Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Reinforcing variability in adolescents with autism.

N Miller¹, A Neuringer

¹Psychology Department, Reed College, Portland, Oregon 97202, USA.

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

|July 8, 2000

Summary

Reinforcing response variability in a computer game significantly increased it across all participants, including adolescents with autism. This finding suggests that reinforced variability may help individuals with autism acquire new skills.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The Surface-Topography Challenge: A Multi-Laboratory Benchmark Study to Advance the Characterization of Topography.

Tribology letters·2025

Same author

An app with brief behavioural support to promote physical activity after a cancer diagnosis (APPROACH): study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Pilot and feasibility studies·2022

Same author

Informing patient choice and service planning in surgical voice restoration: valve usage over three years in a UK head and neck cancer unit.

The Journal of laryngology and otology·2021

Same author

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of programmed cell death ligand 1 expression in patients diagnosed with breast cancer: meta-analysis.

The British journal of surgery·2021

Same author

MicroRNAs as biomarkers of multimodal treatment for rectal cancer.

The British journal of surgery·2021

Same author

Co-Infection with SARS-COV-2 and Parainfluenza in a young adult patient with pneumonia: Case Report.

IDCases·2020

Area of Science:

Behavioral Psychology
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Cognitive Science

Background:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by challenges in social interaction and communication, often accompanied by restricted interests and repetitive behaviors.
Variability in behavioral responses is crucial for learning and adaptation.
Limited research exists on reinforcing response variability in individuals with autism.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of reinforcing response variability on computer game performance in adolescents with autism.
To compare the impact of reinforced variability with non-contingent reinforcement in different age groups.

Main Methods:

Participants included adolescents with autism, adult controls, and child controls.
A computer game task was used where participants received rewards for varying their response sequences.
A reinforcement phase was compared to preceding and following phases with non-contingent rewards.

Main Results:

Reinforced response variability led to a significant increase in behavioral variability across all participant groups (adolescents with autism, adult controls, child controls).
The rate of reward delivery was similar across conditions, isolating the effect of reinforcement contingency.

Conclusions:

Contingent reinforcement of response variability is an effective strategy to increase behavioral flexibility.
This approach may serve as a foundational behavioral mechanism for facilitating new response learning in individuals with autism.

Related Experiment Videos