A comparison of differential reinforcement procedures for treating automatically reinforced behavior

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit stereotypy, which can be socially stigmatizing, interfere with daily living skills, and affect skill acquisition. We compared differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) when neither procedure included response blocking or interruption for (a) reducing stereotypy, (b) increasing task engagement, and (c) increasing task completion. DRA contingencies yielded superior outcomes across each measure when evaluated with 3 individuals with autism spectrum disorder.     

Concurrent reinforcement schedules: behavior change and maintenance without extinction

We evaluated the effects of concurrent schedules of reinforcement on negatively reinforced problem behavior and task completion with 3 children with autism. Results indicated that problem behavior occurred at high levels and relatively few tasks were completed when problem behavior produced a break (from tasks) and task completion produced either no consequence or a break. By contrast, problem behavior was eliminated and tasks were completed when problem behavior produced a break and task completion produced a break with access to preferred activities. Treatment gains were maintained without the use of extinction when the response requirement was increased and the schedule of reinforcement was thinned.     

Toward an empirical method for identifying matched stimulation for automatically reinforced behavior: a preliminary investigation

The effects of noncontingent matched stimulation (NMS) and response blocking on a boy's stereotypic behavior were evaluated using a multiple schedule that contained three 15-min components (preintervention, intervention, and postintervention). Results showed that stereotypy was always higher after response blocking than before response blocking and was always lower after NMS than before NMS. These results suggest that response blocking may have produced deprivation for the product of stereotypy and that NMS may have provided stimulation that was similar to the product of stereotypy.     

Destructive behavior increases as a function of reductions in alternative reinforcement during schedule thinning: A retrospective quantitative analysis

The behavioral processes determining the magnitude of the resurgence of destructive behavior during reinforcement schedule thinning have yet to be described, despite an uptick in prevalence research on the topic. As predicted by Resurgence as Choice theory, recent animal research has found that resurgence increases with the magnitude of a downshift in alternative reinforcement. Here we reanalyze the data from 2 recent prevalence studies to determine whether the size of the decrease in alternative reinforcement availability predicts the magnitude of resurgence in the clinic. Results from this retrospective analysis suggest that resurgence of destructive behavior increases significantly with decreases in the availability of alternative reinforcement. Implications for future research and translations of theoretical analyses to the clinic are discussed.     

Positive behavioral contrast in 3-month-old infants on multiple conjugate reinforcement schedules.

Positive behavioral contrast was assessed in two experiments with young infants using multiple conjugate reinforcement schedules. Reinforcement was produced by footkicks which activated the objects of an overhead crib mobile in a manner proportional to the vigor and rate of responding. Distinctive color/pattern cues on the sides of the objects served as discriminative stimuli for components of the multiple schedule. In Experiment 1, infants were trained with one cue (S+) only before insertion of S+ into a multiple schedule with an extinction component. A control group received S+ throughout all sessions. In Experiment 2, a multiple schedule was introduced at the outset, and responses in both components were reinforced before the introduction of extinction in the second component. In a final phase, reinforcement was reintroduced into the second component. Positive behavioral contrast occurred in both experiments. Response reduction in the extinction component was seen only in individual relative response curves. In both experiments, negative emotional behaviors accompanied the extinction component, and in Experiment 1, cooing accompanied presentations of S+.     

The role of adventitious reinforcement during differential reinforcement of other behavior: A systematic replication

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is commonly used to decrease problem behavior by presenting reinforcers contingent upon the absence of a target response. Although it is well demonstrated that DROs decrease response rates, the processes producing these decreases are not well understood. The present study systematically replicated previous research assessing whether adventitious reinforcement of alternative behavior contributes to the effectiveness of DRO. We presented university students with two options on a computer and reinforced target responding on a variable-ratio schedule. Next, we compared decreases in target-response rates and any increases in alternative responding during DRO schedules versus yoked variable-time schedules or extinction probes. DRO schedules resulted in the lowest target-response rate and highest alternative-response rate. These findings generally provide some support for the adventitious reinforcement of “other” behavior.     

Individual and combined effects of noncontingent reinforcement and response blocking on automatically reinforced problem behavior

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and response blocking are 2 common interventions for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. We implemented NCR and blocking with 1 boy and found this combined intervention to be effective at decreasing high rates of automatically reinforced pica. With another child, we compared the effects of blocking alone to the combined intervention. With the third child, we compared NCR alone and blocking alone to the combined intervention. Results showed that the combined intervention was effective at reducing automatically reinforced problem behavior while moderate to high levels of item engagement maintained. When evaluated individually, neither NCR nor blocking was sufficient to reduce problem behavior to clinically significant levels.     

