Environmental enrichment and response cost: immediate and subsequent effects on stereotypy

J Appl Behav Anal. 2014 Spring;47(1):186-91. doi: 10.1002/jaba.97. Epub 2014 Jan 14.

Abstract

We assessed the immediate and subsequent effects of environmental enrichment (EE) as a stand-alone intervention and when EE was combined with response cost (RC) for 5 participants using a 2-component multiple-schedule design. Environmental enrichment failed to decrease any participant's immediate engagement in stereotypy; however, the addition of RC decreased the immediate engagement in stereotypy for all participants. After the withdrawal of EE plus RC, stereotypy did not immediately increase for 3 of 5 participants.

Keywords: automatic reinforcement; environmental enrichment; response cost; stereotypy.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Autistic Disorder* / physiopathology
  • Autistic Disorder* / psychology
  • Autistic Disorder* / rehabilitation
  • Behavior Therapy / methods*
  • Child
  • Environment*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Reinforcement, Psychology
  • Stereotyped Behavior / physiology*
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult