Preliminary Effects of Conditioned Establishing Operations on Stereotypy

Marc J. Lanovaz, John T. Rapp, Ethan S. Long, Sarah M. Richling, Regina A. Carroll

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

We repeatedly paired preferred stimuli with known establishing properties and poster boards (i.e., neutral stimuli) to examine whether these poster boards would acquire the effects of a conditioned establishing operation in five children with autism. Following pairing, the poster boards, which had been previously shown to be neutral, increased immediate or subsequent engagement in stereotypy for three of five participants. The results suggest that it is possible to condition establishing operations for stereotypy and that this process may occur inadvertently. We discuss the potential clinical implications of the results, as well as the need for future research to replicate our findings.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)209-216
Number of pages8
JournalPsychological Record
Volume64
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 30 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Autism
  • Automatic reinforcement
  • Conditioned motivating operation
  • Establishing operation
  • Stereotypy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • General Psychology

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