Laprime

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  1. Amanda P. Laprime
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Correspondence to Amanda P. Laprime .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Laprime, A.P. (2021). Motivating Operation. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91280-6_102282

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