Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons^™

A Comparison Of Fixed Pay, Piece-Rate Pay, And Bonus Pay When Performers Receive Tiered Goals, Alejandro Ramos

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of participants under three pay systems when all were given five tiered goals. Seventy-one undergraduate students were randomly assigned to receive either fixed pay, base pay with bonuses, or piece-rate pay. Over the course of six 45-minute sessions, one of which served as a covariate, participants engaged in a computerized simulated medical record data entry task. The primary dependent variable was the average number of correctly completed medical records per session. An increasing relationship was expected to be found between the three groups with respect to the number of correctly …

Assessment Of Dopaminergic And Serotonergic Receptor Antagonists In Male Rats Trained To Discriminate 4-Methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone), Rachel L. Burroughs

Masters Theses

Preclinical drug discrimination studies of the synthetic cathinone, 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone) have demonstrated its effects are comparable to those of other popular psychostimulant drugs. Few studies have directly examined the contribution of specific neurotransmitter receptors to mephedrone’s discriminative stimulus effects. The present study investigated the role of dopamine and serotonin receptors in these effects. Eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 3.0 mg/kg mephedrone from saline. After dose-response curves were determined with mephedrone (0.375-3.0 mg/kg), a series of stimulus antagonism tests were conducted with dopamine antagonists (Sch 23390, haloperidol) and serotonin antagonists (WAY 100,635, MDL 100,907, pirenperone) administered as …

Establishing Auditory Discrimination And Echoic Stimulus Control With An Auditory Matching Procedure, Clare Christe

Dissertations

A generalized auditory matching repertoire is considered an early milestone in the development of verbal behavior (Greer & Keohane, 2006). Previous literature has demonstrated that the auditory matching (AM) protocol can improve echoics in individuals with developmental delays (Brown, 2005; Choi, Greer & Keohane, 2015; Du, Speckman, Medina, & Cole-Hatchard, 2017). However, some children experience difficulties with the match-to-sample (MTS) format of the AM protocol, if they are unable to perform delayed MTS tasks.

One alternative to MTS is the go/no-go procedure (Serna, Dube, & McIlvane, 1997), which requires the student to make a simple discrimination (i.e., same/different) between two …

Increasing The Echoic Repertoire Of A Child With Autism Using An Imitation And Echoic Sequence, Rose Bridges

Honors Theses

A prerequisite to many things in life is the ability to communicate. Although this may mean many different things, such as verbal language, sign language, written language, and even icons, there must be some form of communication that may be utilized to get needs across. Many young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are non-verbal, however there are also many children with ASD who have the ability to say words but are still not independently speaking. Reinforcing approximations to word sounds has been previously used as an effective way of increasing the child’s verbal repertoire (Shane, 2017). The present study …

Establishing Auditory Discrimination And Echoic Stimulus Control With An Auditory Matching Procedure, Matthew Von Holst

Honors Theses

An echoic is a verbal operant which is controlled by a verbal discriminative stimulus and is characterized by the repetition of the verbal behavior of another speaker with point-to-point correspondence between the sound of the stimulus and the response (Skinner, 1957). These echoic responses are very important for children with developmental disorders because their language development is very unpredictable and may not appear at all, potentially causing difficulties in school and problems with social development (Reed, 2005). Teaching language acquisition skills can help offset these problems because it reinforces future echoic responses and helps develop advanced verbal operants such as …

Using A Progressive Time Delay To Increase Mands In A Child With Autism, Brielle Babcock

Honors Theses

Mands are a building block for all communication and are therefore important to teach to individuals who do not consistently use mands. Skinner defined a mand as a “verbal operant in which the response is reinforced by a characteristic consequence and is under the control of relevant conditions of deprivation or aversive stimulation” (Hall & Sundberg 1987). By providing individuals with a way to express their desires and needs, individuals display less problem behaviors. A functional form of communication is imperative to typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorders alike. The goal of the current study was to …

Measuring Contextual Factors Associated With Experiential Avoidance Using A Behavior Analogue Paradigm, Meaghan M. Lewis

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between levels of state and trait experiential avoidance across two different contexts using behavior analogue methodology. Performance on the cold pressor task (threshold, tolerance, endurance, and intensity; Zettle et al., 2012) was compared to performance on a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) to obtain a behavioral measure of experiential avoidance that was standardized across these four behavioral indices. Data were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate students (N = 133) from college classrooms on the campus of Western Michigan University. …

Treatment Preference, Changes In Preference, And Quality Of Life, Chelsea Sage-Germain

