Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior increases resistance to extinction: clinical demonstration, animal modeling, and clinical test of one solution.

Basic research with pigeons on behavioral momentum suggests that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) can increase the resistance of target behavior to change. This finding suggests that clinical applications of DRA may inadvertently increase the persistence of target behavior even as it decreases its frequency. We conducted three coordinated experiments to test whether DRA has persistence-strengthening effects on clinically significant target behavior and then tested the effectiveness of a possible solution to this problem in both a nonhuman and clinical study. Experiment 1 compared resistance to extinction following baseline rates of reinforcement versus higher DRA rates of reinforcement in a clinical study. Resistance to extinction was substantially greater following DRA. Experiment 2 tested a rat model of a possible solution to this problem. Training an alternative response in a context without reinforcement of the target response circumvented the persistence-strengthening effects of DRA. Experiment 3 translated the rat model into a novel clinical application of DRA. Training an alternative response with DRA in a separate context resulted in lower resistance to extinction than employing DRA in the context correlated with reinforcement of target behavior. The value of coordinated bidirectional translational research is discussed.

The Persistence-Strengthening Effects of DRA: An Illustration of Bidirectional Translational Research.

We summarize a series of bidirectional research studies that demonstrate the persistence-strengthening effects of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior on problem behavior. We model a possible solution to this problem with rats followed by replication with a human clinical population. The importance of coordinated basic and applied research to stimulate new behavioral technologies is emphasized.

Agreement of function across methods used in school-based functional assessment with preadolescent and adolescent students.

As we begin to apply functional assessment procedures in mainstream educational settings, there is a need to explore options for identifying behavior function that are not only effective but efficient and practical for school personnel to employ. Attempts to simplify the functional assessment process are evidenced by the development of informant assessment measures (e.g., interviews, rating scales). In this study, the agreement (i.e., on relative rankings and primary function) across sources of information regarding behavior function was examined for 19 students in a middle school setting. These measures included teacher ratings, student ratings, student interviews, observer ratings, and conditional probabilities. In addition, for 1 student, whether information obtained through these sources was consistent with that obtained through a brief analog analysis of function was examined. Results indicated low agreement regarding rank order of behavior function and on primary function across all sources of information.