Problem behavior maintained by a precurrent relation
When DRA makes problem behavior worse, check if that behavior is a precurrent step that unlocks the reward.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a functional analysis on self-injury that would not quit.
They wanted to know why DRA made the SIB worse, not better.
They tested if the SIB was not about getting attention or escape, but about setting up the next response that earned the reward.
What they found
The data showed the SIB worked like a green light.
Each hit made the next calm response pay off faster.
So the child kept hitting because hitting made the DRA reward arrive sooner.
How this fits with other research
Fontes et al. (2018) saw the same pattern in pigeons.
When they punished the new good response, the old bad response came roaring back.
Both studies prove the alternative response is tied to the problem behavior, not separate.
Green et al. (1986) also showed that cues after extinction can bring behavior back.
Their work hints that the precurrent relation acts like a hidden cue that restarts the SIB.
Kincaid (2023) gives us the language to label this: the SIB is part of the three-term contingency, not noise.
Why it matters
If your DRA is backfiring, stop and test if the problem behavior is a precurrent step.
Add a delay or remove the cue so the SIB no longer speeds up the reward.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractDifferential reinforcement of alternative behavior is a well‐established treatment for problem behavior in which the functional reinforcer is delivered after the occurrence of a replacement behavior and withheld after the occurrence of problem behavior. However, sometimes problem behavior continues to occur under these conditions, raising a question as to why problem behavior might maintain when its reinforcer is withheld. This study examined the possibility that problem behavior could be maintained indirectly in a precurrent relation. A functional analysis was conducted to identify a response‐response relation between self‐injurious behavior (SIB) and an alternative response. The results suggest that SIB was maintained by its relation with the alternative response.
Behavioral Interventions, 2023 · doi:10.1002/bin.1908