Peer-mediated reinforcement plus prompting as treatment for off-task behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Functional analyses revealed that peer attention was one variable maintaining the off-task behavior exhibited by 3 students with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Peer-mediated reinforcement plus prompting was then used to reduce off-task behavior in a simulated classroom environment. Implications for future applications of this procedure with children diagnosed with ADHD are discussed.     

The length of teacher contacts and students' off-task behavior

This study investigated the relationship between a teacher's contact durations and the off-task behavior of students not in contact with the teacher. Contact durations were defined as the amount of time the teacher spent working individually with each student. Off-task behavior was recorded for six third-graders who comprised a small instructional group in mathematics. After baseline established that contact durations averaged approximately 38 sec, the teacher was instructed to hold contacts for at least 50 sec. During this phase, the students' off-task behavior increased. The teacher was then instructed to hold contacts for only 20 sec. During this phase, the students' off-task behavior decreased.     

The effects of a response cost treatment tactic on hyperactive children

In a pilot study, a multielement design was used to assess the effectiveness of a response cost procedure on a 7-year-old child's hyperactive behavior and academic performance across days. The procedure was effective in reducing off-task behavior and in increasing academic assignment completion. In Experiment 2, three strategies were compared to a no-treatment baseline in treating an 8-year-old hyperactive child: drug (Ritalin) alone, response cost alone, and drug plus response cost. The cost program alone and the cost program combined with medication were effective in reducing off-task behavior and in increasing academic performance. In both studies, the procedure was viewed by the teachers as practical and effective for use in a classroom setting. The subjects liked the cost system and believed that they completed more academic work when it was operative.     

Causal attribution, cognitive interference, and the generalization of learned helplessness

We assessed the role of off-task cognitions in mediating the performance effects of global and specific attributions for failure. In Experiment 1, subjects were divided into global and specific attributors and were exposed to either no feedback or failure feedback. In Experiment 2, subjects were exposed to no feedback or to unsolvable problems wherein they received attribution for failure to specific or global causes. Experiment 3 added a condition in which subjects were restrained from engaging in off-task cognitions. Results showed that exposure to unsolvable problems deteriorated performance and increased off-task cognitions mainly among subjects who attributed failure to global causes. In addition, the enhancement of off-task cognitions interfered with performance following unsolvable problems. The introduction of instructions that discouraged subjects from engaging in off-task cognitions eliminated the detrimental effects of global attribution. Results are discussed in terms of test anxiety and excuse-making conceptualizations of learned helplessness.     

White Noise to Decrease Problem Behaviors in the Classroom for a Child With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Continuous white noise played through headphones was used as a classroom intervention to reduce off-task behavior and increase assignment production and accuracy for a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). When listening to white noise the student's off-task behavior decreased from 89% during baseline to 62%. Subsequently, he began taking a stimulant medication for his ADHD. Pharmacotherapy alone (65% off task) was approximately equivalent to white noise alone. When medication was combined with white noise his off-task behavior decreased to 45%. Assignment production was also enhanced while listening to white noise, whereas accuracy remained high throughout.     

Effects of a Classwide Interdependent Group Contingency Designed to Improve the Behavior of an At-Risk Student

When students display disruptive behaviors, it interferes with their own, and other students’ learning and with the teacher’s ability to instruct during academic activities. This study investigated the effects of a classwide interdependent group contingency on the on/off-task behaviors of an at-risk student in a first-grade classroom in a private Midwestern school. The student was referred for intervention due to his high rates of off-task behavior and low levels of academic engagement. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention to improve the target student’s behavior as well as that of his classroom peers. Results suggested that the intervention decreased the individual student’s off-task behavior and increased academic engagement while also having positive effects on overall behavior in the classroom.     

Effects of experimenter and mother presence on the attentional performance and activity of hyperactive boys

The attentional performance, activity, and off-task behavior of hyperactive boys with and without conduct problems and normal boys were compared on a cancellation task under three conditions: when performing the task alone, with mother present, and with experimenter present. Results indicated that both the hyperactive groups achieved poorer attentional scores than normal subjects in the alone and mother present conditions, but improved in the experimenter present condition. The performance of the hyperactive boys with conduct problems was particularly affected by this condition. The activity and off-task behavior scores of both the hyperactive groups were higher than controls in all conditions, although the hyperactive boys with conduct problems decreased in off-task behavior when the experimenter was present. Attention and behavior scores were not significantly correlated. The implications of these findings for assessment of hyperactivity, and the role of noncompliance in the attentional behavior of hyperactive children, are discussed.This study is based in part on the first author's Ph.D. thesis in the Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne.     

Functional analysis and treatment of problem behavior exhibited by elementary school children.

A functional analysis involving antecedent events was conducted with 4 students who had been identified as having behavior problems. Off-task behavior was measured while task difficulty and level of adult attention were manipulated during analogue sessions. Results revealed two patterns: Three students displayed higher rates of off-task behavior during difficult tasks, and 1 displayed higher rates of off-task behavior during sessions with low attention. Improved behavior was observed when students were taught an alternative behavior that matched the assessment results.     

