Some Effects of Magnitude of Reinforcement on Persistence of Responding

McComas, Jennifer J.; Hartman, Ellie; Jiménez, Ángel Andrés

doi:10.1007/bf03395635

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Much of the existing literature in this area has focused on how various reinforcement parameters (e.g., rate, magnitude, delay) impact response persistence. This literature base is robust and many of the findings have been replicated across species (e.g., pigeons, Nevin et al, ; rats, Mauro & Mace, ; goldfish, Igaki & Sakagami, ) and in both human operant (McComas, Hartman, & Jimenez, ) and applied (Romani et al, ) studies. In the current set of experiments, we took care to minimize the impact of reinforcer related variables, such as rate and magnitude, in the phase preceding extinction so that the impact of response preference could be isolated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Effects of response preference on resistance to change

Ringdahl¹,

Berg

Wacker

et al. 2018

J Exper Analysis Behavior

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Treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, such as functional communication training, are widely used. Research regarding the maintenance of related treatment effects is limited. Nevin and Wacker (2013) provided a conceptual framework, rooted in behavioral momentum theory, for the study of treatment maintenance that addressed two components: (a) reemergence of problem behavior, and (b) continued expression of appropriate behavior. In the few studies on this topic, focus has been on variables impacting the reemergence of problem behavior, with fewer studies evaluating the persistence of appropriate behavior. Given the findings from applied research related to functional communication training, variables related to response topography, such as response preference, may impact this aspect of maintenance. In the current study, the impact of response preference on persistence was evaluated in the context of functional communication training for individuals who did not exhibit problem behavior (Experiment 1) and for individuals with a history of reinforcement for problem behavior (Experiment 2). High-preferred mands were more persistent than low-preferred mands. These findings suggest that response related variables, such as response preference, impact response persistence and further suggest that response related variables should be considered when developing interventions such as functional communication training.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Effects of response preference on resistance to change

Ringdahl¹,

Berg

Wacker

et al. 2018

J Exper Analysis Behavior

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“…The manipulation of magnitude of reinforcement has been shown to impact a variety of outcomes including preference for work arrangements (Ward-Horner, Pittenger, Pace, & Fienup, 2014), the effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR; J. E. Carr, Bailey, Ecott, Lucker, & Weil, 1998), behavioral persistence (McComas, Hartman, & Jimenez, 2008), choice responding during play activities (Hoch, McComas, Johnson, Faranda, & Guenther, 2002), skill acquisition with differential reinforcement (Fiske et al, 2014), allocation of responding between problem behavior and mands for breaks (Peterson, Frieder, Smith, Quigley, & Van Norman, 2009), and reinforcer efficacy and preference during treatments for problem behavior (Trosclair-Lasserre, Lerman, Call, Addison, & Kodak, 2008). Although other dimensions of reinforcement (i.e., quality, Lee & Sturmey, 2006; delay to reinforcement, Muething et al, 2018) have been shown to affect communicative response variability, the current results are the first to have demonstrated such effects produced by magnitude of reinforcement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation of the Effects of Varying Magnitudes of Reinforcement on Variable Responding Exhibited by Individuals With Autism

et al. 2019

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Interventions aimed at increasing communicative response variability hold particular importance for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Several procedures have been demonstrated in the applied and translational literature to increase response variability. However, little is known about the relationship between reinforcer magnitude and response variability. In the basic literature, Doughty, Giorno, and Miller evaluated the effects of reinforcer magnitude on behavioral variability by manipulating reinforcer magnitude across alternating relative frequency threshold contingencies, with results suggesting that larger reinforcers induced repetitive responding. The purpose of this study was to translate Doughty et al.’s findings to evaluate the relative effects of different magnitudes of reinforcement on communicative response variability in children with ASD. A Lag 1 schedule of reinforcement was in place during each condition within an alternating treatments design. Magnitudes of reinforcement contingent on variable communicative responding were manipulated across the two conditions. Inconsistent with basic findings, the results showed higher levels of variable communicative responding associated with the larger magnitude of reinforcement. These outcomes may have potential implications for interventions aimed at increasing response variability in individuals with ASD, as well as future research in this area.

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“…Much of the translational research in this area has been focused on exploring whether functional relations observed in the laboratory occur with humans in the natural environment. The main conclusion from this area of research is that higher rates and larger magnitudes of reinforcement produce more persistent behavior in humans with and without developmental disabilities than do lower rates and smaller magnitudes of reinforcement (e.g., Cohen, 1996;Mace et al, 1990Mace et al, , 1997McComas et al, 2008). Applied research in this area has been conducted mostly in the context of assessment and treatment of challenging behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities.…”

Section: The Baby In the Bathwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Resistance to change, of behavior and of theory

Craig

2023

J Exper Analysis Behavior

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The persistence of operant behavior when disrupted tends to be positively related to how often reinforcers were delivered in the past. Behavioral momentum theory describes this finding as the outcome of Pavlovian processes. That is, the relation between discriminative stimuli and reinforcers that were delivered in their presence strengthens behavior, thereby making it more likely to persist. If only the story were that simple. A growing number of findings challenge the basic tenets of behavioral momentum theory. Some even call into question whether Pavlovian relations contribute to persistence in the first place. In this paper, I will review behavioral momentum theory and some of the data that have been problematic for the theory. I will argue that despite these very real challenges, the theory provides important utility not only to basic analyses of response persistence but also to clinical interventions directed at long‐term reductions in problem behavior. It, for example, has set the stage for the development of alternative conceptual analyses of resistance to change, two of which will be highlighted for readers. Moreover, behavioral momentum theory may tell us something important about the reasons it continues to have an influence on the field, despite the challenging data that deter it.

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Some Effects of Magnitude of Reinforcement on Persistence of Responding

Cited by 8 publications

References 10 publications

Effects of response preference on resistance to change

Effects of response preference on resistance to change

An Evaluation of the Effects of Varying Magnitudes of Reinforcement on Variable Responding Exhibited by Individuals With Autism

Resistance to change, of behavior and of theory

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