Increases in social initiation toward an adolescent with autism: reciprocity effects.
Reinforcing a teen's social bids makes adults bid back, creating a reciprocity loop.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Carr et al. (2003) worked with three high-school students with autism. Each teen earned tokens and praise every time they started a conversation with an adult.
The team used a multiple-baseline design across participants. They measured social initiations during both training sessions and later probe sessions with no tokens.
What they found
When the teens' initiations were reinforced, the adults also began starting more conversations. This social reciprocity bonus appeared strongest during training sessions.
The effect carried over into later probe sessions, though at lower levels.
How this fits with other research
Mruzek et al. (2019) extended this idea to toddlers. Parents of 2- to 6-year-olds learned to reward social bids. The results were weaker, showing the method works best with direct clinician delivery.
Stephens et al. (2018) conceptually replicated the finding. Embedding a child's restricted interests into recess activities also increased peer interaction, as long as the activity had a positive history.
Woodcock et al. (2020) seems to contradict the positive picture. Autistic teens made fewer fair offers than peers in lab bargaining games. The difference is context: Carr et al. (2003) used natural reinforcement, while Anne et al. used abstract economic tasks.
Why it matters
You can spark a social chain reaction. Reinforce a teen's greeting, question, or comment, and watch the adult respond more often. Use tokens plus praise during direct sessions for the biggest effect. Probe without tokens later to see if the reciprocity sticks.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Level of spontaneous social initiating by three adult caregivers toward a youth with autism was studied during a program to increase the youth's level of social initiating. The adult participants were three staff members of a program for individuals with autism; they were assigned to the classroom of the youth participant, but none was directly involved in his educational program. Under a multiple-baseline across subject design, in combination with a multi-element design, the youth's social initiations toward each adult were systematically reinforced. Two sessions were conducted daily: one in which prompts, token reinforcers, and verbal praise for the youth's social behavior were presented (baseline and training sessions), and one in which prompts were absent and only verbal praise was presented (probe sessions). Frequency of spontaneous initiating toward the youth increased for each adult during treatment when the youth's frequency of initiating toward a given adult increased. It was higher during training vs. probe sessions, where level of social initiating by the youth was also higher.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2003 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2003.04.001