DEVELOPING A TECHNOLOGY FOR THE USE OF OPERANT EXTINCTION IN CLINICAL SETTINGS: AN EXAMINATION OF BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

Extinction of operant behavior, which involves terminating the reinforcement contingency that maintains a response, is important to the development, generalization, and reduction of behavior in clinical settings. We review basic and applied research findings on variables that influence the direct and indirect effects of extinction and discuss the potential value of a general technology for the use of extinction. We suggest that current research findings are not sufficient for the development of a comprehensive, applied technology of extinction and provide extensive guidelines for further studies on factors that may affect the course of extinction in clinical settings.     

SLEEP DEPRIVATION,ALLERGY SYMPTOMS,AND NEGATIVELY REINFORCED PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

We studied the relation between the presence versus the absence of sleep deprivation or allergy symptoms and the rate and function of problem behavior. Three students whose problem behavior was negatively reinforced by escape from instruction were studied across several weeks using analogue functional analyses. Our results indicated that the extraexperimental events were associated with (a) termination of instruction functioning as a negative reinforcer, (b) increased rates of negatively reinforced problem behavior, or (c) increased rates of problem behavior across all conditions.     

COMBINING NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT AND DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES AS TREATMENT FOR ABERRANT BEHAVIOR

Research has shown that noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) can be an effective behavior-reduction procedure when based on a functional analysis. The effects of NCR may be a result of elimination of the contingency between aberrant behavior and reinforcing consequences (extinction) or frequent and free access to reinforcers that may reduce the participant's motivation to engage in aberrant behaviors or mands. If motivation is momentarily reduced, behavior such as mands may not be sensitive to positive reinforcement. In this study, for 3 children with aberrant behavior maintained by tangible positive reinforcement, differential-reinforcement-of-alternative-behavior schedules were superimposed on NCR schedules to determine if mands could be strengthened. Results for the participants indicated that NCR did not preclude reinforcement of mands.     

Maternal gestational stress alters adaptive and social behavior in adolescent rhesus monkey offspring

Data from rodent studies have indicated that stress experienced by pregnant mothers may result in behavioral and biological abnormalities in their offspring. However, few studies have examined the effects of prenatal stress on the offspring beyond the childhood period. In this study, 7 prenatally stressed (PNS) monkeys and 7 monkeys from undisturbed pregnancies were tested under mildly challenging conditions at 4 years of age. Following separation from cagemates and group formation, PNS monkeys showed more locomotion, abnormal and disturbance behavior than controls. Controls showed approximately six times more play than PNS animals. The PNS males showed the most clinging to others and the largest increase in contact with other animals over the period. Group differences were also found when the monkeys were observed as groups or alone in a playroom. Controls showed more explanatory behavior in the playroom, whereas PNS monkeys showed more inactivity. Control animals showed a decrease in distress vocalizations over time in the playroom, whereas PNS animals showed the opposite pattern. Control animals spent more time in proximity to and contact with cagemates than PNS animals. These results indicate that prenatal stress can have effects on adaptive and social behavior that persist into adolescence.     

家兔具有分辨红绿的色觉行为

本文在11只上海家免上进行了色觉行为学的实验研究。通过限制方位、光强等可能成为条件刺激的因素,并排除了声音、气味、背景光刺激等的干扰,确保颜色成为唯一的条件刺激,建立食物性红绿色觉分辨条件反射。经过适应、筛选、驯练和测试,在家兔上建立了对绿光稳固的条件反射。该结果显示兔具有颜色分辨能力。     

Eliminating the battering of women by men: Some considerations for behavior analysis

Based on review of representative literature, history and current research indicate that battering by male partners is a major health problem for women. Use of physical aggression and verbal coercion can be described by three-term contingencies involving escape, avoidance, punishment, and positive reinforcement. These contingencies occur within societal practices, rules, and models that involve oppression of women and insubstantial consequences for men who batter. The difficulties in directly observing a couple's interactions and their aggression have been a methodological barrier to the involvement of behavior analysts in treatment of and research on domestic violence. Recommendations are made for behavior analysts to contribute to reducing battering through development and analysis of program components and application of contingency management and behavioral training technology.     

The effects of a sportsmanship curriculum intervention on generalized positive social behavior of urban elementary school students

This study evaluated the effects of an elementary physical education curriculum in which development of positive social skills, including leadership and conflict-resolution behaviors, was the primary focus. A second goal was to determine possible generalization effects beyond the primary intervention setting. Students in two urban elementary physical education classes served as subjects, with a third class used as a comparison. The effects of the curriculum intervention were evaluated in the training setting and in the students' regular education classrooms using a multiple baseline across classrooms design. Results showed (a) an immediate increase in student leadership and independent conflict-resolution behaviors, (b) an increase in percentage of class time devoted to activity participation, and (c) decreases in the frequency of student off-task behavior and percentage of class time that students devoted to organizational tasks. Similar changes in student behavior were also observed in the regular classroom settings.     

Comparing choice and questionnaire measures of the acceptability of a staff training procedure

We compared questionnaire and choice measures of acceptability while evaluating effects of staff familiarity versus unfamiliarity with the system used to monitor performance during a training program. Staff members rated both monitoring formats equally favorably on the questionnaire, whereas when given a choice, they frequently chose the familiar format and never chose the unfamiliar format. These results suggest that traditional questionnaire evaluations may not be sufficiently sensitive measures of acceptability relative to choice measures.     

APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL?

This paper examines Pfadt and Wheeler's (1995) suggestions that the methods of statistical process control (SPC) be incorporated into applied behavior analysis. The research strategies of SPC are examined and compared to those of applied behavior analysis. I argue that the statistical methods that are a part of SPC would likely reduce applied behavior analysts' intimate contacts with the problems with which they deal and would, therefore, likely yield poor treatment and research decisions. Examples of these kinds of results and decisions are drawn from the cases and data Pfadt and Wheeler present. This paper also describes and clarifies many common misconceptions about SPC, including W. Edwards Deming's involvement in its development, its relationship to total quality management, and its confusion with various other methods designed to detect sources of unwanted variability.     

EVALUATION OF TWO HEALTH EDUCATION STRATEGIES FOR TESTICULAR SELF-EXAMINATION

We evaluated the effects of two health education teaching methods, a pamphlet based on a task-analyzed checklist and two professionally developed films, on the completeness, accuracy, and maintenance of testicular self-examinations (TSE). Subjects (N = 48) were videotaped while performing a TSE after training and at a follow-up visit. Direct observation of the tapes showed that checklist-based training resulted in more complete and longer TSEs (p < .05). Social validation ratings, however, suggested that physicians were unable to discriminate reliably the performances of subjects taught using the two methods. Accuracy of detection of simulated lesions on plastic models was also similar for the two groups. Adherence to TSE recommendations was high during the study, but declined across the follow-up period. Further study is needed to promote adherence to TSE and to document the effects of early detection on morbidity and mortality of testicular cancer.