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A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
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Obtained versus programmed reinforcement practical considerations in the treatment of escape-reinforced aggression
LeAnne Johnson1, Jennifer McComas, Andrea Thompson
1University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
Abstract:
This investigation provides a preliminary examination of the difference between programmed and obtained reinforcement rates and its potential influence during treatment of aggression in a natural setting. Following a functional analysis that suggested that the aggression of a boy with autism was negatively reinforced, intervention was implemented by the boy's mother. Concurrent fixed-ratio (FR) 1 FR 1 schedules of escape were arranged for manding and aggression. When mands failed to compete effectively with aggression, obtained reinforcement ratios were calculated; these indicated that obtained reinforcement varied from the programmed schedule for aggression but not for mands. Increasing the rate of prompts for mands resulted in an increase in mands and a decrease in aggression to near-zero levels.
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