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A competing stimulus assessment is used to identify stimuli that are associated with a low level of challenging behavior and a high level of engagement. These stimuli are often used as a treatment component for challenging behavior that is maintained by automatic reinforcement. One limitation of implementing competing stimulus assessments is that they may be time consuming. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of a latency‐based competing stimulus assessment. During the asssessment, a therapist presented potential competing stimuli to the participants and contingent on the first occurrence of challenging behavior, the trial was terminated. The results of a brief treatment evaluation indicated that stimuli that were associated with the longest latency to challenging behavior were more effective in competing with challenging behavior relative to stimuli that were associated with shorter latencies. However, procedural modifications were necessary for one participant. The use of latency‐based measures improved the efficiency of conducting a competing stimulus assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the efficacy of behavioral interventions, resurgence of challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, self‐injury) following successful treatment can still occur. Applied work has focused on identifying treatment‐related variables thought to affect the occurrence and magnitude of resurgence. The current study describes the relation between several variables (i.e., phase duration, response rates in baseline and treatment, obtained rates of reinforcement, downshift in reinforcement step size) and resurgence in a retrospective consecutive controlled case series of 46 treatment applications for challenging behavior conducted in an inpatient setting. Only the downshift in reinforcement (e.g., schedule‐thinning) step size was correlated with the magnitude of resurgence. These results are consistent with recent findings suggesting that treatment duration and other factors have inconsistent effects on resurgence of challenging behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In synchronous‐reinforcement schedules, the duration of behavior directly controls the duration of reinforcement on a moment‐to‐moment basis. We replicated and extended Diaz de Villegas et al. (2020) by comparing the effects of synchronous reinforcement with two accumulated‐reinforcement schedules for increasing on‐task behavior for seven preschoolers. One accumulated schedule was the same as the one used in Diaz de Villegas et al. and did not include tokens, whereas the other accumulated schedule included the delivery of tokens within session. Furthermore, we assessed preference for the three reinforcement schedules. The results showed that synchronous reinforcement was effective for increasing on‐task behavior for all seven participants. Furthermore, it was most effective for increasing on‐task behavior for three out of seven participants and preferred by all participants. For some participants, other schedules were also similarly effective. The results are discussed with respect to implications for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several considerations to address when conducting functional communication training for challenging behavior in a school setting, such as the need for schedule thinning and maintenance across staff and the need to establish a variety of appropriate classroom skills. There are several strategies for conducting schedule thinning following functional communication training and for transferring effects across people or settings. However, there are few examples of these processes in natural settings with relevant caregivers and with long‐term maintenance of effects. We implemented a functional assessment and skill‐based treatment process with six children with autism in a specialized school setting and extended treatment until challenging behavior was reduced to near‐zero levels across multiple staff and settings. Follow‐up data indicate that effects were still observed 1 year posttreatment and the use of crisis procedures (e.g., physical restraint) was eliminated for all participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding factors that influence the efficacy of functional communication training has both practical and conceptual benefits. The current study extended research in this area by exploring data from 95 consecutive applications of functional communication training with extinction across two independent clinics. We selected candidate predictor variables based on conceptual analysis, conducted preliminary exploratory analyses, and then selectively applied quantitative methods that are used in precision medicine to examine their accuracy and predictive utility. Treatment outcomes were better when challenging behavior was maintained by a single function than they were when it was maintained by multiple functions; however, these differences were most apparent among cases with an escape function. We also analyzed within‐session responding to explore the potential influence of unprogrammed establishing operations on decrements in treatment efficacy. Our within‐session measure only distinguished responders from nonresponders when escape was one of the multiple functions. Additional research is needed to validate these findings with an independent sample and to address a number of clinical conceptual issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional analysis methods allow clinicians to determine the variable(s) that maintain destructive behavior. Previous reviews of functional analysis outcomes have included large samples of published and unpublished data sets (i.e., clinical samples). The purpose of this review was to conduct a large retrospective consecutive controlled case series of clinical functional analyses. We sought to identify the prevalence of differentiation, procedural modifications for undifferentiated and differentiated cases, and identified function(s) of destructive behavior. In addition, we extended the existing literature by determining whether functional analysis differentiation and function varied when single or multiple behavior topographies were consequated in the functional analysis. We discuss our findings considering previously published functional analysis reviews, provide avenues for future research, and offer suggestions for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basic and retrospective