bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE USE OF PROGRAMMED MATERIALS IN THE ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC CONTINGENCIES1
Authors: Brigham Thomas A. , Finfrock Stephen R. , Breunig Martha K. , Bushell Don
Published: March 2006

Programmed handwriting materials were used to examine the effects of different reinforcement contingencies on the academic performance of six public school kindergarten children. The children's responses to these materials provided an educationally relevant dependent variable for the analysis of factors that affected the accuracy of their responses and the attainment of criterion performances. Variations in the complexity of most academic materials, which confound the analysis of contingencies, were eliminated by the programmed sequence so that the differential effects of three reinforcement conditions were observed. The three conditions were: baseline without tokens, tokens contingent on correct writing responses, and noncontingent tokens. It was consistently observed that the children were more accurate when their correct responses produced tokens, and that noncontingent tokens reduced accuracy below baseline levels.
AN ANALYSIS‐OF‐VARIANCE MODEL FOR THE INTRASUBJECT REPLICATION DESIGN1
Authors: Gentile J. Ronald , Roden Aubrey H. , Klein Roger D.
Published: March 2006

One‐ and two‐way analysis‐of‐variance procedures are shown logically to be appropriate for testing hypotheses in successive treatment reversal designs for one‐subject and N‐subject experiments, respectively. The applicability of these designs is demonstrated through analyses of typical data.
THE ORGANIZATION OF DAY‐CARE ENVIRONMENTS: “ZONE” VERSUS “MAN‐TO‐MAN” STAFF ASSIGNMENTS1
Authors: LeLaurin Kathryn , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

In a large day‐care center, measures of group participation were used to compare how much of a child's time is lost from planned activities during the daily transition from lunch, through the bathroom and dressing areas, to the nap area. Participation measures were taken using the “Zone” and “Man‐to‐Man” staffing procedures, two typical methods for dividing responsibility among teaching staff. In the “Zone” procedure, each teacher was assigned responsibility for a particular area, and for all children who passed through that area. In the “Man‐to‐Man” procedure, each teacher was assigned responsibility for shepherding a group of designated children through all activity areas during each transition. The Lunch‐to‐Nap transition using the Zone staffing assignment was accomplished with a smaller decrease in child participation in planned activities than the transition utilizing the Man‐to‐Man procedure. Thus, other things being equal, it is recommended that the Zone procedure be used in group‐care programs with more than one staff member, with each teacher being responsible for specific activity areas, rather than specific children.
AN ANALYSIS OF TIMEOUT AND RESPONSE COST IN A PROGRAMMED ENVIRONMENT1
Authors: Burchard John D. , Barrera Francisco
Published: March 2006

A group of mildly retarded adolescents with high rates of antisocial behavior was exposed to two parameters of timeout and response cost within the context of a programmed environment. For five of the six subjects, the two higher values (30 tokens response cost or 30 min timeout) were significantly more suppressive than the lower values (five tokens or 5 min). For the one remaining subject, there was a strong relationship in the opposite direction. Also, the timeout and response cost of higher value became increasingly more suppressive over time, whereas those of lower value did not. There were few appreciable differences between the timeout and response cost of similar magnitude. A discussion of these results is presented in support of the notion that the functional aversiveness of timeouts (and response costs) appears to be critically dependent upon interactions with the environmental conditions in which they are implemented and the reinforcement histories of the subjects.
THE EFFECTS OF FADING ON THE ACQUISITION AND RETENTION OF ORAL READING1
Authors: Corey Jeffrey R. , Shamow Jeffrey
Published: March 2006

Comparisons were made between reading programs that involved superimposition of correlated pictoral and printed stimuli, fading of the pictoral stimuli, and overt observing (touching) responses. Nursery school children aged 4 to 5.8 yr learned and retained oral reading behavior better when fading was used; observing responses had no effect.
THE EFFECT ON THE BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN, AS REFLECTED IN THE IQ SCORES, WHEN REINFORCED AFTER EACH CORRECT RESPONSE
Authors: Edlund Calvin V.
Published: March 2006

This experiment studied the effect on intelligence test scores of a probable reinforcer given for correct responses. Eleven pairs of 5‐ to 7‐yr‐old children were matched on the basis of a strong liking of candy, no physical problems associated with eating it, parent permission to receive and eat the candy, age, sex, and a revised Stanford‐Binet Scale Form L IQ score. The control group was given the revised Stanford‐Binet Scale Form M, as prescribed in the test manual. The experimental group was also given Form M according to the manual, except M&M candy was given for each plus or correct response. There was an appreciable, statistically significant difference between the resulting IQ test scores of the two groups.
EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE IN LECTURE‐DISCUSSION AND PERSONALIZED INSTRUCTION COURSES1
Authors: Born David G. , Gledhill Stephen M. , Davis Michael L.
Published: March 2006

