From Percentages to Precision: Using Response Rates to Advance Analyses of Procedural Fidelity.

Unlabelled: In some domains of behavior analysis, summarizing data as a percentage is nearly ubiquitous. This is certainly the case when behavior analysts report data about procedural fidelity (the extent to which procedures are implemented as designed); fidelity data were reported solely as percentage in 423 of 425 recent studies published in the . In this article, we critically examine the use of percentage, especially in the context of analyzing procedural-fidelity data.

A detailed examination of reporting procedural fidelity in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.

Few reviews on procedural fidelity-the degree to which procedures are implemented as designed-provide details to gauge the quality of fidelity reporting in behavior-analytic research. This review focused on experiments in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (2006-2021) with "integrity" or "fidelity" in the abstract or body. When fidelity data were collected, the coders characterized measurement details (e.

Trends in Reporting Procedural Integrity: A Comparison.

Procedural integrity refers to the extent to which an independent variable is implemented as described. Measuring procedural integrity is one important factor when considering internal and external validity of experiments. Experimental articles in behavior-analytic journals have rarely reported procedural-integrity data.

On a persisting curious double standard in behavior analysis: Behavioral scholars' perspectives on procedural fidelity.

Procedural fidelity is the extent to which independent variables are implemented as designed. Despite 40 years of discussion about the importance of procedural fidelity for behavioral research, reporting of fidelity data remains an uncommon practice in behavior-analytic journals. Researchers have speculated about reasons for underreporting, but the perspectives of scholars about when reporting is warranted or necessary have not yet been explored.

Nominally acceptable integrity failures negatively affect interventions involving intermittent reinforcement.

The finding that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) is efficacious at 80% integrity when continuous reinforcement is programmed for alternative responding may have contributed to a perception that integrity at 80% or above is acceptable. However, research also suggests that other interventions (e.g.

Connecting animal trainers and behavior analysts through loopy training.

The communities of behavior analysts and animal trainers remain relatively disconnected despite potentially beneficial links between behavioral principles and the practices of animal training. Describing existing links between research by behavior analysts and practices used by animal trainers may foster connections. In this paper, we describe an approach used by many clicker trainers, referred to as loopy training.

Comparing training methods to improve volunteer skills during therapeutic horseback riding: A randomized control trial.

Although in-vivo behavioral skills training (BST) is often effective, it may be too resource-intensive for organizations that rely on volunteers. Alternatives to in-vivo BST include video models or interactive computer training (ICT), but the utility of these procedures for training volunteers remains largely unknown. We used a randomized control trial to teach multiple skills to new volunteers at a therapeutic riding center.

Treatment Integrity Failures during Timeout from Play.

Timeout is an effective behavior-reduction strategy with considerable generality. However, little is known about how timeout is implemented under natural conditions, or how errors in implementation impact effectiveness. During Experiment 1, we observed teachers implementing timeout during play to evaluate how frequently the teachers implemented timeout following target behavior (omission errors) and other behaviors (commission errors) for four children.

Reporting of demographic variables in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.

Describing demographic variables (e.g., ethnicity/race, socioeconomic status, gender/sex, age) of participants may be important for identifying relations between these variables and behavior-analytic procedures.

Increased number of responses may account for reduced resurgence following serial training.

Abrupt discontinuation of functional communication training can cause resurgence of challenging behavior. Teaching multiple alternative responses in sequence (serial training) may reduce resurgence, relative to teaching a single alternative. However, previous evaluations of serial training included a different number of response options across comparison conditions.

Blue Light Covers Increase Stereotypy and Decrease On-Task Behavior for Students with Autism.

Some recommended strategies for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not empirically based. The purpose of the study was to evaluate effects of blue light covers on levels of stereotypy and on-task behavior. Four male children with ASD who engaged in repetitive behavior participated.

Resurgence of previously taught academic responses.

Resurgence is often discussed in relation to the relapse of undesirable behavior. However, resurgence may also describe the recurrence of socially appropriate behavior, including academic responding. The recurrence of academic responses following periods of extinction may aid in the solution of novel problems.

