Psychology Commons^™

Functional Analysis And Intervention Of Multiply Controlled Behavior, Nicole Carbonelli Rosa

Thesis Projects

More than one function may control problem behavior. Functional analysis helps identify the potential sources of reinforcement that maintain the problem behavior. Interventions such as functional communication training (FCT) and extinction (EXT) have proven effective in decreasing problem behavior and increasing compliance among children with intellectual disabilities. This paper aims to conduct a functional analysis and treatment for children with multiply controlled behaviors by replicating and extending the works of Neidert, Iwata, and Dozier (2005). Intervention procedures consisted of FCT and EXT and were based on each relevant function of behavior for each participant. As a result of the intervention …

Homogeneous Or Diverse: Examining The Inclusiveness Of Behavior-Analytic Services For The Black Population, April Jefferson

Capstone Projects

Black and African Americans are the second largest minority group in the United States. Studies show that the prevalence of autism in children are similar by race and ethnicity, making Black and African Americans the second largest minority group with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. For behavior analyst servicing this population, there is an obligation to address the needs of these individuals and acknowledge their backgrounds and diversities. This study highlights areas that affect the quality of services provided to the Black and African American community and evaluate the inclusiveness of these areas.

Determining The Utilization Of Trial-Based Functional Analyses In A Clinical Setting, Cayla Thomas

Thesis Projects

The functional analysis (FA) methodology is the gold standard of functional assessments to inform function-based interventions in applied behavior analysis. Behavior analysts report underuse of the FA methodology in clinical practice due to lack of time and resources and safety concerns. The trial-based FA (TBFA) is a brief form of the FA that is conducted in the natural environment and to date has mainly been conducted in classrooms. When compared with a standard FA, TBFAs take less consecutive time to complete, there are fewer instances of maladaptive behavior, data collection is simpler, and data analysis requires less expertise. The current …

Social Exclusion And Negative Affect: The Impact Of Mentalized Affectivity, Anna Voicu

Honors Program Theses

Social exclusion has been widely associated with feelings of anxiety, depressed mood, anger, and hostility. Previous literature indicates that mentalized affectivity (MA), a sophisticated form of emotional regulation, may be effective in mitigating emotional experience after social exclusion. In light of this research, our study sought to examine the predictive value of mentalized affectivity and inclusion/exclusion on emotion. Participants (N = 170) completed measures of mentalized affectivity and positive and negative affect, in addition to playing a virtual ball-tossing game that would randomly assign them to an inclusion or exclusion condition. Multiple regression analyses revealed that mentalized affectivity predicted both …

Exploring Third Party Moral Transgressions In Preschool-Age Children, Courtney Trohn

Honors Program Theses

The present study investigates agent-neutral application of moral norms in preschool-age children and seeks to replicate a previous study that found children as young as 3 to actively intervene in third-party moral transgressions. The relationship between verbal ability and moral intervention is also explored. In an experimental research design, 3, 4, and 5-year-olds and two puppets each created their own drawing together, after which one confederate puppet left the room. The participants were randomly assigned to either a Harm condition (in which the absent puppet’s drawing was destroyed by the remaining puppet) or a Control condition (in which an extra …

A Comparison Of Models In Video Modeling To Teach Vocal Skills, Caroline Phan

Thesis Projects

Video modeling is a strategy used to teach learners new skills by viewing a video of a model engaging in a target behavior and then having the learner imitate the behavior (Cooper et al., 2019). Much research has been conducted on the effectiveness of video modeling when compared to in vivo modeling, but there are still various limitations to consider, including its effectiveness as a solo intervention, who are the most impactful models to include, and the effectiveness of the intervention for certain populations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of video modeling as a solo …

The Effectiveness Of A Skills Assessment Sequence On Evaluating Independent Handwriting, Rebecca Mischuck

Thesis Projects

Skills assessments are an important component of effective applied behavior analysis services. Rapid skills assessments can help clinicians determine whether an observed skill deficit requires intervention in the form of changing reinforcement contingencies or through teaching. Response prompt assessments determine which prompt type is most effective and efficient for individuals. Both assessments provide a more comprehensive approach to developing effective skill acquisition services. The purpose of this study was to combine the rapid skills and prompt type assessments into one assessment sequence. An adapted alternating treatments design examined the effectiveness of first assessing reinforcement alone; then a response prompt assessment …

Comparing Operant Discrimination Training And Response Contingent Pairing For Eliciting Vocalizations, Jade Grimes