Students enrolled in a Psychology of Learning course were assigned to either a lecture section, one of two similar personalized instruction sections, or a fourth section that rotated across all three teaching procedures. All students took identical midterms and a final examination. After correcting test performance for differences in the cumulative grade point average of students in the four sections, examination performance of students in the personalized sections was found to be superior to that of students in the lecture section. An analysis of class section examination performance by item type revealed that students in the lecture section scored lower on all item types, but the greatest differences occurred on items that required written responses (essay and fill‐in items) rather than recognition responses (multiple choice items). A gross analysis of student performance in the class rotated across the instructional procedures suggests that personalized instruction had its greatest impact on students with “average” to “poor” academic records.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION IN THE CLASSROOM: A REJOINDER TO WINETT AND WINKLER1
Authors: O'Leary K. Daniel
Published: March 2006

Winett and Winkler aptly criticized the “appropriate” behaviors that behavior modifiers have chosen to change. However, after reviewing 14 Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis articles concerning behavior modification in the classroom, they made the sweeping over‐generalization that “as currently practised, behavior modification has done very little to change the deplorable state of our schools.” Finally, they suggest a free classroom in which learning is accompanied by “singing, laughing, and whistling.” A number of studies not mentioned by Winett and Winkler are here presented to illustrate the innovative ways in which behavior modification has been utilized to change the complexion of classrooms from the elementary school to the college level. A straw‐man model child as purportedly seen by behavior modifiers was built by Winett and Winkler, but this author could not find one instance in the literature where the teacher or behavior modifier desired the behavior thus depicted by the straw‐man model child. Furthermore, this author questions the desirability of the “informal” or “free” classroom approach for children with marked social and academic problems. Nonetheless, the general admonition of Winett and Winkler should definitely by taken seriously—namely the behavior modifier should seriously question the behaviors he is being asked to change. Finally, a possible integration of reinforcement principles and some aspects of the informal school are discussed.
MEASURING THE RELIABILITY OF OBSERVATIONAL DATA: A REACTIVE PROCESS1
Authors: Romanczyk Raymond G. , Kent Ronald N. , Diament Charles , O'Leary K. Daniel
Published: March 2006

Reliability of observational data was measured simultaneously by two assessors under two experimental conditions. During overt assessment, observers were told that reliability would be measured by one of the two assessors, thus permitting computation of reliability with an identified and an unidentified assessor. During covert assessment, observers were not informed of the reliability measured. Throughout the study, each of the assessors employed a unique version of a standard observational code. In the overt assessment condition, reliability of observers with the identified assessor was consistently higher than reliability with the unidentified assessor, indicating that observers modified their observational criteria to approximate those of the identified assessor. In the covert assessment condition, reliability with the two assessors was substantially lower than during overt assessment. Further, observers consistently recorded lower frequencies of disruptive behavior than the two assessors during covert assessment.
OPERANT CONDITIONING OF HUMAN ANAL SPHINCTER PRESSURE1
Authors: Kohlenberg Robert J.
Published: March 2006

Anal sphincter pressure in a 13‐yr‐old encopretic boy was modified by reinforcing increases in pressure exerted on a fluid‐filled balloon inserted into the rectum. It was found that pressure changes were a function of the reinforcement schedule and that baseline levels (resting pressure) during extinction conditions tended to increase throughout the experiment.
A PROCEDURE FOR INCREASING ORAL READING RATE IN HARD‐OF‐HEARING CHILDREN1
Authors: Wilson Michele Drisko , McReynolds Leija V.
Published: March 2006

This study investigated the effects of systematic training on the oral reading rate of four hard‐of‐hearing children. In training, systematic increases in pulsing rate of a vibrotactile stimulus were arranged. The children received points, exchangeable for money when their reading rate equalled the pulse rate of the stimulus. The training procedure was effective in increasing the oral reading rate in all children. Generalized increases in reading rate on untrained word lists, sentences, and paragraphs were also observed.
SOME EFFECTS OF TOKEN REWARDS ON SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT OF CHILDREN WITH DOWN'S SYNDROME1
Authors: Dalton A. J. , Rubino C. A. , Hislop M. W.
Published: March 2006

The effectiveness of a token economy system in producing improvement in the academic performance of children with Down's syndrome was tested. One group of seven children received token reinforcement for correct responses and showed significant improvement both in arithmetic and language. A second matched group of six children received only verbal praise for correct responses to the same instructional materials and failed to improve in arithmetic but showed significant gains in language. Re‐test scores one year later revealed that the Token Group maintained its gains in both subjects whereas the language performance of the No‐Token Group showed a significant decline.
THE EFFECTS OF CONTINGENT MUSIC ON THE INTENSITY OF NOISE IN JUNIOR HIGH HOME ECONOMICS CLASSES1
Authors: Wilson Cheryl Wright , Hopkins B. L.
Published: March 2006

