Based on observations of children ages 21-25 months in play groups, investigates reactions of both peers and teachers to behaviors that could be identified and coded as male, female, or neutral. (Author/NH)

After finding that self-injurious behavior in two young males with developmental disabilities was negatively reinforced by escape from instructional activities, an intervention provided noncontingent escape on a fixed schedule and differential negative reinforcement of other behavior. Provision of escape, even when noncontingent, resulted in…

Three studies investigated environmental correlates of self-injurious behavior in seven developmentally disabled children and adolescents which were then later used for treatment. Correlates investigated included positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, automatic reinforcement, and control. "Escape extinction" was successfully…

This paper reviews the functional properties and procedural variations of differential reinforcement for the reduction of behavior disorders in individuals with developmental disabilities. The paper proposes that limited success may be a result of the arbitrary relationship that exists between reinforcers and target behaviors when behavioral…

Assessment of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in three individuals with developmental disabilities revealed that the behavior was an escape response maintained by negative reinforcement. Treatment consisted of extinction plus instructional fading and resulted in immediate and large reductions in SIB behaviors. Maintenance occurred as instruction…

This study examined the effects of blocking self-injurious behavior on the self-restraint of a 19-year-old male with severe mental retardation. Consistent with the negative reinforcement hypothesis, blocking SIB resulted in near-zero levels of SIB and moderate reductions in self-restraint. (Author/DB)

Obscene verbalizations in an individual with traumatic brain injury were treated using stimulus fading as the singular form of intervention. Results of a functional assessment revealed the obscenity was maintained by negative reinforcement. Stimulus fading (the gradual reintroduction of instructional demands) produced immediate and substantial…

Functional analysis of the self-injurious behavior (SIB) of three individuals with profound mental retardation indicated the behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement (escape from instructional situations). Stimulus fading was applied. Results indicated that instructional fading virtually eliminated SIB, but these effects were not…

Teachers of 2 children (ages 7 and 13) with autism were trained to conduct a descriptive analysis and a classroom experimental analysis of aberrant behavior. Each procedure identified negative reinforcement as a maintaining variable for aberrant behavior. Intervention based on the assessment was successfully implemented with one child and had…

Analysis of the effects of a short break contingent on completed work with a 10-year-old boy with autism and profound mental retardation found the 20-second break increased responding more than a positive reinforcer did, and the reinforcing effects of a 20-second break were affected by the availability of positive reinforcers during the break. (DB)

Seven adults with severe to profound mental retardation participated in match-to-sample discrimination training under three conditions. Results indicated that error-correction procedures improve performance through negative reinforcement; that error correction may serve multiple functions; and that, for some subjects, trial repetition enhances…

The self-injurious escape behavior of an adult with developmental disabilities was treated with extinction. Results of a reversal design showed substantial bursts of responding when extinction was introduced and reintroduced: self-injury remained at a variable and elevated rate for some time before stable, low rates were observed. (Author/DB)

Generalization across three stimulus parameters (therapist, setting, and demands) was examined for five men with severe/profound mental retardation whose self-injurious behavior was maintained by escape from task demands. Variables were held constant during the escape extinction treatment. Full or partial generalization to novel situations was…

The effects of two methods of negative reinforcement on three young children (ages two and three) with developmental delays and chronic food refusal were examined. Physically guiding the child to accept food contingent on noncompliance and nonremoval of the spoon until the child ate were tested. Both treatments were effective; however, parents…

Forty undergraduate subjects estimated for most students, and for themselves, the likeability and teaching effectiveness of college professors who were either positive or negative toward students, and either demanding or easy in their courses. "Most students" liked positive professors better than negative, preferred easy professors to…