bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PROMPTS TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE IN A COMMUNITY MENTAL‐HEALTH CENTER1
Authors: Turner A. Jack , Vernon James C.
Published: March 2006

The effect of a brief appointment reminder for mental‐health center applicants is reported. A standardized phone message was delivered by an administrative staff member one to three days before the appointment and a sequential experimental design alternating baseline and phone message conditions was used to assess the effects of the procedure. The no‐show rate averages were 32%, 11%, 25%, and 14% respectively. The cost of the procedure was $162.00, which was totally recovered when only six appointments were kept. Since over 1000 patients were involved in the study, the return on the investment of $162.00 is considerable. Implications for this procedure are discussed for other community mental‐health centers and for other community care‐giving agencies.
DECREASING FUEL‐OIL CONSUMPTION THROUGH FEEDBACK AND SOCIAL COMMENDATION1
Authors: Seaver W. Burleigh , Patterson Arthur H.
Published: March 2006

The energy crisis of the winter of 1973–74 led to severe shortages of fuel oil for home heating and a government request for voluntary conservation by the oil consumer. This experiment tested two methods of facilitating fuel‐oil conservation. Home fuel‐oil consumers were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups: feedback of information on rate of oil use, feedback plus commendation for reduced consumption, or a no‐treatment control. The consumption rate for the feedback plus commendation group was significantly lower than that of either the informational feedback group or the control group. The informational feedback group did not differ from the control group. The results suggest that feedback alone may not result in oil conservation, but that feedback combined with commendation can produce socially significant savings.
EFFECTS OF TWO TEACHER‐PRESENTATION RATES ON OFF‐TASK BEHAVIOR, ANSWERING CORRECTLY, AND PARTICIPATION1
Authors: Carnine Douglas W.
Published: March 2006

Off‐task behavior, correct answering, and participation during beginning reading instruction were recorded for two low‐achieving first‐grade children during two different rates of teacher presentation. A slow‐rate presentation (A) was compared with a fast‐rate presentation (B) in an ABABAB design. In slow‐rate presentation, there was a delay between the children's response and introduction of the next task. In fast‐rate presentation, there was no delay. A new teacher taught during the final AB phases, which allowed for a brief replication. Both teachers were reminded on a fixed‐interval 90‐sec schedule throughout all phases of the experiment to praise the subjects, thus preventing a confounding of social praise and rate of teacher presentation. Fast‐rate presentation was accompanied by a lower per cent occurrence of off‐task behavior for both Subjects 1 and 2. For Subject 1, correct answering and participation were more frequent during all three fast‐rate phases. For Subject 2, correct answering and participation were more frequent during the fast‐rate phases after the first reversal.
EVALUATION OF A REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURE FOR ACCELERATING WORK RATE IN A SELF‐PACED COURSE1
Authors: Bufford Rodger K.
Published: March 2006

Students in a self‐paced child development course were assigned to one of seven groups. One bonus point, which contributed toward the student's final grade, was given for each unit completed during a specified two‐week period. In a combined baseline‐reversal design, bonus points could be earned at different times for each group, and some groups had weeks without bonus points interspersed between bonus weeks. All seven groups and 78% of individual students completed units at a faster rate during bonus periods than during the balance of the semester. For the 58 students completing the course, mean units per week during bonus periods was 2.40 (SD = 1.60); for the balance of the semester mean units per week was 0.96 (SD = 0.37). Awarding bonus points for a limited period early in the term appears to be a useful procedure for increasing rates during this period in which rates are typically low. Although similar effects have been reported by others (e.g., Miller, Weaver, and Semb, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974, 7, 87–91), the advantage of the present procedure is that the increase in rate is accomplished by means of reinforcement for high rates rather than punishment (low grades or forced withdrawal) for low rates.
A MULTIPLE‐BASELINE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL‐SKILLS TRAINING IN CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENICS
Authors: Hersen Michel , Bellack Alan S.
Published: March 2006

Social‐skills training was applied to two male chronic schizophrenics. Component behaviors of social skill requiring modification were identified for each patient by rating videotapes of role‐played interactions. Training involved instructions and feedback for one subject and instructions, feedback, and modelling for the second. Target behaviors were treated sequentially and cumulatively in a multiple‐baseline format. Training was applied for both positive and negative assertion and for situations involving males and females. The results were positive for all behaviors for both patients. Follow‐ups at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after training indicated that most effects were maintained at near‐treatment levels.
REDUCING TIME LIMITS: A MEANS TO INCREASE BEHAVIOR OF RETARDATES1
Authors: Ayllon Teodoro , Garber Stephen , Pisor Kim
Published: March 2006

