Resurgence is the recurrence of target behavior (e.g., challenging behavior) during a worsening of reinforcement conditions (e.g., increases in response effort, decreases in alternative reinforcement). Previous studies have examined the prevalence and magnitude of resurgence during functional communication training implemented with discriminative…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) on reducing unsafe playground behavior of young children at school and subsequently, if necessary, the additive effects of a brief time-out. The DRO procedure was effective in eliminating unsafe behavior for one of four participants. The…

A competing stimulus assessment is used to identify stimuli that are associated with a low level of challenging behavior and a high level of engagement. These stimuli are often used as a treatment component for challenging behavior that is maintained by automatic reinforcement. One limitation of implementing competing stimulus assessments is that…

Demand fading involves the removal and gradual reintroduction of demands and has been shown to effectively reduce escape-maintained challenging behavior. However, it is currently unclear if there are common demand fading practices when demand fading is used as an initial intervention rather than as a method for schedule thinning after another…

Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based treatment for behavior targeted for reduction that often combines extinction for target responses and arranges functionally equivalent reinforcement for alternative behavior. Long-term effectiveness of FCT can become compromised when transitioning from clinic to nonclinic contexts or…

We replicated and extended Kanaman et al. (2022) by comparing outcomes of solitary (leisure items only), social (leisure items with social interaction), and combined (leisure items alone and leisure items with social interaction) stimulus preference assessments to determine the extent to which the inclusion of social interaction influenced the…

Procedural arrangements of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction often involve presenting the same reinforcers for problem behavior and appropriate behavior, which is typically ineffective at reducing problem behavior and increasing an alternative response. However, manipulating reinforcement dimensions such that…

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) is a common strategy for escape-maintained behaviors targeted for reduction (i.e., targeted behavior) exhibited by youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. DRA often involves various methods of prompting to ensure the instruction or task remains in place until contingencies…

Delayed consequences have important academic implications for younger children. Conceptualized within behavior analysis as delay discounting, researchers have examined verbal behavior interventions to improve tolerance to delayed outcomes. In this preliminary study, the correlation between verbal repertoires and tolerance to delayed consequences…

Token reinforcement procedures are used to increase appropriate behavior (e.g., completion of instructional tasks) and decrease problem behavior (e.g., aggression) in a wide array of clinical contexts. Token exchange-production schedules, which specify the number of tokens that must be accrued to produce the exchange schedule, are important…

Research and practice in applied behavior analysis (ABA) have contributed to the education of students with autism and other intellectual or developmental disabilities in school settings across a wide variety of efforts, including but not limited to, academic instruction (Delano, 2007), addressing behaviors restricting a student's environments and…

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is an effective behavioral intervention when implemented consistently. NCR may be particularly well-suited for use in schools because of its perceived ease of use. However, previous laboratory research suggests that NCR may not maintain therapeutic effects if implemented inconsistently. Inconsistent implementation…

In the context of problem behavior, treatment integrity refers to the extent to which a behavioral intervention is implemented as intended. Treatment-integrity errors may lead to relapse of problem behavior. For example, omitting reinforcers can lead to increases in problem behavior called resurgence. Researchers have previously described the…

Conditioned reinforcers are widely used in applied behavior analysis. Basic research evidence reveals that Pavlovian learning plays an important role in the acquisition and efficacy of new conditioned-reinforcer functions. Thus, a better understanding of Pavlovian principles holds the promise of improving the efficacy of conditioned reinforcement…

The finding that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) is efficacious at 80% integrity when continuous reinforcement is programmed for alternative responding may have contributed to a perception that integrity at 80% or above is acceptable. However, research also suggests that other interventions (e.g., noncontingent…