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AN INVESTIGATION OF DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT OF
ALTERNATIVE BEHAVIOR WITHOUT EXTINCTION
E LIZABETH S. A THENS
MARCUS AUTISM CENTER
AND T IMOTHY R. V OLLMER UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
We manipulated relative reinforcement for problem behavior and appropriate behavior using differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) without an extinction component. Seven children with developmental disabilities participated. We manipulated duration (Experiment 1), quality (Experiment 2), delay (Experiment 3), or a combination of each (Experiment 4), such that reinforcement favored appropriate behavior rather than problem behavior even though problem behavior still produced reinforcement. Results of Experiments 1 to 3 showed that behavior was often sensitive to manipulations of duration, quality, and delay in isolation, but the largest and most consistent behavior change was observed when several dimensions of reinforcement were combined to favor appropriate behavior (Experiment 4). Results suggest strategies for reducing problem behavior and increasing appropriate behavior without extinction. Key words: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, concurrent schedules, differential reinforcement, extinction, problem behavior
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Differential reinforcement is a fundamental principle of behavior analysis that has led to the development of a set of procedures used as treatment for problem behavior (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). One of the most frequently used of these procedures is the differential reinforcement of alternative behav- ior (DRA). DRA typically involves withholding reinforcers following problem behavior (extinc- tion) and providing reinforcers following ap- propriate behavior (Deitz & Repp, 1983). Pretreatment identification of the reinforcers that maintain problem behavior (i.e., functional analysis) permits the development of extinction procedures, which, by definition, must match
the function of problem behavior (Iwata, Pace, Cowdery, & Miltenberger, 1994). In addition, the reinforcer maintaining problem behavior can be delivered contingent on the occurrence of an alternative, more appropriate response. Under these conditions, DRA has been success- ful at reducing problem behavior (Dwyer- Moore & Dixon, 2007; Vollmer & Iwata, 1992). Although extinction is an important and powerful component of DRA, it is, unfortu- nately, not always possible to implement it (Fisher et al., 1993; Hagopian, Fisher, Sullivan, Acquisto, & LeBlanc, 1998). For example, a caregiver may be physically unable to prevent escape with a large or combative individual, leading to compromises in integrity of escape extinction. It would also be difficult to withhold reinforcement for behavior maintained by attention in the form of physical contact if physical blocking is required to protect the individual or others. For example, if an individual’s attention-maintained eye gouging
Address correspondence concerning this article to Elizabeth Athens, who is now at ABA Learning Centre, #100–21320 Gordon Way, Richmond, British Columbia V6W 1J8, Canada (e-mail: elizabeth@abacentre.ca). doi: 10.1901/jaba.2010.43-
We thank Brian Iwata, Lise Abrams, and Stephen Smith for their comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Portions of this manuscript were included as part of the dissertation of the first author at the University of Florida.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 2010, 43, 569–589 NUMBER 4 ( WINTER 2010)
is a threat to his or her eyesight, intervention is necessary to protect vision. Several studies have found that DRA is less effective at decreasing problem behavior when implemented without extinction (Volkert, Ler- man, Call, & Trosclair-Lasserre, 2009). For example, Fisher et al. (1993) evaluated func- tional communication training (FCT; a specific type of DRA procedure) without extinction, with extinction, and with punishment contin- gent on problem behavior. Results showed that when FCT was introduced without an extinc- tion or punishment component for problem behavior, the predetermined goal of 70% reduction in problem behavior was met with only one of three participants. FCT was more effective at reducing problem behavior when extinction was included, and the largest and most consistent reduction was observed when punishment was included. Hagopian et al. (1998) conducted a replica- tion of the Fisher et al. (1993) study and found that a predetermined goal of 90% reduction in problem behavior was not achieved with any of 11 participants exposed to FCT without extinction. When FCT was implemented with extinction, there was a 90% reduction in problem behavior for 11 of 25 applications, with a mean percentage reduction in problem behavior of 69% across all applications. McCord, Thomson, and Iwata (2001) found that DRA without extinction had limited effects on the self-injurious behavior of two individu- als, one whose behavior was reinforced by avoidance of transition and another whose behavior was reinforced by avoidance of transition and avoidance of task initiation. In both cases, DRA with extinction and response blocking produced sustained decreases in self- injury. These examinations of research on DRA without extinction have shown a bias in responding toward problem behavior when the rate and immediacy of reinforcement of problem and appropriate behavior are equiva- lent.
