bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BEHAVIORAL TECHNOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY1
Authors: Willems Edwin P.
Published: March 2006

Applied behavior analysis, as a special case of behavioral technology, is discussed from the standpoint of behavioral ecology. The ecological orientation and its emphasis upon system‐like interdependencies among environment, organism, and behavior are presented. The widespread possibilities for unintended effects of simple interventions provide the context for evaluating effective behavioral technology and calling for cooperation between the technologist and ecologist. Such cooperation, in the form of mutual and cooperative research efforts, should come naturally for the technologist and ecologist, because they share some fundamental values and assumptions, and each has much to offer the other. Several areas of such cooperative effort are spelled out.
EFFECTS OF SELF‐RECORDING ON ATTENDANCE AND PERFORMANCE IN A COMPETITIVE SWIMMING TRAINING ENVIRONMENT
Authors: McKenzie Thomas L. , Rushall Brent S.
Published: March 2006

Swimmers' attendance at training and work rates were described by their coaches as being poor and irregular. Reinforcement contingencies were developed to remedy these unsatisfactory conditions. Two experiments were conducted. A multiple baseline design verified the effects of publicly marking attendance at practice as a sufficient solution for reducing absenteeism, tardiness, and leaving early. Follow‐up analyses showed this contingency to have lasting effects. In the second experiment, a reversal design was used to assess the effects of employing program boards as a means of increasing work output during practice. Work rates in eight selected swimmers were elevated by an average of 27.1% when the boards were instituted. Follow‐up evaluations showed that the use of the program boards had lasting effects. Publicly checking the completion of each training unit of work changed the nature of the swimming environment to produce a more productive use of time. The role of the coach was subsequently changed as less time was spent in directing and supervising behaviors.
IMPROVING JOB PERFORMANCE OF NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH CORPS AIDES IN AN URBAN RECREATION PROGRAM1
Authors: Pierce Charles H. , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

In most federal job training and employment programs, trainees' pay is not contingent on job performance, but upon physical presence. This study sought to increase the job performance of seven Neighborhood Youth Corps workers being paid an hourly wage for serving as aides in an urban recreation program. When thorough job descriptions and threatened termination of employment were insufficient to maintain adequate job performance, an attempt was made to make the hourly wage (required by the Neighborhood Youth Corps program) more contingent on job performance. When the number of hours credited the workers on their payroll sheets was proportional to their rating on a simple checklist of job performance, rather than to the number of hours they were present, their job performance was maintained at near‐perfect levels. Although this simple semantic shift in emphasis—from “hours worked” to “hours worked”—was still interpreted as meeting the Neighborhood Youth Corps requirements for hourly pay, its behavioral effects were substantial. This simple procedure might be used in other training programs handicapped by hourly wage requirements.
MOTIVATING STAFF PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERANT LEARNING PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN
Authors: Pommer Dale A. , Streedbeck Darlene
Published: March 2006

Staff performance in a residential child‐treatment facility was measured by counting the number of jobs completed and number of new procedures implemented within one week of their assignment. Public notices were posted listing each staff member's duties and new procedures to be implemented during the week. The notices produced an immediate increase in performance levels, which quickly tapered off. Staff members were then given tokens worth $1.00 each for performing jobs and implementing procedures within one week of assignment. The tokens regained and sustained high levels of performance when used in conjunction with the public notices. The use of public notices alone and tokens alone maintained better performance than baseline levels, but neither was as effective in starting and maintaining high‐performance levels as was the combined use of the two.
PARENTAL MANIPULATION OF CHILD BEHAVIOR IN HOME OBSERVATIONS1
Authors: Johnson Stephen M. , Lobitz Gretchen K.
Published: March 2006

The object of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents can manipulate their children's behavior in home observations. Twelve families with four‐ to six‐year old children were recruited for the research. The parents were instructed to make their child look “bad” or “deviant” on three days of a six‐day observation and to look “good” or “nondeviant” on alternate days. Results indicated that, as predicted, the rate of child deviant behavior, parental negative responding, and parental commands were all significantly higher on bad than good days. Parental responses to questionnaires provided more detailed information on how parents felt that they influenced their children in the desired directions. These results were discussed in terms of their implications for child psychopathology and the methodology of data collection in the natural environment.
USING PRESCHOOL MATERIALS TO MODIFY THE LANGUAGE OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN1
Authors: Hart Betty , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

Although language remediation programs have generally been conducted with the use of special materials in structured group settings, traditional preschool practice emphasizes “incidental teaching” incorporated into children's free play. To determine if incidental teaching practices could be effective in improving children's speech, this study investigated the spontaneous speech of 12 disadvantaged children during free‐play periods over eight months of a preschool program. Whenever the children selected a preschool play material, they were prompted and required to ask for it, first by name (noun), then by name plus a word that described the material (adjective‐noun combination), then by use of a color adjective‐noun combination, and finally by requesting the material and describing how they were going to use it (compound sentence). As each requirement was made, the children's general use of that aspect of language markedly increased, but little change was noted in the amount or nature of the children's interactions with teachers or their use of a set of materials to which they had free access. This study demonstrates that preschool free‐play periods can be powerful “incidental teaching” periods by capitalizing on moments when children seek new play materials.
ANTI‐LITTER PROCEDURES IN AN URBAN HIGH‐DENSITY AREA1
Authors: Chapman Clyde , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

