The purpose of the current two-experiment study was to examine the use of a preference assessment for dimensions of reinforcement to inform an effective token economy arrangement. Three participants diagnosed with developmental disabilities who engaged in negatively reinforced problem behavior participated in this study. During Experiment 1, a…

Three children who displayed destructive behavior maintained by negative reinforcement received functional communication training (FCT). During FCT, the children were required to complete a demand and then to mand (touch a card attached to a microswitch, sign, or vocalize) to receive brief play breaks. Prior to and 1 to 3 times following the…

Everyone, including children with developmental disabilities, encounters stimuli they find aversive every day (e.g., the sound of a classmate tapping their pencil). These aversive stimuli may not be problematic for typically developing individuals, because they learn to behave in ways that allow them to escape or avoid this aversive stimulation.…

Seven adults participated in simulated teaching sessions with an experimenter who role played as a student with developmental disabilities. The experimenter engaged in problem behavior and either (a) terminated problem behavior contingent on participant reprimands (negative reinforcement) or (b) did not terminate problem behavior contingent on…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of functional communication training (FCT) on the occurrence of non-targeted disruptive behavior. The 10 participants were preschool-aged children with developmental disabilities who engaged in both destructive (property destruction, aggression, self-injury) and disruptive (hand flapping,…

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…

Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement can be treated without escape extinction by enhancing the quality of positive reinforcement for an appropriate alternative response such as compliance. By contrast, negative reinforcement (escape) for compliance generally has been ineffective in the…

In the context of instructional demands, compliance and problem behavior can be considered concurrent operants. Of applied interest is increasing one response (i.e., compliance) while decreasing the other (i.e., problem behavior). Strategic arrangement of reinforcement can alter response allocation accordingly. Such schedules can also influence…

This quasi-longitudinal descriptive case study evaluated problem behavior for an adolescent boy with developmental disabilities via repeated functional behavioral analysis (FBA) probes during a blinded cross-over from the atypical neuroleptic Risperdal (Risperidone) to Seroquel (Quetiapine). The repeated FBA probes showed no medication differences…

Two distinct analytic methods have been used to identify the function of problem behavior. The antecedent-behavior-consequence (ABC) method (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994) includes the delivery of consequences for problem behavior. The AB method (Carr & Durand, 1985) does not include consequence delivery, instead relying…

Factors that influence choice between qualitatively different reinforcers (e.g., a food item or a break from work) are important to consider when arranging treatments for problem behavior. Previous findings indicate that children who engage in problem behavior maintained by escape from demands may choose a food item over the functional reinforcer…

Functional communication training (FCT) is an intervention frequently used for students with developmental disabilities to reduce problematic behaviors and to increase prosocial behaviors. This intervention appears to be very effective when the communication responses trained are matched to the function of the student's problematic behaviors. In…