A common assumption in special education is that temporal limits for a task should be expanded so that ample time is provided for completing the work. This study describes the opposite strategy of restricting temporal limits to augment academic performance. Three educable retarded children received token reinforcement contingent on the number of correct math problems answered during daily sessions. A reversal design was used to assess the effects of an abrupt reduction in time limits (20‐5‐20 min) and a graduated sequence of reductions (20‐15‐10‐5‐20 min). The graduated sequence resulted in rate increases of correct responding ranging from 125% to 266% and these gains endured when temporal limits were again expanded. In contrast, the abrupt shift produced interfering emotional behaviors and rate decreases in academic performance of 25% to 80%. The findings indicate that systematically restricting temporal limits for an academic task can further enhance the performance of slow learners already maintained by a token system.
THE DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF A WORKSHARING SYSTEM FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUP LIVING1
Authors: Feallock Richard , Miller L. Keith
Published: March 2006

Failure to share household chores equitably may be a major cause of the high failure rate of experimental group‐living arrangements. A behavioral approach to worksharing based on a point system was implemented in one experimental group and its most important components experimentally evaluated. Experiment I showed that awarding credits produced more work than not awarding credits. Experiment II showed that making credits contingent on the outcome of a detailed inspection produced more work than awarding credits noncontingently. Experiment III demonstrated that awarding rent reductions contingent on credit earnings produced more work than awarding rent reductions noncontingently. Other evaluative data suggest that the resulting living arrangement is cheaper, more effective, and more satisfactory to the residents when compared to the most popular alternative living arrangements.
A BEHAVIORAL TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCING CONCEPT FORMATION IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Authors: Miller L. Keith , Weaver F. Hal
Published: March 2006

Three experiments analyzed the effectiveness of a textbook incorporating “concept programming” in producing concept formation in university students. The concept programming portion of each lesson requires students to determine which concept is illustrated by each of 20 short fictional stories about everyday behavioral situations. The stories are selected to illustrate and contrast the concepts of that lesson. Student responses are heavily prompted during the initial stories of each lesson. The first experiment demonstrated that students generalize to entirely novel examples from the examples in the textbook. The second experiment demonstrated that the concept programming portion of the textbook is a critical component in producing generalization. The third experiment demonstrated that the amount of concept formation produced by the concept programmed textbook is greater than that produced by a widely used standard textbook.
EMPLOYING TASK ARRANGEMENTS AND VERBAL CONTINGENCIES TO PROMOTE VERBALIZATIONS BETWEEN RETARDED CHILDREN1
Authors: Mithaug Dennis E. , Wolfe M. S.
Published: March 2006

This study investigated the effects of arranging task events for interdependence, to increase the probability of social responding. During task interdependence, the subjects, participating in dyads and a four‐person group, obtained task materials (a puzzle piece) from their partner before completing their task (appropriately placing the puzzle piece). The verbal contingency required a verbal request to precede a subject's receiving a task material from his partner. The verbal contingency yoked with task interdependence made task completion contingent on the appropriate verbalization. The findings from two experiments suggested that task interdependence was sufficient to increase partner‐directed verbalizations for three of the four subjects. When the verbal contingency was added, all subjects increased their requests and other verbalizations to partner. Applied to a four‐person group, the verbal contingency yoked with varying levels of task interdependence correspondingly affected the pattern and level of group communications. The greater the task interdependence, i.e., the more members each subject depended on to complete his task, the more complex the social network of verbal contacts, and the higher the level of both requests and other verbalizations for the group.
THE GENERALIZATION EFFECTS OF PARENT TRAINING ACROSS STIMULUS SETTINGS
Authors: Miller Susan Joyce , Sloane Howard N.
Published: March 2006

Five parents of nonverbal children were trained in two home settings to modify antecedents and consequences to their children's vocalizations. Generalization effects of the parent training on both the parent's and children's behaviors under different stimulus conditions were investigated using multiple‐baseline designs. Increases in parent prompting and reinforcing their children's vocalizations generalized only minimally to a new setting in the home where parent training had not occurred. Child increases in vocalizations produced by the parents in the training settings did generalize to this new setting in the home. There was minimal generalization of child vocalizations to a free‐play setting at school. In a formal speech session conducted by a behavior specialist at school, only one child showed definite increases in acquisition rate as a function of the parents starting to train the sound at home.
IMPROVING SOCIAL INTERACTION IN A CHRONIC PSYCHOTIC USING DISCRIMINATED AVOIDANCE (“NAGGING”): EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS AND GENERALIZATION
Authors: Fichter Manfred M. , Wallace Charles J. , Liberman Robert Paul , Davis John R.
Published: March 2006

Three social‐interaction behaviors of a withdrawn, chronic schizophrenic were increased using a discriminated avoidance (“nagging”) procedure. The three behaviors were: (a) voice volume loud enough so that two‐thirds of his speech was intelligible at a distance of 3 m; (b) duration of speech of at least 15 sec; (c) placement of hands and elbows on the armrests of the chair in which he was sitting. “Nagging” consisted of verbal prompts to improve performance when the behaviors did not meet their criteria. A combined withdrawal and multiple‐baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedure, and the contingency was sequentially applied to each of the three behaviors in each of four different interactions to determine the degree of stimulus and response generalization. Results indicated that the contingency was the effective element in increasing the patient's appropriate performance, and that there was a high degree of stimulus generalization and a moderate degree of response generalization. After the patient's discharge from the hospital, the durability of improvement across time and setting was determined in followup sessions conducted at a day treatment center and at a residential care home. Volume and duration generalized well to the new settings, while arm placement extinguished immediately.
BEHAVIORAL COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY: ENCOURAGING LOW‐INCOME PARENTS TO SEEK DENTAL CARE FOR THEIR CHILDREN1
Authors: Reiss Maxine L. , Piotrowski William D. , Bailey Jon S.
Published: March 2006

