ESTABLISHING OPERATIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ASSESSMENT,TREATMENT, AND PREVENTION OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

This paper seeks to integrate Michael's (1982, 1993) discussion of the concept of the establishing operation (EO) with existing conceptual and empirical analyses of problem behavior in people with developmental disabilities. The paper begins with a summary of Michael (1993), which seeks to describe his concept of the EO and place it briefly in historical context. The role of EOs in evoking and establishing motivation for problem behavior is considered in some detail. A case is made for the greater consideration of EOs in the functional analysis of problem behavior, and specific suggestions for detecting the operation of conditioned establishing operations are offered. Turning to treatment, the paper considers the role played by EOs in existing procedures and discusses the development of treatment strategies that seek to modify EOs, extinguish EOs, and modify the responses evoked by EOs. Finally, consideration is given to the implications of EOs for the more systemic treatment and prevention of problem behavior.     

Motivating operations and terms to describe them: some further refinements

Over the past decade, behavior analysts have increasingly used the term establishing operation (EO) to refer to environmental events that influence the behavioral effects of operant consequences. Nonetheless, some elements of current terminology regarding EOs may interfere with applied behavior analysts' efforts to predict, control, describe, and understand behavior. The present paper (a) describes how the current conceptualization of the EO is in need of revision, (b) suggests alternative terms, including the generic term motivating operation (MO), and (c) provides examples of MOs and their behavioral effects using articles from the applied behavior analysis literature.     

Current research on the influence of establishing operations on behavior in applied settings

This article provides commentary on research published in the special section of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis devoted to establishing operations (EOs). Three major themes are highlighted: (a) identification of the influence of EOs on behavior in applied settings, (b) the use of EO manipulation as an assessment tool, and (c) the development of interventions based on the alteration of EO influences. Methodological issues pertaining to research on EOs are addressed, and suggestions for future investigation are provided.     

Mands for information generalize across establishing operations

The current study extends the literature on teaching mands for information by assessing whether mands generalize across different establishing operations (EOs). Three children with autism were taught to perform multiple behavior chains, 3 of which included a common response (e.g., “Where is the spoon?”) used for different purposes. An interrupted-behavior-chain procedure was used to contrive the EO for each mand. After teaching a mand for information under 1 EO, the remaining chains were interrupted to determine whether the mand had generalized to different EOs. For all participants, mands for information generalized across EOs. For 2 participants, a new mand-for-information topography emerged after training.     

Using neutralizing routines to reduce problem behaviors.

Establishing operations can alter problem behaviors by changing the momentary value of reinforcers associated with those problem behaviors. If establishing operations (EOs) precede the presentation of discriminative stimuli (S^Ds) for problem behaviors, it may be possible to introduce neutralizing routines that both reduce the value of reinforcers associated with problem behaviors and decrease the occurrence of problem behaviors. The present study examined this logic with 3 adolescents with severe intellectual disabilities. Initial functional analyses indicated that problem behaviors were motivated by either escape or tangible items. Functional assessment interviews identified possible establishing operations that were associated with the occurrence of problem behavior and indicated that these establishing operations occurred over 1 hr before presentation of the S^D for problem behaviors. We used an alternating treatments design to examine problem behaviors during instruction under four conditions: EO + S^D, S^D only, EO only, and neither S^D nor EO. For all 3 participants, problem behaviors occurred almost exclusively during the EO + S^D condition. A further analysis compared the EO + S^D condition when neutralizing routines were embedded between the EO and the S^D. Results from an ABAB reversal design supported the effectiveness of neutralizing routines to reduce these problem behaviors. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Evaluating the effects of functional communication training in the presence and absence of establishing operations

We conducted functional analyses of aberrant behavior with 4 children with developmental disabilities. We then implemented functional communication training (FCT) by using different mands across two contexts, one in which the establishing operation (EO) that was relevant to the function of aberrant behavior was present and one in which the EO that was relevant to the function of aberrant behavior was absent. The mand used in the EO-present context served the same function as aberrant behavior, and the mand used in the EO-absent context served a different function than the one identified via the functional analysis. In addition, a free-play (control) condition was conducted for all children. Increases in relevant manding were observed in the EO-present context for 3 of the 4 participants. Decreases in aberrant behavior were achieved by the end of the treatment analysis for all 4 participants. Irrelevant mands were rarely observed in the EO-absent context for 3 of the 4 participants. Evaluating the effectiveness of FCT across different contexts allowed a further analysis of manding when the establishing operations were present or absent. The contributions of this study to the understanding of functional equivalence are also discussed.     

