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Abstract

Experimental and descriptive analyses were conducted to investigate the phenomena of schedule-induction and the entrainment of challenging behavior to reinforcer presentation in three children with severe mental retardation. One of the three participants exhibited evidence of increased rates of self-injurious behavior under a fixed-interval schedule when compared with no-reinforcer and extinction baselines. Another participant showed evidence of the entrainment of disruptive behavior to reinforcer presentation in both classroom and experimental settings. Results are discussed in relation to previous research and the relationship between schedule-induced, entrained and operant behavior.

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Emerson, E., Thompson, S., Robertson, J. et al. Schedule-induced challenging behavior. J Dev Phys Disabil 8, 89–103 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02578442

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