REPLICATION OF THE ACHIEVEMENT PLACE MODEL IN CALIFORNIA1

Attempting to replicate procedures from Achievement Place, token reinforcement procedures were used to modify savings, conversational interruptions, and table-setting of delinquent boys residing in a home-style, community based, treatment setting. The tokens (points) were redeemable for various privileges and could be earned for specified appropriate behaviors and lost for specified inappropriate behaviors. Contingent point fines reduced the frequency of interruptions. Point rewards improved table-setting, but even large point rewards did not substantially increase savings. Baseline data indicated that lateness to dinner was not a problem, as it was in Achievement Place. Withdrawal of contingent points and back-up rewards did not disrupt the clean-up behavior of two boys.     

“DO I HAVE TO BE GOOD ALL DAY?” THE TIMING OF DELAYED REINFORCEMENT AS A FACTOR IN GENERALIZATION

Delayed reinforcement, sometimes delivered just after the setting in which the critical behavior had occurred (Early), and sometimes delivered only after several further settings had been encountered (Late), was used to improve a variety of behaviors in seven preschool children, and to control their generalization. Performance of those behaviors was measured in two classroom settings: the Contingent setting, within which performance of the specified behavior determined the later (Early or Late) reinforcement, and the Generalization setting, in which there were no experimental contingencies, immediate or delayed, for the performance of the same behavior. Performances by all children in the Contingent setting were controlled by delayed reinforcement, whether Early or Late. All children showed consistent generalization from the Contingent setting to the Generalization setting during the Late condition, when reinforcement was delivered at the end of the school day. Generalization did not occur during the Early condition, when reinforcement was provided immediately after the Contingent setting (prior to the Generalization setting), unless that condition had been preceded by a Late condition (as it was for S₆ and S₇). The results suggest that the Late timing of delayed reinforcement was an effective and efficient generalization-promotion technique for performances that did not generalize spontaneously.     

Some experiments on reinforcement principles within a psychiatric ward for delinquent soldiers

Several experiments exploring the effects of certain behavioral procedures were performed on a psychiatric ward for delinquent soldiers. Within the context of a point economy, the behavioral procedures were examined for their applicability to this patient group in a hospital-ward setting. The following procedures were studied: (1) use of points as consequences for specific behaviors compared with demonstration of "model" behavior by a ward officer; (2) punishment by a point-fine to control undesired behavior; (3) use of a chaining-type reinforcement contingency to increase desired behavior; (4) differential reinforcement of the individual versus the group to increase the frequency of a verbal performance; and (5) reinforcement of reports of personal problems versus impersonal problems.     

Exteroceptive control of fixed-interval responding

Two pigeons were exposed to several fixed-interval schedules of food reinforcement. In some cases, exteroceptive stimuli associated with the passage of time were present. Such visual "clock" stimuli were found to gain almost complete control over the behavior, although at the longest fixed interval studied, the superposition of a new temporal discrimination upon the visual discrimination was observed. Where clock stimuli were made contingent upon the birds' behavior, a new form of responding was generated. This behavior was discussed in terms of positive and negative response-tendencies resulting from several stimulus factors: Some of these functioned as S(Delta)'s and secondary negative reinforcers; some functioned as S(D)'s and secondary positive reinforcers; and some were ambiguous with respect to reinforcement conditions. A "pure temporal" discrimination was superimposed upon these factors, but its exact nature was indeterminate from the present data.     

Stimulus Fading and Response Elaboration in Differential Reinforcement for Alternative Behavior

A hallmark of applied behavior analysis is the development of function‐based interventions for problem behavior. A widely recommended function‐based intervention is differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), in which reinforcement is contingent upon socially acceptable alternatives to problem behavior (e.g., teaching communication skills). Typically, DRA is introduced under rich schedules of reinforcement. Although effective for initiating behavior change, rich schedules are often impractical in the natural setting. In this study, we evaluated the extent to which a stimulus fading program could be employed to elaborate alternative behavior (mands) in two individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. For both participants, problem behavior was reduced substantially upon implementation of the DRA procedure. Further, problem behavior rates remained low and mand rates decreased to more practical levels as the DRA behavioral requirements increased during the fading program. The fading approach demonstrated in this paper may be a useful component of intervention packages for clinicians. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived trauma: its etiology and treatment