The present study examined the effectiveness and cost efficiency of three different techniques to encourage low‐income rural parents to seek dental care for their children. The families of 51 children who needed immediate dental care (determined by dental screening at a local school) were placed into three matched groups and randomly assigned to the treatment conditions: One Prompt (Note Only), Three Prompt (Note, Telephone Contact, Home Visit), and One Prompt plus $5 Incentive. The Three Prompt and One Prompt plus $5 Incentive were significantly more effective in initiating dental visits than the Note‐Only procedure. Not only was the One Prompt plus $5 Incentive technique effective in producing a slightly larger percentage of initial dental visits compared to the Three‐Prompt technique, it also produced a significantly larger number of followup visits. Furthermore, the cost‐effectiveness analysis showed the Incentive condition to be less costly than the Three‐Prompt condition in encouraging initial dental visits.
DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF EATING REGULATION IN OBESE AND NONOBESE CHILDREN
Authors: Epstein Leonard H. , Parker Lynn , McCoy James F. , McGee Gail
Published: March 2006

Bite rate, sip rate, and concurrent activities of six 7‐yr‐old children, three obese and three nonobese, were observed at lunchtime over a six‐month period. A procedure for decreasing bite rate, putting eating utensils down between bites, was implemented in a multiple‐baseline across‐subjects design. Sip rates and concurrent activities were observed to assess behavioral covariations. In addition, bite rate and amount of food completed were computed over six food categories to analyze food preferences. Results indicated the control of bite rate across all subjects, with a significant reduction in amount of food consumed. Correlations between the response classes indicated they were at least partially independent. Differences in eating behavior of obese and nonobese subjects were observed for breadstuffs and milk drinking.
SELF‐RECORDING IN TRAINING GIRLS TO INCREASE WORK AND EVOKE STAFF PRAISE IN AN INSTITUTION FOR OFFENDERS1
Authors: Seymour Frederick W. , Stokes Trevor F.
Published: March 2006

Self‐recording procedures were used by four adolescent girls to increase work and comments (cues) that evoked staff praise during vocational training sessions in a maximum‐security institution for offenders. The girls were selected on the basis of their not responding to a staff‐directed token program. The self‐recording procedures were directed by a therapist who saw the girls outside the vocational training sessions. According to a multiple‐baseline design, self‐recording of work was introduced sequentially to each of the two or three settings the girls attended each day. A few days after work had increased, self‐recording of cues was introduced. Tokens were delivered by the therapist for work and cues recorded by the girls. Work and cues increased following self‐recording for three of the girls and increased cues evoked higher rates of staff praise. Girl and staff behaviors were maintained during short follow‐up periods when tokens were not given for the girls' records. The procedures failed to effect desirable changes with a fourth girl's work, and self‐recording of work was terminated without introducing cueing.
THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONS, INCENTIVE, AND FEEDBACK ON A COMMUNITY PROBLEM: DORMITORY NOISE1
Authors: Meyers Andrew W. , Artz Lynn M. , Craighead W. Edward
Published: March 2006

A reinforcement system utilizing instructions, modelling, feedback, and group reinforcement was employed in an attempt to reduce disruptive noise on three university residence halls. A fourth hall received the same treatment program without the reinforcement component. Noise scores were determined by recording the number of discrete noise occurrences over a criterion decibel level. On all four residential floors, noise scores during treatment conditions were lower than initial and final baseline levels. Additionally, periods of noise reduction corresponded to the changing criterion multiple‐baseline and reversal designs utilized. Pre‐ and posttreatment questionnaire responses from the three reinforcement floors paralleled changes in objective noise data. At posttreatment, residents reported less noise disturbance of study and sleep and more control over the noise situation and floor problems in general. These results indicated that a comprehensive behavior‐modification treatment package was effective in reducing disruptive noise in university residence halls. Difficulties in data collection and anomalies in the data are discussed. Future directions for field‐based behavior‐modification research are outlined.
THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL PUNISHMENT ON NONCOMPLIANCE: A COMPARISON WITH TIMEOUT AND POSITIVE PRACTICE
Authors: Doleys Daniel M. , Wells Karen C. , Hobbs Steven A. , Roberts Mark W. , Cartelli Lora M.
Published: March 2006

