Search Results

open access

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

Description: 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.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Measuring indices of happiness in a parent-training program.

Description: Behavior analysts have long recognized the need for direct and reliable measurement of complex behaviors that are important to society. Recently investigators have approached one of the singular most complex behaviors: happiness. Limited research, however, has explored happiness in parent-training programs with children with autism and their families. The current study applied the definitions and data systems used in Broome's 2007 study to obtain indices of happiness within a parent training p… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Ewing, Sarah A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The emergence of joint attention in a naturalistic parent training program.

Description: Behaviors related to joint attention have been described by behavior analysts and developmental psychologists alike as having a distinctly social function. Children with autism often do not emit these behaviors. Research on the collateral effects of teaching joint attention suggests far reaching consequences. Given the reported benefits of using these behaviors, and the theoretical descriptions of their function, we assessed joint attention as a collateral effect of a naturalistic parent tra… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Goettl, Elizabeth J.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Immediate and generalized effects of one component (Stay Close Tool) of a behavioral parenting curriculum.

Description: The Essential Tools for Positive Behavior Change is a behavioral parenting curriculum that is currently being disseminated throughout the state and Florida and is now being utilized in Texas to teach parents who are at risk or are founded of abuse and neglect. Research on the curriculum thus far has focused on large scale outcomes, skill acquisition of caregivers during analog role-play assessments, and scores on a written quiz. Little research has focused on generalization of classroom perfo… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Greenspan, Michelle S.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of a "Responsive Teaching Strategy" to Increase Toy Play in Young Children with Autism in an Inclusive Setting.

Description: Toy play represents one of many levels of play where children can expand their repertoires and socially interact with peers. Play typically increases in complexity as the child's repertoire develops; however, children with autism often have delayed play skills. The current study investigated the effects of using a 3-component play training procedure (choices, prompting, and consequences), replicated from a previous study, to increase simple and pretend toy play in three boys with autism. Additi… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Harder, Julianne M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Transfer of "good" and "bad" functions within stimulus equivalence classes.

Description: This study compared results of two experiments that tested transfer of function in stimulus equivalence classes in a task dissimilar to (in Experiment I) and similar to (in Experiment II) the task that trained functional responding. Eleven students from UNT participated in return for monetary compensation. Phase 1 and 2 were identical in the two experiments, in which they established stimulus equivalence classes and functional responding, respectively. Each experiment then used different tasks … more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Madrigal-Bauguss, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Is video modeling enough to teach parent-child interactions? Toward a systematic evaluation of the key components of video modeling.

Description: Parent-child interactions help set the foundation for a child's development. It is therefore important to investigate the relative efficiency and efficacy of procedures used to train them. One procedure that researchers continue to explore is video modeling. The current study evaluated the effect of a video model that displayed favorable parent-child interactions and a modified model with embedded instructions to determine if the introduction of either of these models would alter parent-child … more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Whaley-Carr, Anna Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Identifying learn units in a naturalistic training program for children with autism and their families.

Description: Behavior analysts have proposed a primary measure, the "learn unit," to evaluate educational effectiveness. Past research has indicated this is a useful approach. The benefits of "learn units" may also apply to family interventions in autism. The current analysis evaluated the rates of learn units in a naturalistic parent-training program to determine if (1) definitions of learn units previously described in the literature can be reliably applied to family interventions and (2) an increased … more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Besner, Amanda Charlotte
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

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

Description: 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
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Improving administrative operations for better client service and appointment keeping in a medical/behavioral services clinic.

Description: Appointment no-shows are a problem in healthcare organizations. It is important that appointment intake and scheduling processes are effective in both meeting client needs and efficient in meeting organizational business requirements. This study examined baseline levels of appointment keeping in a not-for-profit medical/behavioral pediatric services clinic, analyzed existing administrative processes, introduced additional appointment keeping reminders, and presented systematic, performance ma… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Hackett, Stacey Lynn
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Choices in Reinforcer Delivery

Description: The current study consisted of two experiments, both of which were comparisons of choice conditions replicated across four participants. Four typically-developing pre-school children participated in this study. Experiment 1 evaluated participants' preference for choosing consequent stimuli prior to engaging in academic tasks (pre-session choice) versus choosing consequent stimuli each time criterion for reinforcement had been met within the session (within-session choice). In Experiment 2, pref… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Law, Sarah Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of a Human Resources Information Technology Intervention on Background Check Processing in a Financial Institution: a Process Level Analysis.

