Few studies have evaluated ways to thin punishment schedules. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using variable ratio (VR) schedules to thin the time-out schedule gradually. Warnings were used in some conditions to assist potentially with schedule thinning, but this analysis was limited. Participants were 3 young students who…

Contingent incentives can reduce substance abuse. Escalating payment schedules, which begin with a small incentive magnitude and progressively increase with meeting the contingency, increase smoking abstinence. Likewise, descending payment schedules can increase cocaine abstinence. The current experiment enrolled smokers without plans to quit in…

Progressive-ratio (PR) schedules were used to identify the break point (i.e., the last schedule value completed) for 2 reinforcers under single and concurrent schedules. After the respective break points were established, the same reinforcers were presented under concurrent fixed-ratio (FR) schedules that were yoked to the break points obtained…

A study compared two methods for programming and thinning noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) schedules during the treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB) of three adults with mental retardation. Results found that both schedules were effective in initially reducing SIB and in maintaining response suppression as the schedules were thinned.…

The efficacy of noncontingent reinforcement with variable-time (VT) schedules was evaluated by comparing the effects of VT and fixed-time (FT) reinforcement schedules with two individuals with moderate to severe mental retardation and severe behavior problems. Both VT and FT schedules were effective in reducing problem behavior. (Contains…