Dissertations

The current study investigates whether treatment preferences prior to beginning treatment are different from treatment preferences at later points in treatment, and whether preferences are related to treatment outcome. While research to date supports the notion that matching clients to treatment in line with their preferences can improve retention and outcomes, results have been equivocal. Further, this research is typically conducted by measuring preferences just one time, prior to starting treatment. It is conceivable that preferences for treatment change over time as patients become more knowledgeable about their presenting problems and about the therapy process. A total of 969 participants …

The Effects Of Gateway Width On Driver Yielding To Pedestrians: A Systematic And Parametric Analysis, Jonathan M. Hochmuth

Masters Theses

The gateway in-street sign treatment has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective method for increasing driver yielding behavior at crosswalks. In the present study, wide and narrow gateway widths were compared at two sites to determine if there was a differential effect on driver yielding behavior. Then, the relationship between width and yielding was refined with a parametric analysis at one of these sites. Gateway width was varied in two-foot intervals from 12ft to 18ft. The results indicated an inverse relationship between gateway width and driver yielding behavior. There are likely two variables related to this effect. First, because drivers …

Primary Care Physician Delivered Brief Behavioral Intervention For Adult Obesity And Associated Health Conditions, Julia C. Huston

Dissertations

Obesity is a chronic health condition with prevalence rates that have continued to rise steadily over the past 30 years to the point that it has now been declared a global epidemic and a serious public health concern. Obesity is associated with significant physical and economic costs, primarily resulting from co-occurring health conditions that increase the risk of morbidity including type II diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, coronary heart disease, and respiratory problems. Despite the dissemination of several obesity treatments, including pharmacotherapy, lifestyle modification, and bariatric surgery, the prevalence and severity of obesity continues to rise. Federal guidelines recommend the use …

Evaluation Of Generalized And Specific Token Reinforcement Using A Paired Stimulus Preference Assessment And Progressive Ratio Schedules, Haily K. Traxler

Masters Theses

Skinner (1953) stated that the effects of generalized conditioned reinforcers should maintain longer than specific conditioned reinforcers because their effects are not dependent on a particular motivating operation. Tokens easily model different levels of generality because tokens can be paired with one or more back-up reinforcers. In the current study, three types of tokens were assessed that could be exchanged for either salty snacks, food and drinks offered in a small marketplace, or money on a gift card. Token preferences were assessed using a Paired Stimulus preference assessment and a progressive ratio (PR) task. The results of the preference assessment …

Application Of A Three-Lever Drug Discrimination Method To Differentiate The Interoceptive Stimulus Effects Of 3, 4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone And 4-Methylmethcathinone In Male Sprague-Dawley Rats, Trent Bullock

Masters Theses

Psychoactive “bath salts” represent a continuing drug abuse problem. The synthetic cathinones, 3, 4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC) are popular constituents of “bath salts” in the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively. Addiction to these substances has proven difficult to treat, possibly requiring targeted therapeutics. Drug discrimination is a preclinical assay that may aid in treatment development. Thus far, two-lever (drug vs no drug) discrimination studies have exhibited asymmetrical substitution patterns between 4-MMC and MDPV. Therefore, a three-lever discrimination method was employed in which 12 male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 0.5 mg/kg MDPV, 2.0 mg/kg 4-MMC, and …

Contribution Of Monoaminergic Mechanisms To The Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (Mdpv) In Sprague-Dawley Rats, Harmony I. Risca

Masters Theses

3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is a popular synthetic cathinone reported to have a high abuse potential and comparable pharmacological actions to those of cocaine. The aim of this study was to evaluate a variety of monoaminergic agents for substitution, potentiation, or antagonism in rats trained to discriminate MDPV. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 0.5 mg/kg MDPV and a variety of monoaminergic drugs were tested for substitution and/or potentiation of the MDPV cue. In separate experiments, stimulus antagonism tests were conducted with selected dopamine antagonists or serotonin antagonists in rats trained to discriminate 1 mg/kg MDPV. Full substitution for MDPV was …

A Parametric Analysis Of Choice Under Risk, David W. Sottile

Masters Theses

Accurate assessment of risk propensity is important because risky choices underlie a broad range of behavioral problems. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is an assessment that measures propensity to engage in risky choice. While this is a useful assessment, the BART changes two variables that affect risky choice simultaneously, probability of an undesirable outcome and stake size, which cannot be separated within the context of the BART. The goal of this study was to evaluate the separate and combined effects of key factors that are likely to risky choice (Magnitude of payoff, probability of an undesirable outcome, and stake …

Effects Of Multi-Day Music Enrichment On Salivary Cortisol And Cage Behavior In Shelter Dogs, Stacy D. Engerbretson

