Reducing Stereotypies for a Student With Deafblindness

Introduction: Little is known about the effects of specific behavioral strategies to reduce stereotypy and self-injury for learners with sensory impairments and additional disabilities. Method: A single-subject, multi-treatment withdrawal design was used to test the isolated and combined effects of physical prompting to engage in object manipulation of preferred items, contingent reinforcement, and response blocking on target hand-related stereotypy and object manipulation for one 9-year-old boy with deafblindness and additional disabilities. Results: A functional relation was observed to show that hand-related stereotypy decreased due to prompting and reinforcement of object manipulation. Adding response blocking had inconsistent positive effects on stereotypy, and a functional relation was not observed. Prompting alone did not appear to increase object manipulation until contingent reinforcement was added, and response blocking did not appear to have an additive effect to increase object manipulation. Discussion: Results contradict findings of the replicated study and indicate need for further research, including research carried out in natural environments. Implications for Practitioners: Practitioners can use this research to justify the application of differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior using functional activities that result in meaningful reinforcement for students.

Self-Regulation Failure? The Influence Mechanism of Leader Reward Omission on Employee Deviant Behavior

Contingent reinforcement behavior is generally regarded as one of the key elements of being a “good” leader, yet the question of what happens when this behavior is absent has received little attention in past empirical research. Drawing upon self-regulation theory, we develop and test a model that specifies the effects of leader reward omission on employes’ deviant behavior. Using the data of 230 workers from two manufacturing companies located in South China collected across three time points, we find that leader reward omission is positively associated with deviant behavior. Moreover, the indirect effects of leader reward omission on employes’ deviant behavior are mediated by moral disengagement. Our study also reveals that Machiavellianism can aggravate the positive effect of leader reward omission on moral disengagement, and subsequently exacerbate the indirect effect on employes’ deviant behavior. Taken together, our findings reveal the consequences of leader reward omission, and the importance of examining subordinate self-regulation under the lack of positive reinforcement.

Questões conceituais e metodológicas quanto ao Reforçamento Não Contingente na intervenção de pessoas com desenvolvimento atípico

O reforçamento não contingente (non-contingent reinforcement - NCR) é um procedimento da Análise do Comportamento Aplicada baseado na apresentação de itens ou disponibilização de atividades preferidas de acordo com intervalos de tempo pré-estabelecidos e de forma independente da emissão de respostas-alvo. Apesar de frequentemente ser utilizado com sucesso na redução de comportamentos disruptivos ou problemáticos, não há consenso sobre quais os processos envolvidos e responsáveis pelas mudanças comportamentais observadas. Este artigo teórico-conceitual discute cada um dos possíveis processos relacionados ao NCR e elucidados nos primeiros estudos empíricos sobre o assunto publicados no Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) na década de noventa; também considera as contribuições de meta-análises publicadas no JABA na última década e estudos feitos nos últimos três anos para esclarecer os mecanismos pelos quais o NCR suprime respostas. Conclui-se que os efeitos do NCR derivam de uma combinação de fatores que devem ser considerados na construção do “pacote” de intervenção desenhado para cada indivíduo.

A Comparison of Teacher and Student Ratings in a Self-Monitoring Intervention

Self-monitoring interventions for students with challenging behavior are often teacher-managed rather than self-managed. Teachers direct these interventions by completing parallel monitoring procedures, providing feedback, and delivering contingent reinforcement to students when they monitor accurately. However, within self-monitoring interventions, the degree to which teachers and students agree in their assessment of students’ behavior is unknown. In this study, a self-monitoring intervention in which both teachers and students rated the students’ behavior, we analyzed 249 fixed interval ratings of behavior from 19 student/teacher pairs to determine the relationship between ratings within and across teacher/student pairs. We found a strong correlation overall ( r =.91), although variability existed within individual pairs and student ratings tended to be higher than teacher ratings. We discuss implications for practice, limitations, and future directions.

Increasing Play Complexity in a Young Child With Autism

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate fewer and less varied play behaviors than children with typical development. This article describes two studies designed to increase two aspects of play complexity—diverse play actions and sequential play actions—in a child with ASD. In Study 1, we use a multitreatment single-case design to compare the use of the system of least prompts with contingent reinforcement for diverse play or all play. In Study 2, we used a multiple probe design to examine the relation between the system of least prompts with contingent reinforcement and the child’s use of play sequences. Across both studies, the complexity of play increased when specific aspects—diversity or sequences—were prompted and reinforced; however, the maintenance of effects were variable.

Effects of Reinforcement on Peer Imitation in a Small Group Play Context

Children with disabilities often have deficits in imitation skills, particularly in imitating peers. Imitation is considered a behavioral cusp—which, once learned, allows a child to access additional and previously unavailable learning opportunities. In the current study, researchers examined the efficacy of contingent reinforcement delivered within a small group play context on the unprompted peer imitation (UPI) behaviors of three children with disabilities. UPI behaviors increased when contingent reinforcement was provided, and maintained with a thinned schedule of reinforcement. However, pretend play and social interactions did not increase concurrently with peer imitation.