translational research has shown that the magnitude of resurgence is determined by the size of the decrease in alternative reinforcement, with larger decreases producing more resurgence. However, this finding has not been evaluated prospectively with a clinical population. In Experiment 1, five participants experienced a fixed progression of reinforcement schedule‐thinning steps during treatment of their destructive behavior. Resurgence occurred infrequently across steps and participants, and when resurgence did occur, its clinical meaningfulness was often minimal. In Experiment 2, five new participants experienced these same schedule‐thinning steps but in a counterbalanced order. Resurgence occurred most often and was generally largest with larger decreases in alternative reinforcement programmed earlier in the evaluation. Large decreases in alternative reinforcement may be more problematic clinically when they occur earlier in treatment. Whether larger transitions can be recommended in the clinic following the success of smaller ones will require additional research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extinction bursts, or temporary increases in rates and intensities of behavior during extinction, can preclude the inclusion of extinction in intervention packages meant to suppress severe challenging behavior. To identify underlying behavioral mechanisms responsible for response persistence and bursting, 69 adults with developmental disabilities completed a low‐stakes translational investigation employing a 2 × 2 factorial, crossed, and randomized matched blocks design, with batched randomization logic. In each of the four test groups, we made distinct antecedent manipulations with two value parameters commonly studied through behavioral economics (i.e., demand intensity, Pmax) and evaluated the extent to which each of these manipulations influenced target responding during extinction. Although we found statistically significant differences attributable to both parameters, variations in reinforcer consumption relative to demand intensity were most influential across all dependent variables. This outcome implicates consumption relative to demand intensity as both a mitigating and exacerbating preextinction factor that influences the prevalence of adverse collateral extinction effects (e.g., bursts). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple schedules are effective at decreasing challenging behavior and maintaining alternative behavior at acceptable levels. Currently, no conclusive guidance is available for empirically deriving multiple‐schedule components (continuous reinforcement for alternative behavior and extinction for challenging behavior [discriminative stimulus] and extinction for both alternative and challenging behavior [delta stimulus]) during the schedule‐thinning process. In the current investigation, we describe a terminal schedule probe method to determine delta stimulus starting points and strategies for subsequent schedule‐thinning progressions to reach caregiver‐informed terminal schedules. We review schedule‐thinning outcomes for a clinical cohort using a consecutive controlled case series approach and report results for two groups: One group included applications of terminal probe thinning (n = 24), and the other involved traditional dense‐to‐lean thinning (n = 18). Outcomes suggest that the terminal schedule probe method produced effective treatments with less resurgence of challenging behavior and leaner, more feasible, multiple schedules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This concise review summarizes the literature on noncontingent reinforcement in the treatment of pediatric feeding disorder from 2018 to 2022. We reviewed 15 published behavior‐analytic feeding studies to identify how often the term noncontingent reinforcement is used, what form of noncontingent reinforcement is delivered, and what the effects of noncontingent reinforcement are on behavior when it is included in treatment. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed whether novel praise statements could be used to (a) maintain and increase responses with existing reinforcement histories and (b) teach a previously untaught response among children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder across two experiments. During response–stimulus pairing, two responses resulted in preferred edibles but only one also produced a praise statement. In the absence of edibles, the response continuing to produce praise tended to persist more. Next, reversing the praise contingency tended to increase the other response. However, in no case did contingent delivery of those same praise statements result in the acquisition of untaught responses. These findings suggest that conditioning praise statements could serve different functions (antecedent or consequence) depending on the reinforcement history for particular responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the effects of a discrimination training procedure for establishing praise as a reinforcer for three children with autism spectrum disorder. After establishing two praise words as discriminative stimuli and two nonsense words as S‐deltas, we evaluated whether the stimuli then functioned as reinforcers by presenting each stimulus as a consequence for a new response. The results demonstrated that previously neutral praise words functioned as reinforcers and nonsense words did not. As in previous studies on establishing reinforcers, the effects were transitory, and praise words did not continue to function as reinforcers after repeated exposure without discrimination training. Recommendations are provided for future research and maintaining reinforcement effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) is a common treatment for automatically reinforced vocal stereotypy; it involves the contingent presentation of task instructions. Tasks that are included in RIRD are typically selected based on caregiver report, which may affect the efficacy of RIRD. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the role of task preference in the efficacy of RIRD for four participants who engaged in vocal stereotypy. We conducted task‐preference assessments and selected tasks of varying preferences to include in RIRD. For three out of four participants, the results showed that RIRD with higher preference tasks was not effective at reducing vocal stereotypy, whereas RIRD with lower preference tasks was effective for all participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functional assessment of challenging behavior (e.g., self‐injurious behavior) has evolved over many years of research and practice. This concise review summarizes the positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of common procedural adaptations reported to improve functional assessment safety and efficiency. We conclude with suggestions for clinicians and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functional analysis approach described by Iwata et al. (1982/1994) has been used widely to determine the variables evoking and maintaining challenging behavior. However, one potential concern with conducting functional analyses is that repeated exposure to contingencies may induce a novel functional relation. To examine the likelihood of these potential iatrogenic effects, we evaluated social test conditions of the functional analysis for 116 participants and searched for patterns of responding indicative of acquisition. Patterns suggestive of acquisition occurred in 13.70% of tangible reinforcement conditions; however, the prevalence was only slightly lower in the attention condition (8.75%). Much lower prevalence was observed for the escape condition (2.13%). When grouped by quotient score, a pattern of acquisition was just as likely to be observed in the attention condition as in the tangible condition. Additionally, patterns indicative of acquisition were no more likely to be observed with participants who emitted automatically reinforced challenging behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewal is a relapse phenomenon that refers to the recurrence of a previously reduced behavior following a change in stimulus conditions. Muething et al. (2022) examined the phenomenology of renewal among individuals with automatically maintained challenging behavior treated at an outpatient clinic. We replicated their findings by retrospectively examining renewal across various topographies of automatically maintained behavior treated at an inpatient hospital, and we extended their work by also examining differences across subtypes of automatically maintained self‐injurious behavior. The prevalence of renewal was comparable to that observed by Muething et al., supporting the notion that automatically maintained challenging behavior is susceptible to relapse phenomena. Furthermore, renewal was twice as likely to occur for individuals with Subtype 2 versus Subtype 1 self‐injurious behavior, providing additional evidence of behavioral differentiation between subtypes. Our findings suggest that even after apparent stability in treatment, practitioners should remain vigilant for the recurrence of automatically maintained behavior during generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procedural extinction is sometimes associated with a temporary increase in responding known as an extinction burst. Extinction bursts present unique challenges in the context of treating behavior targeted for reduction. The present study updates the prevalence of extinction bursts using a clinical sample (N = 108) receiving treatment for targeted behavior. The prevalence of extinction bursts in our sample (24%) was consistent with that in prior literature. The extinction‐burst magnitude decreased across sessions after extinction was contacted during treatment, but this sample did not demonstrate decreased persistence or magnitude of extinction bursts across successive transitions from baseline to treatment. We also examined the prevalence and magnitude of extinction bursts based on the function and topography of targeted behavior and treatment components and found no consistent relation among these variables. These findings should lead clinicians to prepare for transient extinction bursts when implementing extinction‐based treatment for challenging behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the extent to which a conjugate reinforcement schedule (CONJ) involving a contingency between pedaling a stationary bike and viewing a preferred movie could serve as a translational preparation for the analysis of automatically reinforced behavior. In part, researchers examined whether providing participants with either an accurate or an inaccurate rule about the extinction (EXT) component of a multiple schedule (MULT) contributed to the development of control by the MULT (CONJ EXT) schedule. Results show schedule control emerged for four of five participants who received the accurate rule and none of the five participants who received the inaccurate rule. In addition, participants who received accurate rules typically increased pedaling during CONJ components that followed two consecutive EXT components, suggesting that they experienced deprivation for audio and visual stimulation generated by pedaling. These preliminary findings suggest that researchers could use this translational preparation to identify matched interventions for some automatically reinforced behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature offers few recommendations for sequencing exposure to treatment conditions with individuals with multiply maintained destructive behavior. Identifying relative preference for the functional reinforcers maintaining destructive behavior may be one means of guiding that decision. The present study presents a preliminary attempt at developing a robust relative preference and reinforcer assessment for individuals with multiply maintained destructive behavior. Guided and free‐choice trials were implemented in which participants chose between two multiple‐schedule arrangements, each of which programmed signaled periods of isolated reinforcer availability and unavailability. Consistent participant choice and responding during free‐choice trials was then used to thin the corresponding schedule of reinforcement. The results demonstrated a strong preference for one of the two functional reinforcers for all four participants, yet preferences differed across participants and were not well predicted by responding in prior analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates the use of two web‐based programs, one to identify video preferences and the other to assess their reinforcing effects. We used the Multiple‐Stimulus‐Without‐Replacement Preference Assessment Tool (MSWO PAT) to identify the video preference hierarchies of seven participants, ages 4–11 years old. We then used a customized reinforcer assessment program that arranged a concurrent‐chains preparation with programmed conjugate schedules of