In urban high‐density areas, litter has become an increasingly obvious and pervasive problem. In the present study, repeated measures of the amount of litter on randomly selected yards in an urban low‐income housing project were used to evaluate the effectiveness of a series of anti‐litter procedures directed at the children residing in the project. Paying children for volume of trash collected resulted in only a small decrease in the number of litter pieces present. Paying them for cleaning assigned yards markedly decreased the level of litter in all sampled yards. Thus, children can be employed to maintain a clean neighborhood in spite of the rapid accumulation of new litter in urban yards.
THE APPLICATION OF GENERALIZED CORRECT SOCIAL CONTINGENCIES: AN EVALUATION OF A TRAINING PROGRAM1
Authors: Parsonson Barry S. , Baer Ann M. , Baer Donald M.
Published: March 2006

Two aides operating a kindergarten‐style program for institutionalized mental retardates were trained, using observer feedback, to apply generalized “correct” social contingencies to 10 defined classes of appropriate and inappropriate child behaviors. A multiple baseline design was used to demonstrate, sequentially, the effects of the training procedure upon the attending behavior of each teacher. After withdrawal of feedback, a posttraining follow‐up served to assess the durability of training. For both aides, the effect of training was to increase the proportion of appropriate child behaviors attended to, compared with baseline data, and a follow‐up over a number of weeks indicated that the effects of training were apparently durable.
THE MODIFICATION AND GENERALIZATION OF VOICE LOUDNESS IN A FIFTEEN‐YEAR‐OLD RETARDED GIRL1
Authors: Jackson Donald A. , Wallace R. Frank
Published: March 2006

A fifteen‐year‐old severely disturbed girl was treated for aphonia. Because of the extent of her withdrawal, the subject was conditioned in a laboratory setting and received tokens for speaking loudly enough to operate a voice‐operated relay. Conditioning at first consisted of saying 100 monosyllabic words, with the possibility of reinforcement on each word. Later, the subject was required to say a polysyllabic word, and finally, five or six words per token. The subject was shaped to speak with normal loudness in the laboratory, and generalization to a reading situation in the laboratory was measured and observed to occur, at first for a few minutes, and later for a longer period. Generalization to a reading situation in the classroom did not occur, but the subject's voice loudness also increased in the classroom when several new reinforcement contingencies were put into effect there.
A QUASI‐EXPERIMENTAL RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF A PRISON POLICY CHANGE1
Authors: Schnelle John F. , Lee J. Frank
Published: March 2006

Interrupted time‐series design and quasi‐experimental logic were employed to assess the behavioral effects of a prison disciplinary intervention on a population of approximately 2000 adult male inmates. The uncontrolled nature of the prison environment prevented experimental analysis of intervention effects. The quasi‐experimental methodology applied in this study exemplifies how data, otherwise lost, can be retrieved. In addition, the process by which qualified conclusions can be drawn from the retrieved data is demonstrated.
LEMON‐JUICE THERAPY: THE CONTROL OF LIFE‐THREATENING RUMINATION IN A SIX‐MONTH‐OLD INFANT1
Authors: Sajwaj Thomas , Libet Julian , Agras Stewart
Published: March 2006

Chronic, life‐threatening rumination was eliminated in a six‐month‐old infant by squirting a small amount of lemon juice into her mouth whenever rumination or its precursors were detected. A brief suspension of this therapy demonstrated its crucial role. Lemon‐juice therapy offers a practical and acceptable alternative to other therapies for rumination, namely electric shock and massive noncontingent attention. However, since this study is limited to a single case, claims as to the effectiveness of this therapy across children are premature.
FEEDBACK IN CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: EFFECTS ON THE TARGET AND HER CLASSMATES1
Authors: Drabman Ronald S. , Lahey Benjamin B.
Published: March 2006

A behavior modification program that employed feedback with no additional contingencies was initiated and withdrawn in an ABAB design on a target child within a classroom. The disruptive behavior of the target child as well as that of her peers was monitored. Additionally, the sociometric status of the target child was recorded. Finally, the positive and negative comments made to the target by her teacher and her peers were related to initiation and withdrawal of the feedback contingency. Results indicate that (1) feedback alone may be an effective behavior modification procedure, (2) the disruptive behavior of the target's classmates changed, even though they were not directly treated, (3) sociometric status of the target was altered by behavioral contingencies, (4) positive comments by classmates to the target increased, and (5) negative comments from the teacher to the target child decreased.
A FURTHER CONSIDERATION IN THE APPLICATION OF AN ANALYSIS‐OF‐VARIANCE MODEL FOR THE INTRASUBJECT REPLICATION DESIGN
Authors: Kratochwill T. , Alden K. , Demuth D. , Dawson D. , Panicucci C. , Arntson P. , McMurray N. , Hempstead J. , Levin J.
Published: March 2006

