Reinforcer Displacement

Abstract

An ABA design was used to evaluate the effects of reinforcer displacement on the self-stimulatory behavior of two severely retarded 19-year-old males. Reinforcer displacement involves the imposition of continuous reinforcement followed by sudden extinction. It was hypothesized that application of this procedure would result in the rapid weakening of undesirable behaviors thought to be maintained by unidentifiable contingencies. Use of the reinforcer displacement procedure produced substantial decreases in the targeted inappropriate behaviors for both subjects. Two-week follow-up assessments indicated that treatment effects were maintained for one subject, but recovery to baseline levels was observed for the other. Treatment effects, ethical considerations, and therapeutic potential are discussed.