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open access

Increasing Exercise in Sedentary Adults Using a Contingency and Technology-Based Management Package to Begin and Sustain New Levels of Activity

Using a multiple baseline across participants with a changing criterion, this study explored and evaluated the effects of the individualized contingency management package (goal-setting, education, etc.) with sedentary typical adults while focusing on the mentoring component and the use of the technology of the exercise tracker to increase and sustain physical exercise to a level that increased health-benefiting physical activity. During initial mentoring meeting prior to the start of baseline,… more

Date: August 2019

Creator: Adams, Kristen Lea

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Teacher Implementation of a Pretreatment Assessment Procedure in a Public Middle School

In an attempt to determine the effectiveness of a pretreatment assessment procedure known as the scatter plot (Touchette, MacDonald, & Langer, 1985), direct observational data was collected by 13 middle school teachers on four "problem" students. After four weeks of data collection, interobserver agreement probes were calculated and a visual analysis of the plotted data was performed to ascertain a possible pattern of problem behavior. Additionally, in an attempt to assess the teachers' percept… more

Date: May 1999

Creator: Alcala, Angelo L. (Angelo Lee)

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

The Effects of Workshop Training and Coaching on the Acquisition and Generalization of Teaching Skills

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to examine the separate effects of increased accuracy on multiple-choice/rank-order written tests and coaching on the teaching performance of participants; (b) to compare generalization across tasks produced by the workshop and coaching; and (c) to assess maintenance of teaching performance. Following baseline, two adults received a lecture on discrete trial teaching procedures. A written test measured verbal performance on workshop material periodic… more

Date: December 2003

Creator: Almon, Holly C.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

The Effects of Extinction on Human Performance Following Exposure to Fixed Ratio Schedules of Reinforcement

This experiment examined the effects of extinction on rate of responding and several topographical and temporal measures in adult humans. Three college students were trained to type the sequence 1•5•3 on a numeric keypad on a computer. The subjects were exposed to different fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement (FR1, FR 5, and FR10 respectively) and extinction. Subjects displayed typical schedule performances during the maintenance phase of the experiment. During extinction the performances we… more

Date: May 2000

Creator: Anderson, Richard L.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

The Effects of Biofeedback and Verbal Feedback on the Training and Maintenance of Diaphragmatic Breathing

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a computer program on the training and maintenance of diaphragmatic breathing. The biofeedback portion was visual computer training and the results were displayed concurrently with participants' breathing responses to monitor display. The verbal feedback portion was praise that was given and recorded when participants responded with predominantly diaphragmatic breathing at the scheduled moment and response instruction that was given when … more

Date: May 2003

Creator: Armstrong, Earl E.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Correspondence between Multiple-Respondent Anecdotal Assessments and Functional Analysis: Analyses of Rank-Order, Magnitude-of-Difference, and Overall Outcomes

We administered the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) to five raters and compared the results with functional analysis outcomes for 12 cases in which agreement was obtained for at least four out of five raters on either anecdotal assessment. The scores for functional categories on the MAS and QABF were ranked by averaging the scores for the raters who agreed on the primary maintaining variable. Functional analysis results were ranked by examini… more

Date: May 2016

Creator: Arnalds, Holmfridur Osk

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Immediate and subsequent effects of response blocking on self-injurious behavior.

Abstract In many institutional settings, blocking, response restriction (e.g., restraint, protective equipment), and re-direction procedures are used extensively as intervention for self-injurious behavior (SIB) and other forms of problem behavior. In the current study, a three component, multiple-schedule analysis was used to examine the immediate and subsequent effects of blocking on SIB that persisted in the absence of social reinforcement contingencies. During the first and third component… more

Date: August 2006

Creator: Atcheson, Katy

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

An Evaluation of a Waiting Period and DRL on Reducing Mands serving as Precursors to Self-Injurious Behavior

Extensive research has been conducted demonstrating the utility of differential reinforcement as an effective intervention for self-injurious behavior. However, the majority of this literature requires teaching an alternative response to access reinforcement. Further evaluation of treating self-injurious behavior in individuals that already possess the repertories to contact reinforcement appropriately. Prior to initiating the study, functional assessments were completed for both participant th… more

