Md. Saunders et al., COMPARISON OF REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES IN THE REDUCTION OF STEREOTYPY WITH SUPPORTED ROUTINES, Research in developmental disabilities, 19(2), 1998, pp. 99-122
The rates and durations of stereotypic behaviors in four adolescents w
ith severe menial retardation were measured during two daily vocationa
l training Sessions and during contiguous periods of leisure in their
special education classrooms. Vocational training was conducted in two
different tasks, alternating across days. The task requirements for e
ach participant were matched to each participant's learning and perfor
mance characteristics. The participants were exposed to a fixed ratio
schedule of tokens exchangeable for food items on one task and to a va
riable interval schedule for the same consequences on the second task.
The schedules were chosen as an initial lest of a matching-law based
prediction by Myerson and Hale (1984): Variable interval reinforcement
for adaptive behavior will produce less allocation of responding to m
aladaptive behavior than will a ratio-based intervention. When work pe
rformances stabilized, the schedules of token delivery were reversed a
cross the tasks and performances again stabilized Results are reported
for periods when work performances met stability criteria. Stereotypy
occurred more during leisure than during vocational training under ei
ther schedule. The major differences in stereotypy between leisure and
vocational training were differences in episode length rather than ra
te of onset. Onset of stereotypy in vocational training, however, occu
rred at higher rates under the interval schedule than under the ratio
schedule in both tasks. The results are discussed in terms of Myerson
and Hale's prediction and implications for further research and applic
ation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.