The effects of social punishment, positive practice, and timeout on the noncompliant behavior of four mentally retarded children were assessed in a multitreatment withdrawal design. When programmed, the experimental procedure occurred contingent on noncompliance to experimenter‐issued commands. Commands were given at 55‐sec intervals throughout each experimental session. The results showed (1) lower levels of noncompliance with social punishment than with the positive‐practice or timeout conditions, and (2) that relatively few applications of social punishment were required to obtain this effect. The advantages of social punishment over other punishment procedures, considerations to be made before using it, and the various aspects of the procedure that contribute to its effectiveness were discussed.
THE ROLE OF OFFER RATES IN CONTROLLING SHARING BY YOUNG CHILDREN1
Authors: Warren Steven F. , Rogers‐Warren Ann , Baer Donald M.
Published: March 2006

The effects of different reinforcement contingencies on the rates of offers to share and their corresponding rates of acceptance by two small groups of preschool children were investigated in two experiments. In the first experiment, food and praise were given after a 5‐min play period to any subject who had made one or more offers to share during the play period. This procedure increased the rate of share‐offers by all subjects. However, as share‐offers increased, the percentage of offers accepted decreased. In the second experiment, reinforcement was made contingent on a subject reducing offers to share to only one or two per 5‐min period. This led to a higher percentage of the offers being accepted. The results suggest that by controlling the rate of a social behavior, the manner in which other persons in the environment respond to the behavior may also be influenced.
A COMPARISON OF FREQUENCY, INTERVAL, AND TIME‐SAMPLING METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
Authors: Repp Alan C. , Roberts David M. , Slack Daniel J. , Repp Christina F. , Berkler Margo S.
Published: March 2006

Data representing high, medium, and low response rates in constant and nonconstant patterns were generated by electromechanical equipment to determine whether the same data collected by time‐sampling, interval recording, and frequency recording would be represented similarly by each method. Results indicated: (1) that time‐sampling provided an extremely inaccurate estimate of responding, and (2) that interval recording accurately represented responding of low and medium rates, but grossly underestimated high‐rate responding.
CONTINGENT OBSERVATION: AN EFFECTIVE AND ACCEPTABLE PROCEDURE FOR REDUCING DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN A GROUP SETTING1
Authors: Porterfield Janet K. , Herbert‐Jackson Emily , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

Since a major task of childhood is learning to get along in a group without disrupting other children's activities, caregivers need explicit guidelines for gentle but effective procedures for dealing with disruptive behaviors in child‐care settings. In a day‐care center for normal 1‐ and 2‐yr‐old children, an effort was made to develop a procedure that appeared sufficiently humane and educational to be acceptable to parents and daycare workers, and yet effective in reducing disruptive play behaviors. Caregivers used the occasion of disruptive behavior to instruct the child in appropriate alternatives, then had the child sit on the periphery and observe the appropriate social behavior of the other children, “sit and watch”, for a brief period before inviting him or her to rejoin the play activities. The effectiveness of this procedure was compared with a method commonly recommended for use with young children: instructing the child, then distracting or redirecting the child to an alternative toy or activity. Contingent observation, combining instruction with a brief timeout (from being a participant in an activity to becoming an observer of the activity), proved considerably more effective in maintaining low levels of disruptions and was considered by caregivers and parents to be an appropriate and socially acceptable method of dealing with young children's disruptive behaviors. Therefore, contingent observation can be recommended for general use in day‐care programs for young children.
A PROBABILITY‐BASED FORMULA FOR CALCULATING INTEROBSERVER AGREEMENT
Authors: Yelton Ann R. , Wildman Beth G. , Erickson Marilyn T.
Published: March 2006

Estimates of observer agreement are necessary to assess the acceptability of interval data. A common method for assessing observer agreement, per cent agreement, includes several major weaknesses and varies as a function of the frequency of behavior recorded and the inclusion or exclusion of agreements on nonoccurrences. Also, agreements that might be expected to occur by chance are not taken into account. An alternative method for assessing observer agreement that determines the exact probability that the obtained number of agreements or better would have occurred by chance is presented and explained. Agreements on both occurrences and nonoccurrences of behavior are considered in the calculation of this probability.
TIME‐SERIES ANALYSIS IN OPERANT RESEARCH1
Authors: Jones Richard R. , Vaught Russell S. , Weinrott Mark
Published: March 2006

A time‐series method is presented, nontechnically, for analysis of data generated in individual‐subject operant studies, and is recommended as a supplement to visual analysis of behavior change in reversal or multiple‐baseline experiments. The method can be used to identify three kinds of statistically significant behavior change: (a) changes in score levels from one experimental phase to another, (b) reliable upward or downward trends in scores, and (c) changes in trends between phases. The detection of, and reliance on, serial dependency (autocorrelation among temporally adjacent scores) in individual‐subject behavioral scores is emphasized. Examples of published data from the operant literature are used to illustrate the time‐series method.
“PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BETTER NOT TO KNOW EVERYTHING”1
Authors: Baer Donald M.
Published: March 2006

