The utility of reinforcement-based procedures has been well established in the behavior analysis literature and is commonly used in educational settings. However, the overjustification effect is one commonly cited criticism of programs that use tangible items as reinforcers. In the current studies, we evaluated the effects of tangible rewards…

The current study examined the effects of the Class-wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), a class-wide group contingency, on the on-task behavior of all students in a first grade class and the on-task and disruptive behavior of three target students within that class who were nominated by their teacher through a behavioral screening.…

Objective: Contingency management (CM) reduces drug use, but questions remain regarding optimal targets and magnitudes of reinforcement. We evaluated the efficacy of CM reinforcing attendance in patients who initiated treatment with cocaine-negative samples, and of higher magnitude abstinence-based CM in patients who began treatment positive.…

The current study examined whether monetary incentives could increase engagement and achievement in a job-skills training program for unemployed, homeless, alcohol-dependent adults. Participants (n?=?124) were randomized to a no-reinforcement group (n?=?39), during which access to the training program was provided but no incentives were given; a…

To determine whether reduction of smoking via contingency management in dependent smokers would decrease the discounting of delayed reinforcers compared with smokers who did not reduce their smoking, moderate to heavy cigarette smokers were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a contingency management condition and a control condition. In…

Contingency management (CM) interventions frequently utilize vouchers as reinforcers, but a prize-based system is also efficacious. This study compared these approaches. Seventy-four cocaine-dependent methadone outpatients were randomly assigned to standard treatment (ST), ST plus a maximum of $585 in contingent vouchers, or ST plus an expected…

The orbitofrontal cortex (OBFc) has been suggested to code the motivational value of environmental stimuli and to use this information for the flexible guidance of goal-directed behavior. To examine whether information regarding reward prediction is quantitatively represented in the rat OBFc, neural activity was recorded during an olfactory…

Basic ideas of reinforcement may be more easily applied in the classroom if three common teacher errors: noncontingent reinforcement, ambiguity of rules, and restriction of earnings, are avoided. (Author/SDH)

One variation of contingency management involves providing vouchers with monetary value for the provision of a biological sample indicating no recent drug use. These vouchers can be exchanged for goods or services. The schedule with which the vouchers are disbursed has been studied and results suggest that those schedules that incorporate…

Reward contingencies and other extrinsic constraints on behavior can lead to reduced levels of interest in and/or decreased engagement in a target activity in a subsequent noncontingent situation. It has been hypothesized that this effect is caused by a change in the self-perceived locus of motivation from intrinsic to extrinsic. It follows from…

The effects of different schedules of noncontingent reward on subsequent learning in children were investigated. In the first phase of the experiment subjects performed a block-design matching task and received one of three schedules of noncontingent reward, i.e., continuous reward (Group CRF), random reward on 50% of the trials (Group 50R), or no…

Thirty-nine trainable mentally retarded adolescents were presented with a list of 32 reward options, consisting of primary (food) and secondary (cash equivalent) rewards that were immediately available or delayed one day at a ratio of 1:2. (Author)

Handwriting performance was measured over baseline, direct contingent reward, and implicit reward conditions for elementary-grade children from normal classes. Extinctive reactions present under implicit reward conditions were significantly stronger for groups of eight than for paired subjects. Age-level factors were not significantly related to…

Although the principles governing the application of positive reinforcement to classroom situations remain clear and theoretically consistent, practical problems arise during application that are not easily anticipated. This paper focuses on one practical issue: the selection of appropriate reinforcers to use in inner city high schools. The paper…

A 65-item questionnaire assessed teacher (N=2279) perceptions of intervention alternatives used to control classroom behavior problems. Strategies rated as most effective, easiest to use, and most frequently used by both regular and special educators included interventions that either redirected students toward appropriate behavior or involved…