The effects of quiet‐contingent music on the general noise levels of four seventh‐ and eighth‐grade classrooms were investigated. Following a baseline procedure, popular radio music was used to reinforce maintenance of noise below an acceptable level of intensity, 70 decibels, in three of the four classes. In the fourth class, a reversal design was used to show that the contingent presentation of the radio music was important to control the noise produced by the students. The teacher was free to engage in instructional activities because data collection and presentation of music were controlled by automatic apparatus.
DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTAX IN A RETARDED GIRL USING PROCEDURES OF IMITATION, REINFORCEMENT, AND MODELLING1
Authors: Garcia Eugene , Guess Doug , Byrnes Jim
Published: March 2006

Three experiments demonstrated the development and generalized use of a singular and plural declarative sentence in a child initially lacking sentence form responses. In each experiment, an adult(s) served as a language model(s), and consequences (sweets) were provided for imitation of the model. During training trials, an item(s) was displayed first to the model(s) then to the subject; these displays were accompanied by requests to label the item(s). Generalization was assessed by a number of probe trials that were periodically interspersed among training trials. During these trials, the subject was requested to label the displayed item(s) without any preceding labelling response from the model. Using these procedures, generalized use of a singular sentence (“That is one ———”) resulted in Experiment I, and generalized use of a plural sentence (“These are two ———”) resulted in Experiment II. In Experiment III, two models (a singular and a plural sentence model) were made available to the subject but imitation of only one model was reinforced during any one condition. Results indicated the subject labelled probe (generalization) items with the same sentence form that was modelled and reinforced during training trials.
AN EXPERIMENTAL APPLICATION OF A SOCIAL REINFORCEMENT APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF JOB‐FINDING1
Authors: Jones R. J. , Azrin N. H.
Published: March 2006

The current conception of the employment process is that positions become available, are publicized, and are filled by the most qualified job seekers. An alternative conception is proposed that social factors play a major role in the process and that job finding can be analyzed as an exchange of social reinforcers in which the first behavioral step is to locate job openings. A questionnaire survey of 120 jobs found that two‐thirds of the job leads came from friends or relatives who: (1) usually knew of a specific opening (63%); (2) were themselves employed by the hiring firm (71%); and (3) actively influenced the hiring process (53%). An experimental evaluation was made of an “Information‐Reward” advertisement procedure for motivating community residents to report unpublicized openings. It was found that the Information‐Reward procedure produced 10 times as many job leads and eight times as many placements as a no‐reward control advertisement. These findings represent a first step toward a much needed technology of job finding that is based on experimental evidence and support the notion that the employment process depends on factors unrelated to work skills.
FADING TO INCREASE HETEROSEXUAL RESPONSIVENESS IN HOMOSEXUALS1
Authors: Barlow David H. , Agras W. Stewart
Published: March 2006

Heterosexual responsiveness, measured by penile responses and reports of behavior, was strengthened in three homosexuals through a fading procedure. Using two slide projectors, colored slides of nude females were superimposed on colored slides of nude males. As the sexual response was emitted, the nude male was faded out and the nude female faded in. Heterosexual arousal decreased when the fading procedure was reversed or stopped and increased once again when fading was resumed. Homosexual arousal remained high during this experiment but had decreased in two subjects at follow‐up. The results suggest that fading was responsible for altering stimulus control of sexual arousal and that aversive techniques may not be necessary in the treatment of sexual deviation.
INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING OF DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE IN ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS1
Authors: Elder S. Thomas , Ruiz Z. Rosalba , Deabler Herdis L. , Dillenkoffer Robert L.
Published: March 2006

Eighteen male essential hypertensive patients participated in an experiment designed to compare two strategies for controlling high blood pressure. Each strategy was derived from the instrumental learning literature, and the aim was to treat the blood pressure response as an operant and determine the most effective conditioning procedure for manipulating it. The results demonstrate that patients could be conditioned to lower blood pressure by 20% to 30% over a period as brief as four days by providing an external signal and verbal praise contingent upon each reduction in diastolic pressure that met a pre‐set criterion.
MODIFICATION OF NASAL RESONANCE IN CLEFT‐PALATE CHILDREN BY INFORMATIVE FEEDBACK1
Authors: Roll David L.
Published: March 2006

Vibration of the walls of the nasal cavities during production of an English vowel or diphthong defined a hypernasal response. A crystal transducer on one side of the nose activated a voice‐operated relay when vibration exceeded an arbitrary limit to provide an apparatus definition of the response. During training sessions, responses without nasal vibration turned on a white light in the sound‐treated chamber. Subject 1 had a repaired cleft palate and mild hypernasal speech. Introduction of the differential feedback, reversal, and reinstatement of the feedback conditions resulted in a rapid decrease, increase, and decrease in percentage of nasalized productions of the /eI/ sound Subject 2 had a cleft of the soft palate and severe hypernasal speech. Introduction of feedback produced a gradual decline in the percentage of hypernasal productions of the sound over 22 sessions. Removal and reinstatement of feedback resulted in a rapid increase and decrease respectively in the percentage of nasalized responses.
TIMEOUT AS A PUNISHING STIMULUS IN CONTINUOUS AND INTERMITTENT SCHEDULES1
Authors: Clark Hewitt B. , Rowbury Trudylee , Baer Ann M. , Baer Donald M.
Published: March 2006