The advent of statistical methods for evaluating the data of individual‐subject designs invites a comparison of the usual research tactics of the group‐design paradigm and the individual‐subject‐design paradigm. That comparison can hinge on the concept of assigning probabilities of Type 1 and Type 2 errors. Individual‐subject designs are usually interpreted with implicit, very low probabilities of Type 1 errors, and correspondingly high probabilities of Type 2 errors. Group designs are usually interpreted with explicit, moderately low probabilities of Type 1 errors, and therefore with not such high probabilities of Type 2 errors as in the other paradigm. This difference may seem to be a minor one, considered in terms of centiles on a probability scale. However, when it is interpreted in terms of the substantive kinds of results likely to be produced by each paradigm, it appears that the individual‐subject‐design paradigm is more likely to contribute to the development of a technology of behavior, and it is suggested that this orientation should not be abandoned.
DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF TREATMENT PARADIGMS FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF SMOKING BEHAVIOR1
Authors: Dericco Denice A. , Brigham Thomas A. , Garlington Warren K.
Published: March 2006

A multiple‐baseline component‐analysis design was employed to assess the effectiveness of three treatment programs for suppressing the cigarette smoking behavior of 24 subjects. Satiation, cognitive control, and contingent shock procedures were evaluated. The results demonstrated a consistent relationship between contingent shock and suppression of smoking. It was further indicated that subjects should be exposed to the number of sessions necessary to achieve total suppression in order to gain maximally from treatment and to avoid relapse. Neither the satiation component nor the cognitive control component was correlated with clear, permanent decrements in smoking frequencies. To date, no other treatment program has demonstrated the dramatic effects of the contingent shock procedures used in the present study.
EFFECTS OF A TOKEN REINFORCEMENT SYSTEM ON JOURNAL RESHELVING
Authors: Meyers Hugh , Nathan Peter E. , Kopel Steven A.
Published: March 2006

A token reinforcement program involving two levels of token value and backup reinforcers to increase journal reshelving behavior in a large university library was experimentally evaluated. Results showed that instructions (in which signs asked users to reshelve journals) had no impact. By contrast, token reinforcement contingent on reshelving behavior led to a marked increase in journals reshelved. A return to instructions‐only conditions, when data were corrected for library usage, showed an increase in unreshelved journals over the token reinforcement period, though the increase was not to baseline levels. For the next 11 months, library staff maintained a modified token program. Follow‐up data collected after that interval showed that number of unreshelved journals remained markedly lower than levels at baseline and the first instructions‐only period, though they were slightly higher than at the token reinforcement period. Token reinforcement of the variety employed in this study constitutes an efficient, economical means of changing the behavior of library users who fail to reshelve books and journals.
THE TRAINING AND VALIDATION OF YOUTH‐PREFERRED SOCIAL BEHAVIORS OF CHILD‐CARE PERSONNEL1
Authors: Willner Alan G. , Braukmann Curtis J. , Kirigin Kathryn A. , Fixsen Dean L. , Phillips Elery L. , Wolf Montrose M.
Published: March 2006

This research sought to identify, train, and validate social behaviors preferred by youths to be used by youth‐care personnel (called teaching‐parents). With training, consistent increases in seven preferred behaviors were observed for the six teaching‐parent trainees. These behaviors included offering to help, “getting to the point”, giving reasons why a behavior is important to a youth, providing descriptions of alternative behaviors, positive feedback, smiling, and positive motivational incentives (i.e., points for task mastery exchanged for tangible reinforcers). Increases in these behaviors correlated with increases in the youths' ratings of the quality of the trainees' interactions. Posttraining levels of preferred social behavior and youth ratings for trainees also compared favorably with levels for successful professional teaching‐parents. These results suggest that teaching‐parents can be successfully trained to interact with youths in ways that are preferred by the youths.
THE INFLUENCE OF BEHAVIOR PRECEDING A REINFORCED RESPONSE ON BEHAVIOR CHANGE IN THE CLASSROOM1
Authors: Kazdin Alan E.
Published: March 2006

The influence of behavior that immediately precedes a reinforced target response on the effectiveness of a reinforcement contingency was examined in two experiments with mentally retarded children in a special‐education classroom. Two reinforcement schedules were examined in each experiment. For each schedule, a prespecified period of attentive behavior served as the target response. The schedules differed in whether inattentive or attentive behavior was required immediately to precede the target response. These schedules were examined with one child in a simultaneous treatment design using praise as the reinforcer (Experiment I), and with two children in separate reversal designs using tokens as the reinforcer (Experiment II). While attentive behavior increased under each schedule, the increase was greater when attentive rather than inattentive behavior preceded the reinforced response. The results indicated that the effect of a contingency may be determined not only by the specific response reinforced but also by the behavior that immediately precedes that response.
EFFECTS OF DIRECT, INTERMITTENT, AND VICARIOUS REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURES ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF INSTRUCTION‐FOLLOWING BEHAVIORS IN A GROUP OF YOUNG CHILDREN1
Authors: Weisberg Paul , Clements Patricia
Published: March 2006