Thesis Projects

Delays to language acquisition can have negative impacts to a child’s academic and social interactions. Stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) is a clinical procedure used to increase vocalizations by early language learners. Alternative interventions to SSP include response contingent pairing (RCP) and operant discrimination training (ODT). The results from previous research in RCP and ODT have limited benefit to clinical applications because verbal approximations were not reinforced, and they did not bring the vocalizations under stimulus control. The present study sought to evaluate the use of RCP and ODT to determine which intervention increased vocalizations. Two children aged 2- and 6-years-old, diagnosed …

Eye-Movements Of Vocal Performers Across Experience Levels, Charlotte Kelly

Honors Program Theses

Expertise, such as music expertise, is commonly studied through an analysis of eye-movements. Experts typically have fewer fixations, longer saccade amplitudes, and thus greater perceptual spans when reading music than non-experts. Most musical expertise literature is focused on instrumentalists and sight-reading. The current study aimed to extend the research to include vocalists and to see if there are still expertise effects when both experts and non-experts are familiar with the piece of music. Participants were recruited to sing a piece from their choir once when they had first started learning the piece and again right before their concert. They were …

Stardust In Cedar Forest: Suicide Prevention Through Interactive Theatre For College Students, Ghina Fawaz

Honors Program Theses

Suicide can impact people from all walks of life, and for those who are vulnerable to circumstances that amplify suicidal ideation, prevention programs can be effective methods to provide relief and promote awareness to community members. The World Health Organization (2021) highlighted a global need for prevention programs targeted toward young people as suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 15-29. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of interactive theatre as a form of psychoeducation and suicide prevention for college students. This study found that interactive theatre had a positive impact as …

Turning Teams Of Champions Into Championship Teams: A Thematic Analysis Of Identity Entrepreneurship In College Football, Marlee Johnson

Honors Program Theses

Identity entrepreneurship, a leader’s active construction of a shared team identity, has become a pertinent research topic in sports leadership (Slater et al., 2015; Steffens et al., 2018) In line with social identity theory and the social identity approach to sports, recent research suggests that identity entrepreneurship is how leaders have the capacity to turn “teams of champions into championship teams” (Fransen, et al., 2015b, p. 98; Rees et al. 2015). This study was conducted to examine the difference in how the head coach of a championship team and the head coach of a non-championship team constructed social identity over …

A Functional Analysis Of Physical Activity In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Nicole Ramirez

Thesis Projects

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) recognizes the staggering rates of obesity affecting children and adolescents in the United States. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a higher risk of obesity than neurotypical children (Kahathuduwa et al., 2019). The CDC (2017) acknowledges the lack of physical activity as a major factor leading to obesity. This investigation aims to determine the effectiveness of a reinforcer in increasing the levels of physical activity in children diagnosed with ASD. A subsequent aim is to address a measurement limitation identified in Knerr (2020) by using both an observation recording system as …

Comparing The Effects Of Feedback Types On Caregiver Training Of Hispanic Parents, Natasha Cintron

Thesis Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify the preference of feedback types used during parent training with Hispanic caregivers. Knowing the caregiver’s preference of feedback formats allowed for the intervention plan to be designed based on caregiver choice and might enhance the likelihood that the treatment will be carried out as designed by the caregiver. A secondary purpose of the current study was to incorporate cultural values, specifically of Hispanic caregivers in the intervention process. By including cultural components in the intervention, practitioners may improve their cultural competency. Parent training protocols and behavioral skills training (BST) was conducted in …

A Review Of Behavior Analysis In Education, Devon A. Warner

Capstone Projects

Most education research in applied behavior analysis (ABA) is specific to early learners, which presents significant opportunity to better determine the effectiveness of various instruction methods for college-aged learners (CALs). Within the context of pedagogy, or method of teaching, ABA is the scientific study of the effect of instructional techniques on student behaviors. The available research for college-aged learners is scattered, non-definitive, and has gaps over time. Despite declension over the past half-century, research examining evidence-based practices in education has identified multiple approaches to help instructors manage and improve individual student behaviors and academic performance for CALs. In this review, …

Evaluation Of A Vocal Mand Assessment And Vocal Mand Training Procedures: A Systematic Replication, Toni O'Connell

Thesis Projects

Numerous mand training procedures have proven effective in developing mand repertoires in children with developmental disabilities, but selection of treatments is usually arbitrary. Bourret et al. (2004) created and tested a vocal mand assessment to systematically determine an effective mand training procedure, thereby reducing the likelihood of implementing ineffective treatments. However, because a comparison between treatments was not completed, the validity of the assessment requires further investigation. This study sought to replicate and extend the findings of Bourret et al. (2004) by including a comparison between two treatments. Study 1 consisted of a replication of the vocal mand assessment and …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Extinction Relative To Baseline Measures Including And Excluding Consumption Time, Kelti Keister