Prevention of the development of problem behavior: A laboratory model

Few studies have isolated the preventive efficacy of common behavioral strategies like noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). The purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate a laboratory model of these two problem behavior prevention strategies. Undergraduate students participated in a computer simulation, in which clicks to a designated area of the computer screen were analogous to the emergence of problem behavior. The responding of participants in a control group, who experienced a percentile schedule used to mimic the shaping of problem behavior, was compared to that of participants in two experimental groups, each with a history of either DRA or NCR. Between‐subjects group comparisons showed that both intervention strategies were equally effective in the prevention of our analog to problem behavior when compared to the control group. The strengths and limitations of a laboratory model for prevention are discussed in light of recent applied work in this area.     

A comparison of dense-to-lean and fixed lean schedules of alternative reinforcement and extinction

Behavior-reduction interventions typically employ dense schedules of alternative reinforcement in conjunction with operant extinction for problem behavior. After problem behavior is reduced in the initial treatment stages, schedule thinning is routinely conducted to make the intervention more practical in natural environments. In the current investigation, two methods for thinning alternative reinforcement schedules were compared for 3 clients who exhibited severe problem behavior. In the dense-to-lean (DTL) condition, reinforcement was delivered on relatively dense schedules (using noncontingent reinforcement for 1 participant and functional communication training for 2 participants), followed by systematic schedule thinning to progressively leaner schedules. During the fixed lean (FL) condition, reinforcement was delivered on lean schedules (equivalent to the terminal schedule of the DTL condition). The FL condition produced a quicker attainment of individual treatment goals for 2 of the 3 participants. The results are discussed in terms of the potential utility of using relatively lean schedules at treatment outset.     

Identifying predictive behavioral markers: A demonstration using automatically reinforced self‐injurious behavior

Predictive biomarkers (PBioMs) are objective biological measures that predict response to medical treatments for diseases. The current study translates methods used in the field of precision medicine to identify PBioMs to identify parallel predictive behavioral markers (PBMs), defined as objective behavioral measures that predict response to treatment. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by examining the accuracy of two PBMs for automatically reinforced self‐injurious behavior (ASIB). Results of the analysis indicated both functioned as good to excellent PBMs. We discuss the compatibility of this approach with applied behavior analysis, describe methods to identify additional PBMs, and posit that variables related to the mechanisms of problem behavior and putative mechanism of treatment action hold the most promise as potential PBMs. We discuss how this technology could guide individualized treatment selection, inform our understanding of problem behavior and mechanisms of treatment action, and help determine the conditional effectiveness of clinical procedures.     

Contingency and stimulus change in chained schedules of reinforcement

Higher rates of pecking were maintained by pigeons in the middle component of three-component chained fixed-interval schedules than in that component of corresponding multiple schedules (two extinction components followed by a fixed-interval component). This rate difference did not occur in equivalent tandem and mixed schedules, in which a single stimulus was correlated with the three components. The higher rates in components of chained schedules demonstrate a reinforcing effect of the stimulus correlated with the next component; the acquired functions of this stimulus make the vocabulary of conditioned reinforcement appropriate. Problems in defining conditioned reinforcement arise not from difficulties in demonstrating reinforcing effects but from disagreements about which experimental operations allow such reinforcing effects to be called conditioned.     

Further investigation of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction for escape‐maintained destructive behavior

Previous research indicates that manipulating dimensions of reinforcement during differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) for situations in which extinction cannot be implemented is a potential approach for treating destructive behavior. Therefore, we replicated and extended previous research by determining (a) the conditions under which DRA without extinction decreased and maintained low levels of destructive behavior and (b) whether intervention effects maintained during reinforcement schedule thinning for the alternative response (i.e., compliance). Results showed that effective treatments were developed in the absence of extinction by manipulating the quality of reinforcement for compliance for 2 participants and by combining manipulations of the magnitude and quality of reinforcement for compliance for the other 2 participants. However, maintaining treatment effects during reinforcement schedule thinning required combining the magnitude and quality of reinforcement for 3 of the 4 participants. We discuss the clinical utility of this approach, review limitations of the study, and suggest directions for future research.     

Development and modification of a response class via positive and negative reinforcement: a translational approach

When responses function to produce the same reinforcer, a response class exists. Researchers have examined response classes in applied settings; however, the challenges associated with conducting applied research on response class development have recently necessitated the development of an analogue response class model. To date, little research has examined response classes that are strengthened by negative reinforcement. The current investigation was designed to develop a laboratory model of a response class through positive reinforcement (i.e., points exchangeable for money) and through negative reinforcement (i.e., the avoidance of scheduled point losses) with 11 college students as participants and clicks as the operant. Results of both the positive and negative reinforcement evaluations showed that participants usually selected the least effortful response that produced points or the avoidance of point losses, respectively. The applied implications of the findings are discussed, along with the relevance of the present model to the study of punishment and resurgence.     

