Serial alternative response training as intervention for target response resurgence.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Developmental Disabilities

Background:

• Failure to reinforce appropriate behaviors can lead to the resurgence of problem behaviors.
• Existing treatments like differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) may degrade over time.
• Understanding interventions that promote durable behavior change is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of traditional DRA and serial DRA interventions.
• To analyze the impact of these interventions on the resurgence of problem behavior analogues.
• To evaluate the durability of treatment outcomes in adults with developmental disabilities.

Main Methods:

• Used a 2-component multiple schedule to analyze arbitrary responses in 3 adults with developmental disabilities.
• Employed switch flipping as an analogue for problem behavior and alternative responses as analogues for appropriate behaviors.
• Compared target response resurgence under traditional DRA versus serial DRA conditions.

Main Results:

• Serial DRA resulted in a lower percentage of responding allocated toward target response resurgence compared to traditional DRA.
• Reversion and recency effects were observed in 2 out of 3 subjects under serial DRA.
• Preliminary data suggest serial DRA may offer more durable outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Serial DRA appears to be a more effective intervention than traditional DRA for reducing problem behavior resurgence.
• This intervention may lead to more durable and desirable behavioral outcomes.
• Further research is warranted to confirm these preliminary findings.