Differential Reinforcement

Differential reinforcement (DR) is a procedure that is defined by the presence of two conditions: (a) positive reinforcement, delivered contingent on the emission of one behavior, and (b) withholding of positive reinforcement, contingent on the emission of another behavior. Delivery of these consequences may be event based (i.e., when a specified number of behaviors have been emitted) or time based (e.g., after passage of prespecified time and a behavior is emitted). If effective, an increase in the future occurrence of one behavior and a decrease in occurrence of the other behavior are observed.

If antecedent stimuli are manipulated systematically with DR, antecedents in a common stimulus class will occasion desired behavior, and antecedents that are not in that stimulus class will not occasion the ...

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