Previous research indicates that manipulating dimensions of reinforcement during differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) for situations in which extinction cannot be implemented is a potential approach for treating destructive behavior. Therefore, we replicated and extended previous research by determining (a) the conditions under which DRA without extinction decreased and maintained low levels of destructive behavior and (b) whether intervention effects maintained during reinforcement schedule thinning for the alternative response (i.e., compliance). Results showed that effective treatments were developed in the absence of extinction by manipulating the quality of reinforcement for compliance for 2 participants and by combining manipulations of the magnitude and quality of reinforcement for compliance for the other 2 participants. However, maintaining treatment effects during reinforcement schedule thinning required combining the magnitude and quality of reinforcement for 3 of the 4 participants. We discuss the clinical utility of this approach, review limitations of the study, and suggest directions for future research.

Previous research comparing the effects of descriptive and general praise on the acquisition of skills has yielded mixed outcomes. We attempted to replicate extend previous research by (a) isolating the effects of the different types of praise for acquisition of skills in eight preschool children and (b) determining child preference for the different types of praise. However, only two participants consistently acquired target skills (with negligible differences across the different types of praise); six of the eight participants did not consistently acquire target skills with either type of praise.Therefore, we added edibles to increase the efficacy of praise for these six participants. Results showed that all six participants acquired more skills when edibles were added. Furthermore, two of the six participants for whom we added edibles showed acquisition under particular conditions after a history with edibles. Results of the preference evaluation showed idiosyncratic outcomes across the seven participants with whom it was conducted.

Results regarding the efficacy of and preference for token gain and loss within token economies have been inconsistent. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the influence of reinforcer magnitude on on-task behavior by changing the schedule of reinforcement during token gain and loss procedures. Results showed that when the token schedule was the same, token gain and loss were similarly effective in increasing on-task behavior for most participants; however, three participants preferred the gain procedure and one preferred the loss procedure. When the token schedule was thinned for one procedure and not the other (e.g., five tokens were available in gain and 10 were available in loss), token gain and loss were similarly effective, two participants had consistent preference for gain, and two participants' preference changed when the schedule of reinforcement changed.