DRO: Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior

DRO stands for differential reinforcement of other behavior. It rewards a person for the absence of a target behavior. If they go a set time without it, they earn reinforcement. The idea is simple, but the setup needs care.

DRO shows up in many behavior plans. BCBAs and RBTs use it to lower challenging behavior. Done well, it can work fast. Done poorly, it can quietly fail. The details make the difference.

How a DRO works#

In a DRO, you pick an interval of time. The person must avoid the behavior for that whole interval. If they do, they get reinforcement. If they do not, the clock resets. Matt Harrington gives a plain version of this. In a typical DRO, the person has to go some set number of minutes without a challenging behavior.

So the reward is tied to time, not to a new skill. The person earns it by not doing the behavior. That is why the interval length matters so much. Set it wrong, and the plan breaks.

Setting the interval#

The interval should match the person's current pattern. A common rule of thumb ties it to how often the behavior happens. Harrington shares the version he learned.

Typical rule of thumb with DROs is the interval that you use, at least this is what I learned, interval you use is half of the inner response time of the behavior. From the talk. Matt Harrington

Inter-response time means the average time between behaviors. So if the behavior happens about every two minutes, you might start near one minute. That gives the person a real chance to earn the reward. You can stretch the interval later as they succeed.

This choice also affects safety. A short interval means more chances to earn reinforcement. That keeps the setting rich and lowers the risk of a big flare-up.

The smaller the inner response time for a DRO, the more reinforcement-rich the environment is, thus the less fearful of an extinction burst you have to be. From the talk. Matt Harrington

An extinction burst is a short spike in behavior when reward stops. A richer schedule makes that spike less likely.

The reset trap#

Here is the biggest DRO mistake. The interval is set too long. The person cannot make it that far. So the clock keeps resetting, and they never earn the reward. Harrington walks through this exact failure.

let's say there is a DRO approach, um, in a DRO in place. And the idea is that the client doesn't aggress for, you know, one minute and every one minute they get reinforced with a break. From the talk — Matthew Harrington

On paper, that plan looks fine. In practice, it can collapse. If the person cannot reach one minute, the reward never comes.

the client never makes it to one minute so the DRO keeps resetting and they never received that break. From the talk — Matthew Harrington

Now the plan is not really a DRO anymore. The person gets no reinforcement at all. What they feel is something else entirely.

but what the client's experiencing is, is extinction. There, there is no skills being taught there, right? From the talk — Matthew Harrington

This is the core warning. A DRO on paper can become extinction in real life. No reward means no teaching. So watch the data and adjust the interval fast.

DRO teaches "not doing," not a new skill#

DRO has a real limit built in. It rewards the absence of behavior. It does not teach a replacement skill on its own. The person learns to wait, not to ask.

That is why many teams pair DRO with skill teaching. You can add training for a better way to get the same outcome. Then the person has something to do, not just something to avoid. This makes gains last longer.

Fidelity and small details matter#

A DRO is only as good as its delivery. Staff must run the timer and the reward the same way each time. Small slips can weaken the whole effect. Consistency is not optional here.

Adding a clear rule can help, too. You can tell the person what earns the reward and what loses it. A plain statement makes the contingency easier to follow. It removes guesswork for both the person and the staff.

There are also different DRO styles to consider. Some deliver the reward at the end of the whole interval. Others check only at a single moment in time. Each style has trade-offs for ease and clarity. Pick the one your staff can run well every time.

What the research says#

Research supports DRO but flags real limits. One study compared two momentary DRO schedules, fixed and variable. Both cut challenging behavior about equally, and most caregivers preferred the variable version (Wilder, Sheppard, & Ingram, 2023).

Adding clear rules can boost DRO's effect. One study tested DRO with rules and statements of reinforcer loss. For all participants, the rule-plus-loss version produced the biggest drop in severe problem behavior (Iannaccone, Hagopian, Javed, Borrero, & Zarcone, 2019).

Delivery fidelity matters a great deal. One study ran DRO with errors on purpose. Both missed and extra reinforcers weakened the response-suppressing effect, and some errors pushed rates above baseline (Hronek & Kestner, 2025).

FAQ#

What does DRO reinforce?

DRO reinforces the absence of the target behavior. The person earns a reward for going a set time without it. It does not directly reward a new skill. That is why teams often pair it with skill teaching.

How do I choose the DRO interval?

Base it on how often the behavior happens now. A common rule of thumb is about half the average time between behaviors. Start short so the person can actually earn the reward. Stretch the interval as they succeed.

Why is my DRO not working?

The interval may be too long. If the person keeps hitting the behavior before the timer ends, the clock resets. They never earn the reward, and it becomes extinction. Shorten the interval and check that staff run it the same way.

The interval rule of thumb comes up again in Prediction and Probabilities: Three foundational equations to successful behavior reduction.