A group of young children (mean age: 2.5 yr) were instructed to follow different requests by a teacher in a day‐care setting. Experiment I verified that mean group instruction following was low (10%) despite the opportunity for “observational learning”, i.e., the group of 12 children could watch a nonreinforced adult comply with the teacher's request. In Experiment II, when positive consequences were provided contingent on the adult model's behavior, mean group instruction following was relatively unaffected (14%). When direct reinforcement was given to four peer models, each for several sessions, the individual performances of three of the four peer models was elevated (from 50% to 80%); however, the mean performance of the remaining nonreinforced children (N = 7) was only moderately affected (21%). When reinforcement contingencies were again changed, so that each group member was provided direct, but intermittent reinforcement, mean group performance increased substantially to levels of over 70%. Once instruction following was high, presentation of reinforcement only to one peer model sufficed to maintain performance whereas earlier, this same vicarious reinforcement procedure had failed to establish group compliance. The maintenance of instruction‐following behavior when reinforcement was applied solely to one child was interpreted mainly in terms of a high resistance to extinction following a history of intermittent reinforcement rather than a “vicarious”‐ or “self”‐reinforcement mechanism. Finally, removal and re‐introduction of group intermittent reinforcement, respectively, lowered performance (to levels of 40%) and elevated (to levels of 65%) the group's performance.
TRAINING FUNCTIONAL EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE: THE ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF FIVE‐ELEMENT SYNTACTIC RESPONSES1
Authors: Hester Peggy , Hendrickson Jo
Published: March 2006

A single‐subject multiple‐baseline design using within‐ and across‐subject replication was employed to study the acquisition of expanded “agent‐action‐object” sentences and the spontaneous generation of this form in the natural environment. Three young language‐delayed subjects were trained to describe various agent‐action‐object relationships with a five‐element syntactical form. The language training strategy was a synthesis of the developmental‐psycholinguistic and behavioral models. Dynamic interactions between familiar persons and objects were the stimulus events that the children mapped. A five‐element syntactical form, previously absent from the children's language repertoires, was trained during individual sessions. Concurrent with baseline, training, and followup, each subject's language was monitored in another setting, the classroom during free play. After onset of training, the core elements of the complex syntactic form were spontaneously emitted by the child in its natural environment. The free‐play data reflect individual differences in the emergence and frequency of each child's spontaneous use of the agent‐action‐object form. The acquisition and maintenance of the specific lexicon and syntax trained were tested by posttraining probes and responses to videotape presentations. These probes revealed generalization and maintenance of both the lexical and syntactical forms acquired in treatment. The main purpose of any language‐training procedure should be to provide language that is functional for the child in the natural environment. This study, which documented the spontaneous usage of the core agent‐action‐object syntactical form in the natural environment, effectively trained a functional syntactical rule.
PATROL EVALUATION RESEARCH: A MULTIPLE‐BASELINE ANALYSIS OF SATURATION POLICE PATROLLING DURING DAY AND NIGHT HOURS
Authors: Schnelle John F. , Kirchner Robert E. , Casey Joe D. , Uselton Paul H. , McNees M. Patrick
Published: March 2006

The effects of a carefully monitored and increased police patrol on the report of crime were examined in four patrol zones. Overall patrol movement was increased to four times normal levels and slow patrol movement (under 20 mph) to around 30 times normal levels for 10 days. The patrol was active in two zones between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and in the other two zones between 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. A multiple‐baseline design and time‐series statistical analyses showed statistically reliable changes in reported levels of Part I crime (such as robbery, burglary, and aggravated assault) during both night patrols, but not in the day patrols. In both night‐patrol zones, there were also reliable increases from saturation patrol to postsaturation patrol in report of Part I crime after the night patrol was terminated. Neither of the day patrols showed significant crime report changes on termination. Despite statistically reliable decreases in report of crime during nighttime hours, the value of saturation patrolling as a crime‐prevention technique was questioned on cost/benefit grounds.
ASSESSING THE READABILITY OF THIRTY‐NINE BEHAVIOR‐MODIFICATION TRAINING MANUALS AND PRIMERS
Authors: Andrasik Frank , Murphy William D.
Published: March 2006

Thirty‐nine behavior‐modification training manuals and primers, sampling various topical areas, were subjected to a readability analysis. Reading‐ease scores were computed by the formula developed by Flesch. The texts sampled ranged from very difficult (appropriate for college graduates) to fairly easy (appropriate for readers at the seventh‐grade level).
THE USE OF TEACHERS AS BEHAVIORAL OBSERVERS
Authors: Hay Linda Rudin , Nelson Rosemery O. , Hay William M.
Published: March 2006

The effect of using teachers as behavioral observers on both student and teacher behavior was examined with eight teachers and 32 elementary school children. The frequency of prompts (but not praise or criticism) to those students observed by the teacher increased significantly from nonobserver to teacher observed experimental phases. In addition, students observed by the teacher showed more change in appropriate behavior than students who were not observed. The significance of these findings for research and therapy is discussed.
AN IMPLICIT TECHNOLOGY OF GENERALIZATION1
Authors: Stokes Trevor F. , Baer Donald M.
Published: March 2006

