Psychology Commons^™

Teaching Siblings To Encourage And Praise Play: Supporting Interactions When One Sibling Has Autism, Holly R. Weisberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sibling relationships may be strained when one sibling is typically developing (TD) and one has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). TD siblings have been taught to encourage play in their siblings with ASD but there is limited literature examining the impact of intervention on the quality of the siblings’ relationships. In this study, we taught four TD siblings to encourage and praise play skills in their siblings with ASD as well as self-monitor those play skills. We measured changes in social-communicative behaviors during siblings’ interactions. All TD siblings learned the targeted play skills and increased social-communicative behaviors. Only …

Telehealth Caregiver Training: Treating Food Selectivity Without Extinction, Christina M. Alaimo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Telehealth behavioral interventions are becoming increasingly necessary given limited accessibility for in-person services; while there is a growing evidence-base for these interventions, there are few applications for pediatric feeding disorders. Those studies that have evaluated telehealth feeding interventions have done so only after children received some form of in-person services. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a telehealth caregiver training package to teach caregivers to implement an alternative to escape extinction feeding intervention in their home to treat their child’s food selectivity. All three caregivers demonstrated high levels of correct performance following training and all children demonstrated increases …

The Effects Of Constant And Descending Criterion-Level Frequencies On Skill Acquisition Outcomes, Anna Budd

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Higher levels of performance during skill acquisition predict higher levels of response maintenance, but less is known about how many observations of high levels of performance are needed to produce this effect of criterion levels. Across two experiments, we analyzed multiple criterion-level frequency values, or the number of observations of criterion-level performance during teaching. In Experiment 1, we taught children with disabilities target skills to 90% accuracy using constant criterion-level frequencies: one day versus three consecutive days. Across three participants and five comparisons, participants required fewer sessions to meet the terminal acquisition performance criterion when the frequency value was set …

Mitigating Resurgence In Functional Communication Training: Teaching Varied And Complex Responses, Charlene N. Agnew

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Functional communication training (FCT) is a commonly used intervention for treating problem behavior wherein the reinforcers contributing to problem behavior are (a) identified through functional analysis and (b) then provided contingent on an alternative communication response. However, following successful teaching of an FCR, resurgence of problem behavior may occur in natural settings when the FCR is exposed to intentional or unintentional extinction conditions. We investigated teaching a second FCR following initial FCT, in one of two forms (varied topography or increased complexity) as a method for reducing resurgence of problem behavior. In order to account for history of reinforcement, we …

Misuse Of Social Behavior In Down Syndrome: Caregiver Conducted Functional Analysis, Sally M. Izquierdo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Young children with Down syndrome often engage in charming non-contextual social behaviors. The developmental literature suggests that non-contextual social behaviors may function to escape from difficult activities to preferred social interactions. Caregivers may reinforce the behavior, perceiving it as evidence of the child’s social strength, when in fact, the pattern of behavior may also contribute to missed learning opportunities and a developmental gap between children with Down syndrome and their typically developing peers. We investigated the pattern by subjecting it for the first time to functional analyses. We identified non-contextual social behavior, confirmed function(s) of escape to attention, and compared …

Using Brief Session Duration During Functional Analysis To Inform The Treatment Of Problem Behavior In 13 Consecutive Cases, Theresa Fiani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Functional analyses allow a clinician to identify causal relations between environmental stimuli and problem behavior. Recent developments in functional analysis methodology have been devoted to creating practical procedures that can be conducted in a brief period of time. However, the extent to which improvements in analytic efficiency affect treatment outcomes have yet to be fully explored. We conducted a consecutive case series with 13 individuals who exhibited problem behavior. The participants experienced a comprehensive assessment and treatment program beginning with a functional analysis using 3-min sessions and ending with functional communication training and delay/denial tolerance training. Results demonstrated near elimination …

Development Of An Aba Tool Kit For Audiologists To Increase Hearing Aid Wear Time In Individuals With Autism, Lindsay Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When working with individuals with the dual-diagnosis of hearing loss and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), audiologists are often faced with unique challenges and must adapt their approach in order to more effectively address the needs of these individuals. Currently, there is only a small body of research focused on the special considerations required for appropriately fitting and utilizing amplification for children with the dual-diagnosis of hearing loss and ASD. Subsequently, recommendations and strategies for clinicians to implement when faced with these common challenges, specifically of hearing aid compliance and appropriate hearing aid wear time, are lacking. It is important to …

