Designing a behavioral program for a barrio in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Health in Housing initiated a behavioral program of education and skills training for children and adults in a community of 30,000 persons living in substandard conditions in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. To measure achievement in the long-range project, 21 families of Flor del Campo participated in a preliminary three-part survey of their (a) health, (b) housing and the environment, and (c) family history. Doctors, designers, and educators worked with Honduran personnel in the first survey. Following functional analyses of the home and surrounding environment and the physical status of the individuals living there, procedures provide the family with treatment and training for home and environment improvement. Graphic, verbal, and numerical data, incorporated into a master computerized system, record events of each family member: training programs experienced, health care delivery courses taken, medical treatments, growth of children, literacy changes, educational courses completed, kinds and amounts of foods eaten, household and building materials purchased. Ongoing functional analysis and a long-range evaluation are made of the progress of each participating individual in a family. Teams revisit each house to observe and record any changes in the physical and environmental facility and the health and life-styles, and to report any indications of new health problems or recurrences.     

Utilization analysis of a pedestrian safety training program

A previously developed and analyzed pedestrian safety training program was used to teach appropriate street-crossing behaviors to kindergarteners and first graders. Adult crossing guards were trained to provide pedestrian safety instruction. Trained observers monitored the quality of instructions given by crossing guards and the pedestrian behavior of young children as they crossed the street. A multiple-baseline analysis of the effects of two training programs indicated that guards were able to deliver the pedestrian safety program to several groups of children with a high degree of competence after receiving a single videotape and role playing training session. Furthermore, children's level of appropriate street crossing increased contemporaneous to the change in guard behavior both on the street where training was delivered and on a second street where no training was previously delivered. Utilization analysis of the guard training program indicated that one cannot expect to produce consistently high levels of street-crossing behavior by implementing only the "show and tell" portions of the training package. Similarly, results suggested that one is unlikely to produce consistently high quality guard training behavior by only giving written instructions describing how pedestrian training should be administered.     

Courteous service: Its assessment and modification in a human service organization

We evaluated strategies to increase behaviors associated with courteous provision of service by 3 staff members of a human service agency. Training included written instructions, practice, and performance feedback. A lottery procedure was introduced to maintain courteous service after training. The results of a multiple baseline design across the 3 participants showed marked increases in courteous behaviors following training. These effects were maintained at 3-, 5-, and 8-month follow-ups. Consumers' satisfaction with service also increased. These findings suggest that simple training and reinforcement procedures can enhance courtesy afforded those who receive service from public and nonprofit organizations.     

Effectiveness of a Universal,Interdependent Group Contingency Program on Children's Academic Achievement: A Countywide Evaluation

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a universal prevention program designed to increase academic engagement and to decrease disruptive behavior in elementary school-age children. Teachers and other school personnel use interdependent group contingencies to improve students’ behavior in the classroom. Previous research indicates the GBG is efficacious in reducing behavior problems; however, little research has examined its effects on academic achievement in real-world settings. In this study, the authors evaluated the PAX GBG, a commercially available version of the GBG, as it is typically administered in elementary schools. The authors examined standardized reading and mathematics scores across one academic year for 949 students enrolled in the GBG or comparison classrooms. Results showed significant but small effects of the GBG on reading and mathematics. Results were greatest for boys, children with lower achievement scores at baseline, and students from more economically disadvantaged school districts. School personnel may find the PAX GBG useful in improving children's behavior and academic skills.     

Instructor behavior associated with trainee attentiveness during behavioral training workshops: A preliminary assessment

A variable affecting the success of behavioral training workshops is the degree to which workshop instructors promote attentiveness among trainees. This study represented a preliminary assessment of trainee attentiveness associated with different types of workshop instructor behavior. Attentiveness among 298 people attending 21 training workshops was observed as instructors engaged in different categories and subcategories of behavior. Results indicated a decreasing trend in trainee attentiveness as instructors spent more time exclusively talking and talking with a slide presentation. Relatedly, trainee attentiveness was lowest when instructors were talking with and without a slide presentation relative to engaging in these plus other behaviors (asking a question, telling a story, changing instructors, showing a video, providing a participant activity, and/or expressing humor). Results are discussed in terms of behavior analysts conducting workshops in light of instructional behavior associated with high levels of trainee attentiveness and exerting caution with time spent exclusively talking and talking with slide presentations. Future research areas discussed focus on ways to further specify workshop instructor behavior that promotes or impedes trainee attentiveness.     

