The chosen target behavior (TB) focuses on a school-aged child who expresses aggression toward his sibling, resulting in reprimand-based attention from his parents. The intervention for TB is the utilization of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) to reduce TB. NCR is anticipated to help achieve the objective, as the approach is a prominent treatment for diverse types of problem behavior (Newcomb et al., 2019). It appears that TB’s function, meaning the reason why the boy engages in certain conduct, is receiving attention from his caregivers by becoming confrontational (Noel et al., 2020).
NCR matches the behavior’s function since NCR undermines the response-reinforcer connection and disrupts the pattern of aggression (Newcomb et al., 2019). Before initiating the intervention, it is crucial to address potential concerns regarding ethical and social validity. First, in accordance with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s (2020) Code 2.09, the child and their parents should be involved in the discussion. Second, NCR’s impact on the client and those around him should be conversed (Schuck et al., 2022). NCR is the recommended approach for TB, but it must be handled with consideration for the recipient and their caregivers’ feelings.
One additional element that should be considered when utilizing NCR is motivating operations (MOs). The concept is defined as variables that can alter the value and dimension of a consequence’s behavior (Hill et al., 2020). In the above-identified case, the central MO for the child is likely to be represented in his being inspired to act aggressively to receive some, even negative, form of attention from his parents. Consequently, it is expected that MO’s role will decrease as NCR lowers the need for confrontation.
As mentioned earlier, before determining how exactly NCR will be implemented, it is necessary to resolve the social validity issue of how those involved perceive the treatment (Schuck et al., 2022). Moreover, according to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s (2020) code 2.08, to prevent possible ethical issues, the nature, significance, and all relevant details of the method must be explained to the boy’s caregivers. As the intervention strategy is anticipated to change the child’s behavior, the approach should be carefully analyzed.
References
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts.
Hill, D. A., Mantzoros, T., & Taylor, J. C. (2020). Understanding motivating operations and the impact on the function of behavior. Intervention in School and Clinic, 56(2), 119-122.
Newcomb, E. T., Wright, J. A., & Camblin, J. G. (2019). Assessment and treatment of aggressive behavior maintained by access to physical attention. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 19(3), 222-231.
Noel, C., Gross, T., Hacherl, G., Ritchie, M., & Howerton, M. (2020). Group-based training on trial-based functional analysis. Kentucky Teacher Education Journal, 7(1), 1-13.
Schuck, R. K., Dwyer, P., Baiden, K. M., Williams, Z. J., & Wang, M. (2022). Social validity of pivotal response treatment for young autistic children: Perspectives of autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-19.