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Reinforcing variability in adolescents with autism
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.
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.