Dissertations

Rehoming shelters provide their animals with environmental enrichment with the expectation that modifying the physical space will improve kennel-related stress and subsequently abate undesirable behaviors. Although enrichment has shown moderate success at improving in-kennel behavior, increased use of physiological measurements of stress, such as cortisol, has garnered doubt as to which canine behaviors are truly elicited by a biological state of distress. Consequently, it is unknown if past examples of successful kennel enrichment decreased biological stress in addition to affecting behavior. This study explored music’s effect on salivary cortisol and music’s potential as a long-term, kennel enrichment strategy. Shelter dogs …

Behavioral Contrast Using A Simulated Organizational Task, Brandon M. Ring

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to bridge a gap between Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) and the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB). Although OBM’s historical and scientific roots are nested within EAB, OBM research does not always strictly follow or adhere to basic research definitions or procedures. That is, terms that have specific operational definitions in EAB and Applied Behavior Analysis are sometimes used incorrectly in OBM research. Similarly, these terms are often associated with specific experimental procedures in basic literature, yet OBM research procedures may not follow the strict procedural guidelines. The purpose of the present study was …

The Effects Of Peer Observation On Teacher Intervention Integrity, Garrett D. Warrilow

Dissertations

The observer effect is a term used to describe a process during which an observer's behavior changes as they measure the behavior of another individual. The observer effect has been widely studied in organizational behavior management but has limited research with teachers in schools. The current study sought to use the observer effect as part of a teacher training package by evaluating the effects of peer observations on an observing teacher's implementation integrity of components of a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system. Participants were four middle school teachers of students in general education classrooms. The primary dependent variables …

Mixing Matching And Sabermetrics: Combining Advanced Analytics And The Generalized Matching Law In Nfl Football Play-Calling, Jacob Bradley

Dissertations

The fields of advanced analytics in sports and quantitative analysis of behavior as it applies to sports have developed independently over the last several decades. Both fields share the common goal of using a quantitative approach to describe and predict behavior within sports beyond the common traditional verbal accounts. To date, the two fields have not directly intersected. The current study provides an overview of advanced analytics and quantitative analysis of behavior in sports, demonstrates how the two fields can be combined to better account for the behavioral processes involved in decision-making in sports, and identifies several possible ways the …

Evaluating The Effects Of A Self-Management Program With A Peer-Mediated Praise Procedure, Sean P. Field

Dissertations

Research has shown self-management to be a powerful tool that can assist students in establishing and maintaining a range of targeted behaviors including increasing academic performance, increasing independence, and the reduction of problem behavior. However, researchers continue to seek means to implement self-management programs that further increase independence for the student as well as promote greater generalization of established skills. One potential means of achieving this is through the use of peers, as they may allow for greater access to reinforcement. Additionally, the use of peers allows for the reduction or removal of additional demands on teachers and classroom staff. …

Teaching Two Children Diagnosed With Autism To Tolerate Physical Contact, Kelsey Webster

Honors Theses

It was hypothesized that the fading in of a prompt hierarchy coinciding with the delivery of tangibles, edibles, and attention or praise reinforcers would decrease problem behavior and noncompliance in two male children with autism who displayed problem behavior and resistance while being physically prompted. A single-subject research design was used to present the prompt hierarchy across various conditions in a school setting. Both participants initially engaged in problem behavior on 100% of the trials but quickly reduced in intensity of problem behaviors by the end of the intervention. There is no current research conducted on how to decrease problem …

Within-Session Progressive Gestural-Prompt Delay To Teach Receptive Identification, Breanne Stiemsma

Honors Theses

Receptive identification skills are important for any child to learn. Without these skills, various aspects of development can become impaired. There are many ways to teach receptive identification. This project pulled ideas from previous studies on within-session progressive gestural-prompt delays as well as the different methods of teaching receptive identification skills, simple-conditional method and the condition-only method. The student was not acquiring receptive identification skills with the traditional methods used in the classroom. Within-session progressive gestural-prompt delay was used in this project to teach receptive identification of objects. An AB single-subject design was used in this project. The student responded …

Explicit Programming For Icon Rings: Visual-Based Discrimination, Samantha Borowski

Honors Theses

Instructional icons are helpful as basic direction following is the basis for complex skills needed later in life. These instructions should have a good training so that children can get the basic skills and can move on to the complex skills. The goal of the project was to increase the correct responses to instructional icons. Visuals are a good tool for learning because it attaches a picture with the event that is happening or will happen. Children with autism sometimes struggle when they are introduced to a new environment so having a system in place to help make instruction following …

