A descriptive analysis of social consequences following problem behavior.
Staff attention most often follows aggression in group homes, so teach them to flip the script and reinforce calm behavior instead.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team watched the adults with intellectual disability in a group home.
They counted every time staff gave attention after problem behavior.
They tracked hitting, yelling, and other tough behaviors for weeks.
What they found
Attention was the most common thing staff gave back.
Aggression got the fastest and most attention of all.
Staff often talked to or touched the person right after they hit.
How this fits with other research
Repp et al. (1992) first showed that kids' problem behavior controls adult behavior.
This study proves the same thing happens with adults in real homes.
Miltenberger et al. (2013) later tested crying alone and found it was also kept going by kind attention.
Fabbretti et al. (1997) went further and taught new social skills after finding the same attention pattern.
Why it matters
Your staff may be feeding the very behaviors they want to stop.
Train them to give attention for calm hands, not just after hits.
Start with a simple rule: praise every 30 seconds of safe behavior.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The social consequences delivered for problem behavior during functional analyses are presumed to represent common sources of reinforcement; however, the extent to which these consequences actually follow problem behavior in natural settings remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine whether access to attention, escape, or tangible items is frequently observed as a consequence of problem behavior under naturalistic conditions. Twenty-seven adults who lived in a state residential facility and who exhibited self-injurious behavior, aggression, or disruption participated. Observers recorded the occurrence of problem behavior by participants as well as a variety of consequences delivered by caregivers. Results indicated that attention was the most common consequence for problem behavior and that aggression was more likely to produce social consequences than were other forms of problem behavior.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2001 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2001.34-169