ABA Therapy
Differential reinforcement is an ABA strategy that strengthens selected behaviors while providing less reinforcement, or no programmed reinforcement, for another behavior or response pattern. Instead of focusing only on stopping an undesirable behavior, the approach gives the learner a clearer way to succeed by reinforcing an appropriate alternative, an incompatible behavior, a lower or higher response rate, or a period without a specific target behavior.
For children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities, differential reinforcement may support communication, social skills, classroom participation, task completion, and everyday routines. The right approach depends on the behavior, what outcome it produces, and what the learner needs to do instead. The goal is meaningful behavior change while keeping communication, comfort, safety, and access to essential needs in mind.
Key Takeaways
- Differential reinforcement changes which behaviors receive reinforcement, helping strengthen useful responses while reducing other behavior patterns.
- DRA, DRI, DRO, DRL, and DRH use different reinforcement rules, so the appropriate procedure depends on the behavior and treatment goal.
- Behavioral function matters, especially when teaching a replacement behavior that needs to provide the same or a similar meaningful outcome as the behavior being reduced.
What Is Differential Reinforcement in ABA?
Differential reinforcement in ABA is a behavior-change procedure in which reinforcement is arranged differently for different behaviors or response patterns.
A learner may receive reinforcement for an appropriate behavior while another behavior no longer produces the same programmed outcome. In other cases, reinforcement may depend on a lower rate, a higher rate, or the absence of a specific behavior for a planned period.
For example, imagine a student often calls out to get a teacher’s attention. The student can be taught to raise a hand instead. Teacher attention is then delivered consistently after hand raising, while calling out no longer produces the same programmed attention.
Over time:
Hand raising → attention
Calling out → does not produce the same programmed outcome
Differential reinforcement is an established autism intervention strategy for increasing selected behaviors or reinforcing the absence of interfering behavior.
It relies on the same basic principle discussed in Nurturing Nests’ guide to positive reinforcement for autism: a consequence counts as reinforcement only when it increases the future likelihood of a behavior. Something an adult considers a “reward” is not automatically a reinforcer for a particular child.
How Does Differential Reinforcement Work?
Differential reinforcement works by making one response or behavior pattern more worthwhile than another.
A treatment plan may involve:
- Defining the target behavior clearly.
- Examining what happens before and after it.
- Identifying the likely function of the behavior.
- Selecting the behavior or response pattern that should receive reinforcement.
- Choosing a meaningful reinforcer.
- Delivering reinforcement according to the chosen procedure.
- Tracking whether behavior changes over time.
The exact process varies by strategy.
With DRA, a therapist reinforces a selected alternative behavior. With DRO, reinforcement depends on the target behavior not occurring during a specified period. With DRL, the behavior may remain acceptable as long as it happens at a lower rate.
This is why differential reinforcement is more precise than simply telling parents to “reward good behavior.”
Why Does the Function of Behavior Matter?
Behavioral function refers to the outcome a behavior produces or has produced in a person’s environment.
A child might yell because it results in:
- Adult attention
- A break from a difficult task
- Access to an item or activity
- Another reinforcing outcome
Two behaviors can look very different while serving the same function.
Suppose a child pushes schoolwork away because doing so regularly results in a break. A useful replacement behavior might be appropriately requesting a break. Both responses can lead to the same general outcome, but the communication response is safer and more functional.
This principle is central to functional communication training, where a learner is taught a communication response that accesses the type of reinforcement previously associated with challenging behavior.
Families can also read Nurturing Nests’ guide to functional communication training for practical examples of replacement communication.
What Are the Main Types of Differential Reinforcement?
Five commonly discussed differential reinforcement procedures are DRA, DRI, DRO, DRL, and DRH.
| Procedure | Full Name | What Receives Reinforcement |
| DRA | Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior | A selected alternative behavior |
| DRI | Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior | A behavior physically incompatible with the target behavior |
| DRO | Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior | A period in which the target behavior does not occur |
| DRL | Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates | A lower or acceptable rate of behavior |
| DRH | Differential Reinforcement of High Rates | A higher rate of a desired behavior |
The procedures all use reinforcement, but the requirement for earning that reinforcement differs.
What Is DRA?
Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA) reinforces an appropriate alternative to the behavior being reduced.
