A comparison of fixed momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior to variable momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior to reduce challenging behavior

Abstract

AbstractDifferential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is commonly used to reduce behavioral excesses. Momentary DRO schedules involve delivery of reinforcement contingent upon the absence of the target behavior at a given moment. Two variations of momentary DRO exist: fixed‐momentary (FM) DRO and variable‐momentary (VM) DRO. In the current study, we directly compared FM‐DRO and VM‐DRO schedules to reduce challenging behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement exhibited by four children with autism spectrum disorder. The results suggest that both the DRO schedules were equally effective to reduce challenging behavior. A social validity measure showed that most caregivers rated the VM‐DRO as a preferred schedule and noted the potential for FM‐DRO schedule to become more discriminable over time, which could reduce its effectiveness. However, most caregivers also commented that the FM‐DRO schedule was easier to implement.