Motivating Operation (MO)
An environmental variable that temporarily changes the value of a reinforcer and alters the frequency of related behaviours.
Motivating Operations act like a volume dial for reinforcers. They temporarily alter how much a learner wants something and how hard they will work to get it.
An MO has two distinct effects:
- Value-altering effect: Temporarily makes a consequence more or less valuable.
- Behaviour-altering effect: Triggers or suppresses the behaviours that historically led to that consequence.
MOs explain why a behaviour happens at a specific moment in time.