Application of synchronous music reinforcement to increase walking speed: A novel approach for training intensity.

Walking is a common and preferred form of exercise. Although there are current recommendations for walking volume (e.g.

Assessing stimulus preference using response force in a conjugate preparation: A replication and extension.

The current study examined 98 participants' preferences for five pictorial stimuli. The researchers used a verbal multiple-stimulus-without-replacement (VMSWO) preference assessment with each participant to identify high-preference and low-preference pictorial stimuli. Next, participants viewed each pictorial stimulus in a randomized order on a computer while using a hand dynamometer that measured the amount of force they exerted to increase or maintain the visual clarity of each image.

Comparing stimulus preference and response force in a conjugate preparation: A replication with auditory stimulation.

This study examined a conjugate approach for evaluating auditory stimulus preference for 81 participants using force as a continuous response dimension. First, the researchers used a verbal preference assessment to evaluate each participant's preference for listening to five genres of music. This process identified high-preference and low-preference music for each participant.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Treating Severe Behavior in a Juvenile Justice Facility: Teaching Behavioral Self-Management via Telehealth.

Adolescents living in residential juvenile justice facilities often receive mental health services during their stay to address committed offenses, yet some display challenging behavior during moments of conflict within the facility. These challenging behaviors could result in risk of harm to self or others, or the individual may experience punishment from facility staff. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of an additive voluntary focused intervention for individuals who continued to display challenging behavior despite participation in "treatment as usual" in a juvenile justice facility.

Multiple schedules of conjugate reinforcement and extinction: A translational model for assessing automatically reinforced behavior.

This study evaluated the extent to which a conjugate reinforcement schedule (CONJ) involving a contingency between pedaling a stationary bike and viewing a preferred movie could serve as a translational preparation for the analysis of automatically reinforced behavior. In part, researchers examined whether providing participants with either an accurate or an inaccurate rule about the extinction (EXT) component of a multiple schedule (MULT) contributed to the development of control by the MULT (CONJ EXT) schedule. Results show schedule control emerged for four of five participants who received the accurate rule and none of the five participants who received the inaccurate rule.

Eight Months of Telehealth for a State-Funded Project in Foster Care and Related Services: Progress Made and Lessons Learned.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many behavior analysts and other health professionals modified their services for delivery via telehealth modalities. The transition to telehealth is especially important for providers working with foster youth who exhibit challenging behavior because these youth often move to another placement due to such behaviors. The primary objective of this article was to evaluate the extent to which service indicators for a state-funded team working with foster youth changed after the service delivery model changed from in-person to telehealth services.

Improving Juvenile Justice Settings by Decreasing Coercion: One Lab's Perspectives from Behind the Fence.

In this article, we outline an emerging role for applied behavior analysis in juvenile justice by summarizing recent publications from our lab and discussing our procedures through the lens of coercion proposed by Goltz (2020). In particular, we focus on individual and group interventions that target a range of behaviors emitted by adolescents in a residential treatment facility. In general, individual interventions involve teaching adolescents to (1) respond appropriately to staff, (2) tolerate nonpreferred environmental conditions, and (3) control problematic sexual arousal.

A Pilot Study Exploring Social Validity Ratings of Social Profiles for College Students.

Nuhu and Rapp identified three profiles undergraduates displayed during social interactions. We evaluated the social validity of these three profiles in two studies. In Study 1 we presented video exemplars of speakers representing each profile to undergraduate participants and asked them to rate the speaker in respect to various statements.

Comparing stimulus preference and response force in a conjugate preparation.

Researchers used a conjugate preparation to evaluate how response force changed based on participants' preferences for visual stimuli. First, researchers used a verbal preference assessment to evaluate each participant's preference for viewing for five object categories of visual stimuli; this process identified high preference (HP) stimuli and low preference stimuli for most participants. Thereafter, researchers exposed each participant to the five stimulus categories in a randomized order while using a force dynamometer to measure their response force to increase visual clarity of each stimulus.

Fluency and the Maintenance of Skills Related to Sex Laws for Individuals Adjudicated for Illegal Sexual Behavior.

Previous research has evaluated the effects of various commonly used mastery criteria on skill maintenance by directly manipulating the accuracy requirement, as well as the sessions across which these accuracy levels must be demonstrated. The current study extends this literature by including a rate dimension within the mastery criterion with a unique population. We implemented a fluency-oriented treatment package to increase intraverbal skills related to state sex laws using a multiple-baseline design across 3 target sets for 2 individuals adjudicated for illegal sexual behavior.

Increasing Praise Delivery Within Dorms of a Juvenile Justice Facility.

Researchers have shown that adolescents in residential treatment facilities benefit from behavior-analytic intervention. However, it remains unclear whether practitioners can apply behavioral interventions to increase staff members' appropriate interactions with residents within a juvenile justice facility. In Study 1, researchers compared direct measures of staff behavior in three target dorms (D1, D2, and D3) containing high levels of resident disruptive behavior to a dorm (D4) with consistently low levels of resident disruptive behavior.

Using Arousal Suppression Exercises to Decrease Inappropriate Sexual Arousal in Detained Adolescent Males: Three Clinical Demonstrations.

Reyes, Vollmer, and Hall (2011) found that 2 arousal suppression strategies, 1 of which involved counting backward from 100 to 0, decreased sexual arousal for 2 male sex offenders with intellectual disabilities. In the current clinical study, we taught 3 adolescent males who had been adjudicated for illegal sexual behavior to self-report arousal when they were presented with sexually arousing visual stimuli. Based on the procedures in the Reyes et al.

Enhancing the Lives of Foster Youth with Behavioral Interventions.

