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Theses/Dissertations

Western Michigan University

Developmental Psychology

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Teaching Matching-To-Sample To Low-Performing Children With Autism, Blaire E. Michelin Jun 2018

Teaching Matching-To-Sample To Low-Performing Children With Autism, Blaire E. Michelin

Dissertations

Matching-to-sample is a basic procedure used in most programs for pre-school children with autism. However, a few children fail to acquire this skill with standard matching-to-sample procedures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate an alternative method for teaching matching-to-sample to those children when the traditional methods are likely to fail. First, simple discriminations with the matching materials were taught, then the discriminations were made more complex across successive sessions. Initially, all discriminations were taught using bins to separate the comparison stimuli. All three children acquired matching-to-sample, which generalized to matching novel two-dimensional stimuli, not placed in bins.


The Acquisition Of Spelling By Developmentally Disabled Adults: An Examination Of Some Variations Of The Look-Cover-Write-Check Cycle, Mark Stafford Jun 1990

The Acquisition Of Spelling By Developmentally Disabled Adults: An Examination Of Some Variations Of The Look-Cover-Write-Check Cycle, Mark Stafford

Masters Theses

Five developmentally disabled adults were taught to spell groups of five words using the look-over-write-check cycle, in which the subject looks at the word, covers it, writes the word, then looks at the word again to check the accuracy of spelling. Four variations of this procedure were used with each of the subjects including requiring the subjects to spell the words out loud in the "look" component. The results showed that the subjects required fewer sessions and fewer trials to spell the five words when the out loud requirement was in effect. Approximations generated as the subjects learned to spell …


Utilizing Daily Repertoire Behavior To Facilitate The Acquisition Of Generalized Imitation In Profoundly Mentally Retarded Adults, Scott A. Kremser Jun 1988

Utilizing Daily Repertoire Behavior To Facilitate The Acquisition Of Generalized Imitation In Profoundly Mentally Retarded Adults, Scott A. Kremser

Masters Theses

Two procedures were compared in teaching the skill of generalized imitation. One procedure incorporated some of the subject's daily behavior repertoire into the imitation training paradigm. Another similar procedure utilized non-repertoire responses during training. Two male profoundly mentally retarded adults were trained with each procedure. Overall, the acquisition of generalized imitation was facilitated by incorporating daily repertoire behaviors into the imitation training packages. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in levels of generalized imitation as a function of training condition. Results were variable across subjects however, and it is questionable whether the difference is clinically significant. Further and more refined …


Stimulus Overselectivity: An Investigation Of Determinants, Margaret T. Mcglinchey Jun 1988

Stimulus Overselectivity: An Investigation Of Determinants, Margaret T. Mcglinchey

Dissertations

Stimulus overselectivity refers to a phenomenon in which, after discrimination training with a multiple component stimulus, behavior fails to come under the control of all of the components of the stimulus. After a screening process based on past research, a group of children with specific learning disabilities was categorized into one of two groups: overselective and non-overselective. Both groups were exposed to training and testing for generalization. All children in both groups evidenced "stimulus overselectivity" during these tests for generalization. Generalization training subsequently reduced stimulus overselectivity for all students. There were few differences between the two groups. The results suggest …


Training Mildly Retarded Adults To Generate Effective Solutions To Daily Living Problems, Dennis Munk Apr 1988

Training Mildly Retarded Adults To Generate Effective Solutions To Daily Living Problems, Dennis Munk

Masters Theses

Two mildly mentally retarded adults, living in a semi-independent residential program received training in solving common social problems. The subjects were trained to perform five problem-solving component skills: (1) identifying the problem, (2) defining a goal, (3) evaluating a solution, (4) evaluating alternative solutions, and (5) selecting a best solution. The five component skills were trained in sequence, as a multiple-baseline across skill behaviors design. It was hypothesized that the training program would successfully improve the subjects' ability to perform the component skills when solving trained and unfamiliar problems. The unfamiliar problems were included to test generalization of skill. The …


The Effects Of Self-Evaluation Procedures On The Numbers And Accuracy Of Alphabet Letter Writing Behavior Of Preschool Children, Kevin R. Coleman Aug 1985

The Effects Of Self-Evaluation Procedures On The Numbers And Accuracy Of Alphabet Letter Writing Behavior Of Preschool Children, Kevin R. Coleman

Masters Theses

This study assessed the effects of self-evaluation procedures on the rate and accuracy of alphabet letter writing. Three preschoolers served as subjects. During Phase I, students were given instructions, and the experimenter modeled accurate letter writing. During Phase II, instructions and modeling were again presented. Additionally, the students were given a rule statement that instructed them to use a stamper and a stamp pad to stamp their paper after first writing each of a row of four letters. The results indicated that the introduction of self-evaluation procedures was associated with immediate increases in frequency of attempts, but a decrease in …


The Effects Of An Instructional Package On Study Question Completion Skills Of High School Students, Jeffery David Montgomery Aug 1983

The Effects Of An Instructional Package On Study Question Completion Skills Of High School Students, Jeffery David Montgomery

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate the effects of an instructional package on study question behaviors. The instructional package, incorporating contingent reinforcement, modeling, feedback, contingency contracting and a programmed instruction format was implemented to train four study question answering behaviors identified through task analysis. Each subject demonstrated ability to perform the four behaviors with increased accuracy on experimental measures following training. Results indicated that the instructional package was effective in training increased accuracy in each instructional behavior for each subject. Generalized performance of these behaviors in the classroom environment, assessed through comparison of classroom grades and study …