The effectiveness of a brief period of isolation (timeout) in the control of disruptive behavior emitted by a retarded child in a preschool classroom setting was examined. Timeout was shown to be an effective punishing stimulus, and its control of the child's disruptive behavior was investigated under four schedules of intermittent timeout. The results suggest that as a larger percentage of responses were punished, a greater decrease in the frequency of that response occurred. This inverse relationship between the percentage of responses punished and the frequency of the response did not appear to be linear, but rather a non‐linear function. This function suggests that some schedules of intermittent punishment may be as effective as continuous punishment, at least in the case of the continued suppression of a response that has already been reduced to a low frequency.
OVERVIEW OF NIMH SUPPORT OF RESEARCH IN BEHAVIOR THERAPY1
Authors: Stolz Stephanie B.
Published: March 2006

Many parts of the National Institute of Mental Health have explicit policies of encouraging research on behavior therapy. The policies about behavior therapy research of sub‐units of NIMH are reviewed, as these policies existed in fiscal year 1973. Examples are given of the type of behavior therapy research that NIMH was supporting in 1972. Particularly important is the evaluation of the efficacy of behavior therapy in comparison with standard treatment procedures.
METHODOLOGICAL AND ASSESSMENT CONSIDERATIONS IN APPLIED SETTINGS: REVIEWERS' COMMENTS
Authors: KAZDIN ALAN E.
Published: March 2006

The large number of nonexperimental manuscripts submitted to JABA and the lack of well‐defined criteria for evaluating them, has necessitated formulation of a separate editorial policy (see policy statement on page 404 of this issue). The manuscript by Alan E. Kazdin was submitted before the policy concerning nonexperimental manuscripts went into effect and was reviewed by three established researchers who have made substantial methodological contributions to the field (Montrose M. Wolf, Murray Sidman, and L. Keith Miller were Reviewers A, B, and C, respectively). On the basis of the reviewers' comments, it was decided to publish the manuscript with only minor changes. However, because of the fundamental importance of many of the issues discussed in Kazdin's paper and because of the lack of clear agreement on some of these issues, as exemplified in the reviewers' comments, these comments are presented below.
EFFECTS OF BONUSES FOR PUNCTUALITY ON THE TARDINESS OF INDUSTRIAL WORKERS1
Authors: Hermann Jaime A. , Montes Ana I. de , Domínguez Benjamín , Montes Francisco , Hopkins B. L.
Published: March 2006

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an incentive procedure designed to increase the punctuality of six workers who were chronically late to work in a manufacturing company. The six workers in the experiment received a 2.00 pesos ($0.16 U.S.) bonus for every day that they arrived on time. A reversal design was used. The contingent bonuses increased the workers' rates of punctuality compared to their baseline rates. A control group of six workers observed during the same 77‐week period showed a trend toward decreasing punctuality. These results suggest that the use of small daily bonuses is a practical procedure for modifying chronic tardiness among industrial workers.
THE EFFECT OF NONVERBAL TEACHER APPROVAL ON STUDENT ATTENTIVE BEHAVIOR1
Authors: Kazdin Alan E. , Klock Joan
Published: March 2006

The effect of contingent nonverbal teacher approval on student attentive behavior was examined in a classroom with 12 retarded children. After baseline data were gathered on contingent verbal and nonverbal teacher approval and student attentive behavior, the teacher was instructed to increase her use of contingent nonverbal approval (smiles and physical contact) and to maintain her baseline level of verbal approval. After a reversal phase, the nonverbal approval phase was reinstated. Nonverbal teacher behaviors increased during the experimental phases, whereas verbal teacher approval (alone or in conjunction with nonverbal behaviors) did not increase. Attentive behavior increased for 11 of 12 students during the phases in which contingent nonverbal teacher approval increased. Correlational data suggested that nonverbal teacher approval accounted for behavior change of the students to a greater extent than did changes in the amount of teacher approval per se or in the teacher's use of verbal approval.
CONDITIONING AND POST‐HOSPITAL GENERALIZATION OF NONDELUSIONAL RESPONSES IN A CHRONIC PSYCHOTIC PATIENT1
Authors: Patterson Roger L. , Teigen James R.
Published: March 2006

An operant conditioning approach was successful in getting a chronic psychotic patient to give factual answers to direct questions that had previously elicited only delusional responses. Multiple baseline and reversal controls established that the changes were due to the experimental procedure. The subject was a female patient classified as paranoid schizophrenic who had persisted in giving bizarre responses to direct questions regarding her identity, age, and personal history during 26 yr of hospitalization. She was discharged after factual answers to these questions had been obtained, but operant conditioning trials were continued in the community to promote generalization. Two follow‐up interviews were conducted 36 and 52 days after discharge to evaluate generalization. No generalization was found in the first interview, but the second gave evidence of some generalization.
TASK ANALYSIS IN CURRICULUM DESIGN: A HIERARCHICALLY SEQUENCED INTRODUCTORY MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM1
Authors: Resnick Lauren B. , Wang Margaret C. , Kaplan Jerome
Published: March 2006