When considering variables that contribute to the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of DRA without extinction as a treatment for problem behavior, it is helpful to conceptualize differ- ential reinforcement procedures in terms of a concurrent-operants arrangement (e.g., Fisher et al., 1993; Mace & Roberts, 1993). Concurrent schedules are two or more schedules in effect simultaneously. Each schedule independently arranges reinforcement for a different response (Ferster & Skinner, 1957). The matching law provides a quantitative description of respond- ing on concurrent schedules of reinforcement (Baum, 1974; Herrnstein, 1961). In general, the matching law states that the relative rate of responding on one alternative will approximate the relative rate of reinforcement provided on that alternative. Consistent with the predictions of the matching law, some studies have reported reductions in problem behavior without extinc- tion when differential reinforcement favors appropriate behavior rather than problem behavior (Piazza et al., 1997; Worsdell, Iwata, Hanley, Thompson, & Kahng, 2000). For example, Worsdell et al. (2000) exam- ined the effect of reinforcement rate on response allocation. Five individuals whose problem behavior was reinforced by social positive reinforcement were first exposed to an FCT condition in which both problem and appro- priate behavior were reinforced on fixed-ratio (FR) 1 schedules. During subsequent FCT conditions, reinforcement for problem behavior was made more intermittent (e.g., FR 2, FR 3, FR 5), while appropriate behavior continued to be reinforced on an FR 1 schedule. Four of the participants showed shifts in response allocation to appropriate behavior as the schedule of reinforcement for problem behavior became more intermittent. There were several limita- tions to this research. For example, reinforce- ment rate was thinned in the same order for each participant such that reductions in prob- lem behavior may have been due in part to sequence effects. In addition, the reinforcement
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In the natural environment, caregivers may not always implement extinction procedures accurately. They also may fail to implement reinforcement procedures accurately (Shores et al., 1993). Therefore, it may be important to identify a therapeutic differential reinforcement procedure that is effective despite intermittent reinforcement of both appropriate and problem behavior. The use of concurrent VI schedules in the current experiments allowed the examina- tion of the effects of failure to withhold reinforcement following every problem behav- ior and failure to reinforce every appropriate behavior in a highly controlled analogue setting. We evaluated several manipulations that could be considered in the event that extinction either cannot or will not be implemented. In Experiments 1 to 3, we manipulated a single dimension of reinforcement such that reinforce- ment favored appropriate behavior along the lines of duration (Experiment 1), quality (Experiment 2), or delay (Experiment 3). In Experiment 4, we combined each of these dimensions of reinforcement such that rein- forcement favored appropriate behavior.
GENERAL METHOD
Participants and Setting Seven individuals with developmental disor- ders who engaged in severe problem behavior participated. These were the first seven individ- uals who engaged in problem behavior sensitive to socially mediated reinforcement (as identified via functional analysis) and were admitted to an outpatient clinic (Justin, Henry, Corey, Ken- neth, Lana) or referred for behavioral consulta- tion services at local elementary schools (George, Clark). (See Table 1 for each partic- ipant’s age, diagnosis, problem behavior, and appropriate behavior.) We selected the targeted appropriate behavior for each participant based on the function of problem behavior. For example, if an individual engaged in problem behavior to access attention, we selected a mand for attention as the appropriate behavior.
