Negative reinforcer magnitude manipulations without extinction for treating escape-maintained problem behavior

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2013

First Committee Member

Roscoe, Eileen

Second Committee Member

Bourret, Jason

Third Committee Member

Thompson, Rachel

Abstract

"Differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction, when the magnitude of escape for alternative behavior and problem behavior is equal, has not resulted in successful treatment outcomes for escape-maintained problem behavior. Differential negative reinforcement without extinction, when discrepant escape durations for compliance and problem behavior are used, has been found successful. However, attempts at replicating this procedure have not yielded similar findings. Therefore, the potential utility of using discrepant reinforcer magnitudes in the context of differential negative reinforcement interventions remains unclear. The present study sought to extend previous research by assessing the potential utility of using discrepant reinforcer manipulates for compliance and problem behavior in the absence of extinction. Results from one participant indicated that a large discrepancy in reinforcer magnitude resulted in shifts in response allocation from problem behavior to compliance, whereas moderate and equal magnitude discrepancies did not. Implications and directions for future research are discussed."

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