A method of systematic task analysis is applied to the problem of designing a sequence of learning objectives that will provide an optimal match for the child's natural sequence of acquisition of mathematical skills and concepts. The authors begin by proposing an operational definition of the number concept in the form of a set of behaviors which, taken together, permit the inference that the child has an abstract concept of “number”. These are the “objectives” of the curriculum. Each behavior in the defining set is then subjected to an analysis that identifies hypothesized components of skilled performance and prerequisites for learning these components. On the basis of these analyses, specific sequences of learning objectives are proposed. The proposed sequences are hypothesized to be those that will best facilitate learning, by maximizing transfer from earlier to later objectives. Relevant literature on early learning and cognitive development is considered in conjunction with the analyses and the resulting sequences. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ways in which the curriculum can be implemented and studied in schools. Examples of data on individual children are presented, and the use of such data for improving the curriculum itself, as well as for examining the effects of other treatment variables, is considered.
THE EFFECTS OF PROMPTING QUESTION‐ASKING UPON ON‐TASK BEHAVIOR AND READING COMPREHENSION1
Authors: Knapczyk Dennis R. , Livingston Gary
Published: March 2006

This study investigated a teacher‐implemented prompting procedure for training students to ask questions. Two special‐class (EMR) students who asked no questions were selected as subjects. Baseline data were also collected on reading comprehension and on‐task behavior, and these suggested decreasing levels of performance. The results indicated that prompting was effective for initiating question‐asking. In addition, increased levels of reading comprehension and on‐task behavior were observed.
REMEDIATION OF NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS OF AN ON‐GOING RESPONSE‐COST SYSTEM WITH CHRONIC MENTAL PATIENTS1
Authors: Doty David W. , McInnis Titus , Paul Gordon L.
Published: March 2006

Response‐cost procedures within a token economy with extremely regressed residents excluded many residents from access to positive reinforcement. Procedures allowing residents to “purchase eligibility” to obtain backup reinforcers through contingent payment on standing fines, combined with proportional fine payoff schedules contingent upon time without new fines, increased payment on fines, reduced incidence of new fines, and increased utilization of backup reinforcers. These modifications removed adverse side effects while retaining the benefits associated with response costs. Failures or adverse effects of elements of token systems should not occasion abandonment of token economies, but rather encourage their continual evaluation and modification.
CROSS‐AGE TUTORING: FIFTH GRADERS AS ARITHMETIC TUTORS FOR KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN1
Authors: Johnson Martha , Bailey Jon S.
Published: March 2006

Five fifth‐grade students tutored five kindergarten children in basic arithmetic skills for 7.5 weeks. A control group consisted of five kindergarten children who received no tutoring and were matched with the experimental group in arithmetic ability. Pre‐, mid‐, and posttesting was done using a skills‐based arithmetic test. Results showed that the experimental group made far greater gains than the control group on a post‐test comparison (matched pairs signed ranks test p = 0.062). In addition, a subanalysis of specific arithmetic skills showed they were improved only when tutoring for that skill was carried out. Systematic observations made of the tutor‐student interactions indicated wide tutor‐to‐tutor variability in the percentage of student responses praised, and very little use of negative, disapproving statements. It was concluded that trained fifth‐grade students can effectively teach basic arithmetic skills to kindergarteners.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRENTLY ENROLLED STUDENT PROCTORS IN AN UNDERGRADUATE SPECIAL EDUCATION COURSE1
Authors: Gaynor John F. , Wolking William D.
Published: March 2006

Potential users of Keller's personalized college classroom method might find it impractical to provide student proctors from the ranks of those who had previously mastered the course material. An alternative is to let currently enrolled students proctor and tutor each other. Such a method imposes the burden of showing that its effectiveness is not a function of (1) student collaboration or (2) the effects of “practice” received by students who listen to the performance of others before their own performance. The present study compared students proctored by previously trained students (Control) with students who received proctoring from classmates (Experimental). Experimental group performance was superior to Control group performance. The effects of “practice” and collaboration were ruled out as determinants of the difference between groups. It is hypothesized that the superior performance of the Experimental students was related to their activities as proctors.
TRAINING PREDELINQUENT YOUTHS AND THEIR PARENTS TO NEGOTIATE CONFLICT SITUATIONS1
Authors: Kifer Robert E. , Lewis Martha A. , Green Donald R. , Phillips Elery L.
Published: March 2006

In response to parental requests for assistance in dealing with adolescent problem children, three parent‐child pairs were taught negotiation responses to hypothetical conflict situations using behavior rehearsal and social reinforcement. The negotiation process was separated into component behaviors that were practised during simulations by each youth and his parent under the direction of trainers. Results indicated that (a) the procedures were successful in training youths and their parents in negotiation behaviors that produced agreements to conflict situations, and (b) these behaviors generalized to actual conflict situations in subjects' homes.
THE LENGTH OF TEACHER CONTACTS AND STUDENTS' OFF‐TASK BEHAVIOR1
Authors: Scott John W. , Bushell Don
Published: March 2006