Systems Analysis Of Faculty Hiring Process Within Academia, Nicole P. Farrell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There are three levels of performance discussed in organizational behavior management (OBM): (a) the organization level, (b) the process level, and (c) the job/performer level. Among these three levels of performance, individuals often focus least on the process level – which is the level that explains “how” work gets done (Rummler & Brache, 1995). However, if the processes are not effective, workers cannot complete tasks adequately, regardless of the contingencies applied by an organization. One way researchers can evaluate the effectiveness of processes within an organization is through the use of systems analysis. The purpose of the present study was …

Components Of Fluency-Based Instruction In The College Classroom, Jennifer Kourassanis Velasquez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The current research regarding the use of fluency-based instruction (FBI) to teach academic skills suggests the addition of FBI to traditional instruction produces better learning outcomes than traditional instruction alone. However, there is a lack of comparative research of the addition of FBI to traditional instruction vs. traditional instruction alone on student performance outcomes with college students. The present study was composed of two experiments to examine the effects of the addition of a component of FBI using a modified SAFMEDS (Say All Fast Minute Every Day Shuffled) strategy to traditional instruction within the course’s existing curriculum on quiz and …

A Comparison Of Quiz Grading Criteria, Exam Question Type And Novelty, And Their Effects On Exam Scores, Samantha Dalfen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Students in higher education perform better on exams when they complete frequent quizzes on the assigned reading material; but little research has investigated the different ways quizzes can be administered and how these variations affect quiz and exam performance. One variable that influences how quizzes are administered is the grading criterion. The standard practice grading criterion consists of receiving a score for the quiz based on the number of correctly answered questions. A passing criterion consists of requiring a student to obtain a certain score to earn full credit for the quiz. Previous research has found that students, particularly those …

The Effects Of Pyramidal Training On Staff Acquisition Of Five Behavior Analytic Procedures, Lindsay M. Maffei-Almodovar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Direct care staff members serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often required to implement several behavior analytic procedures with only limited training soon after being hired. Pyramidal training is an effective model for disseminating applied behavior analytic skills to employees that treat individuals with developmental disabilities. This study used a multiple probes design across teachers and a delayed multiple baseline design across teaching assistants to evaluate the effects of video models, role play and feedback on teachers’ accuracy in implementing behavioral skills training and on teaching assistants’ accuracy in implementing five applied behavior analytic procedures (i.e. stimulus-stimulus pairing, …

Dancing, Mindfulness, And Our Emotions: Embracing The Mind, Body, And Sole, Alisha M. Collins

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project examines dance, as an intervention and mindfulness practice that assists with managing our emotions. There is a need for dance therapy in social institutions such as, healthcare facilities, schools, and community centers. Dance therapy has the potential to reduce negative emotions, create mindfulness, improve self-expression, and promote a healthy well-being. I am proposing that dance therapy is applied as a regular practice in social institutions to develop mindfulness and promote emotional stability.

In this study, I argue that dance therapy can contribute to our well-being long term. In addition to this written thesis, a visual component of …

The Effect Of An Extinction Procedure On Level Of Responding To Visual Stimuli In An Evaluative Conditioning Procedure, Allison Hirsch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Evaluative conditioning is a type of learning that results in the acquisition of likes and dislikes in humans. The procedure that produces evaluative learning is similar to that of Pavlovian conditioning. A consistent observation is that evaluative conditioned responses are less sensitive to extinction procedures than would be expected given the Pavlovian-type conditioning procedure used for acquisition. The present study sought to determine what the effect of an extinction condition was on the level of responding to visual conditioned stimuli in a visual-gustatory evaluative conditioning paradigm. Two dependent measures were used: an explicit measure, and a choice-based preference measure. The …

Educational Relevance As A Motivating Operation For Equivalence Class Formation: Implications For Application, Julia Brodsky

