Case Study: Use of Differential Reinforcement to Suppress Self-Injurious and Aggressive Behavior

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Abstract
A program of differential reinforcement of other behavior was employed to reduce the rates of aggression and head-banging in a 6-yr., 8-mo.-old profoundly retarded female. Whereas, two different time-out procedures were not associated with stable decreases in aggressive behavior, this program was associated with immediate and dramatic decreases in aggression and head-banging. The present results suggest that (a) initial values of such programs may be situation-specific and (b) either the procedure or the inclusion of contingencies for all maladaptives within one program may be superior to a time-out program which focuses on a subset of all maladaptive behavior.