THE USE OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IN THE TREATMENT OF ESCAPE-MAINTAINED DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

We identified 3 clients whose destructive behavior was sensitive to negative reinforcement (break from tasks) and positive reinforcement (access to tangible items, attention, or both). In an instructional context, we then evaluated the effects of reinforcing compliance with one, two, or all of these consequences (a break, tangible items, attention) when destructive behavior produced a break and when it did not (escape extinction). For 2 clients, destructive behavior decreased and compliance increased when compliance produced access to tangible items, even though destructive behavior resulted in a break. For 1 client, extinction was necessary to reduce destructive behavior and to increase compliance. Subsequently, when the schedule of reinforcement for compliance was faded for all clients, destructive behavior was lower and fading proceeded more rapidly when compliance produced multiple functional reinforcers (i.e., a break plus tangible items or attention) and destructive behavior was on extinction. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of relative reinforcement value and extinction on concurrent operants.     

ON THE RELATION OF MANDS AND THE FUNCTION OF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

When standard analogue functional analysis procedures produce inconclusive results in children with conversational speech, the child's mands may help to identify the function of destructive behavior. In the current investigation, functional analyses conducted with 2 children who exhibited self-injury, aggression, and property destruction were undifferentiated across conditions. Based on informal observations and school and parental report, an analysis was conducted using mands to help determine the function of the destructive behavior. Using a multielement design, the therapist's compliance with the child's mands occurred either on a fixed-ratio (FR) 1 schedule or contingent on destructive behavior. Destructive behavior occurred at high and consistent levels when reinforcement of mands was contingent on destructive behavior and at near-zero levels when reinforcement of mands occurred on the FR 1 schedule. Based on these results, a second analysis was conducted in which compliance to mands occurred only when the child appropriately requested it (i.e., functional communication training plus extinction) and, for 1 child, compliance with mands was terminated contingent upon destructive behavior (i.e., functional communication training plus response cost). For both children, the rates of destructive behavior decreased markedly. The results suggest that assessing the child's mands may be useful in decreasing destructive behavior when a functional analysis is inconclusive.     

NONCONTINGENT PRESENTATION OF ATTENTION AND ALTERNATIVE STIMULI IN THE TREATMENT OF ATTENTION-MAINTAINED DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

Previous research has demonstrated that destructive behavior may be reduced through noncontingent presentation of attention when attention is identified as the stimulus responsible for behavioral maintenance. Because it may not always be possible to deliver attention in all situations, we examined the extent to which alternative stimuli that have been identified through a choice assessment would substitute for attention (the functional analysis—based reinforcer) in a noncontingent reinforcement procedure. Prior to treatment, functional analyses demonstrated that the destructive behavior of 2 clients with mental retardation was maintained by adult attention. Next, a stimulus choice assessment identified highly preferred tangible items for the 2 clients. Finally, we compared the effectiveness of two noncontingent reinforcement procedures: continuous noncontingent access to attention and continuous noncontingent access to the tangible item identified in the choice assessment. For both clients, these noncontingent reinforcement procedures reduced destructive behavior. The results are discussed in terms of the clinical implications for the treatment of destructive behavior using functional and alternative stimuli.     

ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF EXCESSIVE STRAIGHTENING AND DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN AN ADOLESCENT DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM

Repetitive behaviors such as excessive straightening are commonly observed among individuals with autism. Attempts to prevent these behaviors may increase the likelihood of other problem behaviors. The present study was designed to assess and treat the excessive straightening and associated destructive behaviors of a 16‐year‐old boy who had been diagnosed with autism and moderate mental retardation. Following a series of functional analyses, an intervention that incorporated functional communication, extinction of destructive behavior, and blocking of repetitive straightening was demonstrated to be effective in reducing straightening and destructive behavior.     

SCHEDULE EFFECTS OF NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT ON ATTENTION-MAINTAINED DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN IDENTICAL QUADRUPLETS

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), a response-independent schedule for the delivery of reinforcement, has been found to be effective in reducing behavior when the reinforcer delivered is responsible for behavioral maintenance. In this study, dense and lean schedules of response-independent attention were compared to determine whether it is necessary to begin with a dense schedule before fading to a lean schedule, or whether treatment would be as effective using a lean schedule at the outset. The subjects were 5-year-old identical quadruplets diagnosed with mental retardation and pervasive developmental disorder who displayed destructive behavior that was maintained by social attention. NCR was selected partially because it is not very labor intensive and could be implemented by a single mother simultaneously with all 4 children. Using a combination multielement and multiple baseline design, it was found that (a) a dense schedule of response-independent reinforcement (i.e., fixed-time 10 s) resulted in immediate and dramatic reductions in destructive behavior with no evidence of an extinction burst, and (b) an equivalent reduction in destructive behavior was achieved with a lean schedule of response-independent reinforcement (fixed-time 5 min) only after a systematic fading procedure was implemented. The findings suggest that the effectiveness of NCR may be dependent on the use of a dense schedule initially, and that systematic fading can increase the effectiveness of a lean schedule.     

