Contingency
A dependent relation between a behavior and a consequence: the consequence is delivered only if the behavior occurs (if this behavior, then this consequence).
A contingency describes an if-then relation. If the client completes the puzzle, then they get a break. Reinforcement is contingent when the reinforcer is given because the target behavior happened, and withheld when it did not. The RBT Test Content Outline lists "contingently" as one of the ways reinforcement must be implemented.
Contingency is what makes reinforcement work. A reinforcer that arrives no matter what the client does cannot selectively strengthen the target behavior. Free access to the reinforcer between trials, or giving it after the wrong response, weakens the contingency. Keeping powerful reinforcers available only for the target behavior is one of the most important things an RBT does.
The word also appears in the three-term contingency, the relation among an antecedent, a behavior and a consequence. Contingencies can be arranged on purpose (a token economy) or exist naturally (a light switch turns on the light only when it is flipped).
Some procedures are deliberately noncontingent. In noncontingent reinforcement, the reinforcer is delivered on a time schedule regardless of behavior, as part of a plan to reduce problem behavior. That is a planned exception, not a mistake in the contingency.
Example and non-example
| Example | Stickers are kept out of the client's reach and given only when the client independently writes their name. The client gets a sticker each time they write it and none when they do not. |
|---|---|
| Non-example | The RBT lets the client hold the sticker sheet during the whole session and take stickers whenever they like. The stickers no longer depend on any behavior. |
Don't confuse it with
| Three-term contingency | A contingency is any if-then relation between behavior and consequence; the three-term contingency adds the antecedent in front of it. |
|---|---|
| Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) | Noncontingent reinforcement delivers reinforcers on a time schedule independent of the behavior, the opposite of contingent delivery. |
Test yourself
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Question 1A school-age client finishes a math worksheet, and the RBT immediately gives 5 minutes of tablet time, as the plan directs. Over the week, the client finishes worksheets more often. Which procedure is the RBT implementing?
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A: Positive reinforcement. Tablet time is added right after the worksheet is finished, and finishing worksheets increases. Adding a stimulus that increases the behavior it follows is positive reinforcement.
- B: Negative reinforcement removes a stimulus; here something is added.
- C: Negative punishment removes a stimulus and decreases behavior; here behavior increases.
- D: Noncontingent reinforcement is delivered on a time schedule, but here the tablet depends on finishing the worksheet.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 2The plan says a client earns a snack after completing each set of tasks. During the session, the RBT hands over a snack every few minutes whether or not the tasks are finished. Which feature of reinforcement is missing?
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A: Contingency. Contingent reinforcement means the reinforcer depends on the target behavior. Handing out the snack whether or not the tasks are done breaks that dependency, so task completion is not being reinforced.
- B: The snacks are being given often and without delay; the problem is that they do not depend on the behavior.
- C: The size of each snack is not the issue described.
- D: Using the same snack is not the issue; the snack is not tied to finishing tasks.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 3The plan tells the RBT to use praise as a reinforcer when a young client puts on their shoes independently. Which praise statement best fits common practice for making the contingency clear?
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B: "You put your shoes on all by yourself, nice work!". Behavior-specific praise names the behavior that earned it and is delivered right after that behavior, which makes the contingency between the response and the reinforcer clear.
- A: General praise does not name the behavior being reinforced.
- C: Praise at the end of the session is delayed and is not tied to the shoe behavior.
- D: Encouragement before the task comes before the behavior, so it cannot reinforce it.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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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.