reinforcement. Button presses emitted by participants modulated the quality (volume and opacity) of selected videos on a moment‐to‐moment basis, allowing us to identify the reinforcing effects of the videos in little time. The results showed that the preference assessment had predictive value for five of seven participants. We discuss the MSWO PAT, parameters that may affect the identification of preferences and the use of conjugate schedules to identify reinforcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was to conduct a systematic replication of Fiske et al. (2015) to extend the behavior‐analytic literature on token reinforcement. Specifically, the researchers addressed several of the limitations of Fiske et al. by including specific conditioning procedures, creating a controlled history of reinforcement with the token system, including participants with and without disabilities to extend the generality of the findings, and equating the magnitude of reinforcement across the primary and paired‐token conditions. The current study evaluated the reinforcing value of tokens by using progressive‐ratio schedules to compare the efficacy of primary reinforcement, paired tokens, and unpaired tokens. The results suggest that paired tokens may function as reinforcers, but they were not as consistently effective as primary reinforcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of omission and commission errors of reinforcement during tact instruction via telehealth with three children, 6 to 7 years of age, who were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. We used an adapted alternating treatment design to evaluate skill acquisition of target stimuli across high‐integrity, commission errors, and omission errors conditions. The high‐integrity condition produced mastery criteria in fewer sessions compared with the integrity‐error conditions in four of six comparisons, and the omission condition reached mastery criteria in fewer sessions than the commission condition in five of six comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the diagnostic characteristics of individuals with autism spectrum disorders includes engaging in restricted and repetitive behavior. Research has shown that individuals will often display problem behavior when access to restricted and repetitive behavior is blocked. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the use of functional communication training and schedule thinning to treat aggression displayed by three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders when higher level restrictive and repetitive behavior was blocked. Further, we assessed whether all steps in a schedule‐thinning sequence were necessary as well as extended the practicality of these procedures by removing the continuous signal during the delay to reinforcement. The results indicated that functional communication with schedule thinning reduced aggression related to blocking access to engaging in higher level restrictive and repetitive behavior for all participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐feeding with utensils represents an important step in a child's progression toward age‐typical eating and emerges in the absence of intervention for most children. In contrast, children with feeding disorders may lack the skill or motivation to self‐feed, which impedes progress toward age‐typical eating. In the current study, experimenters used a multielement design to evaluate negative reinforcement in the form of meal termination to transition six participants with a feeding disorder from caregiver‐fed to self‐fed bites and drinks. Caregivers conducted meals in which they fed the participant or prompted them to self‐feed. During self‐fed meal‐termination sessions, participants had the opportunity to end the meal contingent on self‐feeding the presented bite(s) or drink(s). Self‐feeding increased during meal‐termination sessions for all participants. The experimenters discuss these results relative to their potential to inform interventions for children with feeding disorders that progress the child toward age‐typical eating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral momentum theory (BMT) suggests that resurgence of destructive behavior may be at least partly determined by the rate of alternative reinforcement, with lean schedules of reinforcement producing less resurgence than dense schedules. Findings from basic and translational studies have been mixed, and the effects of alternative reinforcement rate on resurgence remain unclear. In the current study, we conducted a within‐subject evaluation of resurgence during extinction with four children following functional communication training using dense and lean (BMT‐informed) schedules of alternative reinforcement. We observed no reliable differences in resurgence across the dense and lean conditions. We discuss implications of these findings in relation to future research using quantitative analyses to evaluate the relative effects of alternative reinforcement rate and other BMT‐based strategies for mitigating resurgence in applied settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concern when conducting combined‐category preference assessments is the potential for displacement effects, a shift in the preference ranking from highly preferred to moderately or less preferred for stimuli in two of three stimulus categories (e.g., edible, leisure, or social‐interaction). In this study, we evaluated potential displacement effects in combined‐category arrays of edible, leisure, and social‐interaction stimuli for five individuals with autism. First, single‐category paired‐stimulus preference assessments were implemented to identify two highly preferred stimuli from each category. When these stimuli were included in a combined‐category preference assessment, displacement effects were observed for three of five participants. During a subsequent reinforcer assessment, stimuli identified as less preferred in the combined‐category preference assessment functioned as reinforcers for two participants. Additionally, although social interaction was not identified as highly preferred for three of the five participants, it functioned as a reinforcer for four participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has commonly evaluated preference stability over time and across multiple preference assessment administrations. No studies have evaluated shifts in preference across consecutive rounds of a single preference assessment, where rounds refer to each time