Non-Contingent Reinforcement (NCR)
Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is a behavioral intervention that provides rewards to a person at a set time, regardless of their behavior. It is often used to treat problem behaviors in people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. NCR can be used in many ways, for this handout we are focusing on the Attention Function of behaviors.
| Praise Statements: | Attend Statements: |
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Definition: A positive comment that specifically acknowledges someone’s actions or behaviors, highlighting what they did well. Should be specific praise, not a general, “Good job.” No asking questions. No demands. You can find the simplest thing they are doing well. |
Definition: Labeling or narrating what the person is doing. No demands or praise is being provided. You are simply narrating or commenting on their actions and behaviors (but only positive or neutral behaviors). No questions either. |
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Examples: Simple Action: “Great job sitting.” |
Examples: Simple Action: “Great job sitting.” |
| More Complex Action: “Wow! You did amazing job with your H.W.!” | More Complex Action: “You’re doing your H.W.” |
| Why is NCR important? |
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| NCR (Noncontingent Reinforcement) is important in ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) because it acts as a strategy to decrease the motivation for individuals to engage in challenging behaviors by providing reinforcement on a set schedule, regardless of their actions, effectively reducing the need to perform problematic behaviors to gain attention or desired outcomes, particularly beneficial for managing behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). |
NCR WORKSHEET
Test your knowledge: Can you identify what type of NCR is being used? Praise Statements or Attend Statements?
Scenario #1: Mom sees her son wash his hands very well and says, “You did great washing those hands!”
The NCR mom used was:
Scenario #2: Dad sees his daughter sitting down coloring and says, “You’re coloring.”
The NCR dad used was:
Scenario #3: Babysitter sees the kids she is watching cleaning up so well and says, “Great job guys! Do you want to clean the living room for me too?”
The NCR the babysitter used was:
Homework Assignment:
Partner up with a friend/family member or have your staff help you track YOUR behavior when trying to increase your praise/attend statements. You can both practice together. When your child is playing or doing something (e.g., H.W.) you can try to increase your praise/attend statements by having your partner track your behavior and see how many statements you can do successfully.
Have your partner track the following:
Praise Statements: Providing praise for good actions/behaviors. Specific and short.
Attend Statements: Labeling what the person is doing. Specific and short.
We do not want to do Questions or Demands but it is also important to track our mistakes so we can learn and grow from them. So how we learn is by tracking them.
Have your partner track the following:
Questions: Any statement that is in form of a question.
Demands: Any time you present an instruction for the person/child to do something.
Tally the data below and then switch! Track your partner’s behavior too. This way you can see what is and what is not considered a praise/attend statement vs. questions/demands.
Once you are done practicing NCR and taking data on someone else doing NCR, try it again. Try to beat your scores by increasing Praise/Attend statements and decrease Questions/Demands. There is enough space below for each person to practice 8 times.
Note: Give yourself and others grace. This is new for everyone and no one is perfect. Remember to strive for progress, not perfection.
| Date: | Praise Statements: | Attend Statements: | Questions: | Demands: |