Targeted response forms were in the partici- pants’ repertoires, although the behavior typi- cally occurred at low rates. Session rooms in the outpatient clinic (3 m by 3 m) were equipped with a one-way observation window and sound monitoring. We conducted sessions for George and Clark in a classroom at their elementary schools. The rooms for all participants contained materials necessary for a session (e.g., toys, task materi- als), and the elementary school classrooms contained materials such as posters and tables (George and Clark only). With the exception of the final experimental condition assessing generality, no other children were in the room during the analyses with George and Clark. Trained clinicians served as therapists and conducted sessions 4 to 16 times per day, 5 days per week. Sessions were 10 min in duration, and there was a minimum 5-min break between each session. We used a multielement design during the functional analysis and a reversal design during all subsequent analyses.
Response Measurement and Interobserver Agreement Observers were clinicians who had received training in behavioral observation and had previously demonstrated high interobserver agreement scores (.90%) with trained observ- ers. Observers in the outpatient clinic sat behind a one-way observation window. Observers in the school sat out of the direct line of sight of the child. All observers collected data on desktop or laptop computers that provided real-time data and scored events as either frequency (e.g., aggression, disruption, self- injury, and screaming) or duration (e.g., delivery of attention, escape from instructions; see Table 1 for operational definitions of behavior). Observations were divided into 10-s bins, and observers scored the number (or duration) of observed responses for each bin. The smaller number (or duration) of observed responses within each bin was divided by the larger number and converted to agreement
572 ELIZABETH S. ATHENS and TIMOTHY R. VOLLMER
percentages for frequency measures (Bostow & Bailey, 1969). Agreement on the nonoccurrence of behavior within any given bin was scored as 100% agreement. The agreement scores for bins were then averaged across the session. Two independent observers scored the target responses simultaneously but independently during a mean of 37% of functional analysis sessions (range, 27% to 49%) and 29% of experimental analysis sessions (range, 25% to 32%). We assessed interobserver agreement for problem behavior (aggression, disruption, inap- propriate sexual behavior) and appropriate behavior (compliance and mands) of all partic- ipants and for the therapist’s behavior, which included therapist attention, delivery of tangible items, and escape from demands.
For Justin, mean agreement was 98% for aggression (range, 87% to 100%), 96% for disruption (range, 85% to 100%), 100% for inappropriate sexual behavior, and 98% for compliance (range, 86% to 100%). For Henry, mean agreement was 100% for aggression, 99.9% for disruption (range, 99.7% to 100%), and 97% for mands (range, 95% to 99%). For Corey, mean agreement was 100% for aggression and disruption and 97% for mands (range, 95% to 100%). For Kenneth, mean agreement was 98% for aggression (range, 94% to 100%), 99% for disruption (range, 97% to 100%), and 99% for mands (range, 95% to 100%). For Lana, mean agreement was 99% for aggression (range, 99% to 100%) and 100% for mands. For George, mean agreement
Table 1 Participants’ Characteristics
Name Age (years) Diagnosis Problem behavior Appropriate behavior
Justin 7 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder instructional (ADHD)
Aggression: forcefully hitting, kicking, biting others’ body parts, pinching skin between fingers, scratching others with nails, forceful pushing, and head head butting others. Behavior drew blood or caused bruises on his victims. Disruption: forcefully throwing objects and hitting walls. Inappropriate sexual behavior: touching himself or the therapist in a sexual way by contact of the hand to the torso, bottom, or genitals.
Compliance with demands such as ‘‘fold the clothing’’ or ‘‘pick up the trash.’’
Henry 8 Autism Aggression: forcefully hitting and kicking others resulting in bruising his victims. Disruption: forcefully throwing objects.
Exchange of a picture card
Corey 9 Autism and ADHD Aggression: forcefully hitting, biting, spitting, and kicking resulting in bruising or bleeding of victims. Disruption: forcefully throwing objects around room and at people, tearing paper materials.
Vocal request (‘‘May I have my toy please?’’)
Kenneth 6 Autism Aggression: forcefully hitting, scratching, and pinching resulting in bleeding or bruising of victims. Disruption: throwing objects around room and at people.
Exchange of a picture card
Lana 4 Autism Aggression: forcefully hitting, kicking, and scratching resulting in bruising or bleeding in victims.