It is argued that the analysis‐of‐variance model is inappropriate for assessing treatment effects in single‐subject designs. In particular, such designs are demonstrated to violate the crucial assumption concerning the statistical independence of observations. Alternative methods of data analysis are suggested.
FORCING SQUARE PEGS INTO ROUND HOLES: SOME COMMENTS ON “AN ANALYSIS‐OF‐VARIANCE MODEL FOR THE INTRASUBJECT REPLICATION DESIGN”
Authors: Hartmann Donald P.
Published: March 2006

This paper critically examines the application of fixed‐effect one‐way analysis‐of‐variance procedures to learning data from a single subject. Procedures more appropriate for data obtained from intrasubject replication designs are briefly described.
ELIMINATING DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS BY STRENGTHENING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE1
Authors: Ayllon Teodoro , Roberts Michael D.
Published: March 2006

Behavior modification procedures have typically been used to eliminate discipline problems in the classroom through reinforcement of nondisruptive behavior. This report demonstrates an alternative approach whereby discipline problems are eliminated by reinforcing relevant academic skills. Five fifth‐grade boys, identified by their teacher as discipline problems, were observed. The teacher conducted 15‐min performance sessions in her reading class during which written academic performance and disruptive behavior were recorded. These measures indicated that the boys' average level of disruption was 34%, while their reading performance was below 50%. When systematic token reinforcement was applied to reading performance only, the rate of disruption fell drastically, and reading performance increased. When the reinforcement procedure was withdrawn, disruption again rose, and reading performance declined. The reinstatement of reinforcement doubled reading performance and eliminated disruption.
MODIFICATION OF SEIZURE DISORDERS: THE INTERRUPTION OF BEHAVIORAL CHAINS1
Authors: Zlutnick Steven , Mayville William J. , Moffat Scott
Published: March 2006

This study investigated the effects of interruption and differential reinforcement on seizures in children. Seizures were conceptualized as the terminal link in a behavioral chain, resulting in a strategy aimed at identifying and modifying behaviors that reliably preceded the seizure climax. Seizure frequency was reduced in four of five subjects, whereas the frequency of preseizure behavior was reduced in only three subjects. Parents and school personnel were successfully used as change agents.
SOME ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF SHORT‐TERM WORKSHOPS IN THE PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION1
Authors: Stein Theodore J.
Published: March 2006

Workshops and seminars to expose different sectors of the professional community to the principles and applications of behavior modification are briefly discussed. The possible misapplication of procedures by conference participants, whose only exposure to behavioral methods has been at these workshops is viewed as a potentially serious ethical issue. It is suggested that the goals of such seminars and workshops must be clarified, and methods of evaluation of the participants' skills devised, lest we contribute to the misapplication of procedures and to the criticism that behavioral methods are unethical approaches to treatment.
TRAINING PUBLIC‐SPEAKING BEHAVIOR: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL VALIDATION1
Authors: Fawcett Stephen B. , Miller L. Keith
Published: March 2006

The effect of an instructional package on public‐speaking behaviors was analyzed in two experiments. The instructional package was designed to teach public‐speaking trainees to look at the audience, make gestures, and perform a number of speaking behaviors. The results of Experiment I, with a university student serving as the trainee, showed that the percentage of each category of public‐speaking target behavior increased only after the instructional package was introduced for that category. The results of Experiment 2, with three low‐income paraprofessional staff members of a neighborhood service center serving as trainees, showed that the percentage of target behaviors increased after the instructional package was introduced for the respective trainee. Audience ratings of public‐speaking performance were correlated with direct observations of target responses. All trainees showed marked improvements in audience ratings from pretraining to posttraining. This study demonstrated an effective procedure for training public‐speaking behaviors.
A BEHAVIORAL‐EDUCATIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO DRUG CONTROL OF HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN
Authors: Ayllon Teodoro , Layman Dale , Kandel Henry J.
Published: March 2006

A behavioral procedure for controlling hyperactivity without inhibiting academic performance is described. Using a time‐sample observational method, the hyperactivity displayed by three school children was recorded during math and reading classes. Concurrently, math and reading performances were measured. The study consisted of two baselines, one while the children were on medication and the second while they were off medication. A multiple‐baseline design across the two academic subject matters was used to assess the behavioral intervention, which consisted of token reinforcement for correct academic responses in math and subsequently math and reading. Discontinuation of medication resulted in a gross increase in hyperactivity from 20% to about 80%, and a slight increase in math and reading performance. Introduction of a behavioral program for academic performance, during no medication, controlled the children's hyperactivity at a level comparable to that when they were on drugs (about 20%). At the same time, math and reading performance for the group jumped from about 12% during baseline to a level of over 85% correct. Each child performed behaviorally and academically in an optimal manner without medication. Contingency management techniques provided a feasible alternative to medication for controlling hyperactivity in the classroom while enabling the children to grow academically.
DOES USE OF TANGIBLE REWARDS WITH INDIVIDUAL CHILDREN AFFECT PEER OBSERVERS?1
Authors: Christy Pauline R.
Published: March 2006

