Feedback procedures are an important class of operant behavior change methods used in a wide variety of settings. One innovative method of providing immediate feedback adapted from the animal literature is through the use of an acoustical stimulus, such as a clicker. Methods utilizing this response contingent delivery of acoustic feedback in humans is commercially referred to as TAGteaching. Several studies have documented the effectiveness of this teaching procedure with various human populations. Despite the successes, very little is known of the environmental manipulations necessary to produce desirable effects; and if these effects sustain when this procedure is implemented in clinical settings. Moreover, several authors have asserted that the acoustic stimulus functions like a conditioned reinforcer, however no explicit pairing procedures are traditionally implemented with humans, to establish the functions of contingent deliveries of the acoustic stimulus. The purpose of the current study was twofold; first this study sought to evaluate the role of textual instructions in establishing the functions of response contingent acoustic feedback using a laboratory task. Secondly, this study sought to evaluate the extent to which instructions and acoustic feedback, produce changes in staff and client behaviors in a clinical setting. Study one was conducted across 40 college students and evaluated the role of instructions in establishing the functions of contingent acoustic feedback in the context of a Multistep Experimental Task (MSET). The MSET was adopted from a previous laboratory evaluation of TAGteach (Smith & Lambert, 2014). Participants were assigned to four different experimental groups for both a within-subject and a between-group analysis of performance. Results indicated improved performance for all participants who received both instructions and contingent acoustic feedback, whereas three participants who received acoustic feedback only showed similar improvements. Study two was conducted across three staff participants and sought to evaluate an intervention comprised of in-situ instructions and response contingent acoustic feedback to teach staff to use Behavior Specific Praise procedures (BSP) with clients. Results from a multiple-baseline-across staff design revealed that the intervention increased staff’s rates of BSP in this clinical setting. Additionally, intervention effects were maintained during one to three-week probes. The intervention also maintained client correct responding across different targeted behavior chains. Staff members also rated the acoustic feedback procedure as more worthwhile, helpful, relevant, pleasant, and less disruptive than their typical feedback methods. Both findings provide useful data to support the design and implementation of acoustic feedback procedures in clinical settings. They also provide preliminary data to clarify the antecedent conditions necessary to establish the functions of contingent acoustic feedback.

Abstract Over the past few years there has been an increasing number of people practicing yoga. There also have been reports of injuries as a result of practicing yoga. Many injuries have been attributed to poor teaching which can result in improper alignment. This study utilized a teaching technology, TAGteach to aide in skill acquisition of novice yoga practitioners. The current study focused on teaching three beginner asanas (poses) to novice practitioners. The intervention included the asanas being broken down by task analysis and the steps tagged one by one. The intervention was assessed by a multiple baseline across behaviors design. All targeted yoga postures improved upon the implementation of TAGteach and the results maintained after reinforcement was no longer provided and generalized to the yoga class setting. Keywords: Feedback, performance feedback, acoustical guidance, auditory stimulus, fitness, sports

Exercise programs that utilize resistance training, a specialized type of conditioning that provides stress (resistive loads) to the muscles, have appealed to athletes and recreational participants alike, due to its documented benefits for performance and overall health. Teaching the correct form for these skills is imperative for a safe and proficient execution of these movements. TAGteach™, a form of behavioral coaching, is a procedure that utilizes immediate acoustical feedback in the form of a clicker as a reinforcer for the desired behavior. TAGteach has been successfully used to teach novel or enhance existing athletic skills in many domains such as football, dance, yoga, pitching, golf and even surgical techniques (TAGteach International, 2012). The present study employed a multiple probe across behaviors design to evaluate the effectiveness of the TAGteach method to train three resistance training movements (deadlift, overhead press, and front squat) for adult novice participants. Results demonstrated an improvement in performance of each skill from baseline probes following training. Improved performance also generalized to heavier weight than those utilized during training. This generalization is a key to achieving progressive overload as a part of the typical practice in resistance training programs. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

Sports are an important part of adolescent development and fitness. Although sports can be extremely beneficial, skill and ability varies greatly from one athlete to another. Teaching with acoustical guidance (TAG), also known as clicker training, has been shown to help athletes improve their skills in such sports as football, gymnastics and even the high jump. The present study compares the use of standard coaching and clicker training to improve accurate shot put technique for two female high school track and field athletes. In comparison with other TAG research, this study is a component analysis that isolated the use of the clicker to increase drill accuracy in the absence of verbal feedback for six component glide drills; as such, other TAG components were not evaluated. The results revealed no systematic effect overall, although a counter-therapeutic effect during the TAG condition was detected for specific drills and specific individuals. / Applied Behavioral Analysis