Thesis Projects

Extinction bursts are a widely discussed phenomenon. The data analysis methods used to analyze the effects of extinction bursts have not been examined thoroughly within the field of applied behavior analysis, however. In this study, we implemented extinction procedures in a reversal design on three typically developing pre-school aged individuals. We then conducted two different data analysis methods. First, extinction effects were evaluated relative to one baseline measure including reinforcer consumption time and one baseline measure excluding reinforcer consumption time. Second, extinction was evaluated at the whole- and within-session (last five minutes of baseline and first ten minutes of extinction) …

Representing Cfam's Visitors: Participatory Action Research Approach, Lindsay Fulop

Honors Program Theses

Using the participatory action research model, this study gathered preliminary data to determine the Cornell Fine Arts Museum’s (CFAM) current audience and lay the groundwork for future diversity and inclusion initiatives by assessing visitors’ experience of the museum and how it might be improved. Though the museum staff’s current practices closely resemble the research model, this is the first study to use it as a framework for conducting audience research alongside the staff. As this methodology is not common within the museum sphere, this study assessed the viability of participatory action research for further use within the field. The participatory …

Evaluating The Diverted Attention Condition In A Trial-Based Functional Analysis, Kyle Frank

Thesis Projects

The diverted attention condition of a functional analysis is similar to the standard attention condition; however, instead of the therapist engaging in another task and ignoring the participant, the therapist provides attention to a confederate while diverting attention away from the participant. Contingent upon the occurrence of problem behavior, attention is diverted back to the participant. This study evaluated the diverted attention condition using a trial-based functional analysis format. Results of the standard functional analysis for both subjects were undifferentiated, whereas results of the trial-based functional analysis showed an attention function for one subject through the use of a diverted …

Teaching Safe Dog-Greeting Skills With Parents And Children, Ashley Torres

Thesis Projects

Dog-bites pose a significant problem for children’s and dogs' abilities to live an enhanced life. The majority of dog-bite incidents are to children between the ages of 5 and 9 years old and often dogs are euthanized for the crime (Wilson, Dwyer, & Bennett, 2003). There is limited research on a behavior analytic dog-bite prevention intervention that is both effective and generalizable to the natural environment. Yankelevitz et al. (2019) examined a six-step dog-greeting protocol to teach children how to greet unfamiliar dogs appropriately, but following acquisition the dog-greeting skills generalized poorly to the natural environment. The purpose of the …

A Functional Analysis Of Physical Activity In Children With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Alexandra Knerr

Thesis Projects

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends children get 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day, but few children with intellectual and developmental disabilities meet these guidelines. Determining the function of physical activity may lead to more effective interventions for increasing physical activity levels in these children. The present study adapted the methods of Larson, Normand, Morley, and Miller (2014) to conduct a functional analysis of physical activity in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For two subjects, rates of physical activity were measured using pedometers in five conditions: Verbal attention, adult interaction, music, ignore, and control. …

Validity Analysis Of A Modified Questions About Behavioral Function (Qabf) Assessment: Preliminary Analysis, Christina Marie Sheppard

Thesis Projects

The Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) is a 25-item rating scale about the variables that are potentially maintaining problem behavior, and it is administered in an interview format to an informant. According to previous research, the psychometric soundness (such as validity) of the QABF and other indirect assessments is low, yet these instruments are used frequently in practice. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether specifying a recall period would improve the validity of the QABF (i.e., correspondence of QABF results with functional analysis results). A QABF, a modified version with timeframes (QABF-M), and a functional analysis …

Evaluating Correspondence Between Preference Assessments Requiring Motor And Vocal Responses, Marie Gilbert

Thesis Projects

Current practice is for reinforcers to be determined through systematic preference assessments prior to incorporating those items as reinforcers for behavior change programs. Historically, preference is typically determined by these assessments via a non-vocal response (i.e., subjects touch the item they prefer). It is possible in clinical settings, however, therapists simply ask an experienced learner what he or she “would like to work for” prior to commencing discrete trial training. It is unclear whether answers to these questions would align with subjects’ non-vocal responses in a more formal assessment. The current study compared subjects’ responses during two multiple-stimulus-without-replacement (MSWO) preference …

Varying Inter-Stimulus And Inter-Trial Intervals During Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing: A Translational Extension Of Autoshaping, Patricia Eberhardt

Thesis Projects

Stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) is a respondent conditioning procedure often implemented to elicit vocalizations in children with language delays. Unfortunately, the research showing the effect of increased rates of vocalizations is mixed. Through analogies drawn between SSP and autoshaping, da Silva and Williams (under review) identified variables potentially responsible for increasing the efficacy of SSP (da Silva & Williams, under review). The present study sought to evaluate the relative duration of the inter-trial interval (ITI) and the inter-stimulus interval (ISI). Specifically, the duration of the ITI was systematically varied from 15 s to 60 s and the value of ISI was …

