Premium
Reducing attention‐maintained behavior through the use of positive punishment, differential reinforcement of low rates, and response marking
Author(s) -
Shaw Rick,
Simms Tricia
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
behavioral interventions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.605
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1099-078X
pISSN - 1072-0847
DOI - 10.1002/bin.287
Subject(s) - psychology , punishment (psychology) , reinforcement , differential reinforcement , praise , developmental psychology , crying , audiology , hyperkinesia , token economy , screaming , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , linguistics , philosophy
A differential reinforcement of low (DRL) rates procedure was implemented as a changing criterion design with positive punishment and response marking to reduce attention‐maintained behavior of screaming, profanity, and disruptive behaviors of three adolescent males. One participant was diagnosed with static encephalopathy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and severe mental retardation, the other two were diagnosed with Down syndrome, one with moderate mental retardation, and the other with severe mental retardation. Through response marking, a verbal warning was delivered immediately following the initial occurrence of a target behavior. A special token (positive punishment) was immediately delivered with a verbal cue and placed on a behavior board following the next occurrence of that behavior. Appropriate requests (hand‐raising) for attention was acknowledged and reinforced with verbal praise. The DRL procedure, combined with positive punishment and response marking, was successful in decreasing the frequency of targeted behaviors amongst all participants. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.