Sign language (sign for ‘‘play’’)
George 10 Autism Aggression: forcefully hitting, kicking, and biting resulting in bruising or bleeding victims. Disruption: throwing objects around the room and at people.
Exchange of a picture card
Clark 12 Autism Aggression: hitting, kicking, and scratching resulting in bruising or bleeding of victims.
Vocal request (‘‘toy please’’)
DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT 573
briefly nodded his head (classroom) to prompt the therapist to reinforce a response. After 30 s of reinforcer access (or the pertinent duration value in Experiment 1), the therapist removed the reinforcer and reset the timer for that response. The VI clock for one response (e.g., appropriate behavior) stopped while the partic- ipant consumed the reinforcer for the other response (e.g., problem behavior). The therapist reinforced responses regardless of the interval of time since the last changeover from the other
response alternative. The reinforcer identified for problem behavior in the functional analysis served as the reinforcer for both responses during baseline. In Experiments 2 and 4, which involved manipulations of quality, participants received the same high-quality toy contingent on appropriate or problem behavior during baseline. We conducted each baseline in the experi- ment as described but labeled them differently in order to highlight the dimensions of
Figure 1. Response rates during the functional analysis for Justin, Corey, Kenneth, and Henry.
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reinforcement that varied across experiments. For example, in Experiment 1 we manipulated duration of reinforcement, and baseline is labeled 30-s/30-s dur to indicate that reinforce- ment was provided for 30 s (duration) following problem and appropriate behavior. In Experi- ment 2, we manipulated quality of reinforce- ment, and baseline is labeled 1 HQ/1 HQ to indicate that a high-quality reinforcer was delivered following appropriate and problem behavior. In Experiment 3, we manipulated delay to reinforcement, and baseline is labeled 0-s/0-s delay. In Experiment 4 we manipulated duration, quality, and delay in combination, and baseline is labeled 30-s dur 1 HQ 0-s delay/ 30-s dur 1 HQ 0-s delay.
EXPERIMENT 1: DURATION
Method The purpose of Experiment 1 was to examine whether we could obtain clinically acceptable changes in behavior by providing a longer dura- tion of access to the reinforcer following appro- priate behavior and shorter duration of access to the reinforcer following problem behavior. 30-s/10-s dur. Justin and Lana participated in the 30-s/10-s dur condition. For Justin, appro- priate behavior produced a 30-s break from instructions. Problem behavior produced a 10-s break from instructions. For Lana, appropriate behavior produced access to the most preferred toy for 30 s, and problem behavior produced access to the same toy for 10 s.
Figure 2. Response rates during the functional analysis for Lana, Clark, and George.
576 ELIZABETH S. ATHENS and TIMOTHY R. VOLLMER
of problem behavior and high rates of appro- priate behavior occurred. During the 30-s/30-s dur baseline, Lana’s problem behavior occurred at higher rates than appropriate behavior. During the 30-s/10-s dur condition, appropriate behavior occurred at higher rates, and problem behavior decreased to zero. The effects of the 30-s/30-s dur baseline and the 30-s/10-s dur condition were replicated in the final two conditions. In summary, the duration analysis indicated that for both participants, the relative rates of problem behavior and appropriate behavior were sensitive to the reinforcement duration available for each alternative in four of the five applications in which duration of reinforcement was unequal. This finding replicates the findings of previous investigations on the effects of reinforcement duration on choice responding (Catania, 1963; Lerman et al., 2002; Ten Eyck, 1970). There were several limitations to this exper- iment. For example, the participants did not show sensitivity to the concurrent VI schedules when both the rate and duration of reinforce- ment were equal. Under this arrangement, the participants would have collected all of the available reinforcers had they distributed their responding roughly equally between the two response options. The failure to distribute responding across responses indicates a bias toward problem behavior. Additional research into this failure to show sensitivity to the concurrent VI schedules is warranted but was outside the scope of this experiment. With Justin, we were unable to recapture baseline rates of problem and appropriate behavior in our final reversal to the 30-s/30-s dur baseline. This failure to replicate previous rates of responding may be a result of his recent history with a condition in which reinforcement favored appropriate behavior (i.e., the 5 s/45-s dur condition). Nevertheless, this lack of replication weakens the demonstration of experimental control with this participant. With
both participants, there was a gradual change in responding in the condition that ultimately produced a change favoring the alternative behavior, which is not surprising given that extinction was not in place. Responding under intermittent schedules of reinforcement can be more resistant to change (Ferster & Skinner, 1957).
