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For many years, differential reinforcement (DR), commonly called Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA), is the preferred treatment for reducing disruptive and non-compliant behaviors in developmentally disabled children1. Reinforcement is a type of operant conditioning that increases the likelihood of a desirable behavior by giving a reward or removing an aversive stimulus after that behavior occurs. As a result, the desired behavior is “controlled” by its consequences2. For example, a child who brushes his teeth receives a sticker. This reinforcement of behaviors strengthens the association between toothbrushing and receiving a sticker. Differential reinforcement is reinforcing a target behavior while withholding reinforcement from an unwanted behavior. The goal is to replace unwanted behaviors with desirable behaviors. Specifically, DRA is prevalently by those who practice Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) on children with autism spectrum3. When a targeted behavior is followed by a reward, called reinforcer, it is more likely to repeat4. If, at the same time, reinforcer is withheld from an unwanted behavior, then this differential reinforcement arrangement places the unwanted behavior on extinction and replaces it by an appropriate one. How to use differential reinforcement?Differential reinforcement procedures are widely used by parents and teachers in daily lives. For instance, a teacher ignores a student who speaks up without raising his hand, but responds to him when he does raise his hand before he speaks. The teacher’s eye contact and verbal attention is a positive reinforcement that is only given when the acceptable behavior appears, but not when an unaccepted one is shown. A parent rewards the toddler with a candy when she uses the potty correctly, but withholds the candy when she doesn’t. Candy is the reinforcer in this case. In hospital, DRA is used to extinguish self-injurious behavior in patients5. Researchers found that reserving the most preferred reinforcer for unprompted appropriate behavior can enhance new skill acquisition6. What are the types of differential reinforcement?There are different types of DR, all of which entail reinforcing one class of behavior while withholding from another. The four most researched types are differential reinforcement of alternate behavior, differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior, differential reinforcement of other behavior, and differential reinforcement of low rates. They vary in the type of behavior being reinforced7. Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA)DRA reinforces a pre-determined target behavior that is an alternative to the unwanted behavior. The simplest example of this would be a teacher trying to teach a student to raise their hand before talking in class. Student raising their hand before speaking is an appropriate alternative behavior to simply speaking out. Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior (DRI)DRI reinforces a physically incompatible behavior to replace the unwanted behavior. This means it’s impossible to perform both behaviors at the same time. For example, if you’re trying to teach a child to remain seated in class, you’re going to provide reinforcement when they are in their seat and withhold reinforcement when they are out of their seat. A child cannot have in and out of seat behavior at the same time, and so the positive and negative behaviors are physically incompatible. Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO)DRO reinforces any behavior other than the unwanted behavior. This is usually done by setting a time interval, and if the inappropriate behavior doesn’t occur during this time period, reinforcement is provided. One problem with using DRO is that since the reinforcement is given contingent only on the non-occurrence of the target behavior, other challenging behaviors might occur instead and become reinforced. Because of this limitation, DRO is usually applied with an aversive contingency in order to be effective. Differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL)DRL reinforces at the end of an instructional session if the problem behavior occurred during the entire session at or below a predetermined criterion. The goal is usually to decrease the frequency of recurring behaviors, not to eliminate them entirely. Differential reinforcement in parentingDR is the method of choice in many positive parenting programs8 or intervention treatment for problem behavior in children. It is proven to be effective in changing a child’s behavior in a clinical environment and in the short term 9. However, the extent of time these behavior changes can maintain is highly variable, from one session to one year at the longest10. In a study of self-injurious behavior, 62% of subjects relapsed following the DR treatment. When the unwanted behaviors return, they become more resistant to extinction11. Effectiveness, criticisms, and when not to useDR works on the principles of behaviorism, which does not take into account the mental processes of an individual. In other words, DR assumes that you can train your child to adopt or give up certain behavior just as well as you can train a monkey, rat or pigeon as these were the animals used to establish the potency of reinforcement. We know that cannot be true. Our children are more complicated and sophisticated than lab animals. Because humans can think. We have a mind which contains mental processes that have important effects on our behavior. Neglecting them means we could be ignoring an important aspect of the unwanted behavior. Final ThoughtsIn summary, differential reinforcement involves withholding reinforcement for unwanted behavior and providing it only to an appropriate replacement behavior. Research has shown that it is an effective tool for changing behavior in children in the short term, but long term effectiveness has been proven questionable. References
What is the difference between differential reinforcement of alternative behavior and differential reinforcement?Put simply, DRO means you give reinforcement to behaviors other than the problem behavior. DRI means you reinforce appropriate behaviors that are incompatible with the problem behavior, or you reinforce an appropriate behavior that cannot be done at the same time as the problem behavior.
What's the difference between DRA and DRI?The Real Difference Between DRA and DRI
As stated earlier: If the alternative behavior you choose to reinforce is incompatible with the target behavior, then the intervention is a DRI procedure. If the alternative behavior is not incompatible with the target behavior, then the intervention is a DRA procedure.
What is the difference between differential reinforcement of alternative behavior and differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior quizlet?What is the difference between differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) and differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)? The replacement behavior selected in DRA does not have to be incompatible with the problem behavior.
What is differential reinforcement of Alternative behavior?Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA)
DRA involves reinforcing a behavior that serves as an alternative to the inappropriate behavior. A good example of this would be a child who demands food from his parents. Each time the child makes a demand, his parents would ignore him.
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