Description: The human resources department of a financial institution implemented a multi-component intervention to replace a paper-based hiring system. Organization-wide impacts included changes in the background check operations. To support changes, training was conducted and procedure manuals distributed. Turn time for background checks decreased, but a combination of factors may be responsible. Other metrics are either inconclusive or suggest a confounding variable, yet quality of work did not suffe… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Mallari, Alexander David
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Increasing activities and interests in a child dually diagnosed with PDD-NOS and DS.

Description: Expanding interests may be a behavioral cusp, resulting in widespread changes across skills, and therefore is particularly relevant in intervention programs for children with autism. Little research has addressed directly increasing the diversity of activities and interests for this population. This study describes a program developed to increase activities and interests in a girl dually-diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD-NOS) and Downs syndrome (DS). A multiple-baseline desig… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Zeug, Nicole M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Retention, Endurance, Stability, and Application of Learned Performances as a Function of Training Condition

Description: A functional definition of fluency describes performance frequency ranges that predict retention, endurance, stability, application, and adduction as outcomes of practice. This experiment assessed these outcomes after different training conditions using a within-subject design. Participants in an experimental group learned new skills in a condition with rate and accuracy criteria, then in a yoked, rate-controlled condition with the same number of prompted responses and correct trials in practic… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Cohen, Jason
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Measures of reading comprehension: The effects of text type and time limits on students' performance.

Description: Although the importance of reading comprehension is generally recognized, a better understanding of the factors influencing measurement of reading comprehension may impact the ability to assess strengths and deficits. The current study examined the effects of text type and time limits on the rate of students' performance across four common assessments of reading comprehension. Results showed similarities between performance with narrative and expository texts and across time limit conditions fo… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Falke, Lisa G.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effects of Fixed- and Variable-Ratio Token Exchange Schedules on Performance with Children with Autism

Description: 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 wheth… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Greaves, Stephanie A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Evaluation of the Effects of an Abridged Parent Training Program on Parent-child Interactions in the Home

Description: This study examined the effects of a condensed parent training program on parent-child interactions in the home. Two parents participated in a positive parenting workshop that included explicit training of four skills and indirect training of two additional skills. To determine skill acquisition, both parents performed role plays and completed written exams pre- and post-training. Role play assessment results showed improvements in all skill areas for both participants. Written assessment r… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Jones-Hamilton, Allison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Observing and Attending in a Delayed Matching-to-Sample Preparation in Pigeons

Description: Pigeons worked in a titrating delay match-to-sample (TDMTS) procedure in which selecting the correct comparison stimulus increased the delay between sample offset and comparison-array onset and incorrect comparison selections decreased that delay. Prior research in our lab has shown that the stable adjusted value of the retention interval is a curvilinear function of the observing response requirement. The current study examined the effect of the distribution and predictability of observing re… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Lovelace, Bryan S.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Teaching Simple Auditory Discriminations to Students with Autism

Description: This study aimed to test the effectiveness of classroom translations of some laboratory procedures for teaching simple auditory discriminations to learners with developmental disabilities. Three participants with autism and mental retardation were trained to make topographically distinct responses in the presence of two different stimuli, either a pure tone and silence, or two tones. A portable electronic piano keyboard was used to produce tones. Delayed prompt and differential reinforcement p… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Marino, Kristine L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Utilizing staff training methods for developing a mathetics error correction procedure in a university classroom.

Description: The education community agrees that correcting student errors is important for learning. They do not agree on the components that define successful error correcting. Some theories suggest that detailed feedback facilitates adult learning and some suggest that less detail is needed for these learners. Gilbert (1962) applied the scientifically derived methods of Behavior Analysis when designing instruction. This study attempted to develop an efficient error correction procedure for university tea… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Staff, Donald Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Investigating the effects on parallel play between siblings: Teaching children with autism to emit social phrases to their typically developing sibling.

Description: 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… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Hille, Katrina J.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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