Functional analysis of erratic body movement maintained by visual stimulation. Incorporating conjugate reinforcement into a paired-stimulus preference assessment.

A concurrent-operants design was used to analyze the repetitive behavior of observing reflective surfaces while simultaneously engaging in erratic gross-motor body movements (EBMs) exhibited by a young boy diagnosed with autism. The assessment involved an evaluation of preference for controlled (i.e., the participant controlled the visual activity on a TV screen) versus uncontrolled (i.e., the participant viewed a previously recorded tape from the controlled condition) TV footage of his EBMs. The analysis indicated that both observing and EBMs were maintained by the direct correspondence between the body movements and the visual stimulation they produced when controlled by the participant. Thus, the EBMs appeared to be maintained on a conjugate schedule of reinforcement.