James E. Carr

A review of “noncontingent” reinforcement as treatment for the aberrant behavior of individuals with developmental disabilities

The term noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) refers to the delivery of an aberrant behaviors known reinforcer on a response-independent basis. The typical result is a decrease in responding from baseline (i.e., reinforcement) levels. NCR has become one of the most reported function-based treatments for aberrant behavior in the recent literature. The purpose of this review is to briefly discuss the history of the procedure and summarize the findings from the treatment research literature. The review is organized into the following sections: (a) basic research on NCR, (b) NCR as a control procedure, (c) NCR as a function-based treatment, (d) considerations in the programming of NCR schedules, (e) behavior-change mechanisms underlying NCR effects, and (t) directions for future research.

Noncontingent reinforcement is an empirically supported treatment for problem behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is a function-based treatment for problem behavior that has produced robust effects across a variety of response topographies and reinforcement functions among individuals with developmental disabilities. Several narrative reviews have adequately described this literature. The purpose of the present article was to quantitatively analyze and classify the empirical support for NCR using the criteria developed by The Task Force on the Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures [Task Force Promoting Dissemination of Psychological Procedures. (1995). Training in and dissemination of empirically-validated psychological treatments: Report and recommendations. Clinical Psychology, 48, 3-23]. Of the 59 studies identified for analysis, 24 met the criteria to be included in treatment classification. Fixed-time reinforcer delivery (plus extinction and schedule thinning) was classified as well established, while fixed-time reinforcer delivery (plus extinction) and variable-time reinforcer delivery (plus extinction) were deemed probably efficacious.

The Effects of Multiple-Tact and Receptive-Discrimination Training on the Acquisition of Intraverbal Behavior

The purpose of this study was to determine whether multiple-tact training and receptive-discrimination training could be used to teach thematically related vocal intraverbals to typically developing preschool children. Multiple-tact training involved teaching a child to name both the item and the category to which the item belonged. Receptive-discrimination training consisted of teaching a child to select a picture card in the presence of a question from the experimenter regarding the item or its category. When neither of these strategies resulted in substantial increases in intraverbal responses, a typical intraverbal training protocol using tact prompts was implemented. Six typically developing children participated in the study. A multiple-baseline design across word categories was used to evaluate the effects of the three training procedures. Results indicated that both multiple-tact and receptive-discrimination training had minimal effects on the strength of the intraverbal repertoire, whereas direct intraverbal training had a more substantial effect. The results provide some evidence of the functional independence of verbal operants, as well as the independence of listener and speaker repertoires. Receptive-discrimination and multiple-tact training may have facilitated acquisition of intraverbals; however, further research is needed to assess how these repertoires might interact with each other.

The effects of a stimulus—stimulus pairing procedure on the vocal behavior of children diagnosed with autism

Recent research suggests that the sound produced by a child’s vocalization can become a conditioned reinforcer via the temporal pairing of an experimenter’s vocal model with a preferred stimulus delivered to the child. The current study replicated and extended the findings of previous studies in this area. A multiple baseline design across vocal behaviors (combined with a reversal to baseline) was used to evaluate the effects of a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure on one-syllable utterances of 3 boys who had been diagnosed with autism. Data were collected during presession and postsession observations across four conditions: baseline, control, pairing, and reversal. During baseline, the free-operant levels of target sounds were recorded in the absence of experimenter interaction. During the control condition, the experimenter presented a vocal model and, after a 20-s delay, presented a preferred stimulus to the child. During the pairing condition, the experimenter’s vocal model was paired with the delivery of the preferred item. Results from postsession observations during the pairing condition showed an increase in target sounds for 2 participants. This outcome may suggest that the children’s vocalizations were automatically reinforced, albeit only temporarily. Practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed along with the specific methods employed in this literature.

