Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Psychology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Leveraging Stimulus Equivalence To Teach Piano To Children With Autism, Krystin Katherine Hussain Dec 2018

Leveraging Stimulus Equivalence To Teach Piano To Children With Autism, Krystin Katherine Hussain

Theses and Dissertations

Music-based interventions have been shown to benefit individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by improving deficits such as social behaviors, communication, and vocalizations, as well as reducing behavioral excesses such as stereotypies (Hill, 2015). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of equivalence-based instruction (EBI) on acquisition of piano skills, novel piano performance, and generalization and maintenance of taught and untaught piano skills among children with autism. Training consisted of auditory-visual musical stimuli in a matching-to-sample format. Training was conducted using simultaneous matching in a one-to-many arrangement (relations between one stimulus are trained to multiple …


Are We Safe Yet? Re-Evaluation Of The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Safety (Pdc-Safety), Nelmar Jacinto Cruz Dec 2018

Are We Safe Yet? Re-Evaluation Of The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Safety (Pdc-Safety), Nelmar Jacinto Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the utility of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist- Safety (PDC-Safety) (Martinez-Onstott, Wilder, & Sigurdsson, 2016) by comparing the effectiveness of a PDC-Safety indicated intervention with a PDC-Safety nonindicated intervention. The interventions targeted participants’ hand washing behavior at a clinic serving children with intellectual disabilities. Failure to wash hands at appropriate times could pose health risks to both behavior technicians and clients, so efforts should be made to increase the likelihood of hand washing. The results of the PDC-Safety suggested that the antecedents and information domain was most problematic. First, a non-indicated intervention, which included access to additional materials …


A Preliminary Examination Of The Effects Of Repeated Observation On Productivity As An Analog Of Micromanagement, Christopher Lytle Dec 2018

A Preliminary Examination Of The Effects Of Repeated Observation On Productivity As An Analog Of Micromanagement, Christopher Lytle

Theses and Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effect of repeated observation on work-related behavior in an analog setting. The goal was to determine the effects of repeated intrusive observation on productivity. The study was designed as an analog analysis of the effects of micromanagement in an organizational setting. Participants were 60 undergraduate psychology students at a private university in the southeastern United States. A between-subjects group design was used to evaluate the effects of observation. Participants were exposed to varying levels of observation, (nine, two, and zero instances per session), and their productivity and accuracy on a data entry task were measured. …


A Comparison Of Verbal And Standard Selection-Based Preferences Using The Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement Method For Children With Developmental Disabilities, Devon Mcmahon Nov 2018

A Comparison Of Verbal And Standard Selection-Based Preferences Using The Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement Method For Children With Developmental Disabilities, Devon Mcmahon

Theses and Dissertations

Since DeLeon and Iwata (1996) published their seminal study on multiple stimulus preference assessments, the research surrounding preference assessments utilizing multiple stimuli has grown immensely. This has led to many variations of DeLeon and Iwata’s (1996) original preference assessment. Variations have included preference assessments conducted with videos, pictures, and activities. We compared the results of a standard tangible multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment (MSWO) to a verbal multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment with four individuals with developmental disabilities. A reinforcer assessment was conducted following each preference assessment to assess accuracy. Idiosyncratic results were found across participants. For two …


“Get On The Line”: Improving Pass-Naming In Collegiate Women’S Lacrosse Using Negative Reinforcement And Signaling, Jesse Depaolo Jul 2018

“Get On The Line”: Improving Pass-Naming In Collegiate Women’S Lacrosse Using Negative Reinforcement And Signaling, Jesse Depaolo

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the separate and combined effects of negative reinforcement and signaling to improve the athletic performance of college athletes. Eleven female varsity lacrosse players who attended a private college in the southeastern United States participated in the study. The team coaches requested help with increasing “pass-naming,” (i.e., saying the name of an intended receiver before the ball was passed), to alert her of an incoming pass. The following procedure included a negative reinforcement component, whereby players could reduce daily required sprints by calling out intended receivers’ names to alert them of incoming passes. An additional procedure included affixing …


The Effects Of Rapport Building On Performance And Discretionary Effort, Scott Michael Curry Jul 2018

The Effects Of Rapport Building On Performance And Discretionary Effort, Scott Michael Curry

Theses and Dissertations

A common concern among business professionals is that rapport building or positive relationships in the workplace can enhance organizational outcomes and employee satisfaction. However, limited research has systematically tested and evaluated the effects of rapport on performance or discretionary effort. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of rapport building on performance and discretionary effort in comparison to no rapport building in an analogue setting. Participants in the present study consisted of 48 undergraduate students who were placed into either the rapport or non-rapport group. Participants completed a check-processing task to evaluate performance and were …


