Applied Behavior Analysis Commons^™

An Expanded Conceptualization And A New Measure Of Compulsive Buying, Nancy Ridgway, Monika Kukar-Kinney, Kent B. Monroe

Marketing Faculty Publications

Drawing on the theoretical foundation of obsessive‐compulsive spectrum disorder, this article develops an expanded conceptualization and new measure of consumers’ proclivity to buy compulsively. Compulsive buying is defined as a consumer’s tendency to be preoccupied with buying that is revealed through repetitive buying and a lack of impulse control over buying. This measure includes dimensions of both obsessive‐compulsive and impulse‐control disorders. By measuring income‐dependent items or consequences of compulsive buying separately from the compulsive‐buying scale, we develop a measure that has a strong theoretical foundation, well‐documented psychometric properties, and an ability to be applied to general consumer populations.

Study Of Executive Functioning Training In Adolescents Diagnosed With Autism, Jessica Postil

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study investigated the effectiveness of a manualized executive functioning training program used with adolescents diagnosed with autism. Three male adolescents were trained on executive function activities using a combination of Applied Behavioral Analysis and executive functioning activities. Training programs were administered individually, lasting for 2 hours per day for 20 days. Participants were tested 1 month before training, 1 week before treatment, immediately after training and at a one-month follow-up. Significant improvements were seen in performance on executive functioning tasks that required motor speed, verbal fluency, monitoring, predicting, planning and organization skills. Significant changes in the participant’s adaptive behavior …

Sensitivity To Change Of The Behavior And Symptom Identification Scale (Basis-32), Christopher S. Corbett

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

With the increased demand for evidence based mental health interventions, there has been an increased need for comprehensive ways to determine the validity of certain measures used to measure therapy effectiveness. The Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32) is one of the most widely used measures for measuring therapy outcomes. This study was conducted on the BASIS-32 investigating the validity of the instrument, not only on the overall and subtest level, but also on the item level. This study is particular in that it also measured the validity of the instrument in being sensitive to client reported change over time. …

An Evaluation Of Preference For Modeling Interventions, Kaneen B. Geiger

Masters Theses

Video modeling is an instructional technique demonstrated to effectively increase social skills, academic skills, daily living skills and play skills of children with autism. There are several hypotheses for why video modeling is effective. One hypothesis is that children with autism prefer watching videos to looking at people, thereby enhancing motivation and making attending to the video model automatically reinforcing, however, preference for video has not been experimentally examined. This study assessed participants' preference for either video modeling or in vivo modeling using a concurrent-chains arrangement. None of the three participants showed a preference for either video modeling or in …

Evaluation Of A Progressive Model For Identifying Preferred Stimuli For Children With Developmental Disabilities, Amanda M. Karsten

Dissertations

Preference assessments for individuals with disabilities differ along many dimensions, including time requirements for implementation and probability of identifying a hierarchy of relative preferences. Some methods of assessment are also more conducive to use with individuals who exhibit problem behavior or certain prerequisite skills. Inaccurate results and loss of valuable treatment time are among the risks associated with selecting ineffective or unnecessarily lengthy procedures. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate a progressive model for conducting preference assessments which incorporates many of the aforementioned considerations. Concurrent-operant reinforcer evaluations were used to verify assessment findings. Based on 17 participants …

Using Virtual Reality Enhanced Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Street-Crossing Skills To Children And Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Tina R. Goldsmith

Dissertations

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) often have poor safety skills due to their insensitivity to subtle environmental cues and poor problem solving in the face of stressful tasks. These skill deficits threaten their physical well-being and limit their personal independence. An effective intervention model for teaching safety skills is behavioral skills training (BST). The effects of this 4-part intervention, which includes Instructions, Modeling, Rehearsal, and Feedback, improve with the addition of in situ training. However, creating realistic, safe, and logistically feasible contexts for rehearsal of skills may prove difficult, if not impossible. Virtual reality (VR) may present a solution. …

A Comparison Of Maintenance-Training Methods For Children Diagnosed With Autism, Nicholas L. Weatherly

Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effects of two different maintenance-training methods and one control condition on skill maintenance within a public-school classroom for children diagnosed with autism. The two training methods involved the use of either a continuous-reinforcement schedule or a thinned partial-reinforcement schedule during 20 overlearning training sessions following skill acquisition. The control condition did not involve any overlearning following skill acquisition. Three children were each taught two curricular programs, with each program involving the two training methods and the control condition using a multielement design. Overlearning using a thinned partial-reinforcement schedule reliably produced greater maintenance across all participants, …

An Investigation Of Determinism And Chaotic Behavior In Flight Performance Data: A Chaos Theory And Nonlinear Time Series Analysis Approach, Lionel Blankson Amanfu

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Human flight performance data were investigated using non-linear time series analysis methods to determine deterministic chaotic behavior in the data. Using a sequence of steps of non-linear methods, four flight performance data were used to investigate for the existence of deterministic chaotic behavior. Results revealed that flight performance data may exhibit chaotic behavior. Results also showed a consistent low determinism value in all the data examined which is the defining characteristic of chaotic behavior. It was also found that the data originated from non-stationary process. The Maximal Lyapunov Exponent (MLE) value which indicate chaotic behavior exist in the data revealed …