As members of state-funded team to monitor psychotropic medication use and examine cost-effective methods for behavioral treatment in foster care, the authors review behavioral studies on interventions for foster youth who engage in challenging behavior. Four behavioral technologies-preference assessments, teaching procedures, functional behavioral assessment and intervention, and parent training-are discussed. Four case studies and behavioral data for foster youth treated using these technologies are provided.

Does Awareness of either Psychotropic Medication or Behavioral Interventions Bias College Students' Ratings of a Child's Behavior?

Caregiver awareness that a child receives either psychotropic medication or behavioral intervention could bias that caregiver's perception of the child's behavior and give rise to incorrect conclusions about intervention effectiveness. To evaluate bias for the effects of either medication or behavioral intervention, we randomly assigned 114 participants to one of the four groups: Medication information (Med info), Behavioral information (Beh info), No change (control group), and Reverse video (Rev Vid; also no change, but participants watched videos in the reverse order). Participants watched two 5-min video clips of a child engaging in low to moderate levels of problem behavior.

Behavioral skills training to increase interview skills of adolescent males in a juvenile residential treatment facility.

Some studies suggest that acquiring employment following release from prison may reduce recidivism; however, few studies have evaluated procedures for teaching job-related skills to adolescents in residential detention facilities. Stocco et al. (2017) used behavioral skills training (BST) to improve interview skills of college students.

Effects of Obtrusive Observation and Rules on Classroom Behavior of Adolescents in a Juvenile Residential Treatment Setting.

Several studies have used interdependent group contingencies to decrease disruptive behavior and increase appropriate behavior for groups of adolescents. In addition, one study demonstrated that rules plus feedback about rule violations, without additional group contingencies, decreased problem behavior and increased appropriate behavior for adolescents in three classrooms within a residential juvenile facility. Given the rapid behavior change observed in the aforementioned study, it is possible behavior changes were produced by reactivity to obtrusive observation from program implementers.

Using a Checklist to Increase Objective Session Note Writing: Preliminary Results.

We evaluated the extent to which a checklist increased objective note writing following simulated teaching sessions for 17 special education staff members. In general, participants improved in their description of the reinforcer earned by the child and of prompts delivered by the teacher during a session. Nevertheless, participants' correct reporting of problem behavior decreased following the training.

Tolerance Training with Adolescents in a Residential Juvenile Facility.

For individuals receiving treatment in residential juvenile facilities, the inability to tolerate typical but unpleasant stimulus events may manifest in aggressive behavior toward staff or other residents. Such behaviors can lead to loss of privileges, interfere with other treatments, and contribute to negative staff-student relationships. As a procedure, tolerance training (TT) involves systematically increasing the duration of exposure to an undesired stimulus event or situation.

Descriptive Analyses of Behaviors during Social Interactions.

Background: Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders demonstrate difficulty initiating and maintaining eye contact from early infancy into adulthood. However, interventions aimed at improving eye contact lack normative eye contact data to guide treatment.

Methods: The current study quantified behaviors (e.

Behavioral Skills Training to Increase Appropriate Reactions of Adolescent Males in Residential Treatment.

Adolescents in secured residential facilities may engage in excess behavior immediately following verbal directives or corrective statements from staff. Excess behavior may include verbal aggression, indices of disrespect (e.g.

Further Analysis of the Immediate and Subsequent Effect of RIRD on Vocal Stereotypy.

Although numerous studies have shown that response interruption and redirection (RIRD) can decrease vocal stereotypy displayed by children with autism spectrum disorder, relatively few have evaluated the subsequent effects of RIRD. We evaluated the immediate (when a change agent implemented RIRD) and subsequent (after a change agent discontinued RIRD) effects of RIRD on two participants' vocal stereotypy using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design with an embedded reversal design combined with a multiple schedule. As a part of the analysis, we conducted the fourth component 25 min after the third component.

Transition States in Single Case Experimental Designs.

The continuation of a baseline pattern of responding into a treatment phase, sometimes referred to as a "transition state," can obscure interpretation of data depicted in single-case experimental designs (SCEDs). For example, when using visual analysis, transition states may lead to the conclusion that the treatment is ineffective. Likewise, the inclusion of overlapping data points in some statistical analyses may lead to conclusions that the treatment had a small effect size and give rise to publication bias.

Effects of Rules and Feedback on Classroom Behavior of Adolescents in a Residential Treatment Setting.

Over the past 30 years, researchers have shown that various types of group contingency procedures can decrease problem behavior displayed by young children in academic settings. Recently, researchers have demonstrated that presession rules, within-session feedback, and interdependent group contingencies (i.e.

Using a Multiple-Schedule Procedure to Signal the Availability of Attention: Three Demonstrations.

Adjudicated adolescents detained in residential facilities for illegal sexual behavior, as well as adolescents living at home, may engage in problem behaviors such as excessive vocalizations. In residential detention facilities, these excessive vocalizations may result in disciplinary action and loss of privileges. Moreover, excessive vocalizations may also reduce the amount of positive social interactions that staff members and caregivers have with the adolescents.

Brief Report: Evaluating College Students' Perceptions of a Child Displaying Stereotypic Behaviors: Do Changes in Stereotypy Levels Affect Ratings?

One reason for treating stereotypic behavior is that it may negatively impact how others perceive the individual displaying the behavior, thus impeding social interactions; however, few studies have directly evaluated this possibility. As a first step toward testing this position, participants (college students) in Study 1 watched 5-min video clips of a child engaging in hand/finger motor stereotypy at varying levels (0%, 17%, 37%, and 40% of the time) while sound was muted. Following each video, participants completed a questionnaire to evaluate their perception of the child.