The effects of noncontingent delivery of high- and low-preference stimuli on attention-maintained destructive behavior

An adolescent with severe mental retardation and cerebral palsy who display ed attention-maintained destructive behavior was exposed to noncontingent r einforcer delivery (NCR) with either a high-preference or a low-preference stimulus while reinforcement for destructive behavior with attention remain ed in effect (i.e., NCR without extinction). NCR without extinction was eff ective only when the high-preference stimulus was available, suggesting tha t systematic assessment of stimulus quality may enhance the effectiveness o f NCR with alternative stimuli.