Response-Card Instruction and Student Learning in a College Classroom

We compared the effects of in-class review questions with and without student-response cards on learning and participation in a community college classroom using an alternating treatments design. In addition, students completed consumer satisfaction questionnaires at 3 points throughout the course. A higher percentage of students earned an A on their end-of-class quiz during classes with response cards than during those without. The use of response cards also resulted in greater student participation compared to classes in which response cards were not used. The consumer satisfaction questionnaire indicated favorable student evaluation of the response-card method of instruction. We discuss these results in the context of extending the research on active student responding in college classrooms.

Functional analysis of aberrant behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement: assessments of specific sensory reinforcers

The purpose of this study was to develop a systematic functional assessment package for aberrant behaviors maintained by nonsocial (automatic) reinforcement. The assessment package included four components: (1) functional analysis, (2) antecedent assessment of specific automatic reinforcement sources, (3) stimulus preference assessment, and (4) treatment evaluation. Functional analysis data indicated automatic reinforcement functions of the stereotypy exhibited by a 10-year-old male and the self-injury (SIB) exhibited by a 30-year-old male. Antecedent assessments of sensory classes indicated that auditory stimulation and tactile stimulation were associated with stereotypy and SIB, respectively. A multiple-stimulus-without-replacement procedure was conducted with each participant to identify the most- and least-preferred stimuli within the identified sensory classes. In an attempt to validate the assessment package for each participant, a DRO procedure was implemented using a reversal design with a multielement component. DRO procedures using stimuli within the targeted sensory classes were successful in eliminating the aberrant behaviors of both participants. The results are discussed in the context of improving the methodology for assessing and treating automatically reinforced behaviors.

An assessment of social validity trends in applied behavior analysis

Research articles published during the first 31 years of Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis were assessed for reports of social validity measures. Two measures of social validity (treatment outcome and treatment acceptability) were assessed for each article. In addition, articles were assessed for the incorporation of analog versus naturalistic settings. Overall, treatment outcome and acceptability measures were reported in less than 13% of articles. In addition, studies conducted in naturalistic settings were more likely to report social validity measures than studies conducted in analog settings. Possible reasons for the deficit in the reporting of social validity measures and potential outcomes of this deficit are discussed. Copyright

The effects of differential reinforcement of unprompted responding on the skill acquisition of children with autism.

The recommendation to reserve the most potent reinforcers for unprompted responses during acquisition programming has little published empirical support for its purported benefits (e.g., rapid acquisition, decreased errors, and decreased prompt dependence). The purpose of the current investigation was to compare the delivery of high-quality reinforcers exclusively following unprompted responses (differential reinforcement) with the delivery of high-quality reinforcers following both prompted and unprompted responses (nondifferential reinforcement) on the skill acquisition of 2 children with autism. Results indicated that both were effective teaching procedures, although the differential reinforcement procedure was more reliable in producing skill acquisition. These preliminary findings suggest that the differential reinforcement of unprompted responses may be the most appropriate default approach to teaching children with autism.

Recent advances in the modification of establishing operations to reduce aberrant behavior

University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USAThe term establishing operation (EO) refers to an event that alters the reinforcement e•ects of aparticular stimulus. Although EOs have received more attention in the basic, non-humanliterature, reports of EO manipulations in the treatment of aberrant behavior are increasinglyappearing. We discuss EO interventions for behaviors maintained by social positive reinforcement(e.g., noncontingent reinforcement), social negative reinforcement (e.g., noncontingent escape,curricular revision, demand fading), and automatic reinforcement (e.g., environmental enrich-ment, noncontingent stimulation, reduced aversive stimulation). Suggestions for future researchconcerning both specific EO interventions and the general manipulation of EOs as a behavior-change technique are provided. #1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Behav. Intervent., Vol. 13, 43–59 (1998)

Intensive Outpatient Behavioral Treatment of Primary Urinary Incontinence of Children With Autism.

Three children With autism Who Were previously nonresponsive to loW-intensity toilet training interventions Were toilet trained using a modified Azrin and Foxx (1971) intensive toilet training procedure. Effects Were demonstrated using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The training Was conducted across home and school settings by parents and school staff. Each child achieved continence, and 2 children eventually initiated the majority of toileting events. Implications for future research and clinical practice and dissemination are discussed.