Reinforcement

Reinforcement includes the contingent presentation of a stimulus following the occurrence of a response that results in an increased likelihood of that response. This behavioral mechanism is used to build up or support appropriate behavior in an attempt to replace challenging behavior. While listed as an EBP by several sources, reinforcement rarely occurs as a procedure on its own. Instead, reinforcement as a procedure appears across several of the described EBPs in this document, including FCT and differential reinforcement.

In the context of intervention for challenging behavior, the response selected for reinforcement is typically an appropriate response that serves as an alternative to challenging behavior. The reinforcer is typically identical to the reinforcer maintaining challenging behavior or is a reinforcer more valuable to the individual than the reinforcer(s) obtained following challenging behavior. See FCT, DRA/I/O, and Self-Management sections for examples from literature.

Intervention type
Behavioral mechanism(s)
Severity and behavioral function considerations
Caregiver, context, and practical considerations

Intervention type

Reinforcement is typically implemented as a component of a larger intervention package that includes extinction for problem behavior or a concurrent reinforcement schedule arrangement.

Behavioral mechanism(s)

Reinforcement.

Severity and behavioral function considerations

Reinforcement can and has been incorporated as a component of intervention across varying severities of challenging behavior. Likewise, it has been included in treatment packages designed to address challenging behavior maintained by social and non-social sources of reinforcement. In situations addressing socially maintained challenging behavior, the reinforcer incorporated is typically the functional reinforcer.

However, in some implementations, the reinforcer available is a reinforcer more potent than the functional reinforcer or a combination of reinforcers, including functional and arbitrary (i.e., reinforcers that have been demonstrated to impact responding but are unrelated to challenging behavior) reinforcers. In situations addressing non-socially mediated challenging behavior, the reinforcer available is one that has been demonstrated to compete effectively with challenging behavior or be more valuable than engaging in challenging behavior.

Caregiver, context and practical considerations

Typical implementation of reinforcement-based interventions requires ongoing monitoring by a caregiver so that reinforcement can be delivered when the targeted, appropriate response is exhibited. Thus, caregivers with competing responsibilities may struggle to implement effectively. Initially, most reinforcement-based interventions require a dense schedule of reinforcement (i.e., reinforcers are delivered frequently and/or after each occurrence of the target response). This initially dense reinforcement schedule can result in disruption to ongoing activities. However, successful strategies to thin the schedule of reinforcement delivery have been described in the literature, including delays to reinforcement, increasing the response requirement, and specifying time intervals during which reinforcement is available using schedule correlated stimuli (i.e., a multiple schedule).

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