title: The effect of rules on differential reinforcement of other behavior.
abstract: Previous research on the treatment of problem behavior has shown differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to be an effective behavior-reduction procedure. However, the extent to which presession descriptions of the DRO contingency enhance intervention effects has not been examined. In the current study, we compared a condition in which a presession rule that described the DRO contingency was given to a condition in which no rule was given for 4 participants. The target behavior was toy play, which served as an analogue to problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. Results showed that DRO was more efficient for 1 participant and more effective for 2 participants when a rule was given.
authors.affiliation: FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE SCOTT CENTER FOR AUTISM TREATMENT.
authors.forename: Amanda C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wilder
authors.forename: Meagan K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: Yanerys
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ditzian
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology
keywords: autism; automatic reinforcement; differential reinforcement of other behavior; rule-governed behavior; rules