EXPERIMENT 2: QUALITY
The purpose of Experiment 2 was to examine whether we could obtain clinically acceptable changes in behavior by providing a higher quality reinforcer following appropriate behav- ior and lower quality reinforcer following problem behavior.
Method Reinforcer assessment. We conducted a rein- forcer assessment using procedures described by Piazza et al. (1999) before conducting the quality analysis with Kenneth. The assessment identified the relative efficacy of two reinforcers (i.e., praise and reprimands) in a concurrent- operants arrangement. During baseline, the therapist stood in the middle of a room that was divided by painter’s tape and provided no social interaction; toy contact (e.g., playing with green or orange blocks on either side of the divided room) and problem behavior resulted in no arranged consequences. Presession prompt- ing occurred prior to the beginning of the initial contingent attention phase and the reversal (described below). During presession prompt- ing, the experimenter prompted Kenneth to make contact with the green and orange toys. Prompted contact with green toys resulted in praise (e.g., ‘‘Good job, Kenneth,’’ delivered in a high-pitched, loud voice with an excited tone). Prompted contact with the orange toys resulted in reprimands (e.g., ‘‘Don’t play with that,’’ delivered in a deeper pitched, loud voice with a harsh tone). Following presession prompting, we implemented the contingent attention phase. The therapist stood in the
578 ELIZABETH S. ATHENS and TIMOTHY R. VOLLMER
middle of a room divided by painter’s tape and delivered the consequences to which Kenneth had been exposed in presession prompting. The therapist delivered continuous reprimands or praise for the duration of toy contact and blocked attempts to play with two different- colored toys simultaneously. During the second contingent attention phase, we reversed the consequences associated with each color of toys such that green toys were associated with reprimands and orange toys with praise. The different-colored toys were always associated with a specific side of the room, and the therapist ensured that they remained on that side. Kenneth selected the colored toy associated with praise on a mean of 98% of all contingent attention sessions. 1 HQ/1 LQ. For Justin, problem behavior produced 30 s of escape with access to one low- quality tangible item identified in a presession MSWO. Appropriate behavior produced 30 s of escape with access to one high-quality tangible item identified in a presession MSWO. Al- though the variable that maintained his prob- lem behavior was escape, we used disparate quality toys as a way of creating a qualitative difference between the escape contingencies for appropriate and problem behavior. For Kenneth, problem behavior produced reprimands (e.g., ‘‘Don’t do that, I really do not like it, and you could end up hurting someone’’), which the reinforcer assessment identified as a less effective form of reinforce- ment than social praise. Appropriate behavior produced praise (e.g., ‘‘Good job handing me the card; I really like it when you hand it to me so nicely.’’), which was identified as a more effective form of reinforcement in the reinforcer assessment. 3 HQ/1 LQ. For Justin and Kenneth, problem behavior did not decrease to therapeu- tic levels in the 1 HQ/1 LQ condition. For Justin, within-session analysis showed that as sessions progressed during the 1 LQ/1 HQ condition, he stopped playing with the toy and
showed decreases in compliance, possibly due to reinforcer satiation. Unfortunately, we did not have access to potentially higher quality toys that Justin had requested (e.g., video game systems). Given this limited access, we increased the number of preferred toys provided contin- gent on appropriate behavior as a way of addressing potential satiation with the toys. We provided three toys selected most frequently in presession MSWO assessments. Therefore, for Justin, in the 3 HQ/1 LQ condition, appropriate behavior produced 30 s of escape with access to three high-quality toys. Problem behavior produced 30 s of escape with access to one low-quality tangible item. For Kenneth, anecdotal observations be- tween sessions showed that he frequently requested physical attention in the forms of hugs and tickles by guiding the therapist’s hands around him or to his stomach. Based on this observation, we added physical attention to the social praise available following appropriate behavior. Therefore, during the 3 HQ/1 LQ condition, appropriate behavior produced praise and the addition of physical attention (e.g., ‘‘Good job handing me the card,’’ hugs and tickles). Problem behavior produced reprimands.