A comparison of peer verbal responding directed toward adolescents with behavioral disorders and nonhandicapped peers

One of the primary intents of inclusion is the maximization of interaction between persons with and without disabilities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the verbal responding that peers directed toward adolescents with behavioral disorders and, to this effect, several comparisons were made: verbal responding of peers directed toward adolescents with behavioral disorders was compared to verbal responding of peers directed toward regular class adolescents; verbal responding of peers directed toward the same adolescents with behavioral disorders was compared across their self-contained and integrated settings; and verbal responding of peers directed toward adolescents with behavioral disorders in integrated settings was compared to verbal responding of peers directed toward regular class adolescents. Data, collected in real time using portable microcomputers, focused on positive, negative, and neutral social responding and positive, negative, and neutral academic responding. All verbal responding of peers directed toward 14 adolescents with behavioral disorders and 14 regular class peers was recorded. Data were analyzed by group and setting, as well as by social or academic content. Results of the study support inclusion, with high levels of peer responding directed toward adolescents with behavioral disorders in integrated classrooms. Almost all peer responding was positive or neutral in content. Results were discussed as they related to placement of students, social skills training, and previous research.     

Social validation of a conversational skills-training program

This study sought to demonstrate the social validity of a conversational skills-training program administered to two male clinical cases. Multiple-baseline, single-subject experimental designs were used to evaluate the effects of training on nonverbal and verbal behavior as assessed in unstructured dyadic interactions with experimentally naive peers. The interpersonal attractiveness of subjects also was rated by conversational partners following assessment interactions. Behavioral measures and attraction ratings were converted toT scores relative to means and standard deviations derived from normal subjects. Subject 1 demonstrated posttreatment behavioral skills which were between one and two standard deviations above the norm. Behavioral improvement was associated with comparable improvement in rated interpersonal attractiveness. Following treatment, Subject 2 demonstrated average behavioral competence, but interpersonal attractiveness was not notably enhanced by skills training. These findings are discussed relative to experimental and therapeutic criteria for evaluating treatment outcome.Portions of this research were completed while the authors were affiliated with the University of Georgia. Special thanks are extended to Michael Breakwell for his assistance in completing behavior ratings.     

Observational assessment of behavioral changes accompanying clinical improvement in hospitalized psychiatric patients

Naturalistic observational techniques were employed over a four-week period to assess the behavior of clinically improved (n=7) and unimproved (n=12) hospitalized patients suffering from acute psychiatric disorders. The population was selected from four clinical diagnostic groups. Patients were sampled on an individual basis. Categories of recorded behaviors included social behavior as well as spatial proximity measures between individuals. Social behavior was further divided into components of sending and receiving. Results showed that patients who clinically improved had significantly different behavioral profiles and greater degrees of behavioral change for the following categories: send affiliation, receive affiliation, send assertion, and receive assertion. Improved patients also maintained closer distance to other individuals during the latter stages of hospitalization. In most cases, week 2 of hospitalization marked the point at which behavioral divergence between improved and unimproved patients occurred. Clinical and theoretical implications of observational procedures are discussed.     

DINING OUT WITH CHILDREN: EFFECTIVENESS OF A PARENT ADVICE PACKAGE ON PRE-MEAL INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

The effectiveness of an advice package designed to restructure the restaurant environment and encourage parent praise was examined. Experiment 1 assessed the usefulness of the package when used with experimenter assistance. Videotapes were used to record the target child's behavior. Pre-meal inappropriate behavior decreased an average of 51% across target children. Mealtime inappropriate behavior and parent praise and disapproval were also measured. Experiment 2 was designed to determine whether families could implement the package without experimenter assistance and whether effects obtained would generalize to a different restaurant. Data were taken in vivo. Nine families were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group assignment determined the order in which families went to two restaurants, the number of dinners each family participated in, and the point at which parents received the advice package. The order in which the families went to the two restaurants as well as the number of baseline meals was counterbalanced. Results of Experiment 2 showed that, when using the advice package, parents in all sequences were able to decrease pre-meal inappropriate behavior of their children, and that these effects generalized to a second restaurant.     

