The present study examined the use of manipulating activity presentation formats and the use of interactions to increase activity engagement in eight older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) living in a special care unit of a nursing home. Three experiments, each using an alternating treatments design, were conducted. Experiment 1 compared two sets of activities (i.e., standard and novel) on engagement. The set of activities that produced the highest mean percentage of engagement (novel activities) was used throughout the subsequent two experiments. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of three different activity presentation formats - providing single activities, providing activity choices, and providing multiple activities - on engagement. Results showed that providing multiple activities to participants produced the highest mean percentage of engagement when compared to providing a single activity or a choice of two activities. Experiment 3 assessed the effects of various levels of interactions on engagement. Minimal and typical amounts of interaction were provided to participants. Results from Experiment 3 revealed that engagement was higher when minimal interactions were provided for all participants than when a typical amount of interactions was provided. Results from these three experiments extended the literature on use of choice interventions and the amount of interactions to provide to nursing home residents in order to increase activity engagement. A behavior analytic account of the results is presented, implications are discussed, and future research in the area is recommended.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Hailey Williams, for the Master’s Degree in Behavior Analysis, presented on 7/8/16, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: TEACHING EQUIVALENCE RELATIONS THROUGH DRAWING USING THE PEAK-E CURRICULUM MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Mark R. Dixon The purpose of this study was to observe the formation of equivalence response classes using drawing to demonstrate the transformation of stimulus function from arbitrary textual words to simple drawings. Two children with Autism were taught directly trained relations, which paired together three stimuli from three separate class formations. The children were taught to relate A-B and B-C relations in trial blocks, and then tested with B-A and C-A relations. This train-test method was used to see if derived relations had emerged. Both participants demonstrated adequate learning in achieve mastery criteria in all the directly trained and derived relations from this study. The data is represented in a multiple baseline graph with an embedded multiple probe design. The outcome of this study indicates that the use of drawing and other creative behaviors have value in both relation frame theory and PEAK. There are also several implications of the study addressed here, including drawing as a verbal behavior and the role of internal events and covert behaviors in learning.

Previous research has shown that early and intensive behavioral interventions are an effective treatment for young children with autism resulting meaningful gains that can maintain over time. For behavioral treatments to be effective, service providers need to be competently trained in behavioral interventions through staff training. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend previous research by employing a more rigorous research design, and including measures of teaching units, and staff and child affect measures. The trainee was taught 150 skills. Training methods included descriptions, modeling, practice, and feedback. Results showed that the trainee acquired all skills while maintaining an increasing number of teaching units. Child and staff also maintained favorable affect as training progressed. In addition, staff reported the training as very effective and highly satisfactory. This shows that comprehensive training packages that comprise a large set of skills in real life treatment settings can result in benefits for the staff and children.

Online instruction is becoming increasingly common at universities; however, there is little single subject research concerning the effectiveness of the online lecture format. We investigated whether online lecture could replace in-class lecture in two sections of an undergraduate Introduction to Behavior Analysis course without detrimentally affecting student learning. Using an adapted alternating treatments design, online and in-class lecture formats were counterbalanced across the two course sections. Experimenters collected data on lecture attendance/access, percent correct on the weekly quiz, and student report on lecture format preference. The data show that, within the context of this class, students performed equally in the weekly quiz regardless of lecture format; further, that this is consistent when looking at individual student data and mean data. However, although students stated a preference for online lecture in the questionnaire, a greater percentage of students attended in-class lecture than accessed online lecture.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a behaviorally-based intervention that promotes values-driven behavior change. ACT teaches skills such as acceptance, present-moment awareness, commitment to values-based actions, and new ways to interact with stressful and anxiety provoking thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is a popular component of present moment awareness that is often taught within an ACT model of intervention. The purpose of this study was to determine if mindfulness alone or ACT could influence the psychological flexibility and attention of children with autism and related disabilities aged 7-18. Ten participants received 4 weeks of either ACT or mindfulness training in a group therapy setting twice a week. A series of psychological flexibility and mindfulness questionnaires were administered to the participants along with computerized and physical attention tasks prior to and after completing the series of ACT and mindfulness activities sequence. The overall result of the study indicated that ACT may be a way to provide more wholistic services to children and adolescents with autism compared to mindfulness only, but that both interventions have value within this serviced population.

Previous research has suggested that external locus of control and victim responsibility influence individuals' helping behavior (Lerner & Reavy, 1975; Phares & Lamiell, 1975; Phares & Wilson, 1972). The present study investigated the relationships between locus of control and helping behavior in a situation where the victim was or was not responsible for her predicament. A locus of control scale was administered to 67 male and 93 female undergraduates at Western Kentucky University. Subjects were assigned to one of the responsibility situations in which they could volunteer to help a graduate student with either none, one, two, three, or four one-half hour experimental sessions. The results of the ANOVAs and chi squares for each sex indicated that locus of control and responsibility attribution were not significantly related to number of helping sessions volunteered or to the proportion of subjects' helping.

