Search Results

open access

Assessing Program-Readiness for Dental/Medical Tolerance

Description: Many clients with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities (ID/DD) do not tolerate routine medical or dental procedures and may require intrusive interventions, including restraint of various types (i.e. chemical, mechanical, physical, etc.) during appointments. Graduated exposure, or stimulus fading, along with reinforcement for compliance, have been shown to increase cooperation and tolerance in some clients; however, many do not respond to these types of interventions. Nine participant… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Heath, Hayden Lee
open access

The Effects of Common and Uncommon Elements on the Emergence of Simple Discriminations

Description: A computerized program was designed to test whether arranging a common element in two, otherwise independent, 2-term correlations (stimulus-stimulus and response-stimulus) would result in emergent simple discriminative-stimulus properties for the antecedent stimulus relative to an arrangement with no common elements programmed. Data from 8 adult participants in this experiment indicate that common element arrangements led to relatively high rates of responding in the presence of the putative di… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Niland, Haven Sierra
open access

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

Description: 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

A Further Evaluation of Individual and Synthesized Contingencies within Functional Analysis Methods

Description: A functional analysis (FA) is the most commonly used assessment methodology for identifying maintaining variables influencing problem behavior. However, if an FA does not produce clear differentiation, researchers and practitioners often then modify procedures to include additional individualized variables. The interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) provides a marked departure from FA methodology and aims to include individualized factors at the initiation of the assessment… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: May 2019
Creator: Hendryx, Maggie
open access

How You Correct Matters

Description: Feedback is used in a variety of contexts to train staff and to teach individuals new skills. Despite its popularity, there is no consensus on how to deliver it. Different measures have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of feedback, such as accuracy of responses and the sequencing of feedback delivery. The purpose of this study was to compare two feedback procedures and to explore new ways to measure the effectiveness of feedback. Four undergraduate students were exposed to two conditions… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Winne, Jessica Kay
open access

Looking for Quantitative and Qualitative Measures of Teaching Interactions: A Preliminary Analysis

Description: Indicators of quality early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) include comprehensive interventions, adequately trained staff, high rates of effective instruction delivery, happy interactions between children and their teachers, and socially valid outcomes. When these are in place, high quality EIBI is more likely to increase progress that children with autism make during treatment. When not in place, progress is not as likely, as rapid, or as meaningful. To date, there is limited research… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Weir, Jade R
open access

A Comparative Evaluation of Functional Analytic Methods

Description: The individual functional analysis (FA) is the most widely used method to identify variables that influence the occurrence of problem behavior. Researchers often modify the FA after the analysis reveals undifferentiated responding. The interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) is one of the most substantial variations of the FA that builds upon the FA modifications. We evaluated the use of the two different functional analytic methods, the FA and IISCA, and the subsequent func… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Perkins, Crysta
open access

A Comparison of Observation Systems for Monitoring Engagement in an Intervention Program

Description: The measurement of engagement, or the interaction of a person with their environment, is an integral part of assessing the quality of an intervention program for young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Researchers and practitioners can and do measure engagement in many ways on the individual and group level. The purpose of this methodological study was to compare three commonly used recording systems: individual partial interval, group momentary time sampling, and group partial … more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Linden, April D.
open access

The Effects of Differential Outcomes on Audio-Visual Conditional Discriminations in Children with ASD

Description: The differential outcomes effect (DOE) refers to an observed increase in rates of acquisition of simple or conditional relations when the contingencies of reinforcement arrange for reinforcers to be uniquely correlated with a particular stimulus or response relative to conditions where the reinforcers are not uniquely correlated with either stimulus or response. This effect has been robustly documented in the literature with nonhuman subjects. This study asked whether the DOE would be observed … more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Wiist, Catherine E. C.
open access

Why Dance? The Effects of a Group Dance Period on Social Attending, On-Task Behavior, Affect, Stereotypical Behavior, and Disruptive Behavior of Clients of an Autism Treatment Program

Description: Dance is an enjoyable activity that children can engage in across the lifespan. Many children with autism have limited leisure activity, such as dance, and also have challenges in terms of overall health related to physical activity. Previous research suggests that there are both immediate and prolonged benefits of exercise. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a group dance period on on-task behavior, social attending, affect, stereotypic behavior, and disruptive beh… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Allen, Emerald Elizabeth
open access

A Comparative Evaluation of Matrix Training Arrangements

Description: A common goal of instructional techniques is to teach skills effectively and efficiently. Matrix training techniques are both effective and efficient as they allow for the emergence of untrained responding to novel stimulus arrangements, a phenomenon known as recombinative generalization. However, it is unclear which type of matrix arrangement best promotes recombinative generalization. The current study compared two common matrix training approaches, an overlapping (OV) design and a non-overla… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Cliett, Terra N.
open access

A Constructional Approach to Establishing and Maintaining Calm Canine Behavior

Description: Very few behavior-change programs with canines produce effects that persist beyond the training condition. The present study is an experimental demonstration of a constructional program that established calm patterns of behavior as alternatives to hyperactive ones. Three dogs that exhibited hyperactive patterns were chosen as subjects. Seven conditions common to canine-caretaker relationships were used to determine which factors resulted in the hyperactive patterns. Then, sitting and lying down… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Owens, Chase Jonathan
open access

Improving Staff Tutoring in a Special Education Classroom Through Active Listening Skills