Traditionally, discrimination has been understood as an active process, and a technology of its procedures has been developed and practiced extensively. Generalization, by contrast, has been considered the natural result of failing to practice a discrimination technology adequately, and thus has remained a passive concept almost devoid of a technology. But, generalization is equally deserving of an active conceptualization and technology. This review summarizes the structure of the generalization literature and its implicit embryonic technology, categorizing studies designed to assess or program generalization according to nine general headings: Train and Hope; Sequential Modification; Introduce to Natural Maintaining Contingencies; Train Sufficient Exemplars; Train Loosely; Use Indiscriminable Contingencies; Program Common Stimuli; Mediate Generalization; and Train “To Generalize”.
TEMPORAL AND CLIMATIC VARIABLES IN NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION1
Authors: Russell Mark B. , Bernal Martha E.
Published: March 2006

Home‐observation data on 5‐ to 7‐yr‐old boys collected over 2 yr were examined for systematic variations in rates of desirable and undesirable behaviors associated with several temporal and climatic variables. Significant effects associated with time of day, day of the week, precipitation, and temperature were found. No significant effects on the naturalistic observation data were found for environmental factors associated with lunar phase. It was noted that the correlational nature of the findings did not obviate the necessity for control of the influence of temporal and climatic variables. Several methodological strategies for such control were discussed.
MODIFICATION OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE FOR AN ELEMENTARY POPULATION
Authors: Barber Robert M. , Kagey J. Robert
Published: March 2006

The staff and students of a school composed of Grades 1 through 3 participated in a program to increase school attendance. Children earned the opportunity to attend part or all of a monthly party by their attendance. Immediate feedback occurred each morning by placing stars on a classroom chart for each child present. The school's attendance during the program was compared both with attendance during preceding years and with attendance at other schools. The experimental school's attendance improved dramatically to become the best of all elementary schools in the system.
REDUCING RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICAL ENERGY USE: PAYMENTS, INFORMATION, AND FEEDBACK1
Authors: Hayes Steven C. , Cone John D.
Published: March 2006

Monetary payments, energy information, and daily feedback on consumption were employed to reduce electricity use in four units of a university student housing complex. A combined multiple‐baseline and withdrawal design permitted both within‐ and between‐unit comparisons. Payments produced immediate and substantial reductions in consumption in all units, even when the magnitude of the payments was reduced considerably. Feedback also produced reductions, but information about ways to conserve and about the cost of using various appliances did not. It was also found that, in general, payments combined with either information or feedback produced no greater effect than payments alone.
STIMULUS CONTROL IN THE CLASSROOM AS A FUNCTION OF THE BEHAVIOR REINFORCED
Authors: Marholin David , Steinman Warren M.
Published: March 2006

Eight fifth‐ and sixth‐grade children with behavior problems performed in a classroom under three conditions: (1) unreinforced baseline, (2) reinforcement for being on task, and (3) reinforcement for the accuracy and rate of math problems solved. The teacher was absent for a portion of the class session under each of these conditions. In the teacher's absence, on‐task behavior declined markedly and disruption markedly increased, regardless of the reinforcement condition in operation. In addition, the teacher's absence resulted in fewer problems attempted and decreased accuracy. However, the extent to which the children became disruptive was reduced and the number of problems attempted increased when reinforcement was contingent on academic accuracy and rate, instead of being contingent on being on task. The results suggest that by providing contingencies for the products of a child's classroom activities, rather than for being on task, the child will become more independent of the teacher's presence, and more under the control of the academic materials.
ATTENTION TRAINING: THE USE OF OVERCORRECTION AVOIDANCE TO INCREASE THE EYE CONTACT OF AUTISTIC AND RETARDED CHILDREN
Authors: Foxx R. M.
Published: March 2006

A crucial first step in teaching and training the retarded and autistic is to develop and maintain eye contact with the therapist. Functional movement training (an overcorrection procedure) plus edibles and praise were compared with edibles and praise alone as a method of developing eye contact in three such children. In both conditions, the child was given food and praise when eye contact occurred within 5 sec of the therapist's verbal prompt: “Look at me.” Functional movement training avoidance plus edibles and praise produced about 90% attention for the three children, while edibles and praise alone were less effective (eye contact never exceeded 55%). Functional movement training avoidance combined with edibles and praise appears to be an effective method of teaching eye contact and possibly other forms of instruction‐following to behaviorally disordered children who are not always responsive to positive consequences.
A CONTROLLED DEMONSTRATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTRIC SHOCK IN THE ELIMINATION OF CHRONIC INFANT RUMINATION1
Authors: Linscheid Thomas R. , Cunningham Charles E.
Published: March 2006

