Members (behaviors) of a response class are equivalent in that they produce the same functional reinforcer. Oftentimes, some members of a response class occur at higher rates than others. This can be problematic when the members that occur at high rates are socially inappropriate (e.g., self-injury, aggression, or disruption). The participant in…

Schools are increasingly using multi-tiered prevention models to address the academic and behavior needs of students. The foundation of these models is the implementation of universal, or Tier 1, practices designed to support the academic and behavioral needs of the vast majority of students. To support teachers in the use of effective Tier 1…

This study evaluated how children who exhibited functionally equivalent problem and appropriate behavior allocate responding to experimentally arranged reinforcer rates. Relative reinforcer rates were arranged on concurrent variable-interval schedules and effects on relative response rates were interpreted using the generalized matching equation.…

There is evidence suggesting aggression may be a positive reinforcer in many species. However, only a few studies have examined the characteristics of aggression as a positive reinforcer in mice. Four types of reinforcement schedules were examined in the current experiment using male Swiss CFW albino mice in a resident-intruder model of aggression…

The choice-making behavior of 2 typically developing children who engaged in problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement was evaluated within a concurrent-operants assessment that varied the quality of attention across free-play and demand conditions. The results demonstrated that it was possible to bias responding towards academic…

The effects of multiple instructional conditions on self-injury/aggression and on-task behaviours were assessed with a 9-year-old boy diagnosed with childhood disintegrative disorder. Behavioural responses were assessed as part of an educational evaluation to determine the occurrence of target behaviours in relation to varying degrees of…

This paper is based upon a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. at Stanford University

This study investigates the effects of pain and non-pain consequences on groups of 22 high- and 22 low-aggression boys, as determined by a peer rating scale. The boys, who had a mean age of 10 years, 8 months, were instructed to hit a punching apparatus. Through earphones, half of each group heard pain cues, i.e., "ouch", while the other half…

The effects of magnitude of victim's pain cues, the subject's characteristic lead of aggressiveness, and the level of prior anger arousal on aggressive behavior was studied in the elementary school boys. (ST)

We investigated the effects of response effort on the use of mands during functional communication training (FCT) in a participant with autism. The number of links in a picture exchange response chain determined two levels of response effort. Each level was paired with a fixed ratio (FR3) schedule of reinforcement for aggression in a reversal…

Presented children (N=96) aged 8-11 with verbal pain or nonpain stimuli contingent or noncontingent on a target response. Delivered stimuli within an aggressive or nonaggressive setting and with or without affect. Type of setting did not influence the behavior, but stimuli delivered in an affective manner did facilitate responding. (Author/RC)

Three experiments involving four children (ages 3-7) with mental retardation found participants preferred unreliable reinforcements under certain conditions. Findings are discussed regarding the role of specific stimuli as conditioned reinforcers and how they influence preference for a response that produces reinforcement on a leaner schedule than…

Two studies were done to examine aggressive behavior in humans. In Experiment One, adults working on a plunger pulling task could receive a 3.5 ma shock at 75% probability every two minutes. The shock was unrelated to their plunger pulling behavior. Subjects could press a toggle switch to deliver electric shock to the experimenter, who was in the…