Accumulated reinforcers increase academic responding and suppress problem behavior for students with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

We compared rates of academic responses and problem behavior during mathematics with distributed and accumulated reinforcer arrangements for 3 students with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder who engaged in chronic, severe problem behavior. All 3 students engaged in more academic responding and less problem behavior when reinforcers accumulated throughout the session, relative to conditions in which reinforcers were distributed throughout the session or withheld completely. We then conducted concurrent-chain analyses to evaluate student preference for the reinforcer arrangements.

Assessing the repeatability of resurgence in humans: Implications for the use of within-subject designs.

Resurgence refers to the recurrence of a previously reinforced response following the worsening of reinforcement conditions (e.g., extinction) for an alternative response.

Effects of treatment-integrity failures on a response-cost procedure.

Effects of incorrect or partial implementation (poor treatment integrity) on response cost are largely unknown. We evaluated reduced treatment integrity during response cost on rates of 2 concurrently available responses. College students earned points by clicking on either a black circle or a red circle on a computer screen.

Evaluation of treatment integrity errors on mand acquisition.

Manding allows individuals to access reinforcers in their environment. Caregivers may not implement mand-training programs as designed, which could result in decreased mand proficiency. This study evaluated the effects of delivery of the incorrect item (Experiment 1) and response-independent item delivery (Experiment 2) across 4 levels of treatment integrity (0%, 40%, 70%, and 100%) on mand acquisition with individuals with developmental disabilities.

A comparison of error-correction procedures on skill acquisition during discrete-trial instruction.

Previous research supports the use of a variety of error-correction procedures to facilitate skill acquisition during discrete-trial instruction. We used an adapted alternating treatments design to compare the effects of 4 commonly used error-correction procedures on skill acquisition for 2 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 3 children with autism spectrum disorder. For all participants, multiple error-correction procedures were effective; however, 1 or 2 specific error-correction procedures led to more efficient skill acquisition for each individual.

Effects of fixed-time reinforcement schedules on resurgence of problem behavior.

Resurgence of problem behavior following the discontinuation of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) may be prevented by response-independent reinforcer delivery. In basic research, response-independent reinforcer delivery following DRA prevented resurgence of the initially reinforced response and maintained alternative responding (Lieving & Lattal, 2003, Experiment 3). We evaluated the generality of these results by assessing if fixed-time (FT) reinforcer delivery following DRA would prevent resurgence of problem behavior and maintain appropriate behavior with 4 children with disabilities.

Functional Analysis With Typically Developing Children: Best Practice or Too Early to Tell?: In Response to.

Hanley (2012) provided a guide to practitioners and researchers in the conduct of functional assessment for problem behavior, citing a body of empirical work to support his view. Much of the work Hanley drew upon was conducted with individuals with developmental delay in hospitals or outpatient clinic settings. In this paper, we argue that the guidelines he put forth are not necessarily applicable to work in schools or with typically developing individuals.

Increasing accurate preference assessment implementation through pyramidal training.

Preference assessments directly evaluate items that may serve as reinforcers, and their implementation is an important skill for individuals who work with children. This study examined the effectiveness of pyramidal training on teachers' implementation of preference assessments. During experiment 1, 3 special education teachers taught 6 trainees to conduct paired-choice, multiple-stimulus without replacement, and free-operant preference assessments.

Preference for blocking or response redirection during stereotypy treatment.

Response redirection and response blocking reduce stereotypy maintained by automatic reinforcement. The current study evaluated the effects of redirection and response blocking on the stereotypic responding of three elementary-age children diagnosed with autism. During the treatment evaluation, redirection and response blocking were evaluated using an alternating treatment embedded in a reversal design.

Reduction of biting and chewing of horses using differential reinforcement of other behavior.

Biting and chewing by horses on crossties can result in injury to the handler and damage to equipment. Operant-conditioning techniques have been used to train horses and could be used to reduce or eliminate undesirable biting and chewing. Presently, a differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior (DRO) schedule, in the context of a reversal design, was effective in reducing biting and chewing in two horses.