This study investigated the relationship between a teacher's contact durations and the off‐task behavior of students not in contact with the teacher. Contact durations were defined as the amount of time the teacher spent working individually with each student. Off‐task behavior was recorded for six third‐graders who comprised a small instructional group in mathematics. After baseline established that contact durations averaged approximately 38 sec, the teacher was instructed to hold contacts for at least 50 sec. During this phase, the students' off‐task behavior increased. The teacher was then instructed to hold contacts for only 20 sec. During this phase, the students' off‐task behavior decreased.
PRODUCING GENERATIVE SENTENCE USAGE BY IMITATION AND REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURES1
Authors: Lutzker John R. , Sherman James A.
Published: March 2006

Three retarded subjects and two developmentally normal toddlers were trained using imitation and reinforcement procedures to use correct sentences. The experimental task was to use sentences with correct subject‐verb agreement to describe pictures that were presented to the subjects. Two classes of sentences were taught: those involving a plural subject that required the use of the verb “are” (for example, “the boys are running”) and those involving a singular subject that required the use of the verb “is” (for example, “the boy is running”). The basic design of the study involved multiple baselines for each class of sentences. Four of the subjects began to produce novel, untrained sentences of a particular type to generalization probe pictures when that particular class of sentence was currently being trained. Thus, the imitation and reinforcement procedures appeared to be functional in producing generative sentence usage for both types of sentences. One subject produced correct sentences to both singular and plural probe pictures when only “is” sentences had been taught. A reversal procedure and retraining phase indicated that for this subject, imitation and reinforcement procedures for training one class of sentence behavior seemed functional in producing generative responses of the other class of sentences.
THE ACQUISITION OF SIMPLE AND COMPOUND SENTENCE STRUCTURE IN AN AUTISTIC CHILD1
Authors: Stevens‐Long Judith , Rasmussen Marilyn
Published: March 2006

Contingent reinforcement and imitative prompts were used to teach an autistic child to use simple and compound sentences to describe a set of standard pictures. When imitative prompts and reinforcement were discontinued, correct use of simple sentences declined, but increased again when imitative prompts and reinforcement were re‐instated. When imitative prompts and reinforcements were used to teach compound sentence structure, correct use of simple sentences declined and correct use of compound structure increased. At the end of training, the child also used novel compound sentences to describe a set of pictures on which he had received no direct training.
OPEN ENVIRONMENT DESIGN FOR INFANT AND TODDLER DAY CARE
Authors: Twardosz Sandra , Cataldo Michael F. , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

Group care settings for dependent people must be organized to facilitate delivery of responsive care and to prevent inadvertant neglect or deliberate abuse. Accordingly, in an infant and a toddler day‐care center, an open environment was examined as a means to increase the visibility of children to staff and of staff‐child interactions to the supervisor, and to investigate potential adverse effects of the open environment on infants' and toddlers' activities. These studies demonstrated that: (1) an open environment markedly decreased the amount of time a child could not be seen by any adult and the amount of time staff members' activities were not visible to the supervisor, and markedly reduced the effort required to supervise those who were not immediately visible; (2) an open environment did not adversely affect the sleep of either infants or toddlers; and (3) an open environment is as conducive to small group pre‐academic activities with toddlers as is a separate room. These studies convinced us that infant and toddler day care can and should be accomplished in an open environment.
THE EFFECTS OF EXPLICIT TIMING AND FEEDBACK ON COMPOSITIONAL RESPONSE RATE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN1
Authors: Houten Ronald Van , Morrison Elizabeth , Jarvis Rowena , McDonald Margo
Published: March 2006

The effects of several variables on compositional response rate were investigated in three classrooms. After establishing baseline composition rates in each of the three classrooms, an experimental phase was introduced that consisted of: explicit timing of the children's composition period with a stopwatch, immediate feedback on the number of words each child produced, public posting of the greatest number of words written by each child to date, and instructions to try to exceed their highest score. In the second‐grade classroom, these conditions were introduced, removed, and re‐introduced. In two fifth‐grade classrooms, these conditions were introduced according to a multiple baseline, across classes. In all cases, introduction of the experimental conditions led to a doubling of rate of words written by students and an increase in subjective quality ratings of compositions made by independent judges.
REWARD VERSUS COST TOKEN SYSTEMS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS ON STUDENTS AND TEACHER
Authors: Iwata Brian A. , Bailey Jon S.
Published: March 2006

The effects of reward and cost token procedures on the social and academic behavior of two groups of elementary special‐education students were assessed using a reversal design. Behavioral observations of three target subjects in each group revealed that both procedures were about equally effective in reducing rule violations and off‐task behavior. Records kept on the daily arithmetic performance of all subjects showed that output doubled in both groups during the token phases, although accuracy remained unchanged. When students were allowed to choose either contingency, no pattern of preference was established. Small differences were found in teacher behavior: the reward procedure led to an increase in approval comments but cost procedures produced no changes in teacher behavior.
THEFT REVERSAL: AN OVERCORRECTION PROCEDURE FOR ELIMINATING STEALING BY RETARDED PERSONS1
Authors: Azrin N. H. , Wesolowski M. D.
Published: March 2006