Results and Discussion During the 1 HQ/1 HQ baseline condition, Justin (Figure 4, top) engaged in higher rates of problem behavior than appropriate behavior. In the 1 HQ/1 LQ condition, rates of problem behavior decreased, and appropriate behavior increased. However, toward the end of the phase, problem behavior increased, and appro- priate behavior decreased. Lower rates of problem behavior than appropriate behavior were obtained in the 3 HQ/1 LQ condition. During the subsequent 1 HQ/1 HQ baseline reversal, there was a failure to recapture previous rates of problem and appropriate behavior. Instead, problem behavior occurred at a lower rate than appropriate behavior. Despite this, problem behavior increased relative to what was
DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT 579
In summary, results of the quality analyses indicated that for both participants, the relative rates of both problem behavior and appropriate behavior were sensitive to the quality of reinforcement available for each alternative. These results replicate the findings of previous investigations on the relative effects of quality of reinforcement on choice responding (Conger & Killeen, 1974; Hoch et al., 2002; Martens & Houk, 1989; Neef et al., 1992; Piazza et al., 1997). One drawback to this study was the manipulation of both magnitude and quality of reinforcement with Justin. Given the cir- cumstances described above, a greater number of higher quality toys were provided contingent on appropriate behavior relative to problem behavior prior to obtaining a consistent shift in response allocation. As in Experiment 1, the failure to replicate prior rates of appropriate behavior in our final reversal to the 1 HQ/1 HQ baseline weakened experimental control with Justin. Again, base- line levels of behavior were not recaptured after an intervening history in which the reinforce- ment quality and magnitude favored appropri- ate behavior.
EXPERIMENT 3: DELAY
Method The purpose of Experiment 3 was to examine whether we could produce clinically acceptable changes in behavior by providing immediate reinforcement following appropriate behavior and delayed reinforcement following problem behavior. 0-s/30-s delay. Corey and Henry participated in the 0-s/30-s delay condition. For Corey, appropriate behavior produced 30-s immediate access to a high-quality toy (selected from a presession MSWO). Problem behavior pro- duced 30-s access to the same high-quality toy after a 30-s unsignaled delay. For Henry, appropriate behavior produced an immediate 30-s break from instructions. Problem behavior
produced a 30-s break from instructions after a 30-s unsignaled delay. With both participants, once a delay interval started, additional instanc- es of problem behavior did not reset the interval. When problem behavior occurred, the data collector started a timer and signaled the therapist to provide reinforcement when the timer elapsed by a discreet tap on the one-way window. If a participant engaged in appropriate behavior during the delay interval for problem behavior, the therapist immediately delivered the reinforcer for appropriate behavior (as programmed), and the delay clock for problem behavior temporarily stopped and then resumed after the reinforcement interval for appropriate behavior ended. 0-s/60-s delay. When the initial delay interval did not result in therapeutic decreases in problem behavior for Corey, we altered the delay interval such that problem behavior produced 30-s access to a high-quality toy (selected from a presession MSWO) after a 60-s unsignaled delay. Appropriate behavior contin- ued to produce 30-s immediate access to the same high-quality toy. For Henry, problem behavior produced a 30-s break from instruc- tions after a 60-s unsignaled delay, and appropriate behavior continued to produce an immediate 30-s break.