Use of peer-mediated intervention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The present experiment extended and replicated the use of functional analysis and a peer-mediated intervention to decrease disruptive behavior displayed by children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in an afterschool program. After determining that the participants displayed off-task behavior maintained by peer attention via a functional analysis, peer-implemented differential reinforcement of other behavior with extinction was effective in reducing participants' off-task behaviors. The use of peers as behavior-change agents is discussed, as are avenues for future research.     

Increasing On-Task Behavior Using Teacher Attention Delivered on a Fixed-Time Schedule

The effectiveness of fixed-time delivery of attention to increase the on-task behavior of 2 students in general education was examined. The teacher in this study provided attention to students on a 5-min fixed-time schedule and responded to students in her typical manner between cued intervals. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to test the effects of the intervention. The results of this study indicate that a fixed-time schedule of attention was effective in increasing students’ on-task behavior and decreasing their off-task behavior. Implications of the study for research and practice are discussed.     

Prenatal cocaine exposure and infants' preference for novelty and distractibility

The authors used the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (J. F. Fagan, L. T. Singer, J. E. Montie, & P. A. Shepherd, 1986) to examine preferences for novelty and to evaluate several indicators of attention (off- and on-task indexes and durations) in 6- and 9-month-old infants who had been prenatally exposed to cigarette smoke only or to cocaine plus other substances. The infants were matched for socioeconomic status. The authors found no group differences in preference for novelty, but the off-task distractibility index and duration were affected by exposure history and showed effects of dosage at the 9-month test time. Infants exposed to cocaine had a higher off-task index and a shorter average off-task look duration than did infants in the other groups. The authors interpreted this pattern of behavior as an indicator of distractibility or stimulation seeking. There were no group differences in measures involving on-task looks or duration at either test time. Correlations between the off-task look index and duration and teratogen use produced moderate correlations at 9 months of age. The authors calculated partial correlations between teratogen exposure and the off-task index at each trimester. Cocaine use during the 1st and 2nd trimesters was significantly correlated with the off-task index at 9 months of age, even when the authors controlled for neonatal measures (e.g., gestational age, birth weight) and during the 1st trimester when they controlled for alcohol and cigarette exposure.     

POSITIVE PRACTICE OVERCORRECTION: THE EFFECTS OF DURATION OF POSITIVE PRACTICE ON ACQUISITION AND RESPONSE REDUCTION

The effects of long and short durations of positive practice overcorrection were studied, for reduction of off-task behavior after an instruction to perform an object-placement task. Off-task behavior, correct responses, and approximate responses were all observed. Off-task behavior received positive practice. The short and long practice durations (30 seconds and 3 minutes) produced equally rapid reduction of off-task behavior and acquisition of correct object-placement performance. Over sessions, much less time was required for positive practice when the short practice duration was used. Approximate responses, which also avoided positive practice, occurred at low rates relative to correct responding. Negative side effects were observed to occur primarily during sessions with long positive practice. These results indicate that use of short durations of positive practice can reduce the practice time required and negative side effects, with no loss of training effectiveness either for reducing inappropriate behavior or increasing a desired alternative behavior.     

The Effects of a Self-Management Program in Reducing Off-Task Behavior

Two adolescents with learning disabilities were taught to use a self-management program to decrease off-task behavior in two general education classes and a study hall class. The self-management program included three components—a checklist, a behavior rating scale, and a self-monitoring form. A multiple baseline design was implemented across settings for each participant. The findings indicated that the self-management program was successful in all three settings in decreasing off-task behaviors. Additionally, the teacher ratings of student behavior were found to increase during self-monitoring, suggesting the overall behavior of the students improved during the self-management program. The results are discussed in terms of the novelty of using teacher ratings of student behavior to demonstrate a relationship between the implementation of the self-management program and teacher reports of changes in other classroom behaviors.     

Conflicts between on-task and off-task behaviors in the classroom: the influences of parental monitoring, peer value orientations, students’ goals, and their value orientations

Students in class are sometimes torn between following the lesson and engaging in off-task behavior. In this paper, instead of classifying it as a form of deviant behavior, off-task behavior is reconstructed as a manifestation of students multiple motivations in the classroom. The study examines whether parental monitoring, peer value orientations, students’ personal goals, and their value orientations determine students’ motivational interference in these conflict situations. Participants were 348 students (mean age 15.24) from 16 classes of four high schools. A self-report questionnaire was used that combined a qualitative assessment of personal goals with a quantitative approach. Qualitative answers were coded and data was analyzed in a series of hierarchical linear models. As hypothesized, relationships between motivational interference and parental monitoring, peer achievement and well-being value orientations, students’ school- and leisure-related goals, as well as students’ achievement and well-being value orientations were demonstrated. Students’ own value orientations emerged to be the strongest predictor of motivational interference and mediated between parental monitoring and motivational interference. The results suggest that teachers should help students to reconcile their multiple values and goals in the classroom.     