the experimenter resets the stimulus‐presentation array. The purpose of the present study was to examine the stability of stimulus selections across successive rounds of a multiple‐stimulus‐without‐replacement (MSWO) preference assessment with different classes of stimuli for children with autism. The study involved a secondary data analysis and calculation of preference stability across consecutive rounds using Spearman rank‐order correlation coefficients (Spearman's ρ) for 17 participants across 40 MSWO preference assessments. Patterns of preference stability were observed in 24 out of the 40 assessments (60%) indicating that children's preferences in this study were slightly more likely to be classified as stable than other observed patterns of responding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) without extinction is an effective intervention for reducing problem behavior maintained by socially mediated reinforcement, particularly when implementing dense schedules of reinforcement for appropriate behavior. Thinning schedules of reinforcement for an alternative response may result in resurgence of problem behavior. Resurgence may be of particular concern in the treatment of problem behavior without extinction because problem behavior that resurges is also likely to encounter reinforcement and thus can be expected to maintain. In the present investigation, we compared the effectiveness of single and concurrent DRA schedules in decreasing the probability of resurgence when problem behavior continues to produce reinforcement throughout all phases of the evaluation. Concurrent DRA schedules reduced or eliminated the likelihood of resurgence compared with a single DRA schedule during a treatment challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronous schedules of reinforcement are those in which the onset and offset of a reinforcer are synchronized with the onset and offset of a target behavior. The current study replicated and extended Diaz de Villegas et al. (2020) by comparing synchronous reinforcement to noncontingent stimulus delivery while evaluating on‐task behavior of school‐age children. A concurrent‐chains preference assessment was then used to determine the preferred schedule. Results indicated that the synchronous schedule was more effective than the continuous, noncontingent delivery of the stimulus at increasing on‐task behavior but that the children preferred noncontingent delivery. Additionally, the use of synchronous and noncontingent delivery did not alter the children's preference for the task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conditioned reinforcers are widely used in applied behavior analysis. Basic research evidence reveals that Pavlovian learning plays an important role in the acquisition and efficacy of new conditioned‐reinforcer functions. Thus, a better understanding of Pavlovian principles holds the promise of improving the efficacy of conditioned reinforcement in applied research and practice. This paper surveys how (and if) Pavlovian principles are presented in behavior‐analytic textbooks; imprecisions and knowledge gaps within contemporary Pavlovian empirical findings are highlighted. Thereafter, six practical principles of Pavlovian conditioning are presented along with empirical support and knowledge gaps that should be filled by applied and translational behavior‐analytic researchers. Innovative applications of these principles are outlined for research in language acquisition, token reinforcement, and self‐control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duration schedules of reinforcement for continuous behavior abide by several preexisting operant behavioral economic equations for reinforcer cost, otherwise known as price, and consumption. Duration schedules require behaviors to occur for a set duration of time prior to accessing reinforcement, unlike interval schedules that produce reinforcement after the first instance of a behavior after a given period. Despite extensive examples of naturally occurring duration schedules, translational research regarding duration schedules is quite limited. Further, a lack of research investigating the implementation of such reinforcement schedules, combined with concepts such as preference, represents a gap in the applied behavior analysis literature. The current study measured three elementary students' preferences for fixed‐ and mixed‐duration schedules of reinforcement during academic work completion. Results suggest students prefer mixed‐duration schedules of reinforcement that provide the opportunity to access reinforcement at a reduced price and that such arrangements could be employed to increase work completion and academic‐engaged time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive reviews of functional analysis literature were conducted 10 (Beavers et al., 2013) and 20 (Hanley et al., 2003) years ago; we expanded this review to capture the vast and innovative functional analysis research that has occurred over the past decade. Our review produced 1,333 functional analysis outcomes from 326 studies on the functional analysis of problem behavior between June 2012 and May 2022. Some characteristics of functional analysis studies were similar across the current and previous two reviews (e.g., child participants, developmental disability diagnosis, use of line graphs depicting session means, differentiated response outcomes). Other characteristics deviated from the previous two reviews (e.g., increase in autistic representation, outpatient settings, use of supplementary assessments, the inclusion of tangible conditions, and multiple function outcomes; decrease in session durations). We update previously reported participant and methodological characteristics, summarize outcomes, comment on recent trends, and propose future directions in the functional analysis literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delineation of the subtypes of automatically reinforced self‐injurious behavior improved the utility of functional analysis results in predicting treatment efficacy. However, the mechanisms underlying subtype differences remain unclear and difficult to study in clinical populations. Morris and McDowell (2021) attempted to elucidate subtype differences by developing and evaluating models of the subtypes within the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics. In the current study, we applied techniques from precision medicine to further evaluate the models developed by Morris and McDowell. This