Behavioral Momentum Theory: Understanding Persistence and Improving Treatment

Abstract

Behavioral momentum theory is a quantitative framework asserting that reinforcers obtained in the presence of a discriminative-stimulus context govern the persistence of behavior, as defined as resistance to disruption and relapse. An important implication of the theory is that behavioral treatments that decrease problem behavior by arranging alternative sources of reinforcement within the same stimulus context can inadvertently increase the persistence of problem behavior. This chapter describes behavioral momentum theory at a conceptual level and presents an empirical body of basic and applied research supporting its assertions. In addition, we evaluate a novel solution for treating problem behavior based on behavioral momentum theory. Specifically, training a desirable alternative behavior in a separate context before combining with the problem-behavior context results in less persistent problem behavior than training the alternative and problem behavior together. Although this novel approach provides an initially promising alternative to traditional treatments, we provide evidence that more research is needed to understand its potential impact on problem behavior. We argue that a translational program combining the expertise of basic and applied researchers will be more effective for developing and establishing best practices for this or any behavioral treatment for problem behavior.