Resurgence and renewal are treatment-relapse phenomena in which previously extinguished behavior returns after the conditions for an alternative response worsen or the context changes, respectively. Recently, researchers have evaluated the prevalence of resurgence and renewal when treating destructive behavior with functional communication…

Animal trainers working in scent detection programs are responsible for arranging training contingencies as well as for observing and recording animal behavior. We provided behavioral skills training (BST) to animal trainers working with scent detection rats to improve the treatment integrity of scent-detection research sessions. We evaluated the…

Stereotypical behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement often does not result in harm but may be undesirable in some situations. In the current investigation, participants were 2 individuals who engaged in nonharmful stereotypical responses shown in an analogue functional analysis to be insensitive to social contingencies. After bringing…

Although previous research indicates that certain types of attention (i.e., statements related to behavior, tickles) may be differentially reinforcing, only one or two forms of attention are typically provided contingent on problem behavior during the attention condition in experimental functional analyses. In the present investigation, various…

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) was evaluated as treatment for three repetitive behaviors in an 11-year-old boy using a multiple baseline across behaviors design. The repetitive behaviors and associated self-reported distress were eliminated. At 3-month follow-up, the frequency for two of the three behaviors returned to baseline levels.…

Functional assessment is redefining the standards for clinical interventions with problem behavior and reemphasizing the importance of basic behavioral mechanisms. It has shown the importance of complex patterns of behavioral control, functional assessment as an ongoing process, and the importance of attention to antecedent variables. Future…

In the current study, momentary time sampling (MTS) and partial-interval recording (PIR) were compared to continuous-duration recording of stereotypy and to the frequency of self-injury during a treatment analysis to determine whether the recording method affected data interpretation. Five previously conducted treatment analysis data sets were…

Multiple sleep problems of a 2-year-old girl improved following treatment with a faded bedtime with response cost procedure. If she fell asleep within 15 minutes of the scheduled bedtime, her bedtime the following night was 30 minutes earlier; however, if she did not fall asleep it was 30 minutes later. (Author/CR)

Discusses behavioral momentum and the general behavioral relation between the persistence of behavior and the rate of reinforcement obtained in a given situation. Strategies for establishing the generality of behavioral relations are reviewed, followed by a brief summary of evidence for the generality of behavioral momentum. (Author/CR)

Reviews laboratory research on behavioral momentum conducted with pigeons and summarizes its findings and their generality to people, including those with mental retardation. Discusses the high-probability procedure used to establish compliance in clinical settings and based in part on an extension of the momentum metaphor. (CR)

This commentary discusses John Nevin's article on establishing compliance via behavioral momentum involving high-probability procedures, and questions whether applications of behavioral momentum can be derived from the theory, whether applications could have been developed if the theory not been formulated, and whether the theory will add…

A functional analysis of eye poking by a four-year-old female with severe developmental disabilities and visual impairments showed that high rates occurred in all conditions. Attempts to identify the maintaining variable found that eye poking decreased only when finger-eye contact was interrupted by blocking the response. (Author/DB)

A functional analysis involving antecedent events was conducted with four students identified as having behavior problems. Off-task behavior was measured while task difficulty and level of adult attention was manipulated during analog sessions. Results revealed higher rates of off-task behavior during difficult tasks and improved behavior when…