Identifying reinforcers for use in treatment of automatically reinforced behavior

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2017

First Committee Member

Roscoe, Eileen

Second Committee Member

Ahearn, William

Third Committee Member

Thompson, Rachel

Abstract

"The purpose of this study was to compare the relative utility of competing-item (CI) and paired-stimulus (PS) assessments for identifying reinforcers for two interventions for automatically reinforced problem behavior, noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO). Three individuals with an autism spectrum disorder, who exhibited motor stereotypy (n = 2) or clothing destruction (n = 1), participated. An indirect assessment was conducted to identify items for inclusion in the preference assessments, and CI and PS assessments were conducted multiple times to assess outcome stability. A reinforcer assessment was conducted to assess the reinforcing efficacy of a highly preferred from each assessment. NCR and DRO were evaluated using reversal designs, and an embedded multielement design was used to compare the relative efficacy of the highly-preferred CI-identified item (CI) and the highly-preferred PS-identified item (PS). NCR was effective in reducing problem behavior for two participants. For these participants, the CI item was more effective than the PS item. DRO decreased problem behavior for only one of three participants, and there were no significant differences in treatment efficacy across CI and PS items."

This document is available upon request to Western New England University faculty, students, and staff. Please contact D'Amour Library at for access.

Share

COinS