School-Based Intervention for Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder: Results of a Controlled Study

Social anxiety disorder, whose onset peaks in adolescence, is associated with significant impairment. Despite the availability of effective treatments, few affected youth receive services. Transporting interventions into schools may circumvent barriers to treatment. The efficacy of a school-based intervention for social anxiety disorder was examined in a randomized wait-list control trial of 35 adolescents (26 females). Independent evaluators, blind to treatment condition, evaluated participants at preintervention, postintervention, and 9 months later. Adolescents in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater reductions than controls in social anxiety and avoidance, as well as significantly improved overall functioning. In addition, 67% of treated subjects, compared to 6% of wait-list participants, no longer met criteria for social phobia following treatment. Findings support the possible efficacy of school-based intervention for facilitating access to treatment for socially anxious adolescents.     

Social Discounting and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Boys

Social discounting refers to the fact that most people assign more value to the welfare of close affiliates than they do to the welfare of distant affiliates—they discount the latter compared to the former. We report the first study to apply a social discounting paradigm to boys. We were particularly interested in investigating the relations between social discounting, age, and externalizing behavior problems (antisocial behavior). Results showed that (1) preadolescent boys were more likely than adolescent boys to show atypical response patterns in allocating rewards to affiliates; (2) task behavior was well represented as social discounting once boys with atypical response patterns were deleted from the sample, and (3) boys functioning in the clinical range on indices of externalizing behavior problems demonstrated steeper social discounting compared to controls. We conclude that social discounting as a measure of perceived social closeness is feasible for use in adolescent samples. Social discounting may operate similarly to other forms of discounting in impulsive individuals. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social evaluation research: the evaluation of two police patrolling strategies

In most social evaluation research it is difficult to achieve the degree of experimental rigor possible in an applied behavioral study. This study illustrates how the evaluation researcher can increase experimental rigor in the analysis of social interventions. In the first evaluation, a variation of the time-series design that offered maximum experimental control given the limitations of the situation, was employed to evaluate the effects of a specialized home-burglary police patrol. This design revealed that no effects could be attributed to the patrol. In the second evaluation, a multiple baseline-like design was possible in determining the effects of a police walking patrol. This design revealed that the patrol produced an increase in crime reporting but not in arrests. Social interventions often occur in a manner that allows varying degrees of experimental analysis. The evaluation researcher must attain optimal experimental analysis given the limitations of each social intervention.     

Improving written language performance of adolescents with Asperger syndrome

The effects of a multicomponent intervention involving self-regulated strategy development delivered via video self-modeling on the written language performance of 3 students with Asperger syndrome were examined. During intervention sessions, each student watched a video of himself performing strategies for increasing the number of words written and the number of functional essay elements. He then wrote a persuasive essay. The number of words written and number of functional essay elements included in each essay were measured. Each student demonstrated gains in the number of words written and number of functional essay elements. Maintenance of treatment effects at follow-up varied across targets and participants. Implications for future research are suggested.     

Racial bias in behavioral assessment of children's social skills

The social skills of 20 second- and sixth-grade students were assessed by 20 trained raters using the Social Skills Test for Children (SST-C). Rater and child characteristics were examined to determine whether differences in social skills ratings were due to the race of the rater or the race of the children being rated or due to the interactive effects of these characteristics, which would suggest racial bias in the ratings procedure. The results showed that the race of the rater did affect some behavioral observations. Black raters gave higher scores than white raters on four behavioral categories: response latency, appropriate assertion, effective assertion, and smiling. White raters gave higher scores for head position and gestures. The results of this study replicated earlier findings of significant differences in social skills ratings due to the race and age of the child being rated. The results also showed modest racial bias effects in that black and white raters scored black and white children differentially on two behavioral categories: overall skill ratings and smiling. These results suggested that most behavioral categories of the SST-C were not systematically affected by racial bias. However, the most subjective rating, overall skill, did evidence racial bias effects. This finding is consistent with previous data showing that subjective ratings may be most affected by racial bias.     