The common assumption that employing tangible rewards with individual children will have adverse effects upon peer observers was studied in the preschool setting. Multiple‐subject, multiple‐baseline procedures were applied to two classes of children, aged 3.5 to 6 yr. In each group, three consecutive children with low base rates of in‐seat behavior received a verbal contingency and food rewards for sitting, while peers (with either low or high rates of in‐seat behavior) received neither food nor teacher attention for sitting. Peer reactions measured were in‐seat behavior, aggression, nonaggressive disruptive behavior, and complaints. The procedures neither decreased the in‐seat behavior of peer observers, nor increased their aggressive or disruptive behavior. On the contrary, peers with low base rates of sitting initially displayed an abrupt, but temporary, increase in sitting. Moreover, although no compensatory attention was delivered, all children exhibited improved sitting by the end of the study. Complaints, which consisted mainly of requests for rewards, decreased in frequency with successive program phases, and within each phase. It is suggested that the class improvement in sitting behavior and the absence of negative effects on observers may be partially due to the high frequency of attention the teacher maintained for other desired behavior and the lack of attention to children's complaints.
EFFECTS OF AN AUDIO CUEING SYSTEM ON THE RATE OF TEACHER PRAISE1
Authors: Houten Ronald Van , Sullivan Keith
Published: March 2006

The effects of automated cueing on teacher praise rate was investigated in one special, one fourth‐, and one seventh‐grade classroom. After establishing baseline praise rates in each of the three classrooms, two methods for increasing teacher praise rate were introduced according to a multiple‐baseline design. During the first phase, two teachers were instructed to count and graph their praise rate during each session. All teachers received auditory cues to prompt praising during another phase. In all cases, introduction of cues markedly increased teacher praise rates, but self‐recording was relatively ineffective. An analysis of teacher‐praise distributions showed that cues closely controlled teacher praise for two of the three teachers.
GENERALIZING THE USE OF DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES THROUGH MODELLING1
Authors: Martin Jerry A.
Published: March 2006

Two retarded children were exposed to daily imitation training in which teacher or nurse modelled and instructed each child to imitate 12 sentences containing one of six animal names. The subjects were praised for correct verbal imitation. Across three phases of a multiple‐baseline design, sentences varied as to the presence or absence of size and/or color adjectives describing the animals. In probe sessions at another time of day and in a different setting, the experimenter twice asked each subject to describe 12 different animal pictures. The subjects' use of descriptive adjectives (color and/or size) greatly increased during probe sessions as a function of the sentence content (presence or absence of color and/or size adjectives) in modelling and imitation training sessions. Generalization to descriptions of animals also not used in imitation training sentences was also obtained.

Generalization to descriptions of animals not used in imitation training sentences was also obtained.
THE IMPACT OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS ON DIVERSE AREAS OF RESEARCH1
Authors: Kazdin Alan E.
Published: March 2006

The impact of applied behavior analysis on various disciplines and areas of research was assessed through two major analyses. First, the relationship of applied behavior analysis to the general area of “behavior modification” was evaluated by examining the citation characteristics of journal articles in JABA and three other behavior‐modification journals. Second, the penetration of applied behavior analysis into diverse areas and disciplines, including behavior modification, psychiatry, clinical psychology, education, special education, retardation, speech and hearing, counselling, and law enforcement and correction was assessed. Twenty‐five journals representing diverse research areas were evaluated from 1968 to 1974 to assess the extent to which operant techniques were applied for therapeutic, rehabilitative, and educative purposes and the degree to which methodological desiderata of applied behavior analysis were met. The analyses revealed diverse publication outlets for applied behavior analysis in various disciplines.
TREATING OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN THROUGH PARENTAL TRAINING AND CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING1
Authors: Aragona Jon , Cassady John , Drabman Ronald S.
Published: March 2006

Fifteen overweight girls aged 5 to 11 yr were randomly assigned to one of two weight‐reduction treatments: response‐cost plus reinforcement, response‐cost only, or a no‐treatment control group. In the response‐cost plus reinforcement group, parents contracted to facilitate their child's weight loss by carrying out reinforcement and stimulus control techniques, completing weekly charts and graphs, and encouraging their child to exercise. The response‐cost only group parents did not contract to reinforce their child's performance. The response‐cost program applied to both experimental groups was conducted in weekly meetings in which parents lost previously deposited sums of money. Twenty‐five per cent was deducted for missing the weekly meeting, 25% for failing to fill out charts and graphs, and 50% if their child failed to meet her specified weekly weight‐loss goal. At the end of the 12‐week treatment period, both experimental groups had lost significantly more weight than the control group. After an eight‐week, no‐contact follow‐up, some of the lost weight was regained. The response‐cost plus reinforcement group was still significantly below the controls. The response‐cost group just missed significance. A 31‐week, no‐contact follow‐up failed to show a treatment effect, but did show a trend towards slower weight gain by the response‐cost plus reinforcement group.
SOME STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF DEVIANT CHILD BEHAVIOR1
Authors: Wahler Robert G.
Published: March 2006

