Do Children Prefer Contingencies? An Evaluation of the Efficacy of and Preference for Contingent Versus Noncontingent Social Reinforcement During Play

Abstract

Discovering whether children prefer reinforcement via a contingency or independent of their behavior is important considering the ubiquity of these programmed schedules of reinforcement. The current study evaluated the efficacy of and preference for social interaction within differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) and noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) schedules with typically developing children. Results showed that 7 of the 8 children preferred the DRA schedule; 1 child was indifferent. We also demonstrated a high degree of procedural fidelity, which suggested that preference is influenced by the presence of a contingency under which reinforcement can be obtained. These findings are discussed in terms of (a) the selection of reinforcement schedules in practice, (b) variables that influence children's preferences for contexts, and (c) the selection of experimental control procedures when evaluating the effects of reinforcement.

Toward Effective and Preferred Programming: A Case for the Objective Measurement of Social Validity with Recipients of Behavior-Change Programs

“…As an aside, this preference for contingent over noncontingent reinforcement also has some generality. Luczynski and Hanley (2009) recently showed that 7 of 8 children of typical development preferred contingent to noncontingent social reinforcement using the same assessment procedures (one child was indifferent).…”

Functional Communication Training and Chained Schedules of Reinforcement to Treat Challenging Behavior Maintained by Terminations of Activity Interruptions

“…A growing number of studies (e.g., Hanley, Piazza, Fisher, Contrucci, & Maglieri, 1997;Luczynski & Hanley, 2009 have indicated that individuals prefer contingency-based treatments over time-based treatments. Assessing preference within the context of treatments for challenging behavior maintained by the termination of interruptions of ongoing activities exhibited by individuals with ASD might lead to selections by clinicians of more effective available treatments.…”

Treatment of Life-Threatening Pica with 5-Year Follow-up

“…blocking, restraint) which are designed to mitigate, obstruct, or prevent responding. Giving individuals the choice to engage in some response (and contact reinforcement through a contingency) is typically more preferred than interventions that do not (Luczynski and Hanley 2009), which could have implications for the course of treatment for pica. Recently, Slocum et al (2017) used a differential reinforcement procedure to teach a 13-year-old girl with autism spectrum disorder to engage in a discard response, which consisted of picking up and putting pica items in a nearby trashcan.…”