TREATMENT OF MULTIPLY CONTROLLED PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

The aggressive behavior of a young boy with developmental delays occurred most frequently following a request to pick up his toys. The request ended a period of play and social interaction. This suggested the presence of multiple establishing operations. The initial treatment consisted of praise, a break, and access to the toys contingent on compliance. Results showed that aggression decreased only when we added social interaction to the break. Findings are discussed regarding treating multiply controlled problem behavior without extinction.     

EFFECTS OF A FIXED‐TIME SCHEDULE ON ABERRANT AND ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

Fixed‐time (FT) schedules of reinforcement have been used to decrease destructive behavior. However, the effects of FT schedules on acquisition and maintenance of appropriate behavior remain unclear. In this study, we present a case in which an FT schedule produced an increase in adaptive behavior and resulted in a significant decrease in destructive behavior.     

COMPLIANCE TRAINING AND BEHAVIORAL COVARIATION IN THE TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

The present study investigated the use of a compliance-training procedure and its effect on untreated deviant child behaviors. Three children, each generally noncompliant to adult requests and with several additional problems, such as crying, aggression, and self-injurious behavior, were trained in the compliance procedure under a multiple-baséline design across therapists. Compliance was defined as the correct response to prespecified requests. Other classes of deviant child behavior were measured continuously throughout the study but not directly reinforced. The results of the study showed that (a) increases in compliance to requests were directly related to the contingencies employed; (b) decreases in untreated deviant behaviors occurred when compliance increased, even though no direct contingencies had been placed on these behaviors; and (c) the relationship between untreated deviant behaviors and compliance appeared to be maintained by a different set of events in each of the three children. The results are discussed in terms of behavioral covariation and generalization.     

COMPETITION BETWEEN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT IN THE TREATMENT OF ESCAPE BEHAVIOR

We compared the effects of reinforcing compliance with either positive reinforcement (edible items) or negative reinforcement (a break) on 5 participants' escape-maintained problem behavior. Both procedures were assessed with or without extinction. Results showed that compliance was higher and problem behavior was lower for all participants when compliance produced an edible item rather than a break. Treatment gains were achieved without the use of extinction. Results are discussed regarding the use of positive reinforcement to treat escape behavior.     

Nondirective prompting and noncontingent reinforcement in the treatment of destructive behavior during hygiene routines.

The escape-maintained destructive behavior of a girl with mental retardation persisted during hygiene routines with directive prompting, differential reinforcement for compliance, and extinction as treatment. Using nondirective prompting and noncontingent reinforcement, destructive behavior was reduced to near-zero levels during the hygiene routine.     

A TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS OF COMPLIANCE-GAINING BEHAVIOR

This study investigated how persuasive agents modify their compliance-gaining message strategy selection when they are confronted with noncompliant male and female persuasive targets in a variety of relational contexts. Based on instrumental learning theory, it was hypothesized that persuasive agents in noninterpersonal contexts would respond to noncompliant persuasive targets by increasing their preference for punishment-oriented message strategies and decreasing their preference for reward-oriented message strategies, whereas persuasive agents in interpersonal contexts would increase their preference for reward and punishment-oriented message strategies. Results confirmed the hypothesis. Moreover, males were expected to respond to noncompliant persuasive targets with more punishment-oriented strategies than females, and females were expected to use more rewarding strategies to secure compliance from noncompliant persuasive targets. However, results indicated that females responded to noncompliant persuasive targets with more punishment and reward-oriented strategies than males. Results also showed that the effects of persuasive agents' gender on message selection is mediated by the gender of persuasive targets and the duration of the relational consequences.     

EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS AND EXTINCTION OF SELF-INJURIOUS ESCAPE BEHAVIOR

Three studies are presented in which environmental correlates of self-injurious behavior were systematically examined and later used as the basis for treatment. In Study 1, 7 developmentally disabled subjects were exposed to a series of conditions designed to identify factors that maintain self-injurious behavior: attention contingent on self-injurious behavior (positive reinforcement), escape from or avoidance of demands contingent on self-injurious behavior (negative reinforcement), alone (automatic reinforcement), and play (control). Results of a multielement design showed that each subject's self-injurious behavior occurred more frequently in the demand condition, suggesting that the behavior served an avoidance or escape function. Six of the 7 subjects participated in Study 2. During educational sessions, “escape extinction” was applied as treatment for their self-injurious behavior in a multiple baseline across subjects design. Results showed noticeable reduction or elimination of self-injurious behavior for each subject and an increase in compliance with instructions in all subjects for whom compliance data were taken. The 7th subject, whose self-injurious behavior during Study 1 occurred in response to medical demands (i.e., physical examinations), participated in Study 3. Treatment was comprised of extinction, as in Study 2, plus reinforcement for tolerance of the examination procedure, and was evaluated in a multiple baseline across settings design. Results showed that the treatment was successful in eliminating self-injurious behavior and that its effects transferred across eight new therapists and three physicians. General implications for the design, interpretation, and uses of assessment studies are discussed.     