Covariation within behavior repertoires of problem children were examined. Two boys, referred for psychological help, were observed both at school and at home for about 3 yr. A coded observation system permitted scoring of 19 child‐behavior categories and six social‐environment categories. After a two‐month baseline, behavior categories were intercorrelated, demonstrating that each child showed a group of behaviors that covaried. These groupings were specific to the home and school settings. Contingency management procedures were then applied to each child's problem behaviors in one setting. Next, a reversal phase was instituted, followed by resumption of the initial contingency management phase. These three phases lasted seven months, until the end of the children's public school terms. Results showed that the baseline group of covarying behaviors continued to covary over the three experimental phases. The children then entered a remedial education setting for three summer months, and then returned to schools and were observed in follow‐up for 2 yr. The baseline group of behaviors continued to covary during both phases. The behavior covariations could not be accounted for on the basis of temporal relationships between the behaviors and social environment categories. Although no behavior covariations extended across either child's home and school settings, contingency management procedures produced across‐setting effects.
TRAINING MENTALLY RETARDED ADOLESCENTS TO BRUSH THEIR TEETH1
Authors: Horner R. Don , Keilitz Ingo
Published: March 2006

The need for self‐care by retarded individuals in behaviors such as brushing teeth led to the development and evaluation of a comprehensive toothbrushing program that included a task analysis and training procedure specific to each component of the task analysis. Eight mentally retarded adolescents, in two groups, individually received acquisition training that included scheduled opportunities for independent performances, verbal instruction, modelling, demonstration, and physical assistance. The first group of four subjects received token plus social reinforcement; the second received only social reinforcement. All eight subjects showed improved toothbrushing behaviors when compared to baseline. Six of the eight subjects correctly performed all toothbrushing steps in two of three consecutive sessions. The study emphasizes the need for systematic program development and evaluation.
GENERALIZATION OF TEACHER BEHAVIOR AS A FUNCTION OF SUBJECT MATTER SPECIFIC DISCRIMINATION TRAINING
Authors: Horton Gary O.
Published: March 2006

The effect of training on the rate of behavior‐specific praise for two fourth‐grade teachers was investigated within a multiple‐baseline design. Training teachers to identify instances of behavior‐specific praise on videotaped presentations (discrimination training) combined with instructions to use praise, and audiotape recordings of the teachers' classroom interactions as feedback, increased the rates of behavior‐specific praise. However, the effects were restricted to subject‐matter areas in which training was conducted.
DISCRIMINATIVE CONTROL OF THERAPISTS' PERFORMANCE1
Authors: Loeber Rolf , Weisman R. G.
Published: March 2006

In order to examine therapists' discriminative responding to normal and idiosyncratic patient responses, naive subjects were presented with a simulated “patient” for treatment. The subjects were made to believe they were reinforcing normal verbalizations emitted by this patient In fact, they were listening to a tape on which normal and idiosyncratic verbalizations had been recorded. Different probabilities of normal and idiosyncratic “patient” verbalizations could be presented to the subjects by means of a digital programming unit. In one of a number of conditions, the subjects' accurate reinforcing responses were followed by an increased probability of the patient's normal verbalizations. Accurate reinforcing responses emitted by the subjects were brought under the control of normal and idiosyncratic patient responses, by use of contingent feedback, change in patient responding, and monetary reinforcers. When the patient's normal verbalizations increased in probability, so did the subjects' accurate reinforcing responses following the patient's normal verbalizations, and to a lesser degree, the subjects' inaccurate reinforcing responses following the patient's idiosyncratic verbalizations. When the patient's idiosyncratic verbalizations increased in probability, the subjects' accurate and inaccurate reinforcing responses decreased in probability. The clinical implications of these tendencies are discussed.
SOCIAL EVALUATION RESEARCH: THE EVALUATION OF TWO POLICE PATROLLING STRATEGIES
Authors: Schnelle John F. , Kirchner Robert E. , McNees M. Patrick , Lawler Jerry M.
Published: March 2006

