Little is known about effects of response effort on behavioral resurgence. In this translational study, we evaluated rate of responding following reinforcement and extinction of two different responses. Six typically developing adults received points on a VI 3 s schedule for touching moving targets (R1 and R2) on a computer screen. To create disparity in response effort we manipulated the speed and size of the targets. Each session consisted of three phases: Establishment of R1, Differential Reinforcement of an Alternative Response (DRA), and a test for Resurgence (EXT for R1 and R2). Rate of responding in the Resurgence test was compared across three conditions: (a) R1 and R2 were the same size and speed (equal difficulty), (b) R1 was a larger, slower-moving target (easy response) and R2 was a smaller, faster-moving target (difficult response), and (c) R1 was the difficult response and R2 was the easy response. The order of conditions b and c was balanced across participants. In 9 of 12 cases, there was greater resurgence when the easy response was established first than when the difficult response was established first. Implications of this transitional investigation for applied practice require further investigation, however, our initial hypothesis was supported: practitioners should be cautious when designing instruction of behavior that a student may use as an alternative to problem behavior -- this alternative behavior should not be more difficult than the target behavior itself.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