Description: According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2015, Texas special education programs were rated among the lowest in the nation. School districts in the state have a substantial need for effective and efficient staff training. In this study, researchers implemented TAPS: A Talk Aloud Problem Solving Approach Packet to teach active listener qualities to staff members in a life skills special education classroom. A multiple baseline across staff members was used to evaluate the effects of the … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Neri-Hernandez, Lucero
open access

Reinforcing Variability Produces Stereotypic Behavior

Description: Behaving in novel ways is essential to the development of the types of complex performances described by the term creativity, problem solving, and perseverance. Some research suggests that response variability is an operant and a critical component of novel behavior. However, other account of novel behavior may be more parsimonious. Topographical variability has rarely been examined, nor has operant variability with organisms with baselines featuring stereotypic responding. This study examined … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Kieta, Andrew R.
open access

A Behaviorally Planned Community of Practice: A Description and Evaluation of One Area of Staff Development

Description: Staff training packages combining instructions, modeling, practice, and feedback have been shown to be effective in demonstrating skills to work in early intensive behavioral intervention, but maintenance and generalization of the skills trained are often not addressed. Establishing a community of practice, in which staff members continue to learn and develop new skill sets from one another through shared experiences and information, may lead to the endurance and maintenance of desired staff be… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Ferguson, Julia L.
open access

Caffeine’s Effects on Pausing During Alternating Work Requirements

Description: There is a significant body of literature stating that caffeine is the most widely consumed drug in the world, yet its effects on operant behavior are little understood. Some of the current research on caffeine suggests that it may play a role in altering motivational states related to transitions between previous and upcoming work requirements. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of caffeine on postreinforcement pausing during transitions between small and large fixed r… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Libman, Benjamin M.
open access

A Clinical Case Study of Rumination and Emesis in an Adult Male with Intellectual Disability

Description: An evaluation of a series of interventions was conducted for an individual who engaged in life-threatening rumination and emesis. There is substantial research indicating that the delivery of peanut butter (Barton & Barton, 1985; Greene, Johnston, Rossi, Racal, Winston, & Barron, 1991) and/or chopped bread following meals (Thibadeau, Blew, Reedy, & Luiselli, 1999), chewing gum (Rhine & Tarbox, 2009), and satiation procedures (Dudley, Johnston, & Barnes, 2002; Lyons, Rue, Luiselli, & DiGennario,… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: DeLapp, Christina M.
open access

Comparing Response Frequency and Response Effort in Reinforcer Assessments with Children with Autism

Description: Reinforcer assessments have largely relied on the use of progressive ratio (PR) schedules to identify stimuli that function as reinforcers. PR schedules evaluate the reinforcing efficacy of a stimulus by measuring the number of responses produced in order to access a stimulus as the number of required responses increases. The current evaluation extends the literature on reinforcer assessments by measuring responding under a progressive force (PF) schedule, in addition to progressive ratio requi… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Litvin, Melanie A.
open access

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

Description: 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
open access

The Effects of a Parent Training Program that is Responsive to Current Repertoire and Affect

Description: Social deficits are one of the defining symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and affect a child’s ability to build relationships with others. These deficits put children with autism at a disadvantage when most of their world is focused on building connections with others – family, friendships, and community ties. Sunny Starts, a service-learning project, was created to specifically meet the needs of families with young toddlers with autism. The primary focus of Sunny Starts is to enhance the qu… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Ogorman, Meranda Mae
open access

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Competency-Based Training Package to Teach Behavior Management Skills to Direct Support Staff

Description: Cooper, Heron and Heward define maintenance as the extent to which a learner continues to perform a target behavior after the intervention has been terminated. Testing for maintenance allows the trainer to see if gains were sustained following the termination of a treatment program. In addition, once it is shown that a learner's skills have remained in the repertoire, assessment of generalization is possible. Previous literature in behavior skills training have assessed maintenance in a variety… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Harris, Kellen-Jade S.
open access

A Laboratory Human Operant Examination of Extinction Bursts

Description: The present study examined operant extinction in a controlled setting using a human operant paradigm. Participants watched a preferred video. During the video, either the video or audio portion of the video was selectively removed, on average every 15 s. Participants could restore the video by pressing a force transducer. In one group, relatively low forces were required (250 g) and in the other relatively high forces were required (750 g). At the 20th and 30th minute during the session, th… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Lilly, Bryanna
open access

Naturalistic Study of College Drinking

Description: The prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders is rapidly increasing among college students. The use of real time monitoring in conjunction with contingency management procedures to reduce alcohol consumption has only recently been developed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to learn more about natural patterns of alcohol consumption in college-aged adults. A second goal was to evaluate a novel, handheld technology for obtaining reliable samples over extended time periods. College students wer… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Rueb, Skyler Nicole
open access

On the Further Exploration of Interactions between Equivalence Classes and Analytic Units

Description: Sidman's (2000) theory of stimulus equivalence predicts an interaction between the development of analytic units and the development of equivalence relations. Previous research has documented these interactions (stewart, Barnes-Holmes, Roche, & Smeets, 2002; Vaidya & Brackney, 2014), therefore the current study attempted to replicate the effects seen in Vaidya & Brackney, 2014 (Experiment 2). Baseline conditional discriminations were trained for two sets of three, three-member classes, while pa… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Stancato, Stefanie S.
Back to Top of Screen