Citation

Fisher WW, Grace NC, Murphy CM. J. Appl. Behav. Anal. 1996; 29(1): 103-106.

Affiliation

Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Wiley-Blackwell)

DOI

10.1901/jaba.1996.29-103

PMID

8881349

PMCID

PMC1279878

Abstract

It has been suggested that self-restraint, a phenomenon often correlated with self-injurious behavior (SIB), may be maintained by negative reinforcement in the form of escape from the aversive properties of SIB (e.g., pain). We examined the effects of blocking SIB (and presumably removing any aversive effects) on the self-restraint of a 19-year-old male with severe mental retardation. Consistent with the negative reinforcement hypothesis, blocking SIB resulted in near-zero levels of SIB and moderate reductions in self-restraint.

Language: en