Negative reinforcement in applied behavior analysis: an emerging technology.
Negative reinforcement is a ready technology—map the escape, plan the extinction, and reinforce the replacement response.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ohta (1987) wrote a how-to paper. It shows ways to use negative reinforcement in real cases.
The paper lists steps for escape extinction and differential negative reinforcement. It gives rules for when and how to apply them.
What they found
The paper says negative reinforcement is a strong but under-used tool. It can teach new skills and stop problem behavior.
Clear plans make the method safe and effective.
How this fits with other research
Fahmie et al. (2013) tested the ideas in real functional analyses. They found that DRO control conditions fail when behavior is escape-maintained. This extends the 1987 warning: pick your control condition with care.
Dall et al. (1997) asked if client "control over reinforcement" makes FCT better. Their data say no—both FCT and yoked NCR cut SIB the same. This extends the 1987 view: the contingency itself matters more than who triggers it.
Santi (1978) showed rats match time across concurrent VI negative-reinforcement schedules. The 1987 paper turns that basic finding into a lesson for people: schedule the escape wisely.
Why it matters
You can add negative reinforcement to your toolkit today. Use escape extinction to kill avoidance and differential negative reinforcement to shape the replacement response. Pick ignore or alone as your FA control when you suspect escape, and skip DRO. The method is already spelled out—just follow the steps.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although the effects of negative reinforcement on human behavior have been studied for a number of years, a comprehensive body of applied research does not exist at this time. This article describes three aspects of negative reinforcement as it relates to applied behavior analysis: behavior acquired or maintained through negative reinforcement, the treatment of negatively reinforced behavior, and negative reinforcement as therapy. A consideration of research currently being done in these areas suggests the emergence of an applied technology on negative reinforcement.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1987 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1987.20-361