Jesse B. Milby

Take-home methadone: contingency effects on drug-seeking and productivity of narcotic addicts.

Abstract Sixty-nine methadone maintenance patients were randomly assigned to an immediate contingency for take home or the same contingency 2 months later. The contingency required zero rate drug-seeking as measured by randomly scheduled and monitored urinalyses once per week and full-time production activity, verified every other week. These were examined two months before and after the contingency. Significant decreases in drug-seeking and increases in productivity were associated with the contingency. Control over drug-seeking was evidenced by increased consecutive “clean urines” although there was little change in overall percent “clean urines”. Although no diversion incidents were observed, experimenters felt unrecorded diversion occurred and discuss implications of this and other results, concluding take-home methadone can be a powerful reinforcer of rehabilitation behaviors in methadone programs.

Delay of escape conditioning as a function of two kinds of secondary reinforcement stimulus conditions

Effects of two stimulus conditions at 0 and 2 sec delay-of-reinforcement were examined in escape conditioning using shock. Both conditions in which a stimulus change occurred during the delay showed response rates > 200% of control rates. Results are interpreted as providing evidence for the reinforcing effect of stimuli associated with shock termination and as providing evidence that rats can learn an escape response which is not part of their natural repertory of escape reactions.

An analysis of preschedule-change rates in a multiple variable-interval schedule

Pigeons were trained on a multiple variable-interval schedule having different scheduled frequencies of food reinforcement. Preschedule change rates in relatively long and short components were examined in the presence and absence of an exteroceptive “warning” stimulus. Predicted rate shifts occurred independently of component duration but only in the presence of the “warning” stimulus.

Delay of shock-escape with and without stimulus change.

Effects of a stimulus change presented with delay of shock-escape were examined in escape conditioning. Where a stimulus change occurred with the delay, greater response rates were found before delay and lower rates during the delay. Results are interpreted as providing evidence for the efficacy of a stimulus change in maintaining behavior with delay of negative reinforcement. Results are consistent with an information account of secondary reinforcement. Data from a control procedure suggest the possibility that stimuli paired with shock termination might have two opposite properties, secondary reinforcing and conditioced aversive, depending upon the background stimulus conditions prevailing at testing.

Intervening through the Social Welfare System

This chapter outlines one area of the U.S. Social Welfare System and discusses the implications of a contingency management program for Welfare to Work (Workfare) participants with substance abuse problems. This type of programming is important for at least two reasons. One, although the prevalence of substance abuse within this system varies, there is a recognition that screening and treatment are often indicated but are not adequately addressed. Also, substance abuse impacts on the individual’s ability to obtain and sustain employment, thus creating challenges to the system if the substance abuse is not treated.