MOMENTUM VERSUS EXTINCTION EFFECTS IN THE TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURIOUS ESCAPE BEHAVIOR

An individual's self-injurious escape behavior was treated using a high-probability instructional sequence with and without extinction. When presented alone, the high-probability sequence did not reduce self-injurious behavior. When escape extinction was implemented either alone or in combination with the high-probability sequence, self-injury decreased and compliance increased, suggesting that extinction may be a necessary component of the treatment for behavior problems maintained by escape.     

DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT OF OTHER BEHAVIOR AND NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT AS CONTROL PROCEDURES DURING THE MODIFICATION OF A PRESCHOOLER'S COMPLIANCE1

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) and noncontingent reinforcement were compared as control procedures during the modification of a 3-yr-old preschooler's compliance. The recorded reinforcer was teacher proximity (within 3 ft (0.9 m) of the subject for at least 5 sec) which was often accompanied by positive verbal comments that varied in content across experimental conditions. The verbal content during contingent reinforcement might have been: “Thank you for picking up the blocks”; during noncontingent reinforcement: “You're wearing a pretty dress”; and during DRO: “I don't blame you for not picking up because it isn't any fun”. Contingent reinforcement increased compliance in all manipulation conditions. Noncontingent reinforcement decreased compliance during two reversal conditions. However, the behavior was variable and did not decrease to the low levels reached during the two DRO reversals.     

Evaluating the separate and combined effects of positive and negative reinforcement on task compliance

Positive and negative reinforcement are effective for treating escape-maintained destructive behavior. The current study evaluated the separate and combined effects of these contingencies to increase task compliance. Results showed that a combination of positive and negative reinforcement was most effective for increasing compliance.     

家庭游戏中的母亲控制策略与儿童顺从行为

以42个3岁儿童及其母亲为被试,考察在家庭自由游戏中母亲的控制策略和儿童的顺从行为之间的关系。结果表明：（1）在亲子交往中,母亲使用直接命令的频次最多,间接命令次之,否定控制最少。（2）3岁儿童对母亲控制的顺从率为56．1％;在儿童的不顺从行为中,无技巧不顺从占优势,其中消极不顺从的频次最多。（3）母亲的弱控制策略与儿童的顺从行为相关最高;强控制策略与儿童的无技巧不顺从相关最高。（4）在儿童不顺从时,母亲的弱控制策略容易导致儿童的顺从行为,强控制策略则容易导致儿童的情境性顺从行为。     

COMBINING STIMULUS FADING,REINFORCEMENT, AND EXTINCTION TO TREAT FOOD REFUSAL

The food refusal of a 6-year-old girl with destructive behavior was treated using stimulus fading, reinforcement, and escape extinction. Intake increased and compliance with prompting procedures remained relatively stable despite the increased consumption requirement.     

MOMENTUM AND EXTINCTION EFFECTS ON SELF-INJURIOUS ESCAPE BEHAVIOR AND NONCOMPLIANCE

Previous research on applications of behavioral momentum has indicated that a high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence, in which a series of instructions for which there is a high probability of compliance is presented immediately before an instruction for which there is a low probability of compliance, is an effective method for increasing compliance. It is not dear, however, whether the procedure is effective when individuals actively attempt to escape from the instructional situation. In this study, we examined the effects of the high-p sequence, when implemented first alone and then later with an extinction component, as treatment for the self-injurious escape behavior of 2 individuals. Results showed that when the instructional sequence was implemented without extinction, rates of self-injury increased and percentage of compliance decreased. In addition, the percentage of trials occasioning escape behavior increased for both high- and low-probability instructions. When an extinction component was added to the high-p sequence, rates of self-injury and the percentage of trials containing self-injury decreased, and compliance increased. These findings suggest that extinction may be an important component of treatment when escape behavior such as self-injury accompanies noncompliance in instructional contexts and competes with compliant behavior.     

Behavioral economic influences on treatments designed to decrease destructive behavior.

In behavioral economics terms, response allocation is viewed as an exchange between the price of and the demand for reinforcers associated with various responses. In this study, behavioral economics principles were used to develop and evaluate a treatment package that reduced destructive behavior to zero while communication and compliance were increased.