The alternative response does not need to be physically incompatible with the target behavior. It needs to be clearly defined, teachable, and useful.
DRA Example: Requesting an Item
Imagine a child reaches across the table and grabs a preferred toy from another person.
A DRA plan might teach the child to:
- Say the toy’s name
- Point to a picture
- Use a sign
- Make a request with a communication device
The appropriate request then provides access to the toy. A replacement response can be especially useful when it serves the same function as the challenging behavior.
DRA Example: Requesting a Break
Suppose difficult tasks sometimes lead to an interfering behavior that results in the activity stopping. The learner could instead be taught to say “break,” present a break card, or use another accessible communication response.
If the original behavior produces escape from the task, an appropriate break request can provide a functionally equivalent alternative.
What Is DRI?
Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior (DRI) reinforces a behavior that is physically incompatible with the target response. The learner cannot perform both behaviors at the same moment.
For example, if a child throws classroom materials, an intervention might reinforce keeping and using those materials appropriately on the desk.
Another example could involve reinforcing hands engaged with an appropriate activity when the target behavior requires those same hands to perform an incompatible action.
DRI is technically a more specific relationship than DRA.
DRA: Reinforce a useful alternative.
DRI: Reinforce a behavior that cannot physically occur at the same time as the target behavior.
What Is DRO?
Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO) provides reinforcement when a specified target behavior does not occur during a planned interval or at a planned observation point. Despite the name, DRO does not require the therapist to choose one specific “other” behavior.
Suppose a child frequently engages in a clearly defined disruptive behavior during an activity. A therapist may begin with a short interval. If the target behavior does not occur during that interval, the planned reinforcement is delivered.
The interval can later be adjusted according to the learner’s data.
DRO can reduce challenging behavior by reinforcing intervals without the target response, but treatment details matter. In one three-participant evaluation involving severe problem behavior, simpler DRO arrangements were not sufficient for two participants, while adding antecedent rules and statements about reinforcer loss produced larger reductions across participants.
DRO Does Not Automatically Teach a Replacement Skill
A limitation of DRO is that reinforcement depends on the absence of a target behavior rather than the occurrence of one specific useful response. A child could meet a DRO requirement while doing many different things.
If the treatment goal includes teaching communication, coping, social interaction, or another specific skill, a therapist may use DRA or another teaching procedure alongside or instead of DRO.
What Is DRL?
Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates of Behavior (DRL) is used when a behavior is acceptable or useful but occurs too frequently. The purpose is to reduce the behavior to a more appropriate rate, not necessarily eliminate it.
For example, asking a teacher for assistance is an appropriate behavior. However, a learner who asks for help after nearly every step may have fewer opportunities to work independently.
A DRL procedure could provide reinforcement when requests remain below an individualized criterion while keeping help available when genuinely needed.
A full-session DRL procedure reduced requests for teacher attention in three typically developing schoolchildren while still leaving opportunities to ask for assistance. However, request rates sometimes fell close to zero, which highlights an important practical concern: reducing a behavior should not make it difficult for a child to communicate an essential need.
That distinction is particularly important when the behavior being reduced involves help-seeking, requesting breaks, reporting discomfort, or other forms of functional communication.
What Is DRH?
Differential Reinforcement of High Rates of Behavior (DRH) reinforces a desired behavior when it occurs at or above a planned rate. DRH is appropriate when a behavior is useful but happens too infrequently.
For example, a learner may independently begin assigned tasks but do so only occasionally. A DRH procedure could reinforce reaching a realistic number of independent task starts during a class period.
Other possible targets may include:
- Appropriate academic responding
- Independent task completion
- Communication attempts
- Participation in learning activities
The criterion should reflect the learner’s abilities and goals rather than an arbitrary expectation.
What Is the Difference Between DRA and DRI?
DRA and DRI both reinforce desirable behaviors, but the relationship between that behavior and the target behavior is different.
| DRA | DRI |
| Reinforces an alternative response | Reinforces an incompatible response |
| The alternative behavior does not have to be physically incompatible with the target behavior | The responses cannot occur at the same moment |
| Often selected to provide a useful replacement behavior | Selected specifically because the behaviors physically conflict |
| Example: requesting an item instead of grabbing | Example: using materials appropriately instead of throwing those same materials |
The important distinction is physical incompatibility, not whether two behaviors happen close together in time. In practice, therapists also consider whether the new response is realistic, socially useful, easy enough to perform, and likely to access meaningful reinforcement.
