Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates of behavior (DRL) is “a schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement: (a) follows each occurrence of the target behavior that is separated from the previous response by a minimum interresponse time, or (b) is contingent on the number of responses within a period of time not exceeding a predetermined criterion” (Cooper, Heron & Heward, 2007). Show
There may be times when you want to greatly reduce a behavior, but don’t want to eliminate it altogether. Researchers have used DRL to decrease many behaviors, including: stereotypic responding (Singh, Dawson, & Manning, 1981), talking out in class (Dietz & Repp, 1973), and rate of taking bites while eating (Lennox, Miltenberger, and Donelly, 1987). Another possibility for implementing DRL is to use an interval schedule of reinforcement. As in the previous procedure, you would set a criterion limit (like Gina did with the limit of 10 instances of hand-raising). However, for this procedure, you would divide the session into intervals and set a criterion limit for each interval. If the number of times the behavior is emitted meets the criterion limit or is less than the criterion limit, then the individual receives reinforcement at the end of the interval. So, Gina could use an interval DRL for addressing Luke’s behavior. In this instance, she might divide the 5-minute circle time into 10 30-second intervals. (I would suggest wearing a VibraLite watch or an interval app such as the ABA Interval Recording App to track the intervals.) Gina decides that the criterion limit will start at 2 instances of hand-raising each interval. If Luke raises his hand 2 times or less in an interval, then at the end of the interval she gives him a little bit of individualized attention, such as a pat on the shoulder or verbal praise. A third way to implement a DRL is called spaced-responding DRL. In this procedure, you will measure interresponse time (or IRT… behavior analysts love their abbreviations, don’t they?!). So, in Gina’s intervention with Luke, this means that she would measure the amount of time from one instance of hand-raising to the next instance of hand-raising, or “the duration of time between two responses” (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). The goal here would be to increase the amount of time between instance of hand-raising, which would mean that Luke was raising his hand less frequently. Gina discovers that Luke is raising his hand about once every 25 seconds. She will begin by providing social reinforcement when he has gone 30 seconds without raising his hand. Over time, she will systematically increase the IRT until Luke is raising his hand approximately once every 2 minutes during circle time. When designing an intervention using DRL there are a few things you should consider:
REFERENCESCooper J.O, Heron T.E, Heward W.L. Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson; 2007 Dietz, S. M., & Repp, A. C. (1973). Decreasing classroom misbehavior through the use of DRL schedules of reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6(3), 457. Lennox, D. B., Miltenberger, R. G., & Donnelly, D. R. (1987). Response interruption and DRL for the reduction of rapid eating. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20(3), 279-284. Singh, N. N., Dawson, M. J., & Manning, P. (1981). Effects of spaced responding DRL on the stereotyped behavior of profoundly retarded persons. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 14(4), 521-526. WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBASam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College. Why is it important to establish the baseline prior to intervention?The purpose of the baseline information is to assess the effect of the program and to compare what happens before and after the program has been implemented. Without baseline data, it's difficult to estimate any changes or to demonstrate progress, so it's best to capture baseline whenever possible.
What are the 4 measurable dimensions of behavior?Behavior has at least six dimensions, these are: frequency or rate, duration, latency, topography, locus, and force.
How much time passed between iterations of the same behavior is called?Interresponse Time (IRT)
Definition: The amount of time that elapses between two consecutive instances of a behavior.
What term refers to the period of time that elapses between when one person speaks and another person replies?Inter-response time (IRT) is defined as the elapsed period between a given response and the next given response.
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