evaluation highlighted shortcomings of the existing models and suggested ways they could be improved. Thus, we conducted more extended modeling within the framework of precision medicine to identify models that were more quantitatively similar to available clinical data. Improved models that more closely approximate clinical data were identified. The implications of these models for research, practice, and further applications of the evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on preference and reinforcer assessments has historically focused on the evaluation of edible and leisure reinforcers, but the identification and use of individualized social reinforcers may be beneficial for several reasons. Recently, many studies have evaluated methods of assessing preference for social stimuli. The procedures and outcomes across these studies have varied greatly, and the current state of evidence for methods of assessing preference for social stimuli remains unclear. Thus, we conducted a review to synthesize all previous research in this area, evaluate the evidence for the utility of this general methodology, and identify factors that may influence its utility. Our results suggest that social preference assessments are likely to produce results that correspond with reinforcer assessment hierarchies. Preference assessment modality was one factor that influenced utility; video‐based preference assessments had greater correspondence with reinforcer assessments than did other modalities. Directions for future research and implications for the use of social preference assessments in research and practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procedural arrangements of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction often involve presenting the same reinforcers for problem behavior and appropriate behavior, which is typically ineffective at reducing problem behavior and increasing an alternative response. However, manipulating reinforcement dimensions such that the contingencies favor the alternative response may improve treatment outcomes when using differential reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction by increasing appropriate behavior and reducing problem behavior. We conducted this translational study with 32 college students completing a button‐pressing task on a computer program in which they could engage in analogs to problem behavior and appropriate behavior. The effects of manipulating magnitude, immediacy, quality, and a combination of all three dimensions for the alternative response were evaluated. Overall, all dimension manipulations reduced the analog to problem behavior, with the largest reductions observed during the quality probe and the probe with all dimensions combined. These results support the notion that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction can be an effective form of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relapse following the successful treatment of problem behavior can increase the likelihood of injury and the need for more intensive care. Current research offers some predictions of how treatment procedures may contribute to relapse, and conversely, how the risk of relapse can be mitigated. This review describes relapse‐mitigation procedures with varying levels of support, the quantitative models that have influenced the research on relapse mitigation, different experimental methods for measuring relapse mitigation, and directions for future research. We propose that by viewing the implementation of relapse‐mitigation procedures as a means of producing behavioral inoculation, clinicians are placed in the proactive and intentional role of exposing their client's behavior to an array of reinforcement and stimulus conditions during treatment with the goal of decreasing the detrimental impact of future treatment challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1948, Skinner described the behavior of pigeons under response‐independent schedules as "superstitious," and proposed that the responses were reinforced by contiguous, adventitious food deliveries. Subsequently, response‐independent schedules have been of interest to both basic and applied researchers, first to understand the mechanisms involved, and later, as "noncontingent reinforcement" (NCR) to reduce undesirable behavior. However, the potential superstitious effects produced by these schedules have been challenged, with some researchers arguing that antecedent variables play a significant role. This paper examines the evidence for adventitious reinforcement from both laboratory and applied research, the results of which suggest that antecedent, nonoperant functions may be important in fully understanding the effects of NCR. We propose an applied‐basic research synthesis, in which attention to potential nonoperant functions could provide a more complete understanding of response‐independent schedules. We conclude with a summary of the applied implications of the nonoperant functions of NCR schedules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical inactivity has increasingly affected public health in the United States during the COVID‐19 pandemic as it is associated with chronic diseases such as arthritis, cancer, and heart disease. Contingency management has been shown to increase physical activity. Therefore, the present study sought to evaluate the effects of an escalating schedule of monetary reinforcement with a reset contingency on physical activity, as compared between 2 counterbalanced groups in which a monetary deposit of $25 was either required (deposit group) or not (no‐deposit group). Twenty‐five adults wore Fitbit accelerometers to monitor step counts. An ABA reversal design was used; in the 2 baseline phases, no programmed contingencies were in place for step counts. During intervention, step goals were set using a modified 70th percentile schedule with a 7‐day window: Reaching the first goal would result in $0.25, and incentives increased by $0.25 for each subsequent day in which the goal was met. Failure to reach a goal resulted in a reset of the monetary incentive value to $0.25. Ten out of 12 participants from the deposit group were determined to be responders to intervention, whereas 8 out of 13 participants from the no‐deposit group were determined to be responders to intervention. Overall, there were no significant differences between the groups' step counts. However, the deposit group's intervention was cheaper to implement, which suggests that deposit contracts