Date: May 2020

Creator: Baak, Sara Ann

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

The Effects of Cumulative Consumption Feedback On Demand For Money As A Commodity

Behavioral economic theory describes a relation between response requirement and magnitude of reinforcement, and combines these variables into one independent variable (unit price) affecting operant behavior. This study investigated the relative effects of cumulative feedback on consumption for money as a commodity. Subjects were exposed to ranges of unit prices with or without a cumulative feedback bar on the computer screen indicating monetary earnings. For all participants in this study, con… more

Date: May 2001

Creator: Bailey, Kathleen

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

A Comparative Evaluation of Outcomes between Indirect Analyses and Functional Analytic Procedures

While descriptive assessment outcomes show limited correspondence with experimental analysis outcomes, they are still often used in the treatment of problem behavior. The most effective way of treating problem behavior is by manipulating its controlling variables; however, if descriptive analyses are not depicting accurate environment-behavior relations, then treatments based off of descriptive analysis results have a higher chance of failing. The current study looks to replicate and extend the… more

Date: August 2018

Creator: Basham, Annika J

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Establishing Appropriate Toileting Behavior in an Adult Female with Developmental Disabilities and Severe Self-Injurious Behavior

The participant was a 52 year-old woman, diagnosed with a profound intellectual disability, who engaged in high rates of severe self-injurious behaviors (SIB) predominantly in the forms of head banging and head hitting. A series of analyses and interventions was implemented to establish appropriate toileting behavior in the natural environment. Treatment consisted of conjugate reinforcement for optimal toilet positioning with the absence of SIB, episodic positive reinforcement of eliminating in… more

Date: May 2019

Creator: Bayliss, Kathleen

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Correspondence Between Verbal Behavior About Reinforcers and Performance Under Schedules of Reinforcement.

Important advancements have been made in the identification of reinforcers over the past decade. The use of preference assessments has become a systematic way to identify preferred events that may function as reinforcers for an individual's behavior. Typically, preference assessments require participants to select stimuli through verbal surveys or engagement with stimuli as preferred or non-preferred. Not all studies go on to directly test the effects of the preferred stimuli, and even fewer st… more

Date: August 2006

Creator: Bekker-Pace, Ruthie

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Comparison of Client Attendance, Attrition, and Outcomes in 2 Class System Packages.

Using the principles of systems analysis as a guide, this study compared two class schedule formats used by Behavior Management and Parenting Services (BMAPS) in order to address the following research questions: 1) What effects do 2 different class formats have on student attrition and appointment keeping? 2) What effects do 2 different class formats have on student outcomes on a pre and posttest assessment? 3) What effects do 2 different class formats have on staff procedures? BMAPS provi… more

Date: August 2008

Creator: Berends, Valori

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

The Effects of a Communication Training Workshop on the Verbal Behavior of Caregivers

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a workshop designed to train adults to use supportive verbal behavior during distressful situations. Participants were trained to provide descriptive, empathetic and hopeful statements using instructions, rationales, modeling, role-play, feedback, and rehearsal. A pre-post design was used to analyze the effects of the training on verbal and non-verbal behaviors of four females during simulation scenarios. Results indicate all four participants provided … more

Date: August 2010

Creator: Blell, Zainab D.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

The Effects of Response Restriction on Non-Socially Maintained Self-Injury

This study examined the effects of response restriction (blocking and protective equipment) on subsequent durations of self-injury with two female participants with developmental disabilities. First, a functional analysis was conducted with each participant to identify potential maintaining variables of the self-injury. Second, access to the response was systematically restricted in a multiple schedule restriction paradigm. A baseline extended alone was conducted without the restriction compone… more

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Date: May 2003

Creator: Blevins, Travis

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Interactions of equivalence and other behavioral relations: Simple successive discrimination training.