Results and Discussion During the 0-s/0-s delay baseline, Corey (Figure 5, top) engaged in higher rates of problem behavior than appropriate behavior. In the 0-s/30-s delay condition, problem behavior continued to occur at a higher rate than appropriate behavior. Given this, the 0-s/ 60-s delay condition was implemented, and a gradual decrease in problem behavior and increase in appropriate behavior was obtained. During a reversal to the 0-s/0-s delay baseline, there was an increase in problem behavior and a decrease in appropriate behavior. In the final reversal to the 0-s/60-s delay condition, Corey became ill with strep throat. His caregiver continued to bring him to the clinic and did not
DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT 581
inform us until after he began treatment. (We have indicated this period on the graph.) Following his illness, problem behavior ceased, and appropriate behavior increased to high, steady rates. During the 0-s/0-s delay baseline, Henry (Figure 5, bottom) engaged in higher rates of problem behavior than appropriate behavior. In the 0-s/30-s delay condition, Henry continued to engage in a higher rate of problem behavior than appropriate behavior. In a reversal to 0-s/ 0-s delay baseline, there was a slight increase in problem behavior from the previous condition and a decrease in appropriate behavior. During the 0-s/60-s delay condition, there was a decrease in problem behavior to zero rates and
an increase in appropriate behavior to steady rates of two per minute (perfectly efficient responding given 30-s access). These results were replicated in the reversals to 0-s/0-s delay baseline and 0-s/60-s delay condition. In summary, results of the delay analysis indicate that the relative rates of problem behavior and appropriate behavior were sensi- tive to the delay to reinforcement following each alternative. These results replicate the findings of previous investigations on the effects of unsignaled delay to reinforcement (Sizemore & Lattal, 1978; Vollmer, Borrero, Lalli, & Daniel, 1999; Williams, 1976). For example, Vollmer et al. showed that aggression occurred when it produced immediate but small rein-
Figure 5. Corey’s and Henry’s response rates during the delay analysis for problem behavior and appropriate behavior.
582 ELIZABETH S. ATHENS and TIMOTHY R. VOLLMER
ducted a reinforcer assessment using procedures similar to those described in Experiment 2. We compared the reinforcing efficacy of praise (e.g., ‘‘Good job, George’’) and physical contact (e.g., high fives, pats on the back) with reprimands (e.g., ‘‘Don’t do that’’) and physical contact (e.g., therapist using his hands to block aggression from George for safety reasons). George allocated a mean of 96% of his responses to the colored toys that resulted in praise and physical contact. 30-s dur HQ 0-s delay/5-s dur LQ 10-s delay. As in previous experiments, equal concurrent VI schedules of reinforcement (VI 20 s VI 20 s) were in place for both problem and appropriate behavior throughout the experiment. For George, appropriate behavior immediately pro- duced 30 s of high-quality attention in the form of social praise and physical attention (e.g., high fives, pats on the back). Problem behavior produced 5 s of low-quality attention in the form of social disapproval and brief blocking of aggression after a 10-s unsignaled delay. For Clark, appropriate behavior produced 30 s of immediate access to a high-preference toy. Problem behavior produced 5 s of access to a low-preference toy after a 10-s unsignaled delay. The therapist timed delays to reinforcement in the same manner as described in Experiment 3. We assessed maintenance of treatment effects and extended treatment across therapists with both participants. George’s participation con- cluded with a 1-month follow-up to evaluate the maintenance of treatment effects. His teacher conducted the final three sessions of this condition. Clark’s participation concluded with a 2-month follow-up during which his teacher conducted sessions. Teachers received written descriptions of the protocol, one-on-one training with modeling of the procedures, and feedback after each session regarding the accuracy of their implementation of the procedures.
