Differential ReinforcementDifferential Reinforcement is a behavior modi... of Other BehaviorBehavior refers to any activity or action that living o... (DRO) is a technique used in AppliedApplied means that the behaviors targeted for change in... Behavior Analysis (ABA) where reinforcementReinforcement is a fundamental concept in Applied Behavior A... is delivered if the target (maladaptive) behavior does not occur during a specific time period. Any other behavior, as long as it is not the problem behavior, is reinforced. The goal of DRO is to reduce or eliminate the undesired behavior by reinforcing the absence of the behavior, rather than focusing on a specific replacement behavior.
Example
A child named Mia frequently engages in hand-biting during quiet activities. To reduce this behavior, her therapist implements a DRO strategy. Every 10 minutes, Mia receives praise and a small reward (e.g., a sticker) if she has not engaged in hand-biting during that interval. As Mia is consistently reinforced for the absence of hand-biting, the frequencyIn Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), frequency refers to the ... of this behavior decreases over time. Mia can engage in any other behavior (as long as it’s appropriate) during the interval, and it will be reinforced as long as hand-biting does not occur.