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Relations between rate of negative reinforcement and the persistence of task completion
Author(s) -
Romani Patrick W.,
Ringdahl Joel E.,
Wacker David P.,
Lustig Nicole H.,
Vinquist Kelly M.,
Northup John,
Kane Alexandra M.,
Carrion Deva P.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1002/jaba.252
Subject(s) - reinforcement , persistence (discontinuity) , differential reinforcement , psychology , context (archaeology) , task (project management) , intervention (counseling) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , management , engineering , economics , biology
Research has shown that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) can be an effective intervention to address problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement emitted by young children. However, few studies have evaluated the variables that are related to long‐term maintenance (i.e., persistence) of treatment effects. Research on behavioral persistence predicts that the rate of reinforcement provided for a target behavior is correlated with its persistence when challenged. There were 2 purposes of the current investigation. First, we evaluated the effects of the rate of negative reinforcement on the persistence of task completion. Second, we applied the findings regarding rate of reinforcement to a treatment context for 3 participants who engaged in destructive behavior that was reinforced by escape from demands. Results were evaluated within a multielement design and indicated that the rate of negative reinforcement had a moderate influence on the persistence of task completion. These results contribute to the existing literature by extending analyses of persistence to treatment contexts.