Results and Discussion
During the 30-s dur 1 HQ 0-s delay/30-s dur 1 HQ 0-s delay baseline, George (Figure 6, top)
engaged in higher rates of problem behavior than appropriate behavior. In the 30-s dur HQ 0-s delay/5-s dur LQ 10-s delay condition, there was a decrease in problem behavior and an increase in appropriate behavior. In a reversal to baseline, there was an increase in problem behavior and a decrease in appropriate behavior. In the final reversal to the 30-s dur HQ 0-s delay/5-s dur LQ 10-s delay condition, there was a further decrease in problem behavior and an increase in appropriate behavior. At the 1- month follow-up, no problem behavior oc- curred, and appropriate behavior remained high. During the 30-s dur 1 HQ 0-s delay/30-s dur 1 HQ 0-s delay baseline, Clark (Figure 6, bottom) engaged in higher rates of problem behavior than appropriate behavior. In the initial 30-s dur HQ 0-s delay/5-s dur LQ 10-s delay condition, there was a decrease in problem behavior and an increase in appropri- ate behavior. In a reversal to baseline, there was an increase in problem behavior and a decrease in appropriate behavior. In a reversal to the 30-s dur HQ 0-s delay/5-s dur LQ 10-s delay condition, there was a further decrease in problem behavior and an increase in appropri- ate behavior. At the 2-month follow-up, no problem behavior occurred, and appropriate behavior remained high. In summary, results of the combined analyses indicate that for these participants the relative rates of problem behavior and appropriate behavior were sensitive to a combination of the quality, delay, and duration of reinforce- ment following each alternative. Compared to the first three experiments, Experiment 4 resulted in clear experimental control; there were rapid changes in response allocation across conditions and consistent replications of re- sponding under previous conditions, despite the fact that we did not include an extinction component. There were several limitations to this exper- iment. We did not conduct within-subject
584 ELIZABETH S. ATHENS and TIMOTHY R. VOLLMER
comparisons of manipulating single versus multiple dimensions of reinforcement. In addition, the response blocking included in George’s case limits conclusions regarding efficacy of treatments that do not include extinction because response blocking may function as either extinction or punishment (Lerman & Iwata, 1996). Unfortunately, George’s aggression tended to cause substantial harm to others and warranted the use of the briefest sufficient block to prevent harm. The blocking used during treatment was the same as that used in the functional analysis. The blocking response did not serve to suppress
aggression in the functional analysis, and it is doubtful that it exerted any such suppressive effects during the intervention. We did attempt to control for the addition of physical contact required following problem behavior by adding physical contact contingent on appropriate behavior. A potential strength of this investigation was that we assessed both maintenance and gener- ality of the procedures in a 1-month follow-up, with George’s and Clark’s teachers serving as therapists in several of the sessions. George’s teacher reported that he had a history of attacking peers, making his behavior too severe
Figure 6. George’s and Clark’s response rates for problem behavior and appropriate behavior.
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reinforcement schedule than programmed. The differences in obtained versus programmed reinforcement schedules were neither large nor consistent, however. Our study suggests several areas for future research. These experiments included concur- rent schedules of VI 20-s reinforcement for problem and appropriate behavior. Future research may involve similar analyses using concurrent-schedules arrangements based on naturalistic observations. The extent to which relative response allocation is similar under descriptive and experimental arrangements may suggest values of reinforcement parameters that may increase both the acceptability and integ- rity of treatment implementation by caregivers. For example, researchers could conduct descrip- tive analyses (Bijou, Peterson, & Ault, 1968) with caregivers and analyze the results using reinforcers identified in a functional analysis with procedures similar to those described by Borrero, Vollmer, Borrero, and Bourret (2005). If descriptive analysis data show that problem behavior is reinforced on average every 15 s and appropriate behavior is reinforced on average every 30 s, treatment might involve reinforcing appropriate behavior every 15 s and problem behavior every 30 s. Investigations similar to the current exper- iments could further explore the dimensions of quality, duration, and delay with more participants and with additional values of these dimensions. In addition, future research- ers could investigate the effect of concurrent manipulations of the dimensions of reinforce- ment as treatment for problem behavior. For example, when it is not possible to withhold reinforcement for problem behavior, it may be that the rate of reinforcement can continue to favor problem behavior if several dimensions of reinforcement, such as magnitude, quality, and duration, favor appropriate behavior. This area of research may result in the development of more practical and widely adopted inter- ventions for problem behavior.
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