To deal with the problem of stealing, an overcorrection procedure was designed in which the thief was required to give his victim an item identical to the stolen one in addition to returning the stolen item. This procedure was compared with the more commonly used simple correction procedure (restitution) in which the thief is required to return the stolen item. Under the simple correction procedure, an average of 20 thefts per day had been occurring among 34 retarded residents of an institution. The overcorrection procedure reduced the thefts by 50% on the first day, by 75% on the second day, and eliminated thefts by the fourth day, after which no further stealing occurred. The overcorrection procedure was a rapid and effective method of eliminating stealing, it provided special consideration for the victim, and it should be applicable to the nonretarded.
AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION BETWEEN A BEHAVIORALLY DISORDERED PRESCHOOL CHILD AND HER CLASSROOM PEERS1
Authors: Strain Phillip S. , Timm Matthew A.
Published: March 2006

The social interaction between a behaviorally disordered preschool child and her classroom peers was measured under two conditions of contingent adult attention: (1) verbal praise and physical contact directed to the target subject's peers for appropriate interaction with the target subject, and (2) verbal praise and physical contact directed specifically to the target subject for engaging in appropriate interaction with peers. Continuous measures of interactive behavior were made during baseline, intervention, and return to baseline conditions. Results indicated that application of experimental contingencies to peers (Condition 1) rapidly increased appropriate social behaviors by the peers and also by the target subject. When experimental contingencies were applied to the target subject (Condition 2), a similar increase in appropriate social behaviors was noted for both the target subject and the peers. Additionally, during Conditions 1 and 2 the recipient(s) of contingent adult attention initiated more appropriate social contacts than did the interacting partner(s).
PROGRAMMING THE GENERALIZATION OF A GREETING RESPONSE IN FOUR RETARDED CHILDREN1
Authors: Stokes Trevor F. , Baer Donald M. , Jackson Robert L.
Published: March 2006

Reinforcement techniques of prompting and shaping were employed to develop hand‐waving, a useful social greeting response, in four institutionalized retarded subjects. A multiple‐baseline design across subjects demonstrated the reliable functioning of the training procedures. Specifically, it showed that training and maintenance of the greeting response by one experimenter was not usually sufficient for generalization of the response to the more than 20 other members of the institution staff who had not participated in the training of the response. However, high levels of generalization to staff members were recorded for three subjects over periods ranging from one to six months after a second experimenter trained and maintained the response in conjunction with the first experimenter. The fourth subject, although never receiving training by a second experimenter, showed similar results following a second training by the first experimenter.
THE EFFECTS OF MASTERY CRITERIA AND ASSIGNMENT LENGTH ON COLLEGE‐STUDENT TEST PERFORMANCE1
Authors: Semb George
Published: March 2006

This study analyzed the function of two components of a personalized instruction course—mastery criteria for passing a test and assignment length. A high mastery criterion (100% correct) and short assignments produced better test performance than either a low mastery criterion (60% correct) or long assignments (four short assignments combined) on both study question items that students had in their possession and probe items that were not available to students in advance.
THE AVERSIVE CONTROL OF EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION BY CHRONIC ALCOHOLICS IN THE LABORATORY SETTING1
Authors: Wilson G. Terence , Leaf Russell C. , Nathan Peter E.
Published: March 2006

The efficacy of several methods of aversive control of excessive alcoholic drinking was investigated in a semi‐naturalistic setting that permitted objective measurement of the drinking behavior of chronic alcoholics. Studies 1A and 1B compared an escape‐conditioning procedure with a control procedure in which aversive electrical shocks were administered before drinking. Neither procedure effectively decreased subjects' pretreatment, baseline alcoholic drinking behavior. In Study 2, aversive response‐contingent shocks effectively suppressed alcoholic drinking, but drinking subsequently returned to its former levels after withdrawal of punishment. Self‐administered shock appeared to be as effective as experimenter‐administered punishment for controlling drinking, even when the punishment contingency was faded out over time. Study 3 replicated the suppressant effect of punishment, and demonstrated that contingent shock was significantly more effective than yoked, noncontingent shock. A direct comparison of self‐ versus experimenter‐administered punishment suggested a possible slight advantage for the latter.
SETTING GENERALITY AND STIMULUS CONTROL IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN1
Authors: Rincover Arnold , Koegel Robert L.
Published: March 2006

