An improved translational approach to studying persistence-strengthening effects of differential reinforcement of...

Translational research investigating traditional differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) suggests that such procedures increase the persistence of target behavior relative to when the alternative behavior is first reinforced in a separate context prior to instigating the differential reinforcement procedure. One shortcoming of research on this topic is that baseline target response rates, used to calculate proportion-of-baseline rates as a measure of persistence, were established in the presence of reinforcement for an alternative behavior in the traditional DRA (hereafter referred to as TradDRA) condition but in isolation in the separate-context condition (SepDRA). In our procedure, using domestic hens, we first established baseline target response rates in the TradDRA and SepDRA conditions in isolation, then introduced the two DRA interventions (with separate and concurrently trained alternative behaviors), followed by disruptor tests. The disruptor was an additional response key associated with reinforcement. The main finding from this study was that by using this improved baseline measure as a frame of reference, target behavior persistence was still lower with the SepDRA procedure relative to the TradDRA procedure, aligning with findings from previous research. The improved baseline measure resulted in smaller differences between the two procedures, but these differences may still have useful applied implications.