The effects of establishing operations on preferences for tangible items

Researchers have demonstrated that both deprivation and satiation can affect the outcome of preference assessments for food. In the current study, paired-stimulus preference assessments for tangible items were conducted under three conditions: control, deprivation, and satiation. Three persons with developmental disabilities and 3 typically developing preschool children served as participants. The results demonstrated that deprivation and satiation influenced the outcome of preference assessments of leisure items or toys.     

The effects of preference assessment type on problem behavior

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who engage in problem behavior maintained by access to tangibles may exhibit more problem behavior during certain preference assessments. We compared three common preference assessments to determine which resulted in fewer problem behaviors. The paired stimulus and multiple‐stimulus without replacement assessments produced higher rates of problem behavior than the free operant (FO) assessment, suggesting that the FO assessment may be the most appropriate assessment for individuals who engage in problem behavior maintained by access to tangibles.     

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.     

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.     

An assessment of antecedent events influencing noncompliance in an outpatient clinic

Several studies have shown that various factors can influence noncompliance, including task novelty, rate of presentation, and task preference. This study examined the impact of selected antecedent variables on noncompliance in an outpatient clinic setting. In two experiments involving 6 typically developing children, the consequences for noncompliance remained constant. During Experiment 1, demands that included noncontingent access to adult attention were contrasted with the same demands that did not include attention within a multielement design. In Experiment 2, demands were altered by decreasing the difficulty or amount of work or providing access to attention. In both experiments, results indicated idiosyncratic responses to the manipulated variables, with decreases in noncompliance observed following introduction of one or more antecedent variables with 5 of the 6 participants. These results suggested that noncompliance can be reduced via changes in antecedent variables, including adding potential positive reinforcers to the task situation, and that it is possible to probe variables that alter noncompliance in an outpatient clinic setting.     

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 of establishing operations for self-injury maintained by escape

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) can be maintained through negative reinforcement when, in the context of training or task requirements, it produces escape as a consequence. Several studies have demonstrated methods for identifying and treating SIB maintained by negative reinforcement; however, few analyses of the establishing operations associated with demand situations have been conducted. The current series of studies illustrates a method for identifying some establishing operations for escape by systematically altering certain dimensions of the demand context while maintaining an escape contingency for SIB. Dimensions assessed in these studies included task novelty, duration of instructional sessions, and rate of task presentation. Data indicate that these variables can have establishing properties for behavior maintained by escape. Implications of the results are discussed, as are potential refinements and extensions of the assessment procedures.     

The effects of providing access to stimuli following choice making during vocal preference assessments

Two variations of a vocal paired-stimulus preference assessment were evaluated to determine whether the verbal reports of preference, given by individuals with developmental disabilities when no access to the activity was given, matched their verbal reports when access to the activity was given contingent on their choice. The results indicated different outcomes between the two methods for 6 of the 7 participants. Subsequent reinforcer assessments, conducted for 2 participants, showed that activities identified in the preference assessments that provided access contingent on selection resulted in more responding than did activities identified in the preference assessment that did not include access to items following their selection.     

On the displacement of leisure items by food during multiple-stimulus preference assessments

Previous studies have demonstrated that when food and leisure stimuli are combined in multiple-stimulus preference assessments, individuals typically select food more often, although the leisure stimuli also have known reinforcing properties. The purpose of the current study was to replicate this effect and determine its durability by examining the effect after mealtimes. Four adults who had been diagnosed with severe mental retardation were given three initial multiple-stimulus (without replacement) preference assessments (i.e., food, leisure stimuli, and combined). All participants selected food items as the most preferred stimuli in the combined assessments. Combined assessments were then administered immediately before and after the evening meal for each participant for 1 week. The results showed similar data both before and after mealtimes.     

Implications and refinements of the establishing operation concept

In this paper I discuss (a) three steps in the development of establishing operation (EO) terminology, (b) my early neglect of its possible relevance to applied behavior analysis, (c) the importance of functional analysis methodology for increasing awareness of EO issues, and (d) three comprehensive reviews that clarify the role of EOs in applied work. I then review and further analyze seven topics that require further clarification or that have been raised since my 1982 and 1993 articles: the EO evocative effect, deprivation and satiation, problem behavior maintained by attention, decreasing behavior evoked by a transitive conditioned establishing operation, EOs in the context of escape and avoidance, academic demand, and decreasing behavior evoked by a reflexive conditioned establishing operation.     

"Transitional objects" as establishing operations for thumb sucking: a case study

This study examines the effects of a "transitional object" (surgical cloth) on the thumb sucking of a 3-year-old boy in two conditions: while sitting in the lap of his physical therapist and while alone in his crib. Sucking occurred when the cloth was present and did not occur when it was absent, regardless of condition. These results are discussed in terms of establishing operations, object attachment, and application.     

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.     

Increasing accurate preference assessment implementation through pyramidal training

Preference assessments directly evaluate items that may serve as reinforcers, and their implementation is an important skill for individuals who work with children. This study examined the effectiveness of pyramidal training on teachers' implementation of preference assessments. During Experiment 1, 3 special education teachers taught 6 trainees to conduct paired-choice, multiple-stimulus without replacement, and free-operant preference assessments. All trainees acquired skills necessary to implement preference assessments with 90% or greater accuracy during the training sessions and demonstrated generalization of skills to their classrooms or clinic. During Experiment 2, 5 teachers who served as trainees in Experiment 1 trained 18 preschool teachers. All preschool teachers met the mastery criterion following training. Training teachers to implement preference assessments may increase teachers' acceptance and use of behavior-analytic procedures in school settings.     

Interactions between the effects of food and water motivating operations on food‐ and water‐reinforced responding in mice

Two experiments examined interactions between the effects of food and water motivating operations (MOs) on the food‐ and water‐reinforced operant behavior of mice. In Experiment 1, mice responded for sucrose pellets and then water reinforcement under four different MOs: food deprivation, water deprivation, concurrent food and water deprivation, and no deprivation. The most responding for pellets occurred under food deprivation and the most responding for water occurred under water deprivation. Concurrent food and water deprivation decreased responding for both reinforcers. Nevertheless, water deprivation alone increased pellet‐reinforced responding and food deprivation alone likewise increased water‐reinforced responding relative to no deprivation. Experiment 2 demonstrated that presession food during concurrent food and water deprivation increased in‐session responding for water relative to sessions where no presession food was provided. Conversely, presession water during concurrent food and water deprivation did not increase in‐session responding for pellets. These results suggest that a) the reinforcing value of a single stimulus can be affected by multiple MOs, b) a single MO can affect the reinforcing value of multiple stimuli, and c) reinforcing events can also function as MOs. We consider implications for theory and practice and suggest strategies for further basic research on MOs.     

Effect of conducting behavioral observations and ratings on staff implementation of a paired-stimulus preference assessment

We assessed the effects of trainees observing and rating the accuracy of others implementing a paired-stimulus preference assessment from video on the trainees' subsequent implementation accuracy. These observational experiences increased implementation accuracy with both a confederate and an actual consumer. These results suggest conducting observations and accuracy ratings may prepare staff to implement behavioral procedures without need of a dedicated trainer.     

The effects of methylphenidate on a functional analysis of disruptive behavior: a replication and extension

In the present investigation, a functional analysis of the disruptive behavior of a 18-year-old man who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and moderate mental retardation was conducted, both when he was taking methylphenidate and when he was not taking the medication. The results of this functional analysis demonstrated that the participant's disruptive behaviors were reinforced by access to attention only when he was not taking methylphenidate.     

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.