In most social evaluation research it is difficult to achieve the degree of experimental rigor possible in an applied behavioral study. This study illustrates how the evaluation researcher can increase experimental rigor in the analysis of social interventions. In the first evaluation, a variation of the time‐series design that offered maximum experimental control given the limitations of the situation, was employed to evaluate the effects of a specialized home‐burglary police patrol. This design revealed that no effects could be attributed to the patrol. In the second evaluation, a multiple baseline‐like design was possible in determining the effects of a police walking patrol. This design revealed that the patrol produced an increase in crime reporting but not in arrests. Social interventions often occur in a manner that allows varying degrees of experimental analysis. The evaluation researcher must attain optimal experimental analysis given the limitations of each social intervention.
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF TOKEN REINFORCEMENT ON DIVERGENT VERBAL RESPONDING1
Authors: Henson Ferris O.
Published: March 2006

The effect of token reinforcement on three classes of divergent verbal responding to verbal stimulus items from three measures of the Wallach‐Kogan Creativity test was examined. The subjects consisted of two “gifted”, two “average”, and two “learning disabled” children from a public‐school setting. The design utilized both an intra‐subject and inter‐subject multiple‐baseline design with a reversal design added. Tokens were dispensed contingent upon the number of appropriate verbal responses to each stimulus item, i.e., a continuous schedule of reinforcement was used—one token per appropriate response. Interobserver agreement on “appropiateness” was 993%. The tokens could be used to “purchase” items listed in a “menu” format (e.g., ball and jacks—100 tokens). Consistently large effects of token reinforcement were observed, without generalization of effect across the three classes of behaviors, or conditions. These results support the works of Goetz and Baer (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1973, 6, 209–217), Goetz and Salmonson (Behavior Analysis and Education, G. Semb, (Ed.), University of Kansas, 1972, 53–61), and Maloney and Hopkins (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1973, 6, 425–434). Implications lie in continued experimental analysis of behavior approach to the concept called “creativity”. Additionally, implications are made in classroom application of assessing and intervening in the area of divergent responding for children with deficits in those areas.
CONTROL OF ARITHMETIC ERRORS USING INFORMATIONAL FEEDBACK AND GRAPHING1
Authors: Fink William T. , Carnine Douglas W.
Published: March 2006

The effect of informational feedback and graphing on reducing the number of arithmetic worksheet errors was investigated. The present study replicated and extended earlier findings with other populations (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974, 7, 547–555; 1970, 3, 1–4; 1970, 3, 235–240) to a first‐grade classroom. Ten first‐grade pupils (four males and six females) served in an ABAB design. During the feedback‐only phase, subjects were provided informational feedback, in the form of a written number, on the number of errors made on individual arithmetic worksheets. The feedback‐only phase lasted seven days and was followed by the feedback‐plus‐graphing phase, during which subjects graphed the number (of errors written at the top of the individual worksheet) daily on individual graphs on their desks. The feedback‐plus‐graphing phase lasted 10 days and was followed by a reversal to feedback only for 10 days. The final phase was a replication of the feedback‐plus‐graphing phase. All subjects showed a change in number of worksheet errors, in the predicted direction, during the feedback‐plus‐graphing phases. An overall mean difference of −2.66 was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.01), using a Wilcoxson Matched‐Pairs Sign Test. The results were interpreted as being empirical support for earlier findings in other populations. In addition, the present findings represented a successful extension of feedback and graphing interventions to the management of academic behaviors in a first‐grade classroom.
AN EVALUATION OF TIME‐SAMPLE MEASURES OF BEHAVIOR1
Authors: Powell J. , Martindale A. , Kulp S.
Published: March 2006

Continuous and time‐sample measures of the in‐seat behavior of a secretary were obtained. Measurement error, i.e., the extent to which the sample measures deviated from the continuous measure, was a function of the frequency of the sample measurements and the criterion used to score an example of the behavior. If the behavior had to be exhibited throughout the observational interval (whole‐interval time sampling), there was a consistent underestimate of the continuous measure. If the behavior had to be exhibited only briefly within the observational interval (partial‐interval time sampling), there was a consistent overestimate of the continuous measure. And, if the behavior had to be exhibited at the end of the observational interval (momentary time sampling), overestimations and underestimations of the continuous measure occurred about equally often. As expected, the more frequently the sample measures were made the closer was the agreement between the sample and continuous measures. Two conclusions concerning measurement error in interval time sampling were made. The first was that the error will be a function of the mean time per response. The second is that this error will not be consistent across experimental conditions.
PUNISHMENT OF SELF‐INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR USING AROMATIC AMMONIA AS THE AVERSIVE STIMULUS
Authors: Tanner Barry A. , Zeiler Marlene
Published: March 2006

Punishment with aromatic ammonia was used to eliminate self‐injurious behavior of an autistic woman during experimental sessions. The effects were reversible but were limited to experimental sessions until staff used the ammonia on the ward at all times.
A COMPARISON OF THREE STAFF‐MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES
Authors: Quilitch H. Robert
Published: March 2006

