GENERALIZATION AND MAINTENANCE OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SKILLS: A CRITICAL REVIEW AND ANALYSIS

This paper summarizes the results of a retrospective review of generalization in the context of social skills research with preschool children. A review of studies from 22 journals (1976 to 1990) that assessed generalization as part of social interaction research provided information concerning the prevalence of studies that have assessed generalization, common practices concerning the production and assessment of generalization, and the overall success of obtaining generalization and maintenance of social behaviors. A comparison of the most and least successful studies, with respect to generalization, revealed some differences concerning the practices employed by studies within each group. Differences differentially related to the production of generalization are discussed and recommendations are provided to guide and support future research efforts.     

THE EFFECTS OF A CHILD'S SELF-EVALUATION PROGRAM ON COMPLIANCE WITH PARENTAL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE HOME

A self-evaluation program was implemented with a kindergarten-aged boy in the home to increase compliance with parent instructions and decrease inappropriate verbal behavior. The self-evaluation package included the child's assessing the appropriateness of his behavior in 5-min intervals, receiving chips for positive self-evaluations, and exchanging chips for a reward following experimental sessions. In a reversal design, analyses were conducted of the effectiveness of the self-evaluation program, the requisite conditions for effective child behavior change with a self-evaluation approach, and the parent's efficiency in using the self-evaluation package. The self-evaluation procedures typically resulted in increased compliant behavior and decreased inappropriate behavior, although the effects generally weakened with time. Behavioral gains were greater and better maintained when the self-evaluation procedures were preceded by a phase of external evaluation via the mother than by baseline, suggesting that self-evaluation procedures may serve more to maintain the effects of external evaluation rather than to induce their own changes. The parent generally was efficient in implementing the procedures. Research and clinical implications for using self-evaluation procedures in a home setting are discussed.     

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF EATING REGULATION IN OBESE AND NONOBESE CHILDREN

Bite rate, sip rate, and concurrent activities of six 7-yr-old children, three obese and three nonobese, were observed at lunchtime over a six-month period. A procedure for decreasing bite rate, putting eating utensils down between bites, was implemented in a multiple-baseline across-subjects design. Sip rates and concurrent activities were observed to assess behavioral covariations. In addition, bite rate and amount of food completed were computed over six food categories to analyze food preferences. Results indicated the control of bite rate across all subjects, with a significant reduction in amount of food consumed. Correlations between the response classes indicated they were at least partially independent. Differences in eating behavior of obese and nonobese subjects were observed for breadstuffs and milk drinking.     

EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR,SUSTAINED ATTENTION,AND A MEMORY TASK IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The effects of caffeine on the behavior of young children is an important issue, as children in our society consume considerable amounts of caffeine, primarily in soft drinks. This study investigated the effects of normative amounts of caffeine on the behavior of 6 normal children in a kindergarten setting. Using a reversal design, counterbalanced for order of conditions, children's behavior was examined during a baseline condition, a caffeinated beverage condition, and a noncaffeinated beverage condition. Measures included direct observation of off-task and gross motor activity, actometer readings of movement, a Continuous Performance Test, a Paired Associates Learning Test, and teacher ratings of classroom behavior. Results suggest that caffeine exerts only small and inconsistent effects on the classroom behavior of kindergarten children. These results cast doubt on the importance of caffeine as a variable controlling the classroom behavior of normal kindergartners.     

THE CLASS SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF COMPLIANCE TRAINING WITH “DO” AND “DON'T” REQUESTS: ANALOGUE ANALYSIS AND CLASSROOM APPLICATION

Two experiments are reported in which the relationship between compliance with “do” and “don't” requests was examined with developmentally disabled children. In Experiment 1, a multiple baseline design across subjects with counterbalanced treatment conditions was used to evaluate a compliance training program composed of four phases: (a) baseline, during which no consequences were delivered for compliance, (b) reinforcement for compliance with one targeted “do” request, (c) reinforcement for compliance with one targeted “don't” request, and (d) follow-up with reinforcement on a variable ratio schedule for compliance with any “do” or “don't” request. Results of probes conducted before and after training within each condition indicated that generalized compliance occurred only with requests of the same type as the target exemplar (“do” or “don't”). In Experiment 2, these results were replicated in a classroom setting. Following collection of baseline probe data on student compliance, a teacher training program was successfully implemented to increase reinforcement of compliance first with one “do” and subsequently with one “don't” request of a target student. Results of multiple baseline probes across “do” and “don't” requests indicated that the teacher generalized and maintained reinforcement of compliance with other requests of the same type and to other students, with a resulting increase in student compliance with the type of requests reinforced. The impact of treatment on both teacher and student behavior was socially validated via consumer ratings. Implications of these findings with respect to response class formation and compliance training programs are discussed.     

