lucas, an 8-year-old boy with autism, has been attending a special school for some years. He has always participated actively in his classes and shown interest when he was taught. His teachers often praised him, but recently he has begun to display behaviors such as yelling, teasing his teachers, and other disruptive behaviors. Lucas is earning the label of oppositionist from his teachers.
The small clinical vignette, created by yours truly but not so different from situations that are repeated every day in offices, therapeutic centers and schools, will allow me to answer the question that gives rise to this article. When we refer to differential reinforcement, we are talking about a procedure derived from behavior analysis and that broadly contains two aspects. On the one hand, reinforcing certain target behaviors. On the other hand, put under extinction another/s that for some reason (hinder learning, be aggressive, etc.), are not considered appropriate for the person and their life in society.
I will briefly explain the terms reinforcement and extinction. It is called booster to any consequence that increases the future probability of occurrence of a behavior. There are two types of reinforcement, on the one hand the positive (+), which consists of the addition of something new to the environment as a result of a behavior, and the negative (-) which is the withdrawal of a stimulus as a consequence of a behavior. Regardless of whether it is added or removed, the fundamental thing in reinforcement is two issues:
- The occurrence of a behavior in the future always increases
- It is defined by its function. This means that a priori nothing is reinforcement (or a punishment), but rather it depends on whether the behavior increases in the future or not.
Before the behavior goes away, it may increase in frequency, intensity, or duration
Praise from the teacher to the child who has just completed a task could be a positive reinforcement (if the child in the future continues or increases his or her homework behavior); while if the same boy shouts when receiving an assignment from his teacher and as a consequence she withdraws it, there will be negatively reinforced (if the child continues to repeat this behavior in the future), the child’s screaming behavior.
Let us now go to the extinction. If a behavior that has been previously reinforced is no longer reinforced, it will gradually decrease in occurrence until it disappears.
If you value articles like this, consider supporting us by becoming a Pro subscriber. Subscribers enjoy access to members-only articles, materials, and webinars.
Presentation on differential reinforcement
Presentation prepared by
For example is the following. Every time I get to my building I press the elevator button and it always comes (my behavior is positively reinforced). One day, when I arrive, I press the button but the elevator does not appear (the behavior is no longer reinforced). I press, I press several times quickly, I shout “elevator” while I press hard but it never comes, until I finally give up and take the stairs up the nine floors that separate me from the apartment.
All the components of extinction can be seen in the situation:
- A previously reinforced behavior
- At a certain point the reinforcement disappears
- The behavior stops after a while
A very important phenomenon is also observed and one that we should never overlook when recommending or performing a procedure of this type: what is called extinction peak. Before the behavior goes away, it may increase in frequency, intensity, or duration (sometimes all of these dimensions together). Even novel and emotional behaviors may appear (in our example it could be shouting and pressing hard).
If you want to read more about these principles of conduct, in addition to understanding how we are affected by them regardless of whether we know their existence, I recommend clicking and .
Now back to our little one.
How could differential reinforcement be applied in Lucas’s case?
Suppose that the functional analysis of Lucas’s behavior (to learn more about AFC, you can read and ) leads us to the hypothesis that the child’s behaviors are being maintained by attention. While he is working properly in the classroom, he goes unnoticed. The teachers do not pay attention to him and as time has passed, the congratulations and verbal feedback they gave him for correctly completing tasks and collaborating in class decreased and even disappeared. However, as soon as bad behavior appears, reprimands are not long in coming. What has happened in our hypothetical case, which is not so hypothetical?
Initially, the child’s good and learning-related behaviors were positively reinforced through the attention of his teachers. As time went by, this social reinforcement decreased, but not the child’s need for social recognition. Through behavioral problems he obtains the same reinforcer that he previously had access to working in class, that is, the attention of his teachers.
How could we apply a differential reinforcement procedure? Although it was mentioned at the beginning of the section, the first step would of course be to perform a functional analysis of behavior. Through it, we will understand which contextual variables are related to the behaviors in question, and what function they fulfill. At the same time, through a behavioral record, we must obtain what is called the baseline, which is nothing more than an exploration of how many times, for how long and with what intensity, problem behaviors occur in the absence of intervention. This way, it will be possible to establish later whether the procedures used are effective or not, and to plan other interventions that complement or replace those applied.
If we do not understand what function the behavior has in the environment where it occurs, it is more likely that it will be maintained or increased, rather than decreased.
Following this, we can identify alternative behaviors to the problematic ones, and reinforce them contingent upon their occurrence; at the same time we will put ridicule and screams under extinction. Those moments in which you are paying attention to the instructions, participating in class, doing exercises or even in silence, can be behavioral objectives to reinforce. In turn and in contrast, the teachers, instead of scolding him every time Lucas makes fun of them, could ignore him. At some point, they must go back to treating their student the same way they did when he did not have these problems.
There are different types of differential reinforcement in the literature. Some of them are:
- Differential reinforcement of high rates
- Low rates
- Of other behaviors
- Incompatible behaviors
Although each one has its particularities, they share the principle of reinforcing certain behaviors, while others are put under extinction. If we place the main variables in an intervention in a table, it could look like this:
Behaviors to reinforce/teach
problem behaviors
It is reinforced
YEAH
NO (extinction)
Effort to do them
Bit
A lot
Access to reinforcement with other people/places
YEAH
NO
Reinforcement amount
A lot
nothing or little
Time to get reinforcement
Immediate
Delayed or without reinforcement
Clarifications and final comments
This article is not intended to be an example of how to carry out a differential reinforcement procedure. Although tools that should always be taken into account, such as functional analysis, were mentioned, they were treated superficially. In some cases as well, such as when self- or heteroaggressive behaviors occur, it is not possible to extend the baseline, and the intervention must be given as soon as possible.
Nor is the objective to suggest that behavioral problems must be ignored in order for them to be reduced. If we do not understand what function the behavior has in the environment where it occurs, it is more likely that it will be maintained or increased, rather than decreased. Following Lucas’ example, if instead of seeking attentional reinforcement he sought to avoid carrying out tasks, by ignoring him we would achieve nothing.
The intention has been to highlight a very useful tool when seeking behavioral change, and also to make visible situations that tend to be repeated in educational, clinical settings and life in general. It is not necessary to talk about people with diagnoses to find scenarios like those exemplified.
Finally, a second objective was to show the perspective of behavior analysis when intervening on a problem. It is common to find people who carry labels such as disobedient, oppositional, capricious, interpreting their behavior as an internal quality, and diverting attention from the influence that the context has on the way they behave. An uncomfortable but frequent truth is that extended over time, these problems end up undermining the relationships of the people involved. The thing is that if they are oppositionists, the responsibility falls on them, who behave that way because they want to. It is almost a consequence that if we spend several hours a day with children like this, we end up forming a negative opinion of them.
From behavioral approaches, however, we think about problems differently. Instead of assigning personal responsibilities, with the consequences that this has in terms of our professional effectiveness and the quality of relationships, we focus on the environment, understanding our behavior as a function of it and not as an internal characteristic.
Bibliographic references
Miltenberger, R. (2013). Behavior modification. Principles and procedures. Pyramid Editions. Spain.