What Is the Difference Between DRA and DRO?
The difference between DRA and DRO is what must happen for reinforcement to be delivered. DRA requires a selected alternative behavior. DRO requires the target behavior to be absent for the specified interval or observation period.
Suppose a child makes disruptive sounds when they want interaction. With DRA, the learner could be taught to appropriately approach the person or use a communication response. With DRO, reinforcement might be available after a planned period without the disruptive sounds.
Both procedures can change behavior, but DRA directly teaches a specific alternative response.
How Does Functional Communication Training Use Differential Reinforcement?
Functional communication training, or FCT, is one of the clearest applications of DRA. A learner is taught a communication response that can produce the outcome that maintains the challenging behavior.
For example:
Function: Attention
Possible communication response: “Can you play with me?”
Function: Escape or break
Possible communication response: “I need a break.”
Function: Access to an item
Possible communication response: asking for the item through speech, signs, pictures, or a communication device.
The exact form should match the learner’s communication abilities.
The replacement communication response also needs to be practical. A response that is easier and more efficient than the interfering behavior is more likely to become useful in everyday situations.
Does Differential Reinforcement Always Use Extinction?
No. Differential reinforcement and extinction are related concepts, but they are not identical.
Differential reinforcement changes the reinforcement conditions for different behaviors or response patterns. Extinction means a reinforcer that previously followed a behavior is no longer provided following that behavior. Some differential reinforcement plans combine the two. Others do not use full extinction.
Differential reinforcement can be arranged without completely withholding the reinforcer after every target response, although effectiveness depends on the function, treatment design, and reinforcement available for the alternative behavior.
This is why parents should not interpret differential reinforcement as “ignore the problem behavior.” A response may require safety intervention, environmental support, communication assistance, medical consideration, or another strategy even when a reinforcement-based treatment is being used.
What Is an Extinction Burst?
When reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior is discontinued, the behavior may temporarily increase in frequency, intensity, duration, or variability. This change is commonly called an extinction burst.
For example, a child who previously received immediate interaction after a particular response might initially use that response more intensely when the interaction no longer follows it.
This does not happen in every case. Extinction can also be inappropriate to implement casually, especially when behaviors involve aggression, self-injurious behavior, unsafe actions, or communication of important needs.
Parents should work with qualified professionals rather than independently attempting extinction for high-risk behavior.
How Do ABA Therapists Choose a Differential Reinforcement Strategy?
A BCBA selects a differential reinforcement procedure based on what behavior needs to change and why it is occurring.
Questions may include:
- What is the target behavior?
- What appears to reinforce it?
- Should the behavior stop or simply happen less often?
- Is there a useful alternative behavior?
- Can the learner perform that replacement response easily?
- Does the alternative response provide access to the same or a similar outcome?
- Would an incompatible response make sense?
- Are important communication or safety needs being preserved?
- Can caregivers and teachers use the strategy consistently?
For example, DRL may make sense when an appropriate behavior happens too often. DRA may be a better fit when the learner needs a specific replacement skill. The procedure should match the child and goal rather than the therapist simply choosing a preferred acronym.
Why Are Learner Choice and Comfort Important?
Reinforcement is individualized.
A therapist cannot assume that praise, toys, tokens, food, physical interaction, or another consequence will be reinforcing simply because many children enjoy it.
The learner’s preferences, comfort, communication, and response to the consequence matter.
Choice can also be incorporated when appropriate. For example, a learner may select between preferred activities or reinforcers rather than having adults make every decision.
The larger goal is not compliance at any cost. Differential reinforcement should support meaningful, functional skills while respecting the child’s ability to communicate discomfort, ask for help, request breaks, and participate in everyday decisions.
Why Is Data Collection Important?
Differential reinforcement should produce observable and measurable changes.
Depending on the treatment goal, therapists may track:
- Frequency of the target behavior
- Frequency of the replacement behavior
- Duration
- Interval data
- Independent communication
- Task completion
- Reinforcement delivered
- Performance across people or settings
Suppose a DRA plan reduces a challenging behavior, but the learner rarely uses the replacement response. That pattern may suggest the alternative behavior is too difficult, is not being reinforced effectively, or does not provide the same useful outcome. Similarly, behavior that improves only during therapy may need additional generalization planning.
