Journal of applied behavior analysis最新文献

The Step it UP! Game, a modified version of the Good Behavior Game (GBG), has previously been shown to increase physical activity levels among elementary school children and adults with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to compare a novel modification of the GBG targeting physical activity, the Don't Stop! Game, with the Step it UP! Game. Participants included 14 young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Three conditions were alternated randomly within a multielement design: baseline, Step it UP! Game (in which the team with the most steps wins a prize), and Don't Stop! Game (in which the team with the fewest demerits for standing still wins a prize). All 14 participants had higher steps per minute during intervention conditions relative to baseline, but the degree of difference between intervention conditions differed across participants. The Don't Stop! Game was preferred by more participants.

Masked visual analysis (MVA) was developed to complement traditional visual analysis (TVA) and control for Type I error rates. Researchers have empirically tested MVA with generated data and simulated decisions. Our purpose was to evaluate the performance of MVA with real data and human raters. We asked visual analysts who had published at least one single-case research article (n = 36) to evaluate nine multiple-baseline-design-across-participants graphs. Graphs representing different target behaviors were displayed in masked and unmasked presentations. We evaluated the reliability and validity of MVA and TVA. Agreement within each method was similar to that reported in previous studies on visual analysis (MVA ICC = 0.625; TVA ICC = 0.579). Between the two methods, at least 75% of raters' decisions corresponded for six of nine graphs. We discuss the implications of incorporating MVA and future research on analytic methods for single-case experimental designs.

Automatically maintained self-injurious behavior (SIB) sometimes co-occurs with self-restraint, a self-limiting behavior that impedes SIB and can be maladaptive (e.g., hinders functional skills and movement). The presence of self-restraint suggests SIB produces aversive consequences, which self-restraint limits. We conducted a prospective consecutive controlled case series study of five individuals with Subtype 3 automatically maintained SIB where we applied the augmented competing stimulus assessment to identify and establish alternative self-restraint items to compete with existing forms of self-restraint. At least one high-competition item that produced an 80% or greater reduction in self-restraint and SIB without disrupting toy engagement was identified for the four participants who completed assessment. We discuss the need for additional research on this procedure and how competing self-restraint items can be used in combination with competing stimuli and tasks to address SIB and self-restraint. We also discuss some avenues for research that is directed at understanding the mechanisms of self-restraint.

Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at risk of developing severe interfering behavior, such as aggression and self-injury. Teaching young children with IDD life skills, such as social and communication skills, may help prevent the development of interfering behavior by addressing deficits in these areas. This study extended previous research on the Preschool Life Skills program by adapting it for young children with IDD, renamed the Life Skills Program (LSP). We evaluated the effects of researcher-implemented LSP on the classwide use of social and communication skills and interfering behavior for five kindergarten children with IDD in a public special education classroom using a multiple-baseline-across-units design. We also assessed generalization to novel settings and adults as well as maintenance of skills. The results demonstrated a functional relation between LSP and increased use of life skills along with preliminary evidence of skill generalization and maintenance over time.

Procedural fidelity is the extent to which prescribed protocols are accurately and correctly implemented. Prior researchers found that consequence-based procedural fidelity errors can delay or impede learning, but not much is known about how they influence performance for tasks that have previously been mastered. The purpose of this study was to systematically replicate Falakfarsa et al. (2023) to further investigate how consequence-based errors affect performance postmastery. Twenty-four undergraduates mastered a computerized match-to-sample task under conditions of perfect fidelity (100%). Following mastery, consequence-based errors were introduced across varying levels of fidelity. For 13 participants, we observed decreased percentage of correct responses on the task in the presence of errors, with considerable intersubject variability. No effect of the independent variable was observed for 11 participants. The results suggest that error reinforcement was the more detrimental error type. We discuss the implications of the results and make several suggestions for future research.

Behavior-analytic interventions are empirically supported treatments for pediatric feeding disorder; however, there are a limited number of intensive feeding programs in the country, making access to services and specialized training difficult. Given the prevalence of this disorder and scarcity of in vivo training resources, clinicians would benefit from computer-based instruction, such as e-learning modules. But e-learning modules have not been tested for feeding protocols. Therefore, we replicated Ibañez et al. (2022) but adapted the procedures to evaluate training modules to teach 14 undergraduate students and two registered behavior technicians to conduct a structured mealtime assessment. The training increased performance for all participants, and we observed generalization to two untrained protocols and novel child behavior. The implications for computer-based instruction and future directions in this area are discussed.

This study explored bilingual approaches to establishing communication repertoires for culturally and linguistically diverse nonverbal autistic children. We explored concurrent English and Spanish mand instruction across language-specific contexts (i.e., blocked vs. shuffled language trials). Participants first received communication intervention in a blocked context (e.g., first half in English), followed by communication intervention in a mixed-language context (i.e., shuffled trials). Mixed-language probes were incorporated throughout the evaluations to detect the emergence of conditional discriminations specific to the present linguistic context (i.e., therapist language). Participants established linguistic discrimination for topographically distinct forms of functional communication with minimal formal language discrimination instruction. These findings suggest that a communication intervention including elements of bilingualism can be effective for both establishing functional communication and discriminating the contexts in which certain responses are likely to be reinforced (i.e., linguistic discrimination).

Multiple schedule treatments are frequently used to thin the reinforcement schedule for functional communication responses (FCR) following functional communication training. Multiple schedules are often highly effective at decreasing FCR rates by establishing stimulus control. In some cases, individuals do not readily discriminate between reinforcement and extinction components. Previous research has shown that receptive and expressive color identification are strongly correlated with discriminated responding in a multiple schedule. In this study, we replicated this research by evaluating how color-related skills correlate with discriminated responding in a multiple schedule. In addition, using a standardized assessment, we examined the role of receptive and expressive language skills on discriminated responding in a multiple schedule. For our 11 participants, we found that expressive color identification correlated with discriminated responding in a multiple schedule. Furthermore, when we more broadly examined participants' language skills, we found a stronger correlation between language and discriminated responding.

This concise review summarizes the trends and outcomes of social validity assessments specifically related to functional analyses published between 2020 and 2024. Results indicate that very little data on the social validity of functional analyses have been published. However, data that have been published are generally positive. We conclude with discussion and recommendations for researchers and clinicians.

Dissemination of applied behavior analytic scholarship to those outside the field can produce potent reinforcers. This discussion proposes that increasing dissemination requires the application of behavior analytic principles to scholarly behavior by applied behavior analysts. Its major premise is that increasing consumption of products of applied behavior analytic scholarship by those from outside the field requires distinct strategies to (a) attract individuals from outside the field to traditional outlets for applied behavior analytic scholarship and (b) increase the frequency of applied behavior analytic scholarship appearing in outlets that do not regularly feature it. A critical element of both strategies is the judicious adoption of methods or terminology from other disciplines. However, different approaches are required to implement each strategy. Practical tactics for individual applied behavior analysts to contribute to both strategies are also discussed.