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Effects of Noncontingent Reinforcement and Choice of Activity on Aggressive Behavior Maintained by Attention
Author(s) -
Phillips Katrina J.,
Mudford Oliver C.
Publication year - 2011
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.329
Subject(s) - reinforcement , psychology , aggression , extinction (optical mineralogy) , intervention (counseling) , retraining , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , paleontology , international trade , business , biology
Functional assessments identified that the grabbing behavior of a 24‐year‐old man with intellectual disability was maintained by social positive reinforcement, that is, attention. Aggression was more likely to occur when his social environment changed from high to low attention. An intervention that combined extinction with activity choice and noncontingent reinforcement was most effective at reducing grabbing. The intervention and beneficial effects were maintained over 17 months, although staff retraining was required at 6 and 16 months. Retraining was implemented successfully when aggression increased and procedural integrity had declined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.