Hanley, G. P., Iwata, B. A., & Thompson, R. H. (2001).
Reinforcement schedule thinning following treatment with functional communication training.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
34, 17-38.
We evaluated four methods for increasing the practicality of
functional communication training (FCT) by decreasing the
frequency of reinforcement for alternative behavior. Three
participants whose problem behaviors were maintained by positive
reinforcement were treated successfully with FCT in which
reinforcement for alternative behavior was initially delivered on
fixed-ratio (FR) 1 schedules. One participant was then exposed to
increasing delays to reinforcement under FR 1, a graduated
fixed-interval (FI) schedule, and a graduated multiple-schedule
arrangement in which signaled periods of reinforcement and
extinction were alternated. Results showed that (a) increasing
delays resulted in extinction of the alternative behavior, (b)
the FI schedule produced undesirably high rates of the
alternative behavior, and (c) the multiple schedule resulted in
moderate and stable levels of the alternative behavior as the
duration of the extinction component was increased. The other 2
participants were exposed to graduated mixed-schedule (unsignaled
alternation between reinforcement and extinction components) and
multiple-schedule (signaled alternation between reinforcement and
extinction components) arrangements in which the durations of the
reinforcement and extinction components were modified. Results
obtained for these 2 participants indicated that the use of
discriminative stimuli in the multiple schedule facilitated
reinforcement schedule thinning. Upon completion of treatment,
problem behavior remained low (or at zero), whereas alternative
behavior was maintained as well as differentiated during a
multiple-schedule arrangement consisting of a 4-min extinction
period followed by a 1-min reinforcement period.
DESCRIPTORS: _functional analysis, functional communication
training, differential reinforcement of alternative behavior,
reinforcement schedules, delay to reinforcement