TREATMENT INTEGRITY IN APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS WITH CHILDREN

Functional analysis of behavior depends upon accurate measurement of both independent and dependent variables. Quantifiable and controllable operations that demonstrate these functional relationships are necessary for a science of human behavior. Failure to implement independent variables with integrity threatens the internal and external validity of experiments. A review of all applied behavior analysis studies with children as subjects that have been published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis between 1980 and 1990 found that approximately 16% of these studies measured the accuracy of independent variable implementation. Two thirds of these studies did not operationally define the components of the independent variable. Specific recommendations for improving the accuracy of independent variable implementation and for defining independent variables are discussed.     

GENTLE TEACHING AND APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS: A CRITICAL REVIEW

In recent years, there has been a growing controversy surrounding gentle teaching. This paper explores the nature of this controversy with particular reference to the relationship between gentle teaching and applied behavior analysis. Advantages and disadvantages of this approach are discussed, and it is suggested that gentle teaching and applied behavior analysis need not be regarded as mutually exclusive approaches to working with persons with mental retardation.     

COOPER,HERON, AND HEWARD'S APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS (2ND ED.): CHECKERED FLAG FOR STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS,YELLOW FLAG FOR THE FIELD

At last, the field of applied behavior analysis has a beautifully crafted, true textbook that can proudly stand cover to cover and spine to spine beside any of the expensive, imposing, and ornately designed textbooks used by college instructors who teach courses in conventional areas of education or psychology. In this review, I fully laud this development, credit Cooper, Heron, and Heward for making it happen, argue that it signifies a checkered flag for students and professors, and recommend the book for classes in applied behavior analysis everywhere. Subsequently, I review its chapters, each of which could easily stand alone as publications in their own right. Finally, I supply a cautionary note, a yellow flag to accompany the well‐earned checkered flag, by pointing out that, as is true with all general textbooks on applied behavior analysis, a major portion of the references involves research on persons who occupy only a tail of the normal distribution. To attain the mainstream role Skinner envisioned and most (if not all) behavior analysts desire, the field will have to increase its focus on persons who reside under the dome of that distribution.     

THE IMPACT OF FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY ON OUTPATIENT CLINIC SERVICES

The impact of the article by Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman (1982) on research in severe behavior disorders has been impressive. Equally impressive, however, but not as fully recognized, has been the impact of this methodology on the routine professional activities of those who employ functional analysis methods in their daily work. As one example of this impact, we describe the evolution of assessment procedures based on “brief functional analysis” methodology in our outpatient clinics. Less apparent have been the collateral effects that occur from using these procedures. Interactions with clients and colleagues have changed in ways that result in increased positive reinforcement. In this article, we briefly discuss the positive impact functional analysis has had on one specific work behavior—outpatient clinic assessment—and describe some of the generalized effects we have experienced in related aspects of our daily professional activities.     

NAMING,THE FORMATION OF STIMULUS CLASSES,AND APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS

The methods used in Sidman's original studies on equivalence classes provide a framework for analyzing functional verbal behavior. Sidman and others have shown how teaching receptive, name-referent matching may produce rudimentary oral reading and word comprehension skills. Eikeseth and Smith (1992) have extended these findings by showing that children with autism may acquire equivalence classes after learning to supply a common oral name to each stimulus in a potential class. A stimulus class analysis suggests ways to examine (a) the problem of programming generalization from teaching situations to other environments, (b) the expansion of the repertoires that occur in those settings, and (c) the use of naming to facilitate these forms of generalization. Such research will help to clarify and extend Horne and Lowe's recent (1996) account of the role of verbal behavior in the formation of stimulus classes.     