This study was designed to assess the transfer of treatment gains of autistic children across settings. In the first phase, each of 10 autistic children learned a new behavior in a treatment room and transfer to a novel extra‐therapy setting was assessed. Four of the 10 children showed no transfer to the novel setting. Therefore, in the second phase, each child who failed to transfer participated in an analysis of stimulus control in order to determine the variables influencing the deficit in transfer. Each of the four children who did not transfer were selectively responding to an incidental stimulus during the original training in the treatment room. Utilizing a reversal design, each of the four children responded correctly in the extra‐therapy setting when the stimulus that was functional during training was identified and introduced into the extra‐therapy setting. The extreme selective responding and the resulting bizarre stimulus control found are discussed in relation to the issue of setting generality of treatment gains.
TEACHING GENERATIVE USE OF SENTENCE ANSWERS TO THREE FORMS OF QUESTIONS1
Authors: Clark Hewitt B. , Sherman James A.
Published: March 2006

Three retarded and four economically disadvantaged children were taught, through modelling and reinforcement procedures, to produce complete sentences in response to three types of questions involving changes in verb inflections. To evaluate generalization of training, new but similar questions were periodically asked, answers to which were never modelled or reinforced. Modelling and reinforcement effectively taught correct sentence answers to training questions and produced new sentence answers to questions for which no specific training had been given.
CHARACTERISTICS AND TRENDS IN APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS1
Authors: Kazdin Alan E.
Published: March 2006

Characteristics and trends in applied behavior analysis were examined by evaluating the contents of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) from 1968 to 1974. Investigations were categorized according to the settings, populations, target behaviors, and research methodology employed. The analyses, completed separately for each dimension, revealed a relatively high proportion of investigations conducted in classrooms, with children and adolescents, and for problematic‐disruptive behaviors. Although research in each of these areas did not constitute the majority of JABA investigations, only two categories across each content dimension were required to constitute the majority. The majority of JABA research has been conducted in classrooms and institutional settings, with children and adolescents and retardates of all ages, and for problematic‐disruptive and academic behaviors. Despite the relatively restricted focus, the proportion of investigations conducted in naturalistic or open‐field settings (e.g., movie theaters, parks, zoos, busses) and, to a lesser extent, day‐care facilities has increased in recent years. Also, the focus upon academic responses, training individuals to employ behavior modification, and community relevant behaviors (e.g., employment, littering) has increased. As expected, examination of research design and evaluation techniques revealed extensive reliance upon intrasubject replication designs. Indeed, the majority of investigations have employed reversal (ABAB) designs. Interestingly, the use of multiple‐baseline and between‐group designs has increased in recent years. Finally, the use of statistical tests, not at all a rarity in JABA investigations, has not systematically increased since the inception of JABA.
NATURAL RATES OF TEACHER APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL IN THE CLASSROOM
Authors: White Mary Alice
Published: March 2006

Sixteen classroom observational studies were conducted to determine natural rates of teacher verbal approval and disapproval in the classroom. Rates of teacher verbal approval and disapproval were measured by the Teacher Approval and Disapproval Observation Record (TAD) over Grades 1 through 12. Teacher verbal approval rates dropped over grade, with a marked drop after second grade. In every grade after second, the rate of teacher verbal disapproval exceeded the rate of teacher verbal approval. These rates are interpreted in terms of reinforcement theory.
EXPERIMENTER CALCULATION ERRORS: A POTENTIAL FACTOR AFFECTING INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS1
Authors: Rusch Frank R. , Walker Hill M. , Greenwood Charles R.
Published: March 2006

Following a study of socially withdrawn children, it was noted that checks of experimenter calculations indicated discrepancies. The present study investigated the magnitude and direction of experimenter errors in data computations. Two full‐time research assistants, who served as experimenters, processed the behavioral observation data. These experimenters were referred to as the subjects in this study. Standard data values, against which the subjects' computations were compared, were established by two other research assistants and a computer staff. The results indicated that experimenters' original data values disagreed with the standard data values. The daily errors showed considerable variability for both experimenters. The specific factors accounting for this variability could not be identified, although frequency of experimenter responses required to obtain rate and duration data, time spent calculating, and complexity of task were suggested as possible contributing variables. While disagreements occurred across all experimental days, the magnitude of differences was generally small. An examination of direction of differences in both experimenters' data showed no systematic trends in favor of the experimental hypothesis. Rather, there appeared to be a trend in the other direction. This study suggests that the same research decisions would have been made during the original investigation using either set of data.
THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT REINFORCEMENT CONDITIONS ON THE TEST PERFORMANCE OF MULTIHANDICAPPED DEAF CHILDREN1
Authors: Smeets Paul M. , Striefel Sebastian
Published: March 2006

The present study explored the effects of different reinforcement conditions on the number of correct responses on the Raven Progressive Matrices. Four groups of 11‐ to 18‐year‐old multihandicapped deaf children matched on the basis of mean age and pretest scores were used. The groups were randomly assigned to any of four posttest conditions: end‐of‐session reinforcement, noncontingent reinforcement, delayed reinforcement, and immediate reinforcement. The mean posttest score of subjects tested under the immediate‐reinforcement condition was significantly higher than that of any other group. No significant differences were observed between the mean posttest scores of the three other groups. The practical implications of using reinforcement procedures for testing purposes are discussed.