Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR)
An antecedent intervention in which a reinforcer, often the one that maintains problem behavior, is delivered on a time-based schedule regardless of the person's behavior.
In noncontingent reinforcement, the client receives a reinforcer according to the clock, not according to what they do. The schedule may be fixed-time (for example, every 2 minutes) or variable-time (on average every 2 minutes). Because the reinforcer is freely available, the motivation to engage in problem behavior to get it drops, and the link between problem behavior and that reinforcer is weakened.
NCR is most often function-based. If a behavior is maintained by attention, the client gets attention every few minutes; if by a tangible item, the client gets access to the item on schedule; if by escape, the client gets scheduled breaks from work; if by automatic reinforcement, the client may get continuous or scheduled access to items that produce similar stimulation. NCR usually starts with a dense schedule and is gradually thinned by the supervisor as problem behavior stays low.
NCR is time-based, which separates it from interval schedules of reinforcement. On a fixed-interval schedule, a response is required after the interval ends; on a fixed-time NCR schedule, nothing is required. A risk of NCR is that a scheduled delivery happens right after problem behavior, which could accidentally strengthen it. Some plans address this with a short delay, and the RBT should follow those instructions exactly.
The RBT keeps an accurate timer, delivers the reinforcer at the scheduled times even if the client is behaving well and has not asked, and records deliveries and problem behavior.
Example and non-example
| Example | A client's hitting is maintained by attention. The plan calls for 15 seconds of attention every 3 minutes, so the RBT sets a vibrating timer and chats with the client each time it goes off. |
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| Non-example | An RBT gives a client a token every time the client completes a math problem. Delivery depends on the response, so it is contingent reinforcement, not NCR. |
Don't confuse it with
| Fixed interval | A fixed-interval schedule reinforces the first response after the interval, while NCR delivers the reinforcer when time passes with no response required. |
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| Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) | DRO delivers reinforcement only if problem behavior did not occur during the interval, while NCR delivers it on schedule regardless of behavior. |
Test yourself
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Question 1What is noncontingent reinforcement (NCR)?
Show answer
B: Time-based reinforcer delivery, independent of behavior. In NCR, the reinforcer is delivered on a time-based schedule (for example every 2 minutes) that does not depend on what the client is doing.
- A: Reinforcing the absence of problem behavior is DRO, which requires the behavior not to occur.
- C: Reinforcing an alternative behavior is DRA.
- D: Withholding the maintaining reinforcer is extinction.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 2A client's problem behavior is maintained by attention. The plan tells the RBT to set a timer and give 10 seconds of attention every 2 minutes, whatever the client is doing. Which procedure is this?
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D: Noncontingent reinforcement. Attention is delivered on a fixed-time schedule that does not depend on behavior, which is NCR. The reinforcer is matched to the function of the problem behavior.
- A: DRO would give attention only if problem behavior had not occurred during the interval.
- B: FCT teaches the client a communication response that produces attention.
- C: Demand fading changes the number or difficulty of demands.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 3Which feature shows that a procedure is NCR and not DRO?
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B: Delivery does not depend on whether problem behavior occurred. In NCR, the scheduled reinforcer is delivered regardless of behavior. In DRO, it is delivered only if problem behavior did not occur during the interval.
- A: Both NCR and DRO can use the reinforcer that maintains the problem behavior.
- C: Both procedures often use timers.
- D: Both procedures can deliver the reinforcer at the end of a set interval.
Task D.2 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task D.2 Antecedent interventions in content area D, Behavior Reduction, which is 14 of the 75 scored questions.