Relative influences of establishing operations and reinforcement contingencies on self-injurious behavior during functional analyses

In the typical functional analysis in which the antecedent and consequent events associated with problem behavior are manipulated, the control condition involves elimination of both the relevant establishing operation (EO) and its associated contingency through a schedule of noncontingent reinforcement (usually fixed-time [FT] 30 s). In some functional analyses, however, antecedent events are manipulated in the absence of differential consequences, and a common test condition in such analyses also involves the delivery of reinforcement on an FT 30-s schedule. Thus, the same schedule of reinforcement (FT 30 s) is not considered to be an EO in the former type of analysis but is considered to be an EO in the latter. We examined the relative influences of EOs and reinforcement contingencies on problem behavior by exposing 6 individuals who engaged in self-injurious behavior (SIB) to four combinations of functional analysis conditions: EO present/contingency present, EO absent/contingency present, EO present/contingency absent, and EO absent/contingency absent. Results indicated that the only condition in which high rates of SIB were observed consistently was one in which the EO and the reinforcement contingency were both present. Implications of these results for the design of functional analysis test and control conditions are discussed.     

Functional analysis and treatment of problem behavior evoked by noise.

We conducted a four‐part investigation to develop methods for assessing and treating problem behavior evoked by noise. In Phase 1, 7 participants with developmental disabilities who were described as being hypersensitive to specific noises were exposed to a series of noises under controlled conditions. Results for 2 of the participants verified that noise was apparently an aversive event. In Phase 2, results of functional analyses indicated that these 2 participants' problem behaviors were maintained by escape from noise. In Phase 3, preference assessments were conducted to identify reinforcers that might be used during treatment. Finally, in Phase 4, the 2 participants' problem behaviors were successfully treated with extinction, stimulus fading, and a differential‐reinforcement‐of‐other‐behavior (DRO) contingency (only 1 participant required DRO). Treatment effects for both participants generalized to their home environments and were maintained during a follow‐up assessment. Procedures and results were discussed in terms of their relevance to the systematic assessment of noise as an establishing operation (EO) and, more generally, to the identification of idiosyncratic EO influences on behavior.     

Recent advances in the modification of establishing operations to reduce aberrant behavior

The term establishing operation (EO) refers to an event that alters the reinforcement effects of a particular stimulus. Although EOs have received more attention in the basic, non-human literature, reports of EO manipulations in the treatment of aberrant behavior are increasingly appearing. We discuss EO interventions for behaviors maintained by social positive reinforcement (e.g., noncontingent reinforcement), social negative reinforcement (e.g., noncontingent escape, curricular revision, demand fading), and automatic reinforcement (e.g., environmental enrichment, noncontingent stimulation, reduced aversive stimulation). Suggestions for future research concerning both specific EO interventions and the general manipulation of EOs as a behavior-change technique are provided. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do establishing operations alter reinforcement effectiveness?

Michael (this issue) defines an establishing operation (EO), such as food deprivation, as (a) altering the effectiveness of reinforcement as well as (b) evoking behavior. Although this dual role for EOs is compelling, it is possible that such operations have only evocative effects (i.e., function only in the form of antecedent control). The main question raised here is how the reinforcement-altering function can be experimentally analyzed. Evolutionary and conceptual implications of the two-function EO are also considered.     

Further evaluation of differential exposure to establishing operations during functional communication training

Recent research findings (DeRosa, Fisher, & Steege, 2015 ) suggest that minimizing exposure to the establishing operation (EO) for destructive behavior when differential reinforcement interventions like functional communication training (FCT) are introduced may produce more immediate reductions in destructive behavior and prevent or mitigate extinction bursts. We directly tested this hypothesis by introducing FCT with extinction in two conditions, one with limited exposure to the EO (limited EO) and one with more extended exposure to the EO (extended EO) using a combined reversal and multielement design. Results showed that the limited‐EO condition rapidly reduced destructive behavior to low levels during every application, whereas the extended‐EO condition produced an extinction burst in five of six applications. We discuss these findings in relation to the effects of EO exposure on the beneficial and untoward effects of differential reinforcement interventions.     

A preliminary examination of the evocative effects of the establishing operation

We attempted to isolate the evocative effects of the establishing operation for positively reinforced problem behavior with 2 participants. The study consisted of three phases. First, a functional analysis identified tangible items (Participant 1) and attention (Participant 2) as maintaining problem behavior. Second, access to tangible items and attention was systematically controlled (continuous access vs. no access) immediately prior to functional analysis sessions in which these consequences were delivered contingent on problem behavior. Results of this phase indicated that problem behavior occurred at higher levels when access to tangible items and attention was restricted. In the third phase, prior access was again controlled, but problem behavior produced no consequences. Results of this final phase indicated that problem behavior occurred at higher levels during extinction sessions when participants did not have prior access to the reinforcers.     

