Automatic reinforcement
Reinforcement produced directly by the behavior itself, without being delivered or arranged by another person.
A behavior is automatically reinforced when the consequence that maintains it is a direct product of doing it, not something another person gives or takes away. The consequence may be added, such as the sound, sight or feel the behavior produces (automatic positive reinforcement), or removed, such as relief from an itch or pain (automatic negative reinforcement). Common examples are hand flapping, rocking, humming, skin picking and some forms of self-injury, though any topography can be automatically reinforced and none is automatically reinforced just because of how it looks.
A typical sign is that the behavior happens at similar levels whether or not anyone is around and regardless of demands or available items. Many clinicians and RBT materials call this a sensory function. Because the reinforcer cannot be withheld by an adult in the usual way, these behaviors can be harder to reduce.
Interventions designed by the supervisor may include enriching the environment, giving noncontingent access to items that produce similar stimulation, reinforcing other behaviors (such as DRO or DRA), teaching appropriate replacement activities, and, in some cases, sensory extinction or response blocking. Health concerns should be ruled out when behavior may relate to pain or discomfort, so the RBT reports any signs of illness or injury.
The RBT records when and where the behavior occurs, including times when the client is alone, and does not label a behavior "sensory" on their own; the supervisor determines the function.
Example and non-example
| Example | A client hums and taps their fingers on the table during free time, during work and when alone in their room. Nobody's reaction changes the behavior, and the supervisor's assessment indicates automatic reinforcement. |
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| Non-example | A child flaps their hands, an adult laughs and imitates them each time, and the flapping happens mainly when that adult is present. The pattern points to attention, even though hand flapping is often assumed to be sensory. |
Don't confuse it with
| Sensory function | Sensory function is an informal label for the same idea; automatic reinforcement is the technical term and also covers automatic negative reinforcement such as pain relief. |
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| Attention function | Attention-maintained behavior depends on another person's response, while automatically reinforced behavior does not. |
Test yourself
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Question 1In the alone condition of a functional analysis, the client is in a safe room with no toys and no one interacting, while the behavior is observed. What does this condition test?
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A: Whether the behavior persists with no social consequences at all. With no social consequences available, behavior that continues in the alone condition suggests that the behavior produces its own reinforcement (automatic reinforcement).
- B: No attention is delivered in the alone condition.
- C: No demands are placed in the alone condition.
- D: No preferred items are delivered in the alone condition.
Task B.3 · 40-hour curriculum section D
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Question 2In a functional analysis, hand mouthing occurred at similarly high levels in every condition, including the alone condition. What do these results suggest?
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C: The behavior is likely maintained by automatic reinforcement. When behavior stays high across all conditions, including when the client is alone with no social consequences, the results suggest the behavior produces its own reinforcement.
- A: Behavior maintained by attention would be high mainly in the attention condition.
- B: Behavior maintained by escape would be high mainly in the demand condition.
- D: Behavior that persists is being reinforced in some way; automatic reinforcement is still a function.
Task B.3 · 40-hour curriculum section D · Task D.1
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Question 3Which list contains the four common functions of behavior?
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A: Attention, escape, tangible and automatic. Problem behavior is most often maintained by social attention, escape from something unpleasant, access to tangible items or activities, or automatic (sensory) reinforcement.
- B: Punishment, extinction and shaping are procedures or processes, not functions.
- C: These are measurement dimensions.
- D: These are parts of ABC recording and context, not functions.
Task B.3 · 40-hour curriculum section D · Task D.1
Answer every question to see your score.
On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task D.1 Functions of behavior in content area D, Behavior Reduction, which is 14 of the 75 scored questions.