Faculty Articles
Identification and Modification of a Response Class Hierarchy
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 1995
Publication Title
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
Volume
28
Issue/Number
4
First Page
551
ISSN
0021-8855
Last Page
559
Abstract/Excerpt
We evaluated the effects of extinction and negative reinforcement on the latency of response-class members following requests made to a 15-year-old female with moderate mental retardation and autism. A functional analysis showed that the class members (screams, aggression, and self-injury) were escape maintained. Informal observations suggested that these topographies generally occurred in the sequence listed above and therefore may have been hierarchically related. A therapist provided escape from demands contingent on a specific member of the class to determine the effects on the latency of the members' occurrence. Results showed that the latencies occurred in a predictable order. In addition, we expanded the response class to include a vocal response that was functionally equivalent to other members. Findings are discussed regarding the covariation and sequence of response-class members and treatment development.
DOI
10.1901/jaba.1995.28-551
NSUWorks Citation
Lalli, J. S.,
Mace, F. C.,
Wohn, T.,
Livezey, K.
(1995). Identification and Modification of a Response Class Hierarchy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28(4), 551-559.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facarticles/374
