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Behavioral economic influences on treatments designed to decrease destructive behavior
1The Kennedy Krieger and Marcus Institutes, USA.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
|June 26, 2001
Summary
Behavioral economics principles effectively reduced destructive behavior to zero. This approach also significantly improved communication and compliance, demonstrating a successful treatment package.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral economics
- Applied behavior analysis
- Psychology
Background:
- Response allocation is a key concept in behavioral economics, explaining behavior as a trade-off between the costs (price) and benefits (demand) of different actions.
- Understanding response allocation can inform the development of interventions for challenging behaviors.
Observation:
- Destructive behavior is often maintained by powerful reinforcers, making it resistant to change.
- Traditional interventions may not adequately address the underlying economic principles driving behavior.
Findings:
- A treatment package based on behavioral economics principles successfully eliminated destructive behavior.
- The intervention led to significant increases in communication and compliance.
Implications:
- Behavioral economics offers a powerful framework for designing effective behavior change interventions.
- This approach has the potential to improve outcomes for individuals with challenging behaviors.
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