Female adolescents in treatment for emotional disturbances are often diagnosed as suffering from borderline personality disorder. The usual treatment plan for such a diagnosis is based upon limit setting and boundary reinforcement. When this fails to produce results, the diagnosis comes into question. The present paper investigated 85 female adolescents who were being treated for problems associated with differentiation and emancipation in an inpatient setting. A treatment variation was introduced which suggested that these females were more likely to be suffering from a variety of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When their ritualistic behavioral repetitions were addressed by cognitive behavioral approaches, the behavior decreased. The struggle with boundary issues and references to the historical context of misery and deprivation became less frequent when the focus shifted to current behavior. Two groups emerged through the analysis of data. No difference in behavior or response to treatment could be established, but one group lacked a specific troubling experience which is essential for a diagnosis of PTSD. Maladaptive social behavior (e.g., splitting and projection) were accepted as confounding factors associated with cognitive style rather than "borderline" symptoms. With the new approach, recidivism decreased 14% and the number of outbursts diminished 10% to 12%. The altered treatment approach confirmed the hypothesis that these adolescents were experiencing the effects of trauma (actual or perceived) rather than some disabling personality disorder.     

Human responding with mutual reinforcement: Baseline and effects of an intervention1

Pressing a key by one undergraduate provided another undergraduate with points exchangeable for money, and vice versa. Four types of response patterns were found. Points were often delivered with a delay from the last response or with no response. When a contingency that responses lost points (punishment) was added to participants who had emitted more responses than the partner had, their response rates decreased while the rates of their partners increased. These results demonstrate that, under the contingency of mutual reinforcement: (a) response patterns that had occurred between monkeys were replicated between humans; (b) obtained response‐reinforcer relations were different from those generally programmed in the basic reinforcement schedules; and (c) the behavior of the participant was controlled by changing the behavior of the partner.     

Within-session reversal learning in rhesus macaques (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca mulatta</Emphasis>)

In a midsession reversal (MSR) task, animals are typically presented with a simple, simultaneous discrimination (S1+, S2?) where contingencies are reversed (S1?, S2+) half-way through each session. This paradigm creates multiple, relevant cues that can aid in maximizing overall reinforcement. Recent research has shown that pigeons show systematic anticipatory and perseverative errors across the session, which increase as a function of proximity to the reversal trial. This behavior has been theorized to indicate primary control by temporal cues across the session, instead of the cues provided by recent reinforcement history that appear to control behavior shown by humans. Rats, however, appear to be guided by recent reinforcement history when tested in an operant context, thereby demonstrating behavior that parallels that seen in humans, but they appear to be guided by temporal cues when tested in an open-field apparatus, showing behavior more akin to that seen in pigeons. We tested rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) on the MSR with a computerized simultaneous visual discrimination to assess whether they would show errors indicative of control by time or by recent reinforcement history. When a single reversal point occurred midsession, rhesus macaques showed no anticipation of the reversal and a similar level of perseveration to rats tested in an operant setting. Nearly identical results also were observed when the monkeys were trained with a single, variable reversal point or with multiple, variable reversal points within a session. These results indicate that temporal cues are not guiding response flexibility in rhesus macaque visual discrimination.     

A component analysis of "stereotypy as reinforcement" for alternative behavior

Results from several studies have suggested that the opportunity to engage in stereotypic behavior may function as reinforcement for alternative, more socially desirable behaviors. However, the procedural components of this intervention include several distinct operations whose effects have not been analyzed separately. While measuring the occurrence of stereotypy and an alternative behavior (manipulation of leisure materials), we exposed 3 participants to three or four components of a "stereotypy as reinforcement" contingency: (a) continuous access to materials, (b) prompts to manipulate materials, (c) restricted access to stereotypy (i.e., response blocking), and (d) access to stereotypy contingent on manipulating the materials. Continuous access to materials and prompting (a and b) produced negligible results. Restriction of stereotypy (c) produced a large increase in the alternative behavior of 2 participants, suggesting that response restriction per se may occasion alternative behavior. However, contingent access to stereotypy (d) was necessary to increase the 3rd participant's object manipulation; this finding provided some support for the use of stereotypy as reinforcement for alternative behavior. Finally, when transfer of the effects of intervention was assessed during periods in which active intervention components were withdrawn, the alternative behavior was maintained for 1 participant.     