Identifying The Most Effective Stimulus To Promote Wayfinding In Elders With Dementia, Allison A. Jay

Masters Theses

When nursing home residents with dementia experience difficulty locating their bedroom, it can create problems for other residents and staff. This study investigated the ability of four elders with severe dementia to recognize various self-referent stimuli (i.e., young adulthood photograph, middle adulthood photograph, current photograph, and printed name). Two of the three participants who were able to complete the assessment recognized their photographs from earlier in life and their printed names but were not able to recognize their current photograph. These two residents then participated in an intervention in which the recognized stimuli were posted outside their bedroom doorway during …

The Influence Of Species And Context On Human-Dolphin Interactions, Deirdre Breen Yeater

Dissertations

Anthropogenic activities pose a threat to marine mammals around the world. Cetaceans that use coastal waters are at particular risk for potential disturbances caused by vessel traffic and human swimmers. Although many cetacean species are found near the coast of Utila, Honduras, little is known about their behavior or the effects of anthropogenic activities on their behavior. Whether the presence of boats and human swimmers led to short-term changes in dolphin behavior was investigated for three commonly sighted species of dolphins; rough-toothed (Steno bredanensis), spinner (Stenalla longirostris), and bottlenose (Turslops truncatus). The dolphins' behavioral activities, with and without other boats …

Generalization Of Mands For Information Across Establishing Operations, Sarah A. Lechago

Masters Theses

This study sought to extend the developing literature on teaching mands for information by systematically assessing whether they generalize across different EOs. Three children with autism were taught to perform multiple behavior chains, three of which included a common response topography (e.g., "Where is the spoon?") used for different purposes. An interrupted-behavior-chain procedure was used to contrive the EO for each mand. After a mand for information was taught under one EO, the remaining chains were interrupted to determine whether the mand had generalized across EOs. For all three participants, mands for information generalized across EOs. For one participants, a …

Ethical Issues In The Provision Of Online Mental Health Services, Donna M. Midkiff, W. Joseph Wyatt

Psychology Faculty Research

A number of ethical and legal implications of on-line therapy [e-Therapy] are examined. e-Therapy is defined and its strengths and weaknesses listed. Specific ethical issues addressed include boundaries of competence, basis in science, avoidance of harm, confidentiality, avoidance of false or deceptive statements, media presentations, testimonials, solicitation of clients, fees and informed consent. Legal issues are discussed including the issue of interstate eTherapy. As a necessary measure to protect the public, the profession and the practitioner, it is recommended that federal legislation be enacted, informed by the American Psychological Association based upon APA's review of other disciplines’ (e.g., medicine) e-Practice …

Affective Flexibility: Evaluative Processing Goals Shape Amygdala Activity, William A. Cunningham, Jay J. Van Bavel, Ingrid Johnsen Haas

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Although early research implicated the amygdala in automatic processing of negative information, more recent research suggests that it plays a more general role in processing the motivational relevance of various stimuli, suggesting that the relation between valence and amygdala activation may depend on contextual goals. This study provides experimental evidence that the relation between valence and amygdala activity is dynamically modulated by evaluative goals. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants evaluated the positive, negative, or overall (positive plus negative) aspects of famous people. When participants were providing overall evaluations, both positive and negative names were associated with amygdala activation. When …

Advertisements: Interpreting Images Used To Sell To Young Adults, Alyssa Dana Adomaitis, Kim P. Johnson

Publications and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify images used in advertising directed toward young adults, investigate what young adults thought of these images, and explore how young adults used these images.

Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of 674 apparel and cosmetic advertisements located in four fashion magazines (Elle Girl, Seventeen, YM, and TeenVogue) resulted in eight categories. Participants (n ¼ 32) viewed advertisements representative of the categories and answered questions related to their thoughts about the model depicted in the advertisement and their use of the images.

Findings – Participants’ used the models as a point of …

Developing Collaborative Leadership: A Study Of Organizational Change Toward Greater Collaboration And Shared Leadership, Jonathan Tyler Clark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Implicit in leadership behavior is the ability to work with others, to be in relationship, and to collaborate. Contemporary theories about leadership have shifted from a focus on the individual “leader” toward the collective act of “leadership.” A concrete understanding of collaborative leadership remains somewhat underdeveloped in the literature and theoretically. This dissertation is a case study of organization's efforts to change from autocratic organizational leadership to a more collaborative working environment. Taking the form of a literary portrait, the study analyzes an example of action learning about collaborative leadership. The portrait will be of the agency's change, with special …

The Methodology Of The Behavioral Analysis Of Law, Avishalom Tor

Journal Articles

This article examines the behavioral analysis of law, meaning the application of empirical behavioral evidence to legal analysis, which has become increasingly popular in legal scholarship in recent years. Following the introduction in Part I, this Article highlights four central propositions on the subject. The first, developed in Part II, asserts that the efficacy of the law often depends on its accounting for relevant patterns of human behavior, most notably those studied by behavioral decision scientists. This Part therefore reviews important behavioral findings, illustrating their application and relevance to a broad range of legal questions. Part III then argues that …