The experimenter asked if documented equivalence class membership would influence the development of shared discriminative stimulus function established through simple successive discrimination training. In Experiment 1, equivalence classes were established with two sets of 9 stimuli. Common stimulus functions were then trained within or across the equivalence classes. Greater acquisition rates of the simple discriminations with stimuli drawn from within the equivalence classes were observed. I… more

Date: December 2009

Creator: Brackney, Ryan

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Caregivers' Use of Social Reinforcement in a Large Residential Facility

Behavior-specific praise has been shown to increase rate of desired behaviors for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, though it is rarely used by caregivers in residential facilities for adults with disabilities. Prompting in the form of tactile stimulation has been demonstrated to increase rate of behavior-specific praise delivered by teachers and caregivers. The purpose of the current study was to increase the quantity and quality of behavior-specific praise statemen… more

Date: December 2018

Creator: Brown, Madison McMurray

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Within-session session changes in responding as a function of habituation vs. satiation.

Behavior analysts refer to a decrease in response rate following repeated, contingent presentations of a reinforcing stimulus as a product of satiation. Other evidence suggests that these decreases may often be due to habituation to the sensory properties of the reinforcing stimulus. The investigation reported here sought to determine whether decreases in operant responding by 3 adults with developmental disabilities were due to satiation or habituation. During baseline, participants placed pok… more

Date: August 2004

Creator: Buckner, Lloyd Robert

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Evaluating the Effects of Public Postings on Energy Conservation Behavior at a Public University

This study evaluated the effects of public postings on energy conservation behavior at a public university, using a multiple baseline design across three settings; bathrooms break rooms, and conference rooms. The behavior of building occupants was recorded to assess the frequency at which those individuals would turn lights off upon exiting an unoccupied room. The independent variables implemented by experimenters (light-switch plate stickers and laminated signs) had little to no effects on cum… more

Date: August 2011

Creator: Canisz, Eleni

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

A Comparison of Brief Versus Extended Paired-Choice Preference Assessment Outcomes.

Few studies have systematically evaluated whether preferences can reliably be identified using brief procedures. Typically, studies have used brief procedures to select potential reinforcers for use in intervention procedures. A total of 17 food and leisure paired-choice preference assessments were administered to 10 subjects in order to evaluate the extent to which the results of a brief (i.e., single-session) assessment correspond with those from more extended procedures (i.e., 5 sessions).… more

Date: December 2005

Creator: Cason, Caroline Adelaide

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Immediate and subsequent effects of response-independent food delivery on problem behavior maintained by food.

The immediate and subsequent effects of response-independent food delivery on problem behavior maintained by food were investigated. A functional analysis indicated that the participant's problem behavior was maintained by tangible (food) reinforcement. In a subsequent analysis, each occurrence of problem behavior produced a bite of wafer in the first and third components of mixed and multiple schedules, while either response-independent food or extinction was presented in the second componen… more

Date: May 2008

Creator: Cherryholmes, Lauren A.

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Identification of environmental determinants of behavior disorders through functional analysis of precursor behaviors

Methods for the determining the functional properties of problem behaviors are necessary for the design of successful treatments. Many of the currently utilized methodologies are chosen based on their speed, ease of application or for the perceived risk-reduction they afford. However, when thoroughly analyzed many of these methods fall short of their intended purpose. The current study attempted to assess dangerous problem behavior through a functional assessment of functionally related precurs… more

Date: May 2001

Creator: Churchill, Robert

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

open access

Effects of Training Accurate Component Strokes Using Response Constraint and Self-evaluation on Whole Letter Writing.

This study analyzed the effects of a training package containing response constraint, self-evaluation, reinforcement, and a fading procedure on written letter components and whole letter writing in four elementary school participants. The effect on accuracy of written components was evaluated using a multiple-baseline-across components and a continuous probe design of components, as well as pre-test, baseline, and post-test measures. The results of this study show that response constraint and s… more

Date: December 2006

Creator: Cline, Tammy Lynn

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries

Reliability of Treatment Integrity Assessment with Multiple Observers: Can Agreement Be Assumed?

Interobserver agreement (IOA) was calculated across three participant dyads for a generalized treatment integrity tool. No dyads achieved 80% agreement during baseline. Task clarification was piloted as an intervention for two of the three dyads. Form agreement produced stabilization in both dyads and improvement in one dyad. Time agreement did not improve but demonstrated marked trends in one dyad.

Date: May 2022

Creator: Cohen, Lindsay Anne

Item Type: Thesis or Dissertation

Partner: UNT Libraries