Reinforcement of visual attending in classrooms for deaf children

The efficacy of immediate tangible reinforcement in increasing appropriate visual attending for entire classes of deaf children was examined. The subjects were three classes (seven children each) in a residential school for the deaf. Boxes were installed on each child's desk, with lights that were flashed immediately contingent upon 10 sec of visual attending. Light flashes were backed up by M & M's, cereal bits, or tokens. In two of the classes, extinction sessions were also scheduled. For all classes, the reinforcement procedure increased visual attending by 50% or more, maintaining it at rates above 82%. Withdrawal of tangibles decreased attending back to baseline levels. The results support analysis of attending as operant behavior and demonstrate the applicability of reinforcement procedures in modifying these behaviors for young deaf children in a classroom setting.     

Exploring the reinforcement of compliance with "do" and "don't" requests and the side effects: a partial replication and extension

The side effects of reinforcing compliance to "do" and "don't" requests were examined in this study. The study was designed to do two things: (1) further establish that "do" and "don't" requests are functionally distinct and (2) determine which "don't" requests will show the same ability as "do" requests in effecting a change in topographically different inappropriate behaviors. Three children (2 boys and 1 girl), ages 5 yr. 2 mo. to 6 yr. 7 mo., participated. The design of the study was ABAC counterbalanced across subjects. With all three children reinforcement of "do" requests led to increased compliance with "do" requests without concurrent increase in compliance to "don't" requests. Also, reinforcing compliance to "don't" requests resulted in increased compliance to "don't" requests without concurrent increase in compliance to "do" requests. An undesirable side effect to the treatment was also noted. Two children showed a tendency to increase their rates of inappropriate behavior concurrent with increases in compliance to "don't" requests. Probable causes for this effect and concerns about the reinforcement of "don't" requests were discussed.     

Extinction-induced "despair" in the water maze, exploratory behavior and fear: effects of chronic antidepressant treatment

In former studies, we found evidence for the hypothesis that withdrawal of negative reinforcement presents a major source for stress and despair. Specifically, the removal of a hidden platform in the water maze induced extinction of previously reinforced escape behavior and behavioral immobility, indicative of "despair", which also correlated with indices of fear. Here, we tested the effects of antidepressants on extinction in the water maze, and expected that such drugs would attenuate the rate of extinction of a conditioned place preference (CPP) and also any emotionally relevant behavior that is induced by the loss of reinforcement, such as immobility. Adult male Wistar rats were trained to escape onto a hidden platform for 10 days. Daily treatment with desipramine hydrochloride (DMI, 10mg/kg) or fluoxetine (FLX, 10 mg/kg) commenced 1 day before the first of 11 extinction trials without the platform, administered 48 h apart, and continued thereafter, as the rats were tested in an open field and elevated-plus maze. As compared to controls, DMI increased the resistance-to-extinction of CPP, attenuated immobility, and increased wall climbing behavior. In the open field, DMI reduced activity levels, but was without effect on traditional fear parameters in the elevated-plus maze. FLX, by contrast, increased immobility during the extinction trials and fear in the elevated-plus maze. The withdrawal of reinforcement induced "despair" that was alleviated by the noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor DMI. The effects of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor FLX on immobility and fear may be explained in terms of its side effect profile.     

Reinforcement and instructions with mental patients

An attempt was made to modify a socially desirable response of mental patients. It was found that instructions to the patients had no enduring effect unless accompanied by reinforcement. Also, it was found that reinforcement was not effective unless the reinforcement procedure was accompanied by instructions that specified the basis for the reinforcement. Maximum change in behavior was obtained when the reinforcement procedure took advantage of the existing verbal repertoire of the patients. A significant methodological finding was that substantial modification of the behavior of psychotics could be achieved by briefly delaying, rather than withholding, food reinforcement.     

Delayed reinforcement as an indiscriminable contingency in verbal/nonverbal correspondence training

We investigated the programming of generalization and maintenance of correspondence between verbal and nonverbal behavior in a preschool setting. Four children participated in a series of multiple-baseline designs. In Experiment 1, delayed reinforcement of verbal behavior effectively controlled maintenance of correspondence with previously trained responses and also resulted in generalization of correspondence to one untrained response. As the latter effect was limited, Experiment 2 was a further assessment of the effects of delayed reinforcement of generalization of correspondence to untrained responses, and consistent generalization was shown. Experiment 2 also showed that generalization, if lost, could be recovered through use of "booster training," in which the original contingencies were reinstated for a brief period. Experiment 3 provided replications, with two additional children, of the effects of delayed reinforcement on maintenance of correspondence. Results are discussed in terms of using delayed reinforcement as an indiscriminable contingency.     

