Differential Reinforcement

Differential Reinforcement of Alternative, Incompatible or Other Behaviors (DRA/I/O)

There are four different reinforcement procedures that can be used to reduce the occurrence of interfering behaviors such as aggression and tantrums, while simultaneously increasing the use of more adaptive, communicative, or acceptable behaviors. Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior (DRI) delivers reinforcement upon the occurrence of a behavior that is physically incompatible with or cannot be exhibited at the same time as the inappropriate behavior. DRA is similar to DRI in that an appropriate alternative to the problem behavior is reinforced, but the alternative behavior does not have to be incompatible with the problem behavior. Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO) delivers reinforcement for any appropriate behavior whenever an undesirable behavior is not emitted during a specific period of time.

One way to provide a system of Differential Reinforcement in the classroom is to use a token system for alternative or incompatable behaviors when they are demonstrated and withhold reinforcement when the problem behavior is demonstrated. A token economy is a system for providing positive reinforcement to a child or children by giving them tokens for completing tasks or behaving in desired ways.

"Token economies are used as a method of strengthening a behavior or increasing its frequency because the tokens are a way of 'paying' children for completing tasks and the children can then use these tokens to buy desired activities or items (Miltenberger, 2008)."