Rincover A, Cook R, Peoples A, Packard D
J Appl Behav Anal. 1979 Summer;12(2):221-33. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1979.12-221.
The role of sensory reinforcement was examined in programming multiple treatment gains in self-stimulation and spontaneous play for developmentally disabled children. Two phases were planned. First, we attempted to identify reinforcers maintaining self-stimulation. Sensory Extinction procedures were implemented in which auditory, proprioceptive, or visual sensory consequences of self-stimulatory behavior were systematically removed and reintroduced in a reversal design. When self-stimulation was decreased or eliminated as a result of removing one of these sensory consequences, the functional sensory consequence was designated as a child's preferred sensory reinforcer. In Phase 2, we assessed whether children would play selectively with toys producing the preferred kind of sensory stimulation. The results showed the following. (1) Self-stimulatory behavior was found to be maintained by sensory reinforcement. When the sensory reinforcer was removed, self-stimulation extinguished. (2) The sensory reinforcers identified for self-stimulatory behavior also served as reinforcers for new, appropriate toy play. (3) The multiple treatment gains observed appeared to be relatively durable in the absence of external reinforcers for play or restraints on self-stimulation. These results illustrate one instance in which multiple behavior change may be programmed in a predictable, lawful fashion by using "natural communities of sensory reinforcement."
研究了感觉强化在为发育障碍儿童安排自我刺激和自发游戏中的多种治疗效果方面的作用。计划了两个阶段。首先，我们试图确定维持自我刺激的强化物。实施了感觉消退程序，在该程序中，自我刺激行为的听觉、本体感觉或视觉感觉后果被系统地消除，并以反转设计重新引入。当由于消除这些感觉后果之一而使自我刺激减少或消除时，功能性感觉后果被指定为儿童偏爱的感觉强化物。在第二阶段，我们评估了儿童是否会选择性地玩产生偏爱的那种感觉刺激的玩具。结果如下：(1) 发现自我刺激行为由感觉强化维持。当感觉强化物被移除时，自我刺激消失。(2) 为自我刺激行为确定的感觉强化物也作为新的、适当的玩具游戏的强化物。(3) 在没有游戏的外部强化物或对自我刺激的限制的情况下，观察到的多种治疗效果似乎相对持久。这些结果说明了一个例子，即通过使用 “感觉强化的自然群落”，可以以可预测、合法的方式安排多种行为改变。
