Using a stimulus correlated with reprimands to suppress automatically maintained eye poking

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Intellectual Disability Research

Background:

• Chronic eye poking is a self-injurious behavior observed in individuals with profound intellectual disability.
• The persistence of such behaviors often occurs independently of social reinforcement or punishment contingencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of a stimulus control procedure in suppressing chronic eye poking.
• To determine if a neutral stimulus (wristbands) could establish stimulus control over the suppression of eye poking.

Main Methods:

• A functional analysis was conducted to understand the behavior's maintaining variables.
• A punishment procedure involving mild reprimands contingent on eye poking was implemented in the presence of wristbands.
• The procedure was tested in novel environments without the reprimand contingency.

Main Results:

• Eye poking was initially suppressed when the reprimand was delivered contingent on the behavior in the presence of wristbands.
• The suppression of eye poking generalized to novel environments when the participant wore the wristbands, even without the reprimand.

Conclusions:

• Stimulus control can be effectively established using neutral stimuli paired with punishment to suppress self-injurious behavior.
• This approach offers a potential strategy for managing chronic eye poking in individuals with profound intellectual disability.