Abolishing operation
A motivating operation that decreases the reinforcing value of a stimulus and makes behavior that has produced that stimulus less likely to occur.
An abolishing operation (AO) makes something less valuable right now and abates (reduces) behavior that has produced it in the past. Satiation is the most common AO: after a big meal, food is less reinforcing and food requests drop. Receiving a lot of attention can lower the value of attention for a while, and having just had a long break can lower the value of escape.
AOs explain why a reinforcer that worked well at the start of a session may stop working later, and why some antecedent interventions reduce problem behavior. In noncontingent reinforcement, for example, a client whose problem behavior is maintained by attention receives attention on a time schedule. The frequent attention can work as an AO, so the client is less motivated to engage in the problem behavior to get it.
The effect of an AO is temporary. When the person goes without the stimulus again, its value returns. An RBT who notices a client losing interest in reinforcers should follow the plan's options, such as offering other preferred items, and tell the supervisor.
Example and non-example
| Example | A client who has just spent 20 minutes playing with a tablet at home is not interested in earning tablet time during the session. The recent access is functioning as an AO. |
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| Non-example | A client stops asking for the tablet after the RBT stops honoring their requests. That decrease is caused by extinction, not by an AO. |
Don't confuse it with
| Establishing operation | An EO increases reinforcer value and evokes behavior; an AO decreases reinforcer value and abates behavior. |
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| Extinction | Extinction lowers behavior by withholding reinforcement; an AO lowers it by making the reinforcer less valuable. |
Test yourself
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Question 1Which is an example of an abolishing operation for food used as a reinforcer?
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C: The client ate a large lunch just before the session.. An abolishing operation temporarily decreases the value of a reinforcer. Eating a large meal just before the session makes food less effective as a reinforcer.
- A: Skipping a meal is deprivation, which increases the value of food.
- B: Going a long time without an item is deprivation, which increases its value.
- D: A session just before a meal typically follows a period without food, which tends to increase food's value.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 2A plan lists an edible as the main reinforcer and also lists several other preferred items. At the start of a home session, the caregiver mentions the client just finished a large snack. What is the best action for the RBT?
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D: Use the other preferred items listed in the plan and note the snack in the session record.. The large snack is likely to reduce the value of the edible. The RBT uses the alternatives the plan already provides and documents the snack, a variable that can affect performance, so the supervisor can see it.
- A: Telling caregivers to restrict food is a plan decision for the supervisor and raises ethical concerns.
- B: Changing the amount is a plan change, and more of a reinforcer the client has just had is unlikely to restore its value.
- C: Stopping reinforcement would put correct responding on extinction and is not in the plan.
Task C.1 · Task E.3 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 3What is one reason NCR with attention reduces attention-maintained problem behavior?
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C: Frequent attention lowers its value as a reinforcer for a while. Regular attention acts as an abolishing operation, lowering the value of attention for a while, so behavior that produces attention becomes less likely. Problem behavior also no longer reliably produces extra attention.
- A: NCR is not a punishment procedure; nothing aversive follows the behavior.
- B: Teaching a request for attention is FCT.
- D: Giving attention only after appropriate behavior is DRA, which is contingent.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task C.1 Positive and negative reinforcement in content area C, Behavior Acquisition, which is 19 of the 75 scored questions.