Even though administrators must have effective staff‐management procedures to ensure implementation of desired programs, many traditional staff‐management procedures remain unevaluated. This study investigated the effectiveness of three such procedures. The administrator of an institution for the retarded (1) sent a memo instructing all staff to lead daily recreational activities, (2) sponsored a workshop teaching staff to lead such activities, and (3) assigned staff activity leaders and provided performance feedback to staff by publicly posting the daily average number of active residents on each ward. Neither the memo nor the workshops motivated staff to lead activities, but after staff were scheduled to lead such activities and given performance feedback, the average daily number of residents engaged in activities on four wards for 95 retarded persons increased from seven to 32. The administration of this facility has adopted similar procedures to maintain such activities on all wards.
A CLASSROOM PROGRAM TEACHING DISADVANTAGED YOUTHS TO WRITE BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION1
Authors: Clark Hewitt B. , Boyd Sandra B. , Macrae John W.
Published: March 2006

Little attention has been given to how formal classroom instruction can be adapted to teach youths everyday skills such as the correct writing of biographic information frequently requested in transactions like applying for a job or a social security number and cashing a check. In this study, six youths in a special education classroom were taught to complete job application forms with the date, their name, signature, address, telephone number, date of birth, and a reference's name, address, and occupation. Each youth was trained on one item of biographic information at a time, after which he was tested on four application forms, including one on which he had not been trained., The tests show that after an item had been taught, it was correctly used in completing application forms on which the youths had been trained and forms on which they had never been trained. The study demonstrates the feasibility of teaching community‐living, vocation‐related skills to special‐education youths in a classroom setting.
DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT OF OTHER BEHAVIOR AND NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT AS CONTROL PROCEDURES DURING THE MODIFICATION OF A PRESCHOOLER'S COMPLIANCE1
Authors: Goetz Elizabeth M. , Holmberg Margaret C. , LeBlanc Judith M.
Published: March 2006

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) and noncontingent reinforcement were compared as control procedures during the modification of a 3‐yr‐old preschooler's compliance. The recorded reinforcer was teacher proximity (within 3 ft (0.9 m) of the subject for at least 5 sec) which was often accompanied by positive verbal comments that varied in content across experimental conditions. The verbal content during contingent reinforcement might have been: “Thank you for picking up the blocks”; during noncontingent reinforcement: “You're wearing a pretty dress”; and during DRO: “I don't blame you for not picking up because it isn't any fun”. Contingent reinforcement increased compliance in all manipulation conditions. Noncontingent reinforcement decreased compliance during two reversal conditions. However, the behavior was variable and did not decrease to the low levels reached during the two DRO reversals.
EFFECTS OF WITHIN‐STIMULUS AND EXTRA‐STIMULUS PROMPTING ON DISCRIMINATION LEARNING IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN1
Authors: Schreibman Laura
Published: March 2006

Two different prompting procedures to teach visual and auditory discriminations to autistic children were compared. The first involved presenting an added cue as an extra‐stimulus prompt. This required the child to respond to both prompt and training stimulus. The second involved the use of a within‐stimulus prompt. This consisted of an exaggeration of the relevant component of the training stimulus and thus did not require that the child respond to multiple cues. The results indicated that (1) children usually failed to learn the discriminations without a prompt, (2) children always failed to learn when the extra‐stimulus prompt was employed but usually did learn with the withinstimulus prompt, and (3) these findings were independent of which modality (auditory or visual) was required for the discrimination.
TRAINING CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA TO USE INHALATION THERAPY EQUIPMENT1
Authors: Renne Charles M. , Creer Thomas L.
Published: March 2006

In Experiment I, four children with asthma were taught to use the intermittent positive‐pressure breathing (IPPB) apparatus, a device that delivers bronchodilator medication to the lungs under positive pressure. Because these youngsters had not learned to use the device with repeated instructions, script with back‐up reinforcement was introduced to train sequentially three responses—eye fixation, facial posturing, and diaphragmatic breathing—according to a multiple‐baseline design. The procedures were effective in teaching appropriate use of the IPPB apparatus. Further, the children's use of the apparatus after training resulted in significantly more effective relief of asthma symptoms. In a second experiment, nurses were instructed in the application of the operant techniques used in the first study, and then served as experimenters in a partial replication of Experiment I. The data once again reflected a strong impact of the intervention program on IPPB responses.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REINFORCEMENT, RESPONSE COST, AND MIXED PROGRAMS ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIORS1
Authors: Hundert Joel
Published: March 2006

