The use of response deprivation to increase the academic performance of EMR students

This research was designed to evaluate the proposed advantages of response deprivation as the basis for establishing reinforcement schedules in applied settings. In Experiment 1, response deprivation was used to improve the cursive writing of six EMR children, using math as the contingent response. The results suggested that writing improved in schedules that produced response deprivation and when the children were given corrective feedback on their performances. In Experiment 2, reversibility of reinforcement was investigated in four EMR children working on math and writing tasks. The students were sequentially presented two reinforcement schedules that produced response deprivation; however, the instrumental and contingent responses were reversed from the first to the second. Consistent with the response deprivation view, the results indicated an increase in instrumental responding in both schedules, which suggests that reversibility of reinforcement can be achieved simply by changes in schedule requirements. In summary, the results of both experiments offered support for response deprivation as an alternative method of producing reinforcement in educational settings.