A widely used instructional method for teaching children with autism is Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), and a main component of ABA programming is discrete-trials teaching (DTT). DTT is made up of a series of brief teaching trials, with each trial including an antecedent (e.g., an instruction from the teacher), a response from the child, and an immediate consequence (e.g., a reinforcer provided for a correct response). Using a modified multiple-baseline design across participants, Experiment 1 assessed the effectiveness of a DTT self-instructional package (Fazzio & Martin, 2007) for teaching 4 pairs of newly-hired ABA tutors how to apply 21 components of DTT to teach 3 tasks to a confederate role-playing a child with autism. In Experiment 2, a group of 8 additional tutors were each independently presented with the same procedure. In both experiments, in Phase 1(baseline), tutors attempted to teach the 3 tasks to the confederate. In Phase 2 (manual), tutors mastered a 37-page self-instructional manual and once again attempted to teach the same 3 tasks to the confederate. Phase 3 was a within-subject AB design component. That is, if tutors did not meet a DTT mastery criterion of 80% after studying the manual in Phase 2, then they watched a brief video demonstration of a DTT expert teaching a task to a child role-playing a child with autism (Fazzio, 2007), and then once again attempted to teach the 3 tasks to the confederate. Across both experiments: a) The 16 tutors averaged 4.6 hours to master the self-instructional manual, and showed an average improvement in DTT accuracy of 32.2% from baseline; b) For the 13 tutors who did not meet the mastery criterion after reading the manual, their average DTT performance improved an additional 12% after watching the video; c) 13 of the 16 participants met mastery (3 after the manual and 10 after the manual plus video), and the other 3 tutors were very close to mastery. The results suggest that the training package is a practical, economical and efficient method of instructing newly-hired tutors in ABA programs for children with autism.

A widely used instructional method for teaching children with autism is Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), and a main component of ABA programming is discrete-trials teaching (DTT). DTT is made up of a series of brief teaching trials, with each trial including an antecedent (e.g., an instruction from the teacher), a response from the child, and an immediate consequence (e.g., a reinforcer provided for a correct response). Using a modified multiple-baseline design across participants, Experiment 1 assessed the effectiveness of a DTT self-instructional package (Fazzio & Martin, 2007) for teaching 4 pairs of newly-hired ABA tutors how to apply 21 components of DTT to teach 3 tasks to a confederate role-playing a child with autism. In Experiment 2, a group of 8 additional tutors were each independently presented with the same procedure. In both experiments, in Phase 1(baseline), tutors attempted to teach the 3 tasks to the confederate. In Phase 2 (manual), tutors mastered a 37-page self-instructional manual and once again attempted to teach the same 3 tasks to the confederate. Phase 3 was a within-subject AB design component. That is, if tutors did not meet a DTT mastery criterion of 80% after studying the manual in Phase 2, then they watched a brief video demonstration of a DTT expert teaching a task to a child role-playing a child with autism (Fazzio, 2007), and then once again attempted to teach the 3 tasks to the confederate. Across both experiments: a) The 16 tutors averaged 4.6 hours to master the self-instructional manual, and showed an average improvement in DTT accuracy of 32.2% from baseline; b) For the 13 tutors who did not meet the mastery criterion after reading the manual, their average DTT performance improved an additional 12% after watching the video; c) 13 of the 16 participants met mastery (3 after the manual and 10 after the manual plus video), and the other 3 tutors were very close to mastery. The results suggest that the training package is a practical, economical and efficient method of instructing newly-hired tutors in ABA programs for children with autism.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2007 / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-144).

The current set of three proposed experiments focused on integrating neurological and behavioral levels of analysis in the context of pathological gambling. A thoroughgoing analysis on previous gambling research was explored and discussed in the first four chapters. Specifically, this analysis outlines: similarities between pathological gambling and other substance addictions, new technological advances (i.e. functional magnetic resonance imaging), verbal behavior in general and its role in pathological gambling specifically, and treatment assessments and interventions. Three experiments were then developed and designed based on the outcomes suggested by the literature review. Experiment I determined the effectiveness of the Gambling Functional Assessment (GFA; Dixon & Johnson, 2007) as a clinically relevant gambling assessment tool. Experiment II also investigated neurological differences between pathological gamblers. Similar to other behavioral and substance addictions, limbic and cortical brain systems are activated during gambling related tasks and activities. However, as gambling pathology increases, brain activation in these regions have been reported to decrease, and it is unclear how pathological gamblers brain activation patterns differ across function maintaining gambling (i.e. attention, escape, sensory, and tangible maintaining functions). Therefore, Experiment II built upon the findings of Experiment I by contrasting brain activation images from the two highest maintaining functions of play, as indicated by the GFA. Concomitantly, Experiment III assessed function based assessment and treatment of pathological gamblers, by comparing brief 30 min exposure to function based or non- function based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for gamblers. Results from both studies suggested differences in brain activation patterns, yet similarities across subjective closeness to win ratings of the slot machine. Furthermore, brain activation patterns did not change following function based therapy, while subjective ratings in the function based treatment group decreased. Implications for brain-behavior relationships both in a gambling context and in relation to behavior therapy will be discussed.