ACQUISITION AND GENERALIZATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH COMPLEX FIVE-COMPONENT INSTRUCTIONS1

A 7-yr-old bilingual boy of normal intelligence, judged by his school to be deficient in carrying out complex requests, was trained to comply with five-component instructions, e.g., “Give me/the chip/behind/the block/on blue”. Three interchangeable words or phrases were used for each component. Training proceeded in stages. First, the child was trained to identify all individual objects and actions; then to carry out requests involving only the first component, then the first two, then three, etc. On every trial, the visual setting permitted every possible response in the set. A test for generalization to nonreinforced instructions was given at each stage by giving no feedback for all instructions that included one preselected phrase. The phrase selected at each stage was one of the three that was introduced at that stage. As a further test for generalization, nonreinforced instructions were also given that included one additional component: the next to be trained (Probes Ahead). As a test for generalization across settings and instructions, several five-component instructions were presented each session in an unused classroom. These instructions used phrases, most of which were different from those being trained, and which referred to familiar classroom objects. Results showed: acquisition occurred for each stage of training, including the full five-component instruction; almost complete generalization of responding occurred to the subset of nonreinforced instructions; little or no generalization occurred to the Probes Ahead, where an additional untrained component was included; and little or no generalization was seen to the five-component classroom instructions, until training began on the five-component instructions in the training sessions. Performance was also examined for each component. Results showed that when a new component was introduced, correct performance to previously trained components declined, and was little if any superior to performance on the new component. In summary, transfer was found to untrained sentences of the same form as those being trained, even in another setting, where most of the components were different; but poor transfer was found to more complex sentences, and performance declined for previously trained components during training of a more complex sentence. Some features of the training procedure that may have affected the degree and form of transfer were discussed: the necessity for prior training in an appropriate response to the component phrases, the importance of intermixing of reinforced and nonreinforced trials, and the effects of the abruptness with which more complex sentence forms were introduced.     

FACILITATING TRANSITION TIMES WITH HANDICAPPED PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PEER-MEDIATED AND ANTECEDENT PROMPT PROCEDURES

We examined the effects of a peer-mediated versus an antecedent prompt condition on the rate of independent movement and appropriate behavior of handicapped preschool children during three classroom transition times. Using an alternating treatments design, results showed that each treatment condition yielded increases in target behaviors; however, the antecedent prompt condition was superior during all three transition settings. In addition, teacher prompts to these children were significantly reduced during the intervention conditions, indicating that the children were making these transitions more independently.     

儿童早期自尊的行为观察研究

以自尊情感模型为理论起点,采用行为事件取样法,对58名1.5-4岁婴幼儿的掌控感和归属感事件进行系统观察。结果表明：早期掌控感源于以动作为基础的掌控行为,包括掌控自我、掌控外物和掌控他人。而归属感一方面源于儿童以不同的行为方式寻求归属,即主动归属感;另一方面源于不同情境下成人的行为使儿童获得了归属,即被动归属感。掌控感和归属感事件均随年龄增长而逐渐减少,反映了个体自尊的早期形态。     

COMPARING TREATMENT TACTICS WITH A HYPERACTIVE PRESCHOOL CHILD: STIMULANT MEDICATION AND PROGRAMMED TEACHER INTERVENTION1

Two treatment tactics, food and praise contingent on appropriate play and varying doses of methylphenidate (Ritalin), were evaluated for their effects on a preschool child's activity changes. In addition, other social, verbal, and academic behaviors were monitored to examine possible side effects of the two treatment tactics. Fewer free-play activity changes occurred during contingent reinforcement phases while medication had variable effects: increasing attention to tasks but, at higher doses, decreasing intelligibility of speech and responsiveness to mands. The study outlines a replicable model for comparing medication with alternative behavioral strategies to control hyperactivity and enhance skill development.     

TRAINING PARENTS IN BEHAVIORAL SELF-MANAGEMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF GENERALIZATION AND MAINTENANCE

This study examined the generalization and maintenance effects of three phases of parent training (Instructions plus Feedback and two Self-management Training phases) on levels of disruptive child behavior and the accuracy with which parents implemented programs. Data were collected from five families in three main settings: the initial training setting (the home), a variety of generalization settings in the community, and the family breakfast. A multiple baseline across subjects design was used. Instructions plus Feedback comprised instructing parents to use a range of behavior management procedures and provided home-based differential feedback concerning accuracy of program implementation. Self-management Training phases involved training parents in goal setting, self-monitoring, and planning skills, specific to their performance of appropriate parenting skills in generalization settings. Results indicated that the Instructions plus Feedback phase was sufficient to produce reduced levels of problem behavior at home and high levels of accurate implementation, but generalization effects out of home were equivocal. Self-management maintained reduced levels of problem behavior at home but, in addition, resulted in generalization effects in community settings for both children and parents. Maintenance probes 3 months following the program revealed the effects had been maintained.     

