A comparison of dense-to-lean and fixed lean schedules of alternative reinforcement and extinction.
Start thinning at the lean schedule you want to finish with — it reaches goals faster than gradual fading.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three children with severe problem behavior took part.
The team compared two ways to thin reinforcement.
One way started with rich reinforcement then faded to lean.
The other way stayed lean from the start.
Both ways used differential reinforcement plus extinction.
An alternating-treatments design showed which path worked faster.
What they found
Two out of three kids hit the goal faster with the lean-start plan.
The third child did about the same under both plans.
Fixed-lean schedules saved time without extra problem behavior.
How this fits with other research
Chesbrough et al. (2024) ran the same comparison twenty years later.
They got the same result: lean-start beats gradual fading.
Stevens et al. (2018) stretched the idea to children with autism.
They added a multiple schedule and still saw low problem behavior.
Exline et al. (2024) moved the lean-start plan into living rooms via Zoom.
Parents coached online kept the good results while kids used natural cues.
Together these papers show the lean-start shortcut holds across places and people.
Why it matters
You can skip long fade steps when thinning reinforcement.
Begin with the lean schedule you want to end with.
This move can cut weeks off treatment and save staff hours.
Try it next time you run DRA plus extinction for severe behavior.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Behavior-reduction interventions typically employ dense schedules of alternative reinforcement in conjunction with operant extinction for problem behavior. After problem behavior is reduced in the initial treatment stages, schedule thinning is routinely conducted to make the intervention more practical in natural environments. In the current investigation, two methods for thinning alternative reinforcement schedules were compared for 3 clients who exhibited severe problem behavior. In the dense-to-lean (DTL) condition, reinforcement was delivered on relatively dense schedules (using noncontingent reinforcement for 1 participant and functional communication training for 2 participants), followed by systematic schedule thinning to progressively leaner schedules. During the fixed lean (FL) condition, reinforcement was delivered on lean schedules (equivalent to the terminal schedule of the DTL condition). The FL condition produced a quicker attainment of individual treatment goals for 2 of the 3 participants. The results are discussed in terms of the potential utility of using relatively lean schedules at treatment outset.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2004 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2004.37-323