Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior is a common intervention for problem behavior in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders, but it is susceptible to integrity errors that can degrade treatment effects. Manipulating reinforcement parameters to favor alternative behavior might make it more persistent in the face of integrity errors. We devised an analog of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior to examine if enhanced reinforcer magnitude or quality for the alternative response could protect against treatment degradation. Across 2 experiments, reinforcer magnitude or quality was manipulated to favor the alternative response in 1 condition but kept constant across both alternative and target responses in a second condition. Comparisons of the 2 conditions indicated that higher-magnitude or higher-quality reinforcement for alternative behavior can mitigate against treatment degradation when treatment errors occur and provided support for the utility of considering parameters of reinforcement when developing behavioral interventions for problem behavior.

中文翻译：

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增强剂强度和质量对治疗退化的缓解作用

替代行为的差异强化是神经发育障碍患者问题行为的常见干预措施，但它容易受到可能降低治疗效果的完整性错误的影响。操纵强化参数以支持替代行为可能使其在面对完整性错误时更加持久。我们设计了一种替代行为差异强化的模拟，以检查替代反应的强化强化量或质量是否可以防止治疗退化。在 2 次实验中，强化物的幅度或质量被操纵以支持一种条件下的替代反应，但在第二种情况下在替代反应和目标反应中保持不变。