What may be included in the extinction of automatically reinforced behaviors?

Automatically reinforced behaviors are those that are maintained by the individual's own actions or sensory experiences, rather than by social reinforcement from others. In the context of extinction, the goal is to reduce or eliminate these behaviors by preventing the individual from accessing the reinforcement that maintains them.

Blocking access to the body is an effective strategy because it removes the sensory feedback or pleasure the individual derives from the behavior. For instance, if a child engages in a behavior like hand flapping for sensory stimulation, providing materials that obscure or prevent this behavior can help reduce the frequency of the behavior over time. This technique is a form of intervention aimed directly at the source of reinforcement, thereby implementing extinction effectively.

Strategies such as increasing reinforcement frequency or focusing solely on positive reinforcement do not directly address the underlying automatic reinforcement and may not lead to the desired reduction in behavior. Enhanced social skills training, while beneficial in many contexts, may not specifically target the extinction of behaviors that are automatically reinforced. Therefore, blocking access to the body serves as a direct and appropriate method for implementing extinction of these behaviors.