Culture Of Gentleness: A Behavioral Approach, Stevie Parcell

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explain the fundamentals of an ideological framework for caregivers providing services to people with disabilities called a Culture of Gentleness. The material is traditionally taught within the two-day Working with People training, and the efforts to spread this theory is headed by the Center for Positive Living Supports located in Clinton Township, Michigan. The material is then analyzed through a behavior analytic perspective. Each segment of the initial training will be discussed through both a Culture of Gentleness and behavioral perspective, rooted in Applied Behavior Analysis. Although established in the practice of Positive …

Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone And 4-Methylmethcathinone, Michael D. Berquist

Dissertations

Recent escalation in the popularity of recreational synthetic cathinone (“bath salts”) use has prompted numerous scientific investigations of the neurochemical and behavioral effects of 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC), two of the more common chemical constituents of these illicit “bath salts”. Previous neurochemical and electrophysiological studies have revealed that MDPV functions as a blocker, and 4-MMC as a substrate, at monoamine transporters, and both produce transient increases in extracellular monoamines. In addition, previous research has demonstrated that MDPV and 4-MMC support self-administration in nonhuman experimental subjects, and their rewarding effects are observed when paired with contextual cues in nonhuman models …

Transitioning Children With Autism From A Discrete Trial Classroom To A Group Classroom, Alexandra Ennis

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to prepare children diagnosed with autism for the transition to group learning environments by teaching them to sit in their chair and attend while the teacher is at least five feet away. This is a skill that will help kids succeed when they make the transition from an early intervention program to a group learner environment because it allows the teacher to focus more on learning important skills. A proximity procedure was put in place for two children that focused on gradually increasing the distance between the tutor and the student with use of …

Sensor-Enabled Reduction Of Stereotypy, Aaron Brzezinski

Honors Theses

The goal of this study was to create and implement an intervention to reduce stereotypic behavior in a child with Autism. The participant was chosen based on a high occurrence of target behavior and was recruited through his treatment center. The target behaviors were selected based on the subjective evaluation of his treatment provider and parents. The dependent variable in this study was hand-flapping. The independent variable was DRO training that included a buzzer and a chime noise contingent on the presence or absence of stereotypy respectively. A Microsoft Kinect© 2.0 was used to track occurrence of target behavior and …

Increasing Vocalizations In Children With Autism, Nicholette Christodoulou

Honors Theses

This study focuses on increasing vocalizations for students with Autism spectrum disorder. A three-part intervention was used to attempt to establish an echoic repertoire in students who had little to no vocalizations. Both students attended an early intervention classroom with a special education school. Students were selected from their classroom if they showed little to no vocalization or echoic skills. The goal during the first phase was to collect all sounds being made by the student to increase the overall number of vocalizations being made. This was done by continuous reinforcement using edible reinforcers. In phase two, the student’s dominant …

Examining The Effectiveness Of A Training Video On The Lmplementation And Lnterpretation Of A Functional Analysis, Alissa Anne Conway

Masters Theses

Functional behavior assessment (FBA), and more specifically functional analysis (FA), refer to structured assessment processes designed to identify the controlling variables for challenging behaviors across children, adolescents, and adults. The results from a functional analysis are used to match therapy techniques to unique causal variables for challenging behaviors and also to select more adaptive replacement behaviors that produce similar functions as the challenging behaviors. As functional analysis techniques, in all variations, have become more commonplace in applied behavior analysis (ABA), attention has turned to how to train practitioners to implement FAs, interpret the results, and use the FAs to inform …

Increasing Vocal Behavior And Establishing Echoic Stimulus Control In Children With Autism, Joseph Shane

Dissertations

Many children with autism fail to demonstrate vocal-verbal behavior, including echoic behavior, as early as their typically developing peers. Some also make very limited vocal sounds in general, remaining mostly mute aside from crying or engaging in stereotypy. Echoic behavior involves auditory discrimination and matching, and functions as a beneficial, if not necessary, prerequisite for many other vocal-verbal skills. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement an echoic training procedure for primarily non-vocal children who did not demonstrate auditory discrimination in baseline. The intervention consisted initially of sessions in which any vocal sounds were reinforced. Then differential …

Session-By-Session Feedback From Psychotherapy Outcome Assessment: An Analysis Of Treatment Utility, Lynn Hallberg Hall

Dissertations

This study sought to examine the effect of providing outcome assessment data to therapists treating a sample of community adults seeking mental health services at two university training clinics. The participants (N = 41) were predominantly unmarried, Caucasian females, 19 to 39 years old, with a wide range of psychological problems. The therapists were trainees from master’s and doctoral programs in counseling and clinical psychology participating in their first clinical practicums. The Outcome Questionnaire 45-2 (OQ), an instrument designed for frequent measurement of client symptom, interpersonal, and social-role distress, served as the dependent measure. The OQ was designed to show …