Evaluating competing activities to enhance functional communication training during reinforcement schedule thinning
Ashley M Fuhrman1, Brian D Greer1, Amanda N Zangrillo1
1University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
|July 1, 2018
Summary
Denying reinforcement during multiple schedules can increase destructive behavior. Competing activities effectively minimize this behavior, aiding treatment for severe destructive behavior.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral psychology
- Applied behavior analysis
Background:
- Functional communication training (FCT) treats severe destructive behavior.
- Reinforcement schedule thinning can increase destructive behavior.
Observation:
- Competing activities can minimize destructive behavior during reinforcement unavailability.
- Evaluated methods to identify effective competing activities.
- Compared embedded competing activities using an alternating-treatments design.
Findings:
- At least one competing activity facilitated favorable treatment outcomes for each participant.
- Effectiveness of competing activities varied across participants.
Implications:
- Identified effective competing activities for reinforcement schedule thinning.
- Suggests an empirical approach for selecting competing activities.
- Contributes to optimizing behavioral interventions for destructive behaviors.
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