THE EFFECTS OF A GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME ON THE DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR OF SUDANESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

An endemic version of the Good Behavior Game was applied in a rural Sudanese second-grade classroom. Official letters of commendation, extra time for recess, victory tags, and a winner's chart were used as backup reinforcers. The class was divided into two teams, and the teacher indicated she would place a check on the board after every rule violation. The students were also told that the team with the fewest marks would win the game and receive the aforementioned prizes. After an initial adaptation period, the rate of disruption was charted across four treatment phases: viz., baseline I, introduction of the game, baseline II, and reintroduction of the game. It was observed that the game phases were associated with marked decreases in the rate of seat leaving, talking without permission, and aggression. The teacher, principal, parents, and students were consequently individually interviewed, and their comments spoke strongly for the social validity of the game.     

THE INFLUENCE OF CHILD-PREFERRED ACTIVITIES ON AUTISTIC CHILDREN'S SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

One of the characteristics of autistic children is severe social avoidance behavior. We assessed whether the type of activity (child-preferred vs. activities that were arbitrarily determined by an adult) engaged in during an interaction was correlated with the amount of social avoidance behaviors these children exhibit. Results revealed a negative correlation between appropriate child-preferred activities and social avoidance behavior. Additional analyses revealed that (a) social avoidance behaviors could be manipulated within a reversal design, and would predictably decrease when the children were prompted to initiate appropriate child-preferred activities; and (b) these procedures could be used to teach children to initiate child-preferred activities in community settings, resulting in reductions in social avoidance responses even after the therapist's prompts were completely removed. These data suggest that the manipulation of task variables may influence the severe social unresponsiveness that is characteristic of autistic children.     

A REVIEW OF ACADEMIC PERMANENT-PRODUCT DATA COLLECTION AND RELIABILITY PROCEDURES IN APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS RESEARCH1

Three publication sources were reviewed to determine the recent conventions for collecting, and assessing the reliability of, academic permanent-product data (handwriting, examination papers, etc in applied behavior analysis. The primary source was the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (1968–1974). Secondary sources included conference proceedings titled, A new direction in education: behavior analysis (E. Ramp and B. L. Hopkins, Eds., Lawrence, Kansas: Support and Development Center for Follow Through, Department of Human Development, University of Kansas, 1971), and Behavior Analysis and Education (G. Semb, Ed., Lawrence, Kansas: Support and Development Center for Follow Through, Department of Human Development, University of Kansas, 1972). Finally, as a test of the generality of the findings in the two applied behavior analysis sources, the current issue of each of 14 psychological and/or educational journals was reviewed. Thirty JABA studies reported academic permanent-product data, but only 14 reported reliability. Increasingly more product data through 1973 have been reported along with a greater proportion of authors reporting reliability. The review of the two conference proceeding publications revealed the same trend. In 1971, only three studies reported academic product data, none with reliability, while in 1972, 15 reported academic data, nine including reliability assessment. The review of 14 current education/psychology journal issues revealed four studies reporting academic data, none with reliability. Across all sources, about one-half of the studies reported reliability. Most of the studies reporting reliability described the frequency of reliability assessment, with approximately equal numbers of JABA studies reporting reliability for each paper or reliability for each session. The use of uninformed observers was reported in only three JABA studies and one conference study. Marks made on subjects' papers by either the teacher or the primary observer were reported masked for reliability purposes by only two JABA and two conference studies. Reliability was calculated on a session total basis in two JABA studies. Point-by-point agreement was given in nine JABA and three conference studies. Perfect reliability (mean agreement of 100%) was reported in only six JABA and three conference studies. Scores between 90 and 100% were reported in nine JABA and four conference studies. Scores below 80% were reported in three JABA studies. No other percentage agreement scores were reported, although one JABA study reported correlational reliability (Pearson r). In summary, recently more studies have dealt with academic data and, until 1974, a greater proportion of these studies reported reliability assessment, and relatively few studies reported either replicable methods, 100% agreement, or controls for maintaining rater independence.     