Quantifying Errors Of Bias And Discriminability Emitted By Children During A Matching-To-Sample Task, Courtney Hannula Jul 2018

Quantifying Errors Of Bias And Discriminability Emitted By Children During A Matching-To-Sample Task, Courtney Hannula

Theses and Dissertations

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) make errors during discrimination training regardless of antecedent or consequent procedures implemented to decrease errors. Further, these interventions are not guided by the source of errors. Two equations from Davison and Tustin’s (1978) framework can quantify errors due to bias and discriminability, known as log𝑏 and log𝑑, respectively. This framework categorized errors emitted by children diagnosed with ASD during a matching-to-sample task. The task was displayed on a touchscreen device in which touching a sample stimulus at the beginning of each trial resulted in the appearance of two comparison stimuli. Researchers delivered reinforcement …


Does Training Multiple Alternative Responses Mitigate Resurgence?, Kelsey Purcell Jul 2018

Does Training Multiple Alternative Responses Mitigate Resurgence?, Kelsey Purcell

Theses and Dissertations

Resurgence is a type of treatment relapse that occurs when an extinguished behavior reappears once a more recently reinforced behavior is placed on extinction. Resurgence of problem behavior often occurs when treatment-integrity errors are made during the implementation of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). Training multiple alternative responses shows a promise in mitigating resurgence of problem behavior compared to training only a single response. The current study used laboratory methods to systematically replicate previous studies comparing the effects of more typical-DRA training with serial-DRA training on the magnitude of resurgence. Extensions included children as participants, topographically different target and …


An Evaluation Of Static Versus Dynamic Instructional Stimuli On Generalization Of Action Tacts, Shana Renee Fentress Jul 2018

An Evaluation Of Static Versus Dynamic Instructional Stimuli On Generalization Of Action Tacts, Shana Renee Fentress

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have noted that children with autism have difficulty generalizing responses to stimuli outside of those used in training. Some studies have analyzed ways to promote generalization such as using concurrent training or using stimuli that would be most similar to those found in the natural environment. Little research, however, has investigated strategies for promoting generalization of action tacts. The current study investigated two different types of stimulus delivery forms: static (i.e., pictures), which are typically used during instruction, and dynamic (i.e., videos), which may provide stimulation closer to that which a child would encounter in a natural setting. Findings …


The Effect Of A Mediation-Blocking Task On The Acquisition Of Instructive Feedback Targets, Amelisa Dressel May 2018

The Effect Of A Mediation-Blocking Task On The Acquisition Of Instructive Feedback Targets, Amelisa Dressel

Theses and Dissertations

The inclusion of instructive feedback (IF) targets in discrete trial training (DTT) has been shown to increase the efficiency of DTT procedures. However, the behavioral mechanism underlying the effectiveness of this procedure has not been determined. Researchers have suggested that students self-echo the feedback, which mediates later responding. The present study sought to understand the role of self-echoics in the acquisition of untaught targets. The three experimental conditions were 1) a typical IF procedure, 2) a vocal mediation-blocking procedure, in which the participants were asked to engage in a competing vocal response immediately after the IF was presented, and 3) …


Increasing Employee-Guest Interactions Using A Guest-Delivered Token Economy At A Zoological Facility, Cassie Maureen Vergason Apr 2018

Increasing Employee-Guest Interactions Using A Guest-Delivered Token Economy At A Zoological Facility, Cassie Maureen Vergason

Theses and Dissertations

Token economies have been used for many years to improve a multitude of behaviors in a variety of settings. However, research on token economies as an intervention to improve customer service-related behaviors of employees in organizations is limited. The current study assessed this issue by evaluating a guest-delivered token economy to improve employee-guest interactions at a zoological facility. Results showed increases of 35.3% and 45.0% in correct employee-guest interactions in each intervention phase compared to baseline, thus suggesting that a guest-delivered token economy is an effective way to improve customer service (guest interactions)-related behaviors. Limitations of the current study and …


Using The Operant Model Of Effective Supervision To Predict Employee Engagement For Leaders In A Hospital System, David Patrick Kelley Iii Mar 2018

Using The Operant Model Of Effective Supervision To Predict Employee Engagement For Leaders In A Hospital System, David Patrick Kelley Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership has been a popular topic of conversation for decades. Despite an abundant amount of attention the topic has received, the literature seems to fall short when describing what effective leaders do in a day to day context. A theory introduced by Komaki (1986), called the Operant Model of Effective Supervision (OMES), was designed to answer the tough questions about leadership that have been left unanswered. Research on the theory has resulted in multiple methods to accurately measure leadership behavior within an operant paradigm. One of these methods is an in-basket assessment that has been shown to reliably capture day …