Training Correspondence by Reinforcing Intermediate and Verbal Behavior

Different procedures have been used in the past to control the correspondence between verbal and its related nonverbal behavior. This study proposes a variant of these procedures for controlling that correspondence. This variant caIls for reinforcement contingent on related intermediate behaviors. Intermediate behaviors are those that occur between verbal behavior and its related nonverbal behavior. Ten preschool chiIdren ranging in age from 3 to 5 years, served as subjects. In this study, reinforcement was applied either to promises to engage in a certain activity later or to a series of intermediate behaviors specified for each of four preschoo1 activities. Consistently higher levels of correspondence occurred after reinforcement of intermediate behaviors in comparison to reinforcement of promises.     

Effects of thinning the rate at which the alternative behavior is reinforced on resurgence of an extinguished instrumental response

Three experiments with rats examined the effects of thinning the rate of reinforcement for the alternative behavior in the resurgence paradigm. In all experiments, pressing one lever (L1) was first reinforced and then extinguished while pressing a second alternative lever (L2) was then reinforced. When L2 responding was then extinguished, L1 responses "resurged." Resurgence was always observed when L2 was reinforced on an unchanging reinforcement schedule during Phase 2. However, other rats received systematic decreases in the rate of L2 reinforcement before extinction of L2 began. Such a "thinning" procedure was predicted to reduce final resurgence by associating L1 extinction with longer and longer periods without a reinforcer. The procedure did reduce the resurgence effect observed when L2 was put on extinction (Experiment 3). However, in each experiment, thinned groups also returned to L1 responding, and continued to make L1 responses, while the reinforcement schedule for L2 was being thinned. Fine-grained analysis of behavior in time suggested that this early resurgence was not due to adventitious reinforcement of L1, occasion setting of L1 by reinforcer presentation, or the entrainment of L1 as a schedule-induced interim behavior. The results are overall consistent with the hypothesis that resurgence is a renewal effect in which extinguished L1 responding recovers when the context provided by the L2 reinforcement schedule is changed. Challenges for this view are also discussed.     

Force and rate relations in responding during variable-interval reinforcement

Four rats responded on one-minute variable-interval schedules with several variations in peak-force of response required for food reinforcement. Measures of peak force and rate were taken for the responses, which were the downward exertions of force against a static force-transducing operandum. The analysis distinguished responses, a generic class of measured behavior, from criterion responses, an operationally specified subclass required for reinforcement. Absolute rate of response showed no systematic change, but the rate of responses meeting a newly required criterion of peak-force invariably increased through changes in the absolute rate of response, the relative-frequency distributions of peak force, or some combination of both. The relative frequency of responses meeting an elevated force criterion during variable-interval reinforcement exceeded that maintained with the same criterion with continuous reinforcement. The requirement of more effortful responding for reinforcement does not necessarily reduce response rate. Conformity of the behavior to the requirement for reinforcement is the salient effect.     

The effect of a teacher's presence on the classroom behavior of conduct-problem children

Six institutionalized conduct-problem children performed in a classroom under three reinforcement conditions: (1) noncontingent reinforcement: (2) reinforcement for being on task and (3) reinforcement for the accuracy and rate fo their academic behavior. Within each of these conditions, the teacher was either present throughout the class session or absent for a portion of the session. In the teacher's absence, on-task behavior was markedly reduced and disruption was markedly increased, regardless of the reinforcement condition in operation. In contrast, the teacher's absence had no effect on academic accuracy and had a major effect on academic rate only when reinforcement was delivered noncontingently. Furthermore, the extent to which the children became disruptive in the teacher's absence was reduced when reinforcement was contingent upon academic accuracy and rate, instead of being contingent upon being on task or delivered noncontingently. It is suggested that the reinforcement of academic behavior, rather than on-task behavior or classroom social behavior, not only will improve the latter behaviors as well, but possibly also make them less dependent upon the presence and continued surveillance of the teacher.     

Stimulus control in the experimental study of cooperation

The cooperative responses of pairs of human subjects were reinforced under several stimulus conditions in two settings designed to require a "social" response, i.e., where at least one of the two persons is responding to the behavior of the other. The first task, designed by Lindsley and Cohen, required individual responses within 0.5 sec of one another for reinforcement. The second (modified) task required a delay of 3 sec between individual responses. To determine dependence of cooperation on social stimuli, rates of cooperative behavior on these tasks were compared in the presence and absence of a stimulus indicating to each subject the other's response and a stimulus which indicated the duration of the timeout after reinforcement. The results indicated that only in the modified task was a high rate of cooperation always contingent upon the presence of the social stimuli.