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Effect of contingent and non-contingent reinforcement on the behavior of an autistic child

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Abstract

An experimental study designed to determine the effects of non-contingent and contingent reinforcement of eye contact on the behavior of a 41/2-year-old autistic boy is presented after a brief critical review of pertinent literature. Rate changes in 20 types of behavior comprising a variety of simple responses, contacts, vocalizations, verbalizations or movements under the two reinforcement conditions and during baseline, were recorded and compared. Significant changes were found in the frequency of vocalization, eye contact, and when the child placed his hands over ears. It is suggested that when many types of behavior are examined simultaneously there are some which show as marked a change during non-contingent as during contingent reinforcement. Reinforcement could be a setting stimulus changing the child's expectations and prompting many changes in behavior that might be thought to result from the reinforcement procedure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, 717 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver 9 B.C.

    Philip G. Ney

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  1. Philip G. Ney
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Ney, P.G. Effect of contingent and non-contingent reinforcement on the behavior of an autistic child. J Autism Dev Disord 3, 115–127 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537987

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