are a viable modification for physical activity interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finding that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) is efficacious at 80% integrity when continuous reinforcement is programmed for alternative responding may have contributed to a perception that integrity at 80% or above is acceptable. However, research also suggests that other interventions (e.g., noncontingent reinforcement) may not remain effective at 80% integrity. The conditions under which 80% integrity is acceptable for common behavioral interventions remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted two human‐operant studies to evaluate effects of 80% integrity for interventions with contingent or noncontingent intermittent reinforcement schedules. During Experiment 1, we compared noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and DRA when implemented with 80% integrity. During Experiment 2, we compared 2 variations of DRA, which included either a ratio or interval schedule to reinforce alternative behavior. Results replicated previous research showing that DRA with a FR‐1 schedule programmed for alternative responding resulted in consistent target response suppression, even when integrity was reduced to 80%. In contrast, neither NCR nor interval‐based DRA were consistently effective when implemented at 80% integrity. These results demonstrate that 80% integrity is not a uniformly acceptable minimal level of integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020 the Centers for Disease Control provided the public with recommendations to slow the spread of COVID‐19 by wearing a mask in the community. In the current study, experimenters coached group home staff via telehealth to implement synchronous schedules of reinforcement to increase mask wearing for 5 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Results showed the intervention effectively increased mask wearing for all participants for up to 30 min. Additionally, some participants for whom we assessed generalization of mask wearing demonstrated generalization to various community environments. Furthermore, procedural integrity data suggested staff could be coached via telehealth to implement the intervention, and staff surveys suggested the procedures and coaching were socially valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in reduced levels of physical activity relative to neurotypical children. Researchers conducted 2 studies to 1) evaluate the influence of the number of physical activity options and effort on choice and 2) develop a token‐based intervention to increase physical activity engagement and evaluate whether the opportunity to access the intervention supported responding similar to physical or sedentary activity alone. Four children with ASD participated. Additional physical activity options alone did not increase physical activity selection, but increased effort reduced selection of sedentary activity. Tokens increased physical activity for 2 participants. A combination of physical and sedentary activities maintained as much as or more responding than either activity in isolation for all participants. Limitations and potential areas of future research on choice and physical activity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has demonstrated the effectiveness of teacher‐implemented, function‐based treatments for problem behavior, but no studies have evaluated the impact of distractions on teachers' procedural integrity. In this proof‐of‐concept study, the experimenters employed a laboratory analog to examine the impact of distractions on levels of integrity when 5 teachers implemented 3 different treatments. Although integrity was similar across treatments when the setting was free of distractions, integrity declined for all teachers in the presence of student‐driven distractions. In general, distractions had a greater impact on the integrity of differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior (DNRA) compared to differential negative reinforcement of other behavior (DNRO) and noncontingent escape (NCE), particularly for the delivery of reinforcement. However, teachers tended to have lower levels of integrity when responding to problem behavior during DNRO. These findings support the potential viability of this approach for studying factors that impede procedural integrity in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has developed and evaluated assessments of sociability in which time allocation near or away from an adult who initiates social interactions is used to characterize the participant as social, indifferent, or avoidant of social interaction. Though these qualitative outcomes have been useful, no studies have evaluated methods of obtaining more quantitative measures of sociability. The matching law has been demonstrated to describe a wide range of human behavior and may also be useful in describing social time allocation. We adapted the matching law and assessment of sociability procedures with the aim of providing a more precise, quantitative measure of sociability. We fitted the matching equation to the social time allocation data of 8 children with autism spectrum disorder. The equation was effective in quantifying sociability, accounted for a large proportion of variance in participants' behavior, did so equally well for participants who were social and avoidant, and provided a more sensitive measure relative to those used in previous research. The implications of this methodology, its potential utility, and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A goal of some functional analysis (FA) variations is to reduce assessment time while still maintaining efficacy. This may be especially important when conducting FAs in early intervention programs, where time is a crucial commodity. To that end, we evaluated a model for using the results of the no‐interaction condition as a screening for behavioral function and to guide selection of FA test conditions with 20 participants (22 assessments) aged 3 to 7 years old. We used the no‐interaction condition to develop hypotheses for both automatic reinforcement and socially mediated reinforcement. The outcome of the no‐interaction condition guided the selection of test conditions for the remainder of the FA. We also incorporated methods from prior FA studies (e.g., divided attention) to modify the test conditions. We obtained differentiated results in 91% of assessments, all within 70 min and, as such, extended evidence that an FA can be completed in little time without sacrificing efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has developed methods of assessing the function of generic, nonindividualized social interactions. The purpose of this type of assessment is to provide a measure of how an individual may respond to the types of interactions readily available in the natural environment. To date, no research has evaluated how the social time allocation of individuals for whom generic interactions are neutral or aversive could be improved. Moreover, no research has included additional dependent variables that may be functionally related to social time allocation. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of initiating preferred, individualized social interactions on the social time allocation of 3 participants for whom generic interactions functioned as neutral or aversive stimuli. The intervention increased social time allocation for all 3 participants. Next, we evaluated the relation between social time allocation and the occurrence of mands, item engagement, and rigid or repetitive behavior using the intervention data as well as secondary analyses of previously published datasets. The occurrence of mands and rigid or repetitive behaviors changed with improvements in social time allocation and were strongly correlated with social time allocation across participants. Implications for future research on, and the clinical use of, this type of assessment and intervention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies on treatment relapse have typically examined the prevalence of resurgence or renewal of target behavior (e.g., destructive behavior) in isolation. This study analyzed both types of relapse during 25 consecutive treatments involving functional communication training during worsening reinforcement conditions for alternative behavior (i.e., schedule thinning) or following context changes. We also examined disruption of alternative behavior (i.e., functional communication requests, compliance). Resurgence and renewal of destructive behavior occurred in 76% and 69% of treatments, respectively, and in approximately a third of changes in reinforcement or context. Relapse of destructive behavior predicted alternative‐response disruption and vice versa; the co‐occurrence of these two events always exceeded the background probabilities of either event occurring in isolation. General reductions in treatment efficacy occurred across changes in reinforcement or context, with no apparent decrease in likelihood in later transitions. We discuss implications of our findings with respect to future studies examining treatment durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior is a common intervention for problem behavior in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders, but it is susceptible to integrity errors that can degrade treatment effects. Manipulating reinforcement parameters to favor alternative behavior might make it more persistent in the face of integrity errors. We devised an analog of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior to examine if enhanced reinforcer magnitude or quality for the alternative response could protect against treatment degradation. Across 2 experiments, reinforcer magnitude or quality was manipulated to favor the alternative response in 1 condition but kept constant across both alternative and target responses in a second condition. Comparisons of the 2 conditions indicated that higher‐magnitude or higher‐quality reinforcement for alternative behavior can mitigate against treatment degradation when treatment errors occur and provided support for the utility of considering parameters of reinforcement when developing behavioral interventions for problem behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance feedback is an effective strategy to improve and maintain therapist performance with implementing interventions. Shuler and Carroll (2019) successfully used video modeling with voiceover instructions (VMVO) to train supervisors to provide accurate performance feedback to a confederate therapist implementing guided compliance. In Study 1, we replicated Shuler and Carroll by using VMVO to train 5 supervisors to provide performance feedback to a confederate therapist on their guided‐compliance integrity. Feedback accuracy increased following VMVO and maintained for 1 month. In Study 2, we extended Shuler and Carroll by demonstrating improvements in therapist guided‐compliance integrity after they received performance feedback from supervisors from Study 1. The results of the current study support the use of VMVO to teach supervisory skills to behavior analysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reinforcers can be delivered dependent on or independent of responding. Both human and nonhuman animals have shown a preference for contexts involving contingent reinforcement, but the generality of this phenomenon to humans and its implications have not yet been described. We present an integrative summary of studies evaluating preference for contingent versus noncontingent reinforcement, including (a) study participants, reinforcer types, response topographies, and contexts; (b) outcomes; (c) potential variables influencing preference outcomes; and (d) suggestions regarding research to expand behavior analysts' ability to design preferred contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on automatically reinforced self‐injurious behavior (ASIB) has identified specific patterns of responding in functional analyses that correlate with intervention efficacy (Hagopian et al., 2015; Hagopian et al., 2017). Whereas research by Hagopian et al. (2015, 2017) points to an important development in the assessment and treatment of ASIB, it is unclear if the applicability extends to automatically reinforced noninjurious behaviors, including stereotypy. Therefore, the current study replicated the methods of Hagopian et al. (2017), extending this research to published cases of stereotypy and related behavior. The behavioral subtype for each case was identified, and where applicable, the subtype was compared to intervention outcome data. The categorization of data sets as either Subtype 1 or Subtype 2 did not correspond with specific treatment outcomes. Unlike the results of Hagopian et al. (2015, 2017), reinforcement‐based interventions were not more likely to be effective for Subtype 1 stereotypy than for Subtype 2 stereotypy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]