Gradually Transitioning To A New Taxonomy: Thinning, Shaping, And Fading, Melanie Agrachov

Capstone Projects

Currently, there is a large body of work in the basic and applied literature about schedule thinning and the underlying concepts associated with these procedures. However, some of the terminology used in this research area (e.g., shaping, fading, and thinning) has been applied inconsistently, suggesting that researchers and practitioners might misunderstand these terms. In this paper, I will discuss the unsystematic use of terminology found in the literature describing schedule thinning procedures, as well as other gradual change procedures, more generally. Additionally, I will propose a new taxonomy of gradual behavior change procedures in the hope of creating a more …

Using Video-Based Training To Teach Students The Conservative Dual-Criteria Method, Chandler Pelfrey

Thesis Projects

Practicing behavior analysts and registered behavior technicians (RBTs) are required to base their practices on scientific evidence. Analyzing single-subject data is among the most important behavior-analytic practices because it guides clinical decision-making. Although prior research has shown the conservative dual-criteria (CDC) method is accurate (Fisher, Kelley, & Lomas, 2003) and can be used with real graphs like those used in behavior-analytic practice (Lanovaz, Huxley, & Dufour, 2017; Wolfe, Seaman, Drasgow, & Sherlock, 2018), most empirically supported training procedures involve in-person training. Because in-person training in behavior-analytic practice can be expensive, remotely administered training packages might be more viable. Using a …

Increasing Variable Play In Children With Autism Using A Lag Schedule And Stimulus Fading, Amelia Nelson

Thesis Projects

Restricted or repetitive interests are one of the hallmark characteristics of an autism diagnosis, and this characteristic can sometimes be present in a child’s toy-play. The current study explored the effects of a lag schedule and visual discriminative stimuli on the variability of selection of play items for two children with autism. The researcher used an ABAB reversal design to reinforce variability in play selection and then slowly and systematically faded the stimuli associated with the intervention. The results were idiosyncratic across participants. For one subject, the lag schedule alone maintained variable selection of toys, and the visual discriminative stimuli …

A Model For The Treatment Of Food Selectivity, Angie Van Arsdale

Thesis Projects

Research has shown antecedent interventions might be effective for treating food selectivity in the absence of consequent manipulations; however, escape extinction is the most commonly implemented intervention in feeding research. Escape extinction in the treatment of feeding disorders is an intrusive procedure that might not always be considered socially valid or feasible; therefore, it is important to evaluate other interventions prior to escape extinction. This study describes a methodology of evaluating antecedent and consequent interventions for subjects with food selectivity, progressing from least to most response effort and/or intrusiveness. For each subject, we moved through each intervention until acceptance increased …

What Is An Extinction Burst?, Kristal Huffman

Capstone Projects

Abstract

This paper will explore the effects of extinction, specifically the extinction burst. Extinction is known to be an effective and necessary process in decreasing specific behaviors (Iwata, Pace, Kalsher, Cowdery, & Cataldo, 1990). During this process, side effects might occur and the extinction burst is one of those side effects. Extinction bursts might be a problematic side effect, especially during treatment of severe behavior. This paper will explore the extinction burst in detail as well as how the term is used in both the basic and applied literature. Next, an investigation of the extinction burst as a technical term …

The Art Of Caring: Increasing Empathy Through Conversation, Joy Harlynking

Honors Program Theses

In our every day lives we use empathy more than we would assume, however a current empathy deficit has led us to wonder how we can increase our empathy. The present study aimed to find a way to increase one’s empathy, specifically through an emotional conversation with another individual. There were 61 participants who were separated into either an emotional or factual conversation group. They first took surveys including the IRI, closeness questions, and the pre Revised Eyes Test and then engaged in conversation with another participant. They then took a post Revised Eyes Test after their conversation. The results …

Mentalized Affect, Self-Acceptance, And Self-Criticism, Elizabeth Berry

Honors Program Theses

Mentalization, the ability to reflect upon and revalue emotions and thoughts, is of increasing interest to clinicians and researchers alike due to its predictive and moderating effects for adaptive behavior and positive outcomes. Mentalized affectivity, reflecting upon and revaluing one’s emotions and emotional process, has only recently been made measurable through the Mentalized Affectivity Scale (Greenberg et al., 2017). The present study sought to investigate the unexplored relationship between mentalization, more specifically mentalized affectivity, selfacceptance, and self-criticism. I hypothesized higher mentalized affectivity to correlate positively with self-acceptance and negatively with self-criticism. Participants (N = 193) were recruited through an online …