Piazza, C. C., Patel, M. R., Gulotta, C. S., Sevin, B. M., & Layer, S. A. (2003).
On the relative contributions of positive reinforcement and escape extinction in the treatment of food refusal.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
36, 309-324.
We compared the effects of positive reinforcement alone, escape
extinction alone, and positive reinforcement with escape
extinction in the treatment of the food and fluid refusal of 4
children who had been diagnosed with a pediatric feeding
disorder. Consumption did not increase when positive
reinforcement was implemented alone. By contrast, consumption
increased for all participants when escape extinction was
implemented, independent of the presence or absence of positive
reinforcement. However, the addition of positive reinforcement to
escape extinction was associated with beneficial effects (e.g.,
greater decreases in negative vocalizations and inappropriate
behavior) for some participants.
DESCRIPTORS: _food refusal, food selectivity, negative
reinforcement, pediatric feeding disorders, positive
reinforcement, escape extinction