认知与决策领域的中国研究现况分析

由于决策科学对于社会经济建设有着直接的意义,所以一直是诸多学科的研究焦点。中国在认知与决策领域经过二十几年的积累,在相当广泛的课题上进行了研究也取得了不小的成就。该文对近年来国内决策科学的研究进行了初步的归纳和总结,其特点为：（1）研究主题广泛;（2）与国际前沿课题保持了高度的一致但仍然缺乏系统性。（3）结合实践课题进行了有益的探讨。同时,该文也尝试对该领域未来发展的趋势进行了分析,目的是抛砖引玉,更好地促进中国决策科学领域的发展。     

上级反馈对员工行为的影响

采用2×2(反馈方式、反馈对象)两因素组间实验设计,选取303名被试考察了上级反馈对员工积极整合行为倾向、冲突行为倾向和中立行为倾向的影响,以及个人主义-集体主义倾向对这种影响的调节作用。结果表明,Singelis、Triandis等人有关个人主义、集体主义的理论框架基本适合中国被试,个体的个人主义、集体主义倾向对反馈的效果起到一定的调节作用。领导的反馈方式、反馈针对的对象对员工的行为主效应都显著,上级的表扬会增加员工的中立行为倾向,针对个人的反馈会引起较强的冲突行为倾向。     

RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHER ATTENTION AND THE “GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME” IN MODIFYING DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR1

A variety of behavioral procedures have been employed in recent years to modify disruptive classroom behavior. Such methods have been developed with the belief that curtailing disruptive behavior would strengthen positive classroom performance. In this study, two procedures, the good behavior game and the teacher-attention method, were compared to determine short-run effectiveness. Four teachers (two fourth-grade and two fifth-grade) implemented both methods in their classrooms over a five-week period. Presentation of methods was alternated in a counterbalanced design to control for order effects. Each of the four classrooms consisted of 25 students. A time-sampling procedure was used to record the presence or absence of disruptive behavior within 15-second intervals. Disruptive behavior was defined as any talking-out or out-of-seat behavior without permission. The results indicated that both procedures were effective in modifying disruptive classroom behavior, but that the good behavior game reduced disruptive behavior significantly better than the teacher-attention method. In addition, all teachers preferred the game to the teacher-attention procedure. This reaction seemed related to the effort involved in initiating the two activities. The good behavior game required less effort on the teacher's part. However, use of the game alone raises certain ethical considerations. One such issue involves abuse of peer pressure. Also, there is a possibility that negative rules may tend to promote resentment. Positively stated rules would ameliorate that problem. Another relates to the possibility that some teachers might be carried away by the ease of the game's implementation to the extent that behavior control becomes the primary objective in the classroom. As a result, one might consider use of the game to maximize short-term change, but then phase out this procedure in favor of another method (e.g., teacher attention) for long-run effects.     

THE EFFECTS OF SEVERE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN ON THE TEACHING BEHAVIOR OF ADULTS

Applied behavior analysts have focused on how adults can influence the problem behavior of children using a variety of behavior modification strategies. A related question, virtually unexplored, is how the behavior problems of children influence adults. This child-effects concept was explored empirically in a study involving 12 adults who were asked to teach four pairs of children in which one member of the pair exhibited problem behavior and the other typically did not. Results demonstrated that problem children displayed tantrums, aggression, and self-injury contingent on adult instructional attempts but not at other times, whereas nonproblem children showed little or no problem behavior at any time. Importantly, from a child-effects perspective, adults engaged in teaching activities with nonproblem children more often than with problem children. Also, when an adult worked with a problem child, the breadth of instruction was more limited and typically involved those tasks associated with lower rates of behavior problems. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to theories of escape behavior, current assessment practices, and intervention issues related to maintenance. The existence of child effects suggests that problem behavior may be better understood when it is conceptualized as involving a process of reciprocal influence between adult and child.     