VISITING THE DENTIST: A BEHAVIORAL COMMUNITY ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPATION IN A DENTAL HEALTH SCREENING AND REFERRAL PROGRAM

One-hundred and twenty-five families in the Medicaid Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Program were assigned to one of five treatments to encourage parents to obtain health care service following the dental screening of their children: (a) a control procedure, in which parents were given a dentist's name; (b) a multiple contact procedure, in which parents received a postcard and two telephone call reminders; (c) a problem-solve procedure, in which a social worker aide conducted a brief session with the parent; (d) an incentive procedure, in which parents selected among four gifts that were contingent on seeking care; (e) an incentive + problem-solve procedure, in which the latter two treatments were combined. The multiple contact, incentive, and incentive + problem-solve techniques were significantly more effective in initiating dental visits than the control procedures. Families assigned to the intensive strategies were most likely to complete treatment. A cost-efficiency analysis showed the multiple contact technique to be a low-cost and highly effective procedure.     

MAINTENANCE FACTORS IN COERCIVE MOTHER-CHILD INTERACTIONS: THE COMPLIANCE AND PREDICTABILITY HYPOTHESES

Two stimulus control processes by which some parent-child dyads occasionally escalate their aversive exchanges into progressively more coercive interactions are described. The compliance hypothesis suggests that aversive actions have instructional properties for the dyad and that parent compliance with such child instructions maintains behavior chains of increasing aversiveness. The predictability hypothesis suggests that social interactions are most likely to function as aversive stimuli in the dyad when delivered in unpredictable fashion by either party and that responses instrumental in reducing dyadic unpredictability maintain aversive behavior chains. Expectations derived from both hypotheses are evaluated in a series of correlational analyses of mother-child interactions obtained in extended baseline observations of three dyads seeking psychological help for severe interactional problems. Results provide tentative support for the predictability hypothesis and suggest important avenues of further research.     

THE REDUCTION OF STEALING IN SECOND GRADERS USING A GROUP CONTINGENCY1

Three classes of second graders served as subjects in this study of the effects of two types of intervention programs upon stealing: (1) an antistealing lecture with no specific contingency implied, and (2) a direct group contingency applied, whereby children were rewarded with (a) extra free time for no thefts, (b) allowed normal free time if stolen items were returned, and (c) punished with loss of free time if stolen items were not returned. A multiple-baseline design across the three classes showed the group contingency to be effective in reducing stealing behavior; the anti-stealing lecture was ineffective.     

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN TEACHER GUIDANCE AND CONTINGENT ACCESS TO PLAY IN DEVELOPING PREACADEMIC SKILLS OF DEVIANT PRESCHOOL CHILDREN1

Token-mediated access to play and snacks was made contingent on completion of academic tasks in the Baseline Experiment. This contingency produced stable completion rates that were subsequently doubled, and then tripled, for four deviant children in a special preschool. A reversal design demonstrated that the contingency was functional in maintaining the children's rates of task completion. The Guidance Experiment examined the role of a social event, teacher guidance, in the acquisition of task-completion skills, in a multiple-baseline-across-tasks design (with reversals). The analysis demonstrated that teacher guidance was an important supplement to the token-mediated contingency in establishing significant increases in task completions for a second group of three deviant children in the special class. The importance of teacher guidance was related to the difficulty level of the children's tasks.     

INCREASING HANDICAPPED PRESCHOOLERS' PEER SOCIAL INTERACTIONS: CROSS-SETTING AND COMPONENT ANALYSIS

The purposes of our study were: (a) to train a set of observationally determined social behaviors via peer initiation; (b) to determine if effects generalized across classroom settings and to directly intervene if generalization did not occur; and (c) to analyze components of the peer-initiation intervention. After baseline, nonhandicapped preschool children (confederates) were taught to direct social initiations to the three handicapped preschool-aged students. Teachers prompted the confederates to engage the students in social interaction when necessary and rewarded the confederates with tokens. Confederates' initiations to the students resulted in increased frequencies of positive social interaction. There was no generalization to other classroom settings, and the intervention was subsequently implemented in a second and third classroom. Next, the confederates' token reinforcement system was withdrawn, with no apparent deleterious effects on the confederates' or students' social interactions. When teachers substantially reduced their prompts to the confederates, students' social interactions decreased. Finally, reinstatement of teacher prompts resulted in increases in the confederates' social initiations and, consequently, the positive social interactions of the students.     

BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH IN PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY: EDUCATIONAL AND CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT APPROACHES TO THE PROBLEM OF PATIENT COMPLIANCE

This study examined the effects of reinforcement on compliance with an oral hygiene education program. Patients 18 years of age or older who enrolled in an ongoing program at a periodontal practice received 3–5 sessions of instruction in preventive dental care. Using a between-subjects design, patients who entered the program during alternating months also had a portion of their fees refunded contingent upon improvements in their dental plaque scores. Pre- and posttreatment data showed that all subjects exhibited lower plaque levels following the program, but that greater improvements were seen in patients who were exposed to the fee reduction contingency. Plaque scores taken at a 6-month follow-up revealed some relapse for the Fee Reduction subjects. However, their scores were still substantially better than pretreatment, and better than those of the Education only subjects, whose data differed little from untreated Controls. Methodological and practical issues related to behavioral research in preventive dentistry are discussed.     

ALPHABET LETTERS AS TOKENS: TRAINING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN LETTER RECOGNITION AND LABELLING DURING A TOKEN EXCHANGE PERIOD1

In token economies, we typically consider the instructional opportunities available during the periods of token delivery, but may overlook educational opportunities available at the time of token exchange. The present studies examined the use of labelled tokens and routines in the token exchange period to teach alphabet letter recognition to economically disadvantaged preschool children. The children earned points for a variety of academic behaviors in an early morning classroom setting. At no time were alphabet letters introduced or taught during class. Later, during a midmorning token exchange period, operated according to a department store model, the children were given their points in the form of poker chips inscribed with upper-case alphabet letters. They were required to discriminate among these lettered chips before exchanging them for backup reinforcers sold in four or five stores. To assess alphabet letter knowledge, probe evaluations were periodically conducted in which questions requiring alphabet letter recognition and labelling were asked. The answers to these questions were not reinforced. Alphabet letter training during token exchange periods consisted of having a child display the lettered chips, whereupon a teacher asked a number of recognition-type questions. Wrong answers were corrected, and correct answers praised. The child was allowed to exchange the tokens when the number required for a purchase had been recognized correctly. The periodic probe evaluations revealed consistent increases in correct alphabet letter recognition and, as a byproduct, alphabet labelling was facilitated, even though not explicitly trained. Thus, once the letters were recognized, correct labelling shortly followed. The sequential training of new sets of letters was used to demonstrate experimental control within subjects for two children. A control for exposure to the letters was provided by using the labelled tokens, but requiring the counting of chips rather than letter discrimination in the exchange period for two other children. This procedure produced chance levels of letter recognition, which were subsequently improved when the discrimination procedure was added. Posttraining probes, conducted at one and three weeks after training when the labelled tokens and discrimination routines were no longer in use, revealed the same high levels of recognition and labelling performance found during training. Thus, it appears that labelled tokens may be used to teach discriminations during token exchange periods so long as responses are differentiated on the basis of relevant dimensions of the stimuli.     

INCREASING IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTION IN MAINSTREAM PRESCHOOLS: DIRECT AND GENERALIZED EFFECTS OF NONDIRECTIVE CONSULTATION

Two studies evaluated a consultation strategy for increasing teachers' implementation of instruction related to specific Individualized Education Plan objectives for handicapped children mainstreamed into regular preschool programs. In the first study, teachers viewed videotaped sequences of regular classroom routines and were asked to generate ideas for embedding IEP-related instruction into those routines. All teachers demonstrated increases in instructional behaviors in targeted routines, and 2 of the 3 teachers increased instruction in additional settings that had not been the focus of the consultation. Children demonstrated concomitant increases in IEP-targeted behaviors. In follow-up questionnaires and interviews, teachers reported increased confidence in their ability to implement specialized instruction. These findings were replicated in a second study in which the videotaping was replaced by teacher interview, and in which the consultation was carried out by a previously untrained special education teacher.     

SEPARATE AND COMBINED EFFECTS OF METHYLPHENIDATE AND A BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION ON DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHILDREN WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

We investigated the separate and combined effects of a behavioral intervention and methylphenidate (Ritalin®) on disruptive behavior and task engagement in 3 children with severe to profound mental retardation. The behavioral intervention involved differential reinforcement of appropriate behavior and guided compliance. All 3 children demonstrated decreased disruptive behavior and improved task engagement in response to the behavioral intervention. Two of the 3 children demonstrated similar improvement in response to methylphenidate. Although both interventions were highly effective for these 2 participants, the relative efficacy of the interventions varied between the 2 children. There was no evidence of an additive or synergistic effect of the two interventions, but the high efficacy of each intervention alone limited our ability to detect such effects.