The objective of this paper is to provide a review of recent literature on response interruption and redirection (RIRD), a treatment for stereotypy. We discuss procedural variations and the potential mechanisms that are responsible for the effectiveness of RIRD. Clinical considerations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Response interruption and redirection has been shown to be effective for decreasing vocal stereotypy, but treatment effects in the natural environment have yet to be documented in the literature. A recent review indicated the paucity of studies that implemented response interruption and redirection during typically occurring activities or for sessions longer than 5-10 min. One method to promote generalization across settings may be stimulus control procedures. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the progression of the intervention from a highly structured to a more natural setting, and across longer durations. We also investigated the extent to which a signal could acquire stimulus control over stereotypy. Although we were unable to bring stereotypy under the inhibitory control of a signal alone, we maintained low levels of stereotypy in the natural environment and ultimately extended sessions up to 30 min. Clinical implications and areas for future research are discussed.

The overjustification hypothesis suggests that extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic rewards are common in strengthening behavior in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities; we examined overjustification effects in this context. A literature search yielded 65 data sets permitting comparison of responding during an initial no-reinforcement phase to a subsequent no-reinforcement phase, separated by a reinforcement phase. We used effect sizes to compare response levels in these two no-reinforcement phases. Overall, the mean effect size did not differ from zero; levels in the second no-reinforcement phase were equally likely to be higher or lower than in the first. However, in contrast to the overjustification hypothesis, levels were higher in the second no-reinforcement phase when comparing the single no-reinforcement sessions immediately before and after reinforcement. Outcomes consistent with the overjustification hypothesis were somewhat more likely when the target behavior occurred at relatively higher levels prior to reinforcement.

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