An aversive therapy program was used to eliminate chronic ruminative vomiting in a nine‐month‐old infant, hospitalized with severe weight loss, malnutrition, and secondary medical complications judged potentially fatal by the pediatric staff. A trial of thickened feedings and continuous maternal attention conducted on the pediatric ward before this intervention proved ineffective. In contrast to previous uncontrolled case reports, the present study included an extended pretreatment baseline and a treatment reversal, in which potentially relevant variables such as ward routines, observers, and apparatus remained constant. During treatment, a series of 0.5‐sec shocks were delivered at 0.5‐sec intervals when a ruminating sequence was observed and then terminated when it ceased. Shock intensity was set at a level that resulted in a startle response and produced fussing but failed to elicit crying. Treatment location and the individuals present were systematically varied to facilitate generalization. Ruminating dropped from a five‐day baseline mean of 114 to a single instance on treatment Day 3. During the three‐day treatment reversal, in which the shock source was disconnected, ruminating increased from four instances on the first day to 10 by the third day. Because of clinical considerations, however, shock was re‐introduced before ruminating reached pretreatment baseline levels. Reductions in ruminating were accompanied by significant weight gains, a decrease in crying, and an increase in interactions with staff and parents. The infant was discharged on the tenth day of the second treatment period. Followup evaluations conducted nine months after discharge showed that, despite several instances in the immediate two‐week posttreatment period, rumination no longer occurred and developmental progress was within normal limits. This article presents detailed procedural descriptions, discusses the problem of determining when to terminate treatment, considers nutritional management, and compares the relative effectiveness of an alternative aversive stimulus, concentrated lemon juice.
PARENTAL TRAINING OF THE PLURAL MORPHEME IN NORMAL TODDLERS1
Authors: Garcia Eugene E. , Batista‐Wallace Maria
Published: March 2006

Experimental studies with young normal children can provide useful strategy for the functional analysis of language. Research by Whitehurst (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1972, 13, 502–515) exemplifies this approach, in which 2‐yr‐old children were exposed to a training procedure that involved imitation and differential reinforcement for a two‐word productive sequence of the adjective‐noun form. Results indicated that these young children could be trained to produce rudimentary novel utterances that were grammatically appropriate. More recently, Hursh and Sherman (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1973, 15, 328–339) reported the existence of a functional relationship between parental modelling and reinforcement of vocalizations, and increased instances of these vocalizations in young (15‐ to 20‐month‐old) children. These demonstrations relate to a summary of findings with linguistically deviant populations discussed by Sherman (Advances in Child Development, 1971). The present study attempts to extend these “generative” investigations to normal children and to provide useful information for those interested in teaching speech forms to them. Modelling and differential reinforcement were used by three mothers to establish the use of the plural morpheme in the speech of their 19‐ to 25‐month‐old children. During training trials, verbal praise was presented contingent on correct labelling of singular and plural items, while correct labelling was modelled if the child responded incorrectly. Children learned to label specifically trained sets of singular and plural items and also exhibited correct labelling when asked to label never‐trained singular and plural items. After establishing correct usage, the same training procedures were used to train reversed labelling (plural responses to single items and singular responses to plural items). This produced a corresponding reversal of responding (both trained and untrained items) by each child for the plural items but not for singular items. Correct singular and plural labelling was recovered by returning to the initial procedures.
TECHNICAL REPORT: STUDENTS' SELF‐RECORDING OF MANUSCRIPT LETTER STROKES1
Authors: Jones John C. , Trap Jennifer , Cooper John O.
Published: March 2006

A method to allow students to self‐record manuscript letter strokes was applied to three groups of first‐grade school children. These children learned to use plastic overlays in some 80 to 120 min, with agreement between students and experimenter concerning correctness averaging 79%, 82%, and 84% in the three groups. A practical method allowing children to record their letter writing, thus receiving immediate feedback appears to have been demonstrated.
SELF‐CONTROL TECHNIQUES OF FAMOUS NOVELISTS1
Authors: Wallace Irving
Published: March 2006

A statement by a famous contemporary novelist is presented that indicates how he and others, independently of formal behaviorism, used behavioristic methods—specifically, self‐recording charts and regularly scheduled daily work hours—to accelerate and maintain their writing outputs. On the basis of his statement and an analysis of his self‐recorded data, it is argued that a meaningful and useful analogy can be drawn between writing a novel and emitting a simple operant response on a fixed‐ratio schedule.
WHY NO GUIDELINES FOR BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION?
Authors: Stolz Stephanie B.
Published: March 2006

This paper reviews the guidelines for behavioral programs published by the National Association of Retarded Children. The review discusses a number of reasons why guidelines should not be enunciated for behavior modification, e.g., the procedures of behavior modification appear to be no more or less subject to abuse and no more or less in need of ethical regulation than intervention procedures derived from any other set of principles and called by other terms. The review recommends alternative methods for protecting the rights of clients who participate in behavioral programs. Specifically, behavioral clinicians, like other therapists, should be governed by the ethics codes of their professions; also, the ethics of all intervention programs should be evaluated in terms of a number of critical issues.