Reducing risk of head injury in youth soccer: An extension of behavioral skills training for heading

Recently, concerns regarding sport-related concussions have increased within the research literature, the media, and popular culture. One potential source of soccer-related concussions involves the purposeful striking of the ball with one's head (i.e., heading). There is currently limited research on an effective teaching method to improve safe heading technique. In the current study, Behavior Skills Training (BST) was evaluated as a method to teach correct heading techniques to youth soccer players. BST increased the percentage of correct steps for each player based on a task analysis of heading. Based on social validity questionnaires administered to players and the coach, BST was rated as an acceptable form of training. After the final training session, experienced coaches rated each player as having improved from baseline to training.     

Group versus individual reinforcement contingencies within the context of group study conditions

We investigated the effects of two teaching variables on students' Spanish vocabulary quiz performance: (a) group study and (b) individual versus group contingencies. In Experiment 1, we compared students' quiz scores under conditions in which students either studied independently and received no programmed reinforcement or studied in groups and received individual rewards for high scores. The results showed that, on average, the group-study individual-reward condition produced superior quiz scores. In Experiment 2, we compared individual (i.e., the superior condition in Experiment 1) and group contingencies within the context of the group study condition. On average across the class, group contingencies produced performance superior to individual contingencies. In both studies, however, benefits for the classes as a whole were mitigated by effects on individual students. These results extend the literature on the effects of group-based instructional activities and reinforcement contingencies. Educators who choose such procedures may encounter conflicting findings depending on whether they examine results at the group or individual level.     

Relationships between assessment and treatment within a behavioral perspective

Three alternative strategies to link assessment and treatment within a behavioral perspective are described. First is the functional analysis in which the maintaining variables of the target behavior are identified in assessment and modified in treatment. Although this strategy appears to be frequently successful based on positive treatment outcome, critical tests are seldom done: hypothesized functional analyses are not tested prior to intervention; nor is treatment outcome based on one functional analysis pitted against treatment outcome based on an alternative functional analysis. The second strategy is the keystone target behavior strategy. From among multiple possible target behaviors, one is selected for intervention that produces therapeutic response covariation. The third strategy is the diagnostic strategy. A treatment is selected for a particular client based on its overall success in treating a particular disorder. Empirical comparisons are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these different strategies, linking assessment and treatment for different disorders.Portions of this paper were presented as invited addresses at the meetings of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Philadelphia, November 1984, and of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, August 1986.     

Issues in the assessment of social competence in children

Recent interest in children's social competence has been prompted by findings of correlational and retrospective studies that indicate a positive relationship between early social adjustment problems of children and their adjustment later in life. To date, the assessment methodology in the area has pursued two directions: (1) sociometric measures (peer nomination and peer rating scales), which have provided the major means of identifying the socially competent child, and (2) direct observation, principally employed in the specification of socially competent behaviors. The current uses and the inherent assets and limitations of both strategies are discussed along with suggestions for enhancing current data collection methods. Issues concerning the definition of social competence, generalizability of current findings, and social norms are also examined.     

Behavioral skills training to increase interview skills of adolescent males in a juvenile residential treatment facility

Some studies suggest that acquiring employment following release from prison may reduce recidivism; however, few studies have evaluated procedures for teaching job-related skills to adolescents in residential detention facilities. Stocco et al. (2017) used behavioral skills training (BST) to improve interview skills of college students. The current study used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the extent to which BST improved interview skills for 7 adolescents who had been adjudicated for sexual offenses. Results show that BST increased appropriate responses to interview questions for 4 students and BST plus modifications (i.e., stimulus and response prompts) increased correct responding to questions for the other 3. In addition, BST increased appropriate questions, correct posture, and smiling, and decreased fidgeting for all 7 students. We briefly discuss the social implications of teaching interview skills to adjudicated adolescents, as well as the limitations of the findings.