Psychology Commons^™

Performance Management Training Evaluation In An Autism Treatment Facility, James D. Morrison

Dissertations

The demand for Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) has increased dramatically since 2010 (Burning Glass Technologies, 2019). A core component of a BCBA’s role is to provide supervision to Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBA) and other paraprofessionals. Currently there is a lack of research on effective supervision training in the ABA literature. This study evaluated a supervision training program based on the Operant Model of Effective Supervision developed by Komaki (1986). The training developed for this study incorporated basic OBM concepts such as behavioral pinpointing, feedback, and goal setting as well as concepts such as work sampling, which the …

Using Two Reinforcement Contingencies To Alter Teachers' Rates Of Praise, Ashleigh Eaves

Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effects of a positive and negative reinforcement contingency on teachers’ use of behavior specific praise (BSP) in the educational setting. An alternating treatments design was used across four participants in a rural, Southern elementary to determine if one or both conditions was successful in increasing the use of BSP. Data were collected on teachers’ use of BSP, general praise, general reprimands, and behavior specific reprimands (BSR). Additionally, student engagement in academically-associated and/or disruptive behaviors was measured throughout baseline, treatment, and follow-up phases. Results indicate both the positive and negative reinforcement contingency were successful in improving …

Evaluating The Effects Of Behavior Bingo On Students' Academically Engaged Behaviors, Kristi White

Dissertations

This study sought to extend the current literature regarding the use of an interdependent group contingency intervention (i.e., Behavior Bingo) for increasing students’ academically engaged behavior and decreasing students’ disruptive behaviors. Participants included three 6th grade Science teachers and their students. An ABAB design across classrooms was used to examine the effects of the Behavior Bingo intervention on students’ behaviors. Specifically, this study consisted of four phases: a) baseline, b) behavior Bingo intervention, c) withdrawal from intervention, and d) intervention reinstated. Results indicated increases in student’s academically engaged behaviors following implementation of the Behavior Bingo intervention with moderate to large …

Teaching Children With Autism To Make Independent Requests Using An Echoic-To-Mand Procedure, Michael L. Tomak

Dissertations

Mands are a vital skill for the development of a child’s communicative repertoire and are typically a major focus of early intensive behavior interventions (EIBI). Naturalistic teaching is more efficient than Discrete-Trial Training (DTT) for teaching mands (Jennet, Harris, & Delmolino, 2008); and therefore, the present study used crucial components from naturalistic teaching to teach mands in a discrete-trial format, using an echoic-to-mand procedure. This intervention increased the children’s independent vocal requests. Initially, they learned to mand for items in sight and eventually for those out of sight.

Teaching Receptive Identification To Children Who Were Unsuccessful With A Standard Training Program, Kaylee R. Tomak

Dissertations

This research strongly suggests that essentially all children with the skill of generalized matching can learn receptive identification, even if they have failed to do so, using the standard least-to-most prompting procedure. The effective alternative procedures were antecedent picture prompting (Stone & Malott, 2010), consequence picture prompting (Carp et al., 2012), and receptive-exclusion training (McIlvane et al., 1984). In addition, these procedures generally produced high levels of maintenance, and they also typically produced a high level of generalization to novel stimulus sets. However, no single alternative procedure was more effective or more efficient across all of the children. In this …

A Functional Analysis Of Losses In A Risky Choice Procedure, David W. Sottile

Dissertations

Loss chasing is a maladaptive pattern of risky behavior in which the frequency of risky behavior temporarily increases after a loss. The conditions under which loss chasing occurs are not well understood. Conditioned reinforcement appears to play a role in loss chasing, but the consideration of antecedent variables is necessary for a complete account. The purpose of this study was to test the role of (1) a stimulus that indicated the number of trials left in the session (i.e., a trial counter), and (2) the effect of the ordinal value of a trial in a risky choice task on loss …

A Parametric Analysis Of The Sunk Cost Effect, Amanda F. Devoto

Dissertations

Sunk costs are previous investments of time, effort, or money toward a goal that cannot be recovered. People often honor sunk costs by continuing to pursue a goal, despite the availability of an alternative path that would pay off faster, a phenomenon called the sunk cost effect. Prior research has identified variables that influence the sunk cost effect. One variable found in hypothetical scenario-based research and in behavior-based research (Pattison et al., 2011) has been percent of goal completed. The current study was designed to (1) replicate and extend research by Pattison and colleagues and (2) compare results from the …

A Quantitative Comparative Study Of Employee Engagement Among Full-Time Seventh-Day Adventist Pastors In The North American Division Of Seventh-Day Adventists And Its Relationship To Level Of Participation In Annual Pastoral Continuing Education (Ce), Sharon Aka

Dissertations

Problem

Research was needed to determine the relationship between pastoral CE and employee engagement to guide policy implementation as well as future efforts for pastoral professional development within the Adventist organization.

Method

This study presents a new theoretical Adventist pastor development model integrating several theories and concepts including: the call, the Seven Core Qualities of an NAD pastor framework, andragogy, CE, SDT, and employee engagement. Employee engagement was measured using Herzberg's hygiene-motivation factor employee engagement theory. Comparisons were conducted on six groups of pastors related to selfreported participation in annual CE.

Results

Major research findings indicate that pastors, perhaps inevitably …