On the Effectiveness of and Preference for Punishment and Extinction Components of Function‐based Interventions

Abstract

The current study describes an assessment sequence that may be used to identify individualized, effective, and preferred interventions for severe problem behavior in lieu of relying on a restricted set of treatment options that are assumed to be in the best interest of consumers. The relative effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) with and without a punishment component was evaluated with 2 children for whom functional analyses demonstrated behavioral maintenance via social positive reinforcement. The results showed that FCT plus punishment was more effective than FCT in reducing problem behavior. Subsequently, participants' relative preference for each treatment was evaluated in a concurrent-chains arrangement, and both participants demonstrated a dear preference for FCT with punishment. These findings suggest that the treatment-selection process may be guided by person-centered and evidence-based values.

Toward Effective and Preferred Programming: A Case for the Objective Measurement of Social Validity with Recipients of Behavior-Change Programs

“…This was also the case in a study by Hanley, Piazza, Fisher, and Maglieri (2005), who showed that FCT was ineffective for two children with intellectual disabilities and autism, whereas FCT plus punishment (e.g., a 30-s hands-down procedure) was effective in reducing severe self-injury, aggression, and disruption. When the two children were provided with repeated opportunities to choose between FCT, FCT plus punishment, or punishment only, both children consistently chose FCT plus punishment.…”

“…Although I am starting to not be surprised when children prefer conditions involving punishment, I am confident that children's preference for time out and other punishment procedures are limited to specific conditions, like those we arranged in the studies described above (Hanley et al, 2005. The first important feature of these conditions is that other sources of reinforcement are available for functionally equivalent responses.…”

“…These results underscore the fact that if treatment options were restricted to those considered nonaversive or positive, the children in this study would have been prescribed treatments that were both ineffective and non-preferred. Taken together, the studies by Hanley et al (1997Hanley et al ( , 2005 suggest that the values guiding the selection of treatment strategies can be data-based. That is, treatment decisions need not be based on the name or structure of the intervention; they can be based on measures of efficacy and child preference.…”

Reinforcement Schedule Thinning Following Functional Communication Training: Review and Recommendations

“…It should be noted that, it is sometimes necessary to include supplemental treatment components when FCT fails to produce sufficient reductions in problem behavior (even before schedule thinning, see Hanley, Piazza, Fisher, & Maglieri, 2005).…”

Eficácia da psicoterapia analítica funcional para o transtorno de oposição desafiante: Experimento de caso único

“…Nestes trabalhos, é por vezes definido como um delineamento (Slocum & Vollmer, 2015) e em outras como análise funcional (Hanley, Piazza, Fisher & Maglieri, 2005;Masterller & Petter, 2014;Greer, Fisher, Saini, Owen & Jones, 2016).…”