Six elementary school children served as subjects in an experiment comparing the relative effectiveness of (1) token reinforcement, in which children received tokens for attending and for correct arithmetic performance; (2) response cost, in which children received “free” tokens at the start of a period but lost them for inattention and for arithmetic performance below a specified level; and (3) a combination of both token reinforcement and response cost. During training, the six subjects received all three procedures in counterbalanced sequence. The effects of the three procedures were assessed by a within‐subject comparison divided into three phases: (i) baseline, (ii) training, (iii) withdrawal of tokens. Introduction of the three token procedures markedly increased the two dependent measures. However, there were no differences across the procedures in the amount of change produced in either attending behavior or arithmetic performance. During baseline, the subjects averaged 29% attending behavior and 6.4 correct problems. These levels increased to 85% for attending behavior and 11.4 correct problems for arithmetic performance during training. Removal of all token procedures significantly decreased attending behavior (to an average of 65%), but produced a nonsignificant reduction in arithmetic performance (to an average of 7.6 correct problems). There was evidence that this lack of differential effects of the three token procedures was not due to an inability to discriminate among them. Furthermore, the subjects were evenly divided in their preference for the three procedures.
COMPARISON OF MODELLING AND REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURES IN INCREASING QUESTION‐ASKING OF MILDLY RETARDED CHILDREN1
Authors: Bondy Andrew S. , Erickson Marilyn T.
Published: March 2006

Questioning is an important skill, particularly for retarded children with deficits in accumulated information. Recent strategies for modifying a variety of verbal behaviors have included both token reinforcement systems and modelling procedures. However, the relative effectiveness (i.e., the rate of behavior change) of certain reinforcement procedures, especially with low base‐rate behavior (used alone) have recently been questioned. The present study, using an ABAB design, compared the effect of a Token reinforcement system, a Trainer‐Model procedure, and a combination of the two procedures on increasing the rate of question‐asking. Each condition was in effect for six sessions. Groups of four mildly retarded children (mean age: 10.1 yr) were prompted to ask questions about large photographs, and each of their questions was immediately answered. For the Model group, the Trainer modelled four questions for each subject for each photograph. For the Token group, each question earned the subject a point, which was exchangeable after the session for various items (e.g., candy, ice cream) from a “store”. For the Modelling plus Token group, the procedures were combined. The Model and the Control groups were yoked to receive the same amount of candy as the Token and the Model plus Token groups for behaviors other than question‐asking (i.e., being polite). The results indicated that during Baseline conditions, performance across groups was comparable and that the performance of the Control group did not change across time. The Model procedure had only minimal effects on the rate of question‐asking, while both the Model plus Token and the Token groups showed significant performance increments. The only significant difference between the Model plus Token and the Token groups was a faster rate of increase early in the first Training condition for the Model plus Token group. This difference, and the low level of performance change for the Model group, was interpreted as suggesting a facilitory effect of modelling procedures on reinforcement contingencies. The discrepancy between previous findings showing relatively minimal changes following reinforcement of low base‐rate responses and the present results were discussed in terms of various procedural differences. Educational implications of the present results were also discussed.
THE SOCIAL VALIDATION AND TRAINING OF CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS1
Authors: Minkin Neil , Braukmann Curtis J. , Minkin Bonnie L. , Timbers Gary D. , Timbers Barbara J. , Fixsen Dean L. , Phillips Elery L. , Wolf Montrose M.
Published: March 2006

Three reliably measured components of conversation—questioning, providing positive feedback, and proportion of time spent talking—were identified and validated as to their social importance. The social validity of the three conversational behaviors was established with five female university students and five female junior‐high students. Each was videotaped in conversations with previously unknown adults. The conversational ability of each girl was evaluated by a group of 13 adult judges who viewed each tape and rated each conversant “poor” to “excellent” on a seven‐point rating scale. The average ratings of the girls correlated at r = 0.85 with the specified behavioral measures. These procedures were replicated with additional subjects and judges and yielded a correlation of r = 0.84. The high correlations between ratings and the objective measures suggested that the specified conversational behaviors were socially important aspects of conversational ability. Employing a multiple‐baseline design across the behaviors of asking questions and providing positive feedback, an attempt was made to train four girls who used these behaviors minimally to engage in the behaviors in conversations with adults. Adult judges were again employed to rate randomly selected samples of the girls' skills in pre‐ and posttraining conversations. The average ratings of the girls before training were lower than both the university girls and the junior high‐school girls. After training, the girls' conversational abilities were rated substantially higher than those of their junior high‐school peers. These rating data validated the benefits of the training and the social importance of the behavioral components of questions and feedback in conversation. The authors suggest that it may be necessary for traditional behavior analysis measurement systems to be supplemented by social‐validation procedures in order to establish the relationship between “objectively” measured behaviors and complex classes of behavior of interest to society.
A BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS OF PEAKING IN RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICAL‐ENERGY CONSUMERS1
Authors: Kohlenberg Robert , Phillips Thomas , Proctor William
Published: March 2006

This study was concerned with “peaking”, which is the tendency for electrical‐energy users to consume at high rates for brief periods during the day. Peaking results in the inefficient use of generating facilities, which may lead to unfavorable effects on the environment, such as the construction of new energy producing facilities or the activation of older, less safe, generating units. A continuous data collection system to monitor consumption of electrical energy was installed in the homes of three volunteer families. Information, feedback, and incentives were evaluated for their effects on peak energy consumption. A combination of feedback plus incentives was most effective and reduced peaking about 50%. Removal of experimental treatments resulted in a return to pre‐treatment patterns of consumption.