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI) is a method of teaching sets of physically disparate stimuli that uses stimulus equivalence principles (Critchfield & Fienup, 2008). The basic stimulus equivalence literature informs which procedural variants are used in research and clinical practice, but application of these findings requires determining the effect of educational relevance on equivalence class formation. In the current study, Experiment 1 compared the relative difficulty of the stimulus sets to be used in the educationally relevant conditions of Experiment 2, while Experiment 2 examined the effects of stimulus meaningfulness and educational relevance. The Arbitrary group learned nonsense symbols from Steele and …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Various Feedback Presentations On Typing Accuracy And Speed, Julieanne Guadalupe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In organizational behavior management, performance feedback is often described as information that is presented to a performer that enables a change in his or her future performance. Performance feedback is frequently used in combination with other procedures in applied settings. Despite its popularity, it is unclear whether performance feedback is more effective alone or in combination with procedures identified as behavioral consequences or antecedents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine which combination of performance feedback was most effective to improve typing accuracy and speed. Participants were assigned to one of four groups: (1) no feedback group, (2) …

The Effects Of Presession Attention On The Acquisition Of Tacts And Intraverbals, Mirela Cengher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the effects of presession attention on the acquisition of tacts (Experiment 1) and intraverbals (Experiment 2) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. There were 3 conditions in each experiment. In the first 2 conditions, the experimenter first exposed the participants to a 15-min interval of either presession attention (PA) or no presession attention (NPA), then immediately conducted a teaching session. The third condition was a control condition, which involved no pressession interval or teaching procedures. The consequence for emitting tacts and intraverbals consisted of different forms of attention (e.g., praise and clapping). Across experiments, all participants acquired …

The Effects Of Parametrically Manipulating The Ratio Of Complimentary To Constructive Feedback Statements On Performance, Amanda Mentzer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Performance feedback is frequently discussed and implemented. Although shown to be quite effective, the characteristics of feedback have yet to be fully explored. Feedback ratio was explored in this study. While participants evaluated the postural safety of body positions presented on a computer screen, researchers measured the (a) number of s that it took participants to evaluate body positions (i.e., response time), (b) percent of correctly evaluated body positions (i.e., percent correct), and (c) extent to which participants appreciated the statements they received after responding (i.e., rating). Using a mixed-factorial design, researchers manipulated feedback within groups and feedback ratio between …

The Effects Of Descriptions And Images Of Antecedent Stimuli And Outcomes To Correct Responses In Task Analysis Instruction, Bryan C. Tyner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Task analysis (TA) instruction is commonly used for teaching behavior chains; however, little research informs best practices for TA instruction. Data regarding the effects of instructional variables on responding may enhance TA efficacy and learner performance. Linking TA instruction to the three-term contingency may facilitate the development of control by stimuli that are naturally present while completing complex tasks; therefore, this study employed a two-by-two factorial design to analyze the relative effects of supplementing TA instruction with descriptions and images of: (factor A) antecedent stimuli relevant to each instructed discrete response and (factor B) the outcomes of accurately completing instructed …

A Behavior Analytic Intervention To Teach Exploratory Motor Behavior To Infants With Down Syndrome, Sara M. Bauer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Exploratory Motor (EM) behavior refers to manipulating a toy in the hand(s). Infants with Down syndrome demonstrate significant impairments in the duration and frequency of EM behavior compared to their typically developing counterparts. A behavior analytic intervention involving multiple opportunities, prompting, and social reinforcement was used to teach three infants with Down syndrome between 4-9 months of age to emit EM behavior. Results indicate that all three infants with Down syndrome emitted the three EM target behaviors to mastery and demonstrated generalized responding across stimuli and other EM behaviors. The importance of these findings in addressing impairments in infants with …

The Effect Of The Long Anchor Duration On Performance In The Temporal Bisection Procedure, Sho Araiba

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study investigated the determinants of the location of the bisection point (BP) in the temporal bisection procedure. Interest in the study of temporal perception emerged from the finding of the scalar property such as Weber’s law for time and the ratio rule in behavior under Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning. One method to investigate temporal perception in both non-human animals and humans is the temporal bisection procedure. The primary dependent variable of this procedure is the BP, which has been taken as the subjective midpoint between two durations. The ratio similarity rule (Gibbon, 1981) hypothesizes that the location of …

Targeting Efficiency: The Effects Of Video Modeling And Feedback On Instructors’ Acquisition And Generalization Of Behavior Analytic Skills, Maya S. Madzharova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Low treatment integrity could greatly compromise the delivery of effective ABA interventions, but instructors who hold no formal training make up the larger portion of employees within the special education field. Designing efficient and effective training for these employees is important because schools have limited resources for caregiver training. This study used a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across three novice ABA instructors to evaluate the effects of a training protocol consisting of video and in-vivo modeling and feedback, a training algorithm, and multiple exemplars …