A comparison of ratio and interval reinforcement schedules with comparable interreinforcement times

Pigeons were trained to peck keys on fixed-ratio and fixed-interval schedules of food reinforcement. Both schedules produced a pattern of behavior characterized as pause and run, but the relation of pausing to time between reinforcers differed for the two schedules even when mean time between reinforcers was the same. Pausing in the fixed ratio occupied less of the time between reinforcers for shorter interreinforcer times. For two of three birds, the relation was reversed at longer interreinforcer times. As an interreinforcer time elapsed, there was an increasing tendency to return to responding for the fixed interval, but a roughly constant tendency to return to responding for the fixed-ratio schedule. In Experiment 1 these observations were made for both single-reinforcement schedules and multiple schedules of fixed-ratio and fixed-interval reinforcement. In Experiment 2 the observations were extended to a comparison of fixed-ratio versus variable-interval reinforcement schedules, where the distribution of interreinforcement times in the variable interval approximated that for the fixed ratio.     

A method for identifying satiation versus extinction effects under noncontingent reinforcement schedules

We evaluated one method for determining whether response suppression under noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is a function of satiation or extinction. Three individuals with developmental disabilities who engaged in self-injurious behavior (SIB) or aggression participated. Results of functional analyses indicated that their problem behavior was maintained by social-positive reinforcement. NCR procedures, individualized for each participant, were implemented in a multiple baseline across subjects design and were associated with decreases in all participants' problem behavior. Identification of the mechanism by which NCR produced these effects was based on examination of cumulative records showing response patterns during and immediately following each NCR session. Satiation during NCR should lead to a temporary increase in responding during the post-NCR (extinction) period due to a transition from the availability to the unavailability of reinforcement (satiation to deprivation). Alternatively, extinction during NCR should reveal no increase in responding during the extinction period because the contingency for the problem behavior would remain unchanged and the transition from satiation to deprivation conditions would be irrelevant. Results suggested that the operative mechanisms of NCR were idiosyncratic across the 3 participants and appeared to change during treatment for 1 of the participants.     

A translational comparison of contingency‐based progressive delay procedures and their effects on contextually appropriate behavior

Schedule thinning is an essential step in treating problem behavior, yet little research has been conducted to determine the method associated with sustained treatment effects. A frequently used method for thinning reinforcement is contingency‐based progressive delay, which requires the individual to meet some criteria before the reinforcers are returned. The response requirement could be dependent on (a) contextually appropriate behavior (differential reinforcement of alternative behavior‐based thinning) or (b) absence of problem behavior (differential reinforcement of other behavior‐based thinning). A translational arrangement with college students was implemented to determine the effects of these 2 response requirements. Tolerance was observed regardless of thinning method and was indicated by low rates of responding to the analogue problem behavior; however, more contextually appropriate behavior occurred during differential reinforcement of alternative behavior‐based thinning. These results support the use of response requirements for behaviors that are expected of the individual when reinforcement is not immediately forthcoming.     

Operant renewal of desirable behavior in a simulated workplace: A translational model

Organizational settings are replete with changing stimulus contexts and contingencies, which makes relapse a particularly relevant framework for understanding the ways in which controlling stimuli influence employee responding. The purpose of the current study was to develop a translational model to assess renewal of desirable behavior in a simulated workplace with neurotypical adults. Experiment 1 assessed renewal of desirable behavior using a computerized check processing task. Experiment 2 extended the findings and the translational utility of the experimental arrangement to implementation of a behavior-analytic teaching procedure. Results across both experiments demonstrated renewal of desirable behavior. Overall, the current methodology and findings extend the human operant literature on renewal and demonstrate a translational model that brings together operant renewal and organizational behavior management.     

A comparison of procedures for programming noncontingent reinforcement schedules

We compared two methods for programming and thinning noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) schedules during the treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB). The participants were 3 individuals who had been diagnosed with mental retardation. Results of functional analyses indicated that all participants' SIB was maintained by positive reinforcement (i.e., access to attention or food). Following baseline, the effects of two NCR schedule-thinning procedures were compared in multielement designs. One schedule (fixed increment) was initially set at fixed-time 10-s reinforcer deliveries and was also thinned according to fixed-time intervals. The other schedule (adjusting IRT) was initially determined by participants' baseline interresponse times (IRTs) for SIB and was thinned based on IRTs observed during subsequent treatment sessions. Results indicated that both schedules were effective in initially reducing SIB and in maintaining response suppression as the schedules were thinned.     

Multiple schedules in practical application: Research trends and implications for future investigation

Researchers began studying multiple schedules in basic laboratories, but recent advances have extended research on multiple schedules to a wide variety of socially significant applications, especially during the last decade. Applied researchers have used multiple schedules to (a) promote stimulus control over high‐rate appropriate behaviors, (b) thin the schedule of reinforcement following functional communication training, and (c) obtain stimulus control over problem behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement. In the current paper, we reviewed 31 studies with 147 applications identified through a search of the applied literature on multiple schedules. Using these studies, we (a) reviewed the empirical literature on multiple schedules, (b) recommended multiple‐schedule procedures that serve as best practice guidelines for applied behavior analysts, (c) identified the generality and boundaries of current knowledge about the effectiveness of multiple schedules, and (d) critically analyzed the literature to provide directions for future multiple‐schedule research.