The research literature with nonhumans supports findings that token economies are a common component of training programs. The literature suggests that the schedule by which exchange opportunities become available determines the organization of behavioral performances in token economies to a great extent. This study sought to systematically document whether the dynamics observed in basic laboratory procedures will also be observed in a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and whether altering schedules by which the exchange opportunities become available will attenuate these effects. The participant was exposed to two conditions: 1) a fixed token-production schedule (FR1) with a fixed token-exchange schedule (FR5) and 2) a fixed token-production schedule (FR1) with a variable token-exchange schedule (VR5). Results of the current study did not lend themselves to draw definitive conclusions that the patterns of responding observed in this experiment were in fact due to the change in the token exchange schedule.

Early and intensive behavioral intervention outcome research includes descriptions of intervention variables that may increase treatment success. This study was designed to develop an observation system that incorporates and expands on some of these variables. Measures include the number of interventionist teaching units, types of skills addressed during instruction, consequences programmed by interventionists, and engagement with teaching materials. This system allowed for a view of the differences in teaching behaviors among the participants. It is proposed that this observation system is a start toward standardized intervention measures that can be applied to evaluate varied treatment models. Such standardization can help in ensuring that all children have access to evidence-based services.

The focus of this study was three fold. First, modeling and feedback were investigated as a training package for social interactions between siblings. Second, the effects of social phrases taught to the sibling with autism were investigated. Third, the magnitude of these social phrases was measured by timing duration of parallel play. The experimental design is an A-B-A1-A2 design conducted in a clinic, with a probe for generalization in the home environment. This intervention was replicated across an additional sibling dyad to indicate its effectiveness. This study ascertained that the sibling with autism was a viable participant in learning new social skills that could function as a behavioral cusp and increase sibling interactions.

This study investigated the effect of implementing high-probability request sequences prior to the delivery of instructions to transition in a child with severe mental retardation. Data were collected on latency to comply with a low-probability request to transition and a modified version of the low-probability request. Implementation of high-probability request sequences resulted in shortened latencies to comply with the modified low-probability request instructing the child to engage in a preferred activity located at the endpoint of the transition.

No description available.

Thirty-two cigarette smokers received six sessions of rapid smoking after which they were randomly assigned to one of four maintenance conditions, The conditions were (a) contingency contracting, (b) social support, (c) a continuation of rapid smoking and (d) a minimal contact control group, A total of seven maintenance sessions were scheduled for each maintenance group, and they were spread over a three month period. At the end of the maintenance period the control group was smoking at baseline level again. No differences between the maintenance groups were detected, However, the contracting group and the social support group were smoking significantly less than the control group.

The purpose of the present study was to implement an inexpensive, efficient staff management system that could function effectively in a typical institutional setting. The system utilized feedback with a small amount of social reinforcement from the subjects’ immediate supervisor - a combination that would probably be more acceptable to most institutions than alternatives such as money or rearrangement of work schedules.

The effectiveness of contingency contracting for treating marital distress was tested using a within couple multiple baseline design across responses. Two distressed couples participated. Both couples experienced marginal improvements as measured by a spouse-tracking procedure, One couple demonstrated gains in self-reported satisfaction. The findings for a third dependent variable are inconclusive for both couples. Suggestions for further research are discussed.

Of the several techniques reported for the treatment of self-injurious behavior, response-contingent aversive stimu-lation and overcorrection seem to be the most successful. However, many procedures are precluded from use by legal or other restrictions. Thus, many procedures that are both ethnically and aesthetically tolerable to practitioners and the public must be developed. Facial screening (Lutkzer & Spencer, Note 1; Zegiob, Becker & Bristow, Note 2; Lutzker, Note 3), applying a terrycloth bib to cover the face contingent upon self-injurious behavior, has been shown to be effective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the parameters of facial screening with two subjects. Specifically investigated were: a) the role of non-contingent v~. contingent facial screening in therapy and extra-therapy setting; and b) the role of opaque vs. translucent bibs. In the first study, using a multiple baseline design, it was found that non-contingent facial screening was effective only after a history of pairing with contingent facial screening. While non-contingent facial screening reduced self-injurious behavior in two settings, it did not eliminate self-injurious behavior in all three settings in which it was observed. In the second study a reversal design-component analysis was used to compare a translucent to an opaque bib. The translucent bib was ineffective in reducing the self-injurious behavior while the opaque bib eliminated self-injurious behavior as long as facial screening was applied consistently.

Behaving in novel ways is essential to the development of the types of complex performances described by the term creativity, problem solving, and perseverance. Some research suggests that response variability is an operant and a critical component of novel behavior. However, other account of novel behavior may be more parsimonious. Topographical variability has rarely been examined, nor has operant variability with organisms with baselines featuring stereotypic responding. This study examined the effects of a variability-specifying contingency on the cumulative novel responses of undergraduate students. Using the PORTL apparatus, participants interacted with a ball with a single hand. When the variability-specifying contingency was in effect, novel topographies were reinforced. When a reinforce every response condition was implemented, the participants did not emit any novel responses. When variability-specifying contingencies were in effect, novel responses were rarely followed by subsequent novel responses. They were mostly followed by repeated emission of the same topography, or by other previously emitted topographies. Novel responding did not persist long, although the variability-specifying contingency remained in effect and the potential for novel responding was great. The variability-specifying contingency often resulted in stereotypic response chains. Each of these findings call into the question the assertion that variability is an operant and suggests other possible explanations for the observed novelty.