Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is differential reinforcement?

A: A strategy that delivers a reinforcer after a target behavior is exhibited or in the presence of a certain circumstance rather than another.

Q: When is differential reinforcement used?

A: Differential reinforcement is most often used to decrease a problematic behavior through a variety of strategies.

Q: What are these strategies?

A: One of these strategies is differential reinforcement of other behavior, more commonly called DRO. DRO involves reinforcing any behavior other than the inappropriate behavior targeted for reduction. DRO is sometimes also called omission training; that is, reinforcement is delivered for the omission of a behavior rather than its commission (or appearance).

Q: What are the drawbacks of DRO?

A: DRO reinforces other behaviors that may not be the most appropriate in a situation. For example, when seeking to reduce a child’s inappropriate talking out in the classroom, the DRO program might reinforce a child getting up out of her seat and tugging on the teacher’s sleeve if these behaviors replaced the disruptive behavior. This new behavior is not exactly ideal, but it does replace the other behavior.

Q: How is this problem related to DRO solved?

A: Another differential reinforcement strategy called differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) provides a solution to the DRO problem. DRA ensures that the behavior targeted for reduction is replaced with an appropriate functional alternative. That is, the replacement behavior serves the same function or purpose as the inappropriate behavior. DRA works, then, because the functional alternative is reinforced, while the reinforcer is withheld for the inappropriate behavior. The appropriate behavior generally increases because it enables the individual to acquire the desired reinforcer, and the inappropriate does not yield the same result.

Q: How else can differential reinforcement be used to decreased undesired behaviors?

A: An individual who unties and ties his shoes 40 times in an hour is clearly exhibiting an inappropriate and disruptive behavior. To gradually reduce this behavior, differential reinforcement of lower rates of behavior (DRL) can be implemented. A DRL program begins by delivering a reinforcer when the individual ties his shoes 35 times in an hour. After mastering this number, the criterion for reinforcement can be reduced to 30, 25 and so on until the behavior reaches an acceptable frequency.

Q: Can differential reinforcement be used to increase the rate of a behavior?

A: The opposite of differential reinforcement of lower rates of behavior is the reinforcement of higher rates of behavior, called DRH. If increasing peer initiations is the desired behavior, a DRH program would deliver reinforcement for 1 initiation per 30 minutes, then 2 initiations per 30 minutes, and so on until the desire amount of initiations is achieved.