What Does Differential Reinforcement Look Like in Everyday Life?
Differential reinforcement can be incorporated into ordinary routines when the target behavior, expected response, and reinforcement are clear.
Communication
A child who usually grabs a preferred snack learns to request it using speech, a sign, a picture, or a communication device. The appropriate request produces access to the snack.
Classroom Participation
A student who rarely begins independent work earns reinforcement after meeting a realistic goal for starting assigned activities without extra prompts.
Waiting
A child learning to wait receives reinforcement for increasingly successful periods of appropriate waiting rather than repeatedly accessing a preferred item immediately.
Play
A learner receives social attention for appropriately joining a sibling’s game rather than disrupting the activity to gain interaction.
Daily Routines
A child receives reinforcement for independently completing selected steps of a morning routine, with expectations adjusted as the skill develops. Different examples help illustrate the same principle: reinforcement is intentionally arranged to strengthen a particular response or behavior pattern.
Can Parents Use Differential Reinforcement at Home?
Parents regularly use reinforcement during everyday life, but a structured differential reinforcement plan should be coordinated with the child’s ABA team when challenging behavior or complex communication needs are involved.
At home, a parent might reinforce:
- Appropriately requesting help
- Asking for a break
- Waiting for a preferred activity
- Completing a step in a routine
- Using functional communication
- Participating independently in an age-appropriate task
Parents should also know what not to reduce indiscriminately. Help-seeking, communicating pain, expressing discomfort, requesting a break, and other essential communication should remain accessible.
Consistency matters, but so does flexibility. If a plan makes an appropriate replacement behavior much harder or slower than the challenging behavior, the learner may have little reason to use the new response.
Families receiving in-home ABA therapy can work with their child’s BCBA and behavior technician to practice differential reinforcement strategies within real routines and adjust them as the child’s skills change.
Conclusion
Differential reinforcement helps change behavior by arranging reinforcement around responses that are more useful, appropriate, or consistent with the learner’s goals. DRA strengthens alternatives, DRI reinforces physically incompatible behavior, DRO reinforces periods without a target behavior, DRL reduces excessive rates, and DRH increases desired behavior that occurs too infrequently. The right approach depends on the behavior’s function, the learner’s abilities, the importance of the replacement skill, and how reinforcement works in everyday life.
At Nurturing Nests Therapy Center, Inc., our Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Behavior Technicians use individualized, data-informed ABA strategies to support communication, learning, daily routines, and independence for children throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Treatment plans focus on useful skills and each child’s specific needs rather than applying the same behavior strategy to every learner. Contact us to learn more about personalized ABA support for your family.
FAQs
What is a differential reinforcement example?
A differential reinforcement example is teaching a child who grabs preferred items to request them appropriately instead. When the child uses speech, signs, pictures, or a communication device to make the request, that response is reinforced by providing appropriate access to the item. The goal is to make the functional communication response a more effective way to get the desired outcome.
What are the four types of differential reinforcement?
The four types commonly listed in introductory ABA materials are DRA, DRI, DRO, and DRL. DRA reinforces an alternative behavior, DRI reinforces a physically incompatible behavior, DRO reinforces the absence of a target behavior during a planned interval, and DRL reinforces a lower rate of behavior. DRH, which reinforces a higher rate of desired behavior, is another recognized differential reinforcement procedure and is often included in more complete classifications.
What are DRO, DRI, DRA, DRL, and DRH all examples of?
DRO, DRI, DRA, DRL, and DRH are all differential reinforcement procedures. They differ according to what must happen for reinforcement to be delivered: an alternative behavior, an incompatible behavior, the absence of a target behavior, a lower response rate, or a higher rate of a desired behavior.
What is the differential reinforcement theory?
In ABA, differential reinforcement is more accurately described as a behavior-change procedure based on reinforcement principles, not a separate theory. Reinforcement is arranged differently across behaviors or response patterns so selected behaviors become more likely. “Differential reinforcement theory” is also a term used in criminology for a social-learning explanation of criminal behavior, which is separate from differential reinforcement in Applied Behavior Analysis.