Behavioral comparisons of hyperactive and normally active children in natural settings

Matched pairs of hyperactive and normally active children were observed in six natural classroom settings and a number of specific behaviors continuously recorded. Both groups of children showed differences in behavior as a function of settings (selected to vary in amount of external stimulation and structure), but only certain settings differentiated hyperactive from control children. Hyperactive children displayed significantly more noise-vocalization and more disruptive and off-task behavior in the most frequently observed (low stimulation) classroom settings (e.g., seat work). Type of off-task behavior (out-of-seat or visually off-task) depended upon amount of classroom structure (i.e., teacher- vs. self-directed). Results were discussed in terms of their implications for identification and treatment of hyperactive children through the modification of the antecedent conditions of stimulation and structure.     

Effects of White Noise on Off-Task Behavior and Sleep for Elementary-Age Students with ADHD

Abstract

Children with ADHD were administered 75?dB of continuous white noise during independent seat work in the classroom and during bedtime in their homes. Compared to baseline all three students exhibited decreases in off-task behavior. Off-task behavior returned to original baseline levels when white noise was removed and decreased again when reintroduced in classrooms. White noise also decreased bedtime sleep latency and spontaneous night wakings at home. Both sleep latencies and night wakings increased during return-to-baseline conditions. Surprisingly, when white noise was reintroduced only in the classrooms sleep improved a second time. White noise in classrooms with or without simultaneous treatment during sleep at night resulted in lower levels of off-task classroom behavior as well as less disruptive sleep. Results were independent of whether children were on ADHD medication. Children, teachers, and parents all rated white noise favorably.     

Interaction of reinforcement schedules, a behavioral prosthesis, and work-related behavior in adults with mental retardation

The effects of variable-interval (VI) and fixed-ratio (FR) schedules of reinforcement for work-related behavior and an organizer for the work materials (behavioral prosthesis) were evaluated with 3 adults with severe or profound mental retardation. The participants had been recommended for study because of high rates of off-task and aberrant behavior in their daily vocational training programs. For 2 participants, VI and FR schedules resulted in the same outcome: more aberrant behavior than on-task and off-task behavior combined. The FR schedule nearly eliminated emission of aberrant and off-task behavior by the 3rd participant. Combining the behavioral prosthesis with FR reinforcement (FR+O) increased the proportion of time spent in on-task behavior by all participants under certain FR schedule parameters. Second-by-second analyses of the observation records revealed that FR schedules reduced off-task and aberrant behavior during work sequences (i.e., ratio runs), and FR+O led to a further reduction of these behaviors during postreinforcement pauses. Overall, the results show how organizer and schedule parameters can be adjusted to produce an optimized balance between productivity and reinforcement while undesirable behavior is minimized.     

Self-Recording

The purpose was to evaluate the effects of self-recording in reducing off-task behavior with a high school student labeled as attention deficit disordered with hyperactivity (ADHD). The student emitted low rates of attending and was enrolled in a self-contained classroom for the behaviorally disordered. Off-task data were gathered in the student's special education classroom setting. An ABAB single-subject replication design was employed to evaluate effects of a self-monitoring. The results indicate an increase in off-task behavior within the classroom setting. Opinions provided by the other school staff suggested a perceived lack of generalization of treatment gains to other courses in which the student was enrolled. Ratings by a student observer indicate that the severity of disruptions declined during the self-monitoring phases. Possible reasons for this outcome are discussed. Practical implications for the use of the procedures in a secondary classroom are presented.     

Effects of positive and negative adult-child interactions on children's task performance and task preferences

In individual sessions, an adult directed three boys to work on each of three different tasks. Within a given session the on-task behavior for one task was praised, the off-task behavior for another task was verbally reprimanded, and all behavior was ignored with the third task. Using a multielement baseline design, the manner in which the adult interacted with the children on a given task varied from day to day. Across 18 sessions, verbal reprimands produced the highest task rates, with praise producing only a slightly higher rate of responding than noninteraction. After each session the children were given the choice of which of the three tasks they wished to work on when the adult left the room for a few minutes. Tasks associated with verbal reprimands of off-task behavior were never chosen. The first and second choices were always the task associated with praise for on-task behavior or the task where the children were ignored. These preferences generalized to similar tasks.     

More than off-task: Increased freely-moving thought in ADHD

Off-task thought has been found to occur at high rates and is related to impairment in ADHD. However, off-task thought is heterogenous and it remains unclear which specific dimensions of off-task thought are more prevalent in this disorder. It is therefore important to dissociate different aspects of off-task thought in order to better understand the mechanisms underlying impairment. The current study focused on the dimension of constrained (focused) to freely moving off-task thought. Self-report and neurophysiological measures during a computerized attention tasks provided convergent evidence that individuals with ADHD not only have more off-task thought than those without, but also engaged in a greater proportion of freely moving off-task thought than non-ADHD controls. Overall, this work demonstrated differences in both the quantity and type of off-task thought in adults with ADHD. It provides novel insight into both the phenomenology of off-task thought, as well as potential mechanisms underlying impairment in ADHD.