THE INFLUENCE OF BEHAVIOR PRECEDING A REINFORCED RESPONSE ON BEHAVIOR CHANGE IN THE CLASSROOM1

The influence of behavior that immediately precedes a reinforced target response on the effectiveness of a reinforcement contingency was examined in two experiments with mentally retarded children in a special-education classroom. Two reinforcement schedules were examined in each experiment. For each schedule, a prespecified period of attentive behavior served as the target response. The schedules differed in whether inattentive or attentive behavior was required immediately to precede the target response. These schedules were examined with one child in a simultaneous treatment design using praise as the reinforcer (Experiment I), and with two children in separate reversal designs using tokens as the reinforcer (Experiment II). While attentive behavior increased under each schedule, the increase was greater when attentive rather than inattentive behavior preceded the reinforced response. The results indicated that the effect of a contingency may be determined not only by the specific response reinforced but also by the behavior that immediately precedes that response.     

THE FUNCTIONS OF SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOR: AN EXPERIMENTAL-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Data are summarized from 152 single-subject analyses of the reinforcing functions of self-injurious behavior (SIB). Individuals with developmental disabilities referred for assessment and/or treatment over an 11-year period were exposed to a series of conditions in which the effects of antecedent and consequent events on SIB were examined systematically by way of multielement, reversal, or combined designs. Data were collected during approximately 4,000 experimental sessions (1,000 hr), with the length of assessment for individuals ranging from 8 to 66 sessions (M = 26.2) conducted over 2 to 16.5 hr (M = 6.5). Differential or uniformly high responding was observed in 145 (95.4%) of the cases. Social-negative reinforcement (escape from task demands or other sources of aversive stimulation) accounted for 58 cases, which was the largest proportion of the sample (38.1%). Social-positive reinforcement (either attention or access to food or materials) accounted for 40 (26.3%) of the cases, automatic (sensory) reinforcement accounted for 39 (25.7%), and multiple controlling variables accounted for 8 (5.3%). Seven sets of data (4.6%) showed either cyclical or inconsistent patterns of responding that were uninterpretable. Overall results indicated that functional analysis methodologies are extremely effective in identifying the environmental determinants of SIB on an individual basis and, subsequently, in guiding the process of treatment selection. Furthermore, an accumulation of assessment data from such analyses across a large number of individuals provides perhaps the most rigorous approach to an epidemiological study of behavioral function.     

AN ANALYSIS AND REDUCTION OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR ON SCHOOL BUSES

Thousands of children are injured or killed each year in school bus accidents. A significant number of these tragic incidents is precipitated by disruptive child behavior that distracts the drivers from their difficult task. Two experiments were conducted which addressed this problem. For both experiments an automated sound recording device (referred to as a Noise Guard) selectively responsive to frequencies above 500 Hz (i.e., unresponsive to bus drone) recorded both the duration and frequency of noise outbursts above a tolerable threshold. Additionally, an observer made in situ measurements of other disruptions including roughhousing and getting-out-of-seat. In the first experiment, following baseline measurements of these behaviors, middle-school students received feedback for noise outbursts. That is, when “Noise Guard'” was activated, it in turn operated one of several lights on a panel visible to all passengers. Each day students were allowed to listen to high-appeal taped music while riding the bus and to participate in a raffle for prizes, provided the number of outbursts on the preceding day remained below a specified criterion indicated on the light panel. This intervention resulted in drastic reductions of noise outbursts with a concomitant reduction in other disruptive behaviors. Comparable results were obtained in the second experiment which eliminated the raffle from the intervention.     

行为与脑的关系及其与机体其它属性间的相互作用的研究──心理学研究展望

“二十一世纪的心理学”的论题是当今许多科学家感兴趣的．这种预测是一种想象与现实相结合的尝试。审视过去和现在．心理学未来的雏形的基础可能是行为与脑的关系及其与生命其它属性之间的相互作用。     

学习态度与学习行为的相关性研究

按照态度的结构理论,态度包含认知、情感和意向三种成分。该研究采用问卷测查的方式,考察了学习态度中的三种成分与学习行为的关系。结果表明,影响学习行为最主要的因素不是认知,而是意向和情感。所以要使学生真正形成一种能够促进学习行为的积极的学习态度,关键在于使他们产生对学习的愉悦体验和强烈的投入意愿。