Contriving transitive conditioned establishing operations to establish derived manding skills in adults with severe developmental disabilities

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate derived manding skills in 2 adults with severe developmental disabilities and language deficits by contriving transitive conditioned establishing operations. Specifically, we evaluated whether a history of reinforced conditional discrimination learning would ultimately result in a derived mand repertoire, in which participants manded for items that were needed to complete chained tasks. After mastering the first three phases of the picture exchange communication system (PECS), participants were taught to mand for the needed items by exchanging pictures of the items for the items themselves. They were then taught to conditionally relate the dictated names of the items to the corresponding pictures of the items and to relate the dictated names to the corresponding printed words. We then tested, in the absence of reinforcement, whether participants would mand for the items needed to complete the chained tasks using text rather than pictures. Both participants showed the emergence of derived mands and some derived stimulus relations as a result of this instruction. Some of the derived relations were shown to be intact at 1-month follow-up, and scores on derived mand probes were higher at follow-up than before training. In addition, the 2 participants vocally requested the needed items on maintenance test probes, a skill that was never trained and was not previously in their repertoires. These results suggest that a history of reinforced relational responding may facilitate the expansion of a number of verbal skills and emphasize the possibility of a synthesis of Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior and derived stimulus relations into language-training efforts for persons with significant disabilities.     

Analysis and treatment of problem behavior evoked by music

The present study investigated the effects of differential negative reinforcement of other behavior (DNRO) on problem behavior evoked by music in a 7-year-old child with pervasive developmental disorder. Following an auditory stimulus assessment, DNRO was used to reduce problem behavior to near-zero levels. Results are discussed in terms of identifying establishing operations to govern treatment options and the use of negative reinforcement when arbitrarily imposed positive reinforcers do not compete with escape from auditory stimulation.     

ANTECEDENT INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

The influence of antecedent events on behavior disorders has been relatively understudied by applied behavior analysts. This lack of research may be due to a focus on consequences as determinants of behavior and a historical disagreement on a conceptual framework for describing and interpreting antecedent variables. We suggest that antecedent influences can be described using terms derived from basic behavioral principles and that their functional properties can be adequately interpreted as discriminative and establishing operations. A set of studies on assessment and treatment of behavior disorders was selected for review based on their relevance to the topic of antecedent events. These studies were categorized as focusing on assessment of antecedent events, antecedent treatments for behavior disorders maintained by either positive or negative reinforcement, and special cases of antecedent events in behavior disorders. Some directions for future research on antecedent influences in the analysis and treatment of behavior disorders are discussed.     

REVIEW OF ANTECEDENT CONTROL: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT,EDITED BY J. LUISELLI AND M. CAMERON

This review identifies antecedent manipulation and the role of establishing operations as primary themes of the book as well as crucial elements in the design of a broadly applicable behavior support technology. The discussion of the book's thematic treatment of these elements highlights the traditional importance of elaborate antecedent interactions within the field of behavior analysis and welcomes researchers' efforts to broaden their credibility and influence through comprehensive and durable applications of behavior support technologies in a variety of natural settings. The reviewers rate the book as representative of the most recent developments and directions within applied behavior support.     

ATTENTION AS AN ESTABLISHING OPERATION AND AS REINFORCEMENT DURING FUNCTIONAL ANALYSES

Results of functional analyses for 36 individuals whose self-injurious behavior (SIB) was maintained by attention indicated that SIB was highest during a condition in which the individual was deprived of attention (establishing operation) except as a consequence (reinforcer). Deprivation in the absence of reinforcement produced marginal increases in SIB in 5 individuals, and a relatively rich schedule of noncontingent attention produced the lowest levels of SIB. These results suggest that clearer functional analysis outcomes are likely to be obtained when test conditions contain both an establishing operation to evoke behavior as well as a reinforcement contingency to maintain it.     

Using simultaneous presentation to increase vegetable consumption in a mildly selective child with autism

A multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of adding condiments on the consumption of previously rejected foods (vegetables). Adding condiments produced increased food acceptance across three food items. Data are discussed in relation to conditioned food preferences and establishing operations.     

Teaching children with autism to request help with difficult tasks

We taught three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to request help using an interrupted chain procedure during which we manipulated task materials such that the child was either incapable or capable of independently completing a link of a behavior chain. We initially observed undesirable generalization of requests for help during capable trials when teaching was introduced during incapable trials for two participants and to a lesser extent for the third participant. However, with repeated exposure to differential prompting and reinforcement across incapable and capable trials, differential responding was observed across EO‐present and EO‐absent trials for all three participants during both teaching sets and one generalization set that was never exposed to teaching procedures. These findings suggest that it is important to consider the antecedent conditions under which the response should occur when teaching children to request help.