Optimizing Dimensions of Reinforcement

Auburn University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Intellectual Disabilities (F70-F79); Autism

Treatments: Behavioral: Operant Conditioning Tasks with Reinforcement Manipulations

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07137273

R21HD113881 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study is designed to better understand how certain features of reinforcement affect learning and motivation in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Participants will take part in a series of structured teaching sessions that involve simple tasks and reward-based feedback. By changing the timing and amount of rewards, we aim to learn how these factors influence the ability to acquire and maintain new skills. This information may help improve behavioral interventions for individuals with IDD in the future. The study does not involve medications or procedures intended to change participants' health status.

Full description

This study examines how key parameters of reinforcement-specifically the timing and amount of rewards-affect learning, motivation, and performance in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The experimental design is informed by the Mathematical Principles of Reinforcement (MPR), a quantitative framework for understanding the relationship between reinforcement schedules and behavior.

Participants will complete tabletop tasks in a controlled setting. Tasks are designed to be simple and accessible, such as pressing a button or selecting a picture, and correct responses will earn small rewards. Across sessions, we will systematically vary reinforcement parameters, including inter-reinforcement interval and reinforcer magnitude, to evaluate their effects on response rate, accuracy, and persistence.

This is a Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH) clinical trial, meaning the interventions are intended to understand fundamental behavioral processes, not to produce direct clinical benefit. The data will be analyzed using statistical models derived from MPR to identify which reinforcement dimensions are most effective in maintaining high rates of responding. The results may help refine behavior intervention strategies for individuals with IDD by providing an evidence-based understanding of how to optimize reinforcement delivery.

Enrollment: 30 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 6 to 17 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

At least 6 years of age

Documented neurodevelopmental condition

Engagement in problem behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury, property destruction) that can be measured during study sessions

Ability to follow simple instructions

Ability to participate in tabletop choice-based tasks

Availability to complete all scheduled study sessions

Provision of informed consent by participant or legally authorized representative

Exclusion criteria

Severe sensory or motor impairments that would prevent participation in tabletop tasks

Current or recent participation (within the past 30 days) in another interventional behavioral research study that could interfere with study outcomes

Medical or behavioral conditions judged by investigators to pose a safety risk or interfere with data collection

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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30 participants in 1 patient group

Single-Arm: Manipulation of Reinforcement Schedules

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will complete an operant conditioning task in which reinforcement schedules are systematically manipulated to evaluate changes in response patterns. All participants receive the same sequence of experimental conditions, which involve varying the availability and distribution of points exchangeable for preferred items or activities. No health-related treatment is provided; the procedures are designed to examine basic behavioral processes related to reinforcement dynamics.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Operant Conditioning Tasks with Reinforcement Manipulations