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.

All Things Must Pass: Termination of Services in Behavior Analysis.

Unlabelled: An important phase of behavior analytic services is the end of the consumer-provider relationship, referred to here as termination of services (TOS). TOS is a process in which nearly all applied behavior analytic providers will be involved, and ethical guidelines regarding TOS are included prominently in the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's . TOS can affect stakeholder perceptions of behavior analytic treatment, post-TOS consumer quality of life, and in some cases have serious professional and/or legal consequences.

Precision Teaching and Tap Dance Instruction.

The purpose of this study was (a) to use a precision-teaching (PT) framework to design, train, and evaluate a tap-dancing training sequence and (b) to evaluate fluency outcomes as a function of training tap dance components to optimal frequencies. The study trained a series of 8 tap-dancing steps to 4 novice dancers and evaluated the effects on untrained components and probes of retention, stability, endurance, and application. The study also included a control participant who only completed application probes.

Agility: What It Is, How to Measure It, and How to Use It.

A positive and expected by-product of a well-programmed instructional sequence is an escalation of learning, where skills are acquired more quickly as teaching goes on. Despite the importance of this effect in behavior analysis and education, techniques for detecting and analyzing it are rarely observed in practice settings. A behavioral approach to this phenomenon is rooted in the term , which has persisted in the precision-teaching community as a description of desirable acquisition patterns.

FCT and Delay Fading for Elopement with a Child with Autism.

Nearly half of children with autism have eloped from their caregivers. In assessing elopement, the initial functional analytic results of this case study found positive reinforcement in the form of attention and access to tangibles were the maintaining variables. Functional communication training (FCT) in combination with delay fading was utilized to increase communication and decrease elopement.

The Origin and Evolution of the Behavior Analysis Program at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The origins of the Behavior Analysis program at the University of Nevada, Reno by way of a self-capitalized model through its transition to a more typical graduate program is described. Details of the original proposal to establish the program and the funding model are described. Some of the unusual features of the program executed in this way are discussed, along with problems engendered by the model.

Revisiting conjugate schedules.

The effects of conjugate reinforcement on the responding of 13 college students were examined in three experiments. Conjugate reinforcement was provided via key presses that changed the clarity of pictures displayed on a computer monitor in a manner proportional to the rate of responding. Experiment 1, which included seven parameters of clarity change per response, revealed that responding decreased as the percentage clarity per response increased for all five participants.

Stimulus specificity and dishabituation of operant responding in humans.

Habituation has recently been addressed within the operant conditioning paradigm. While the literature on this topic is growing, the examination of dishabituation, a fundamental characteristic of habituation, remains limited. This study expanded research on habituation of operant responding in non-human animals to research involving humans.

Behavioral coaching.

The term behavioral coaching has been used inconsistently in and outside the field of behavior analysis. In the sports literature, the term has been used to describe various intervention strategies, and in the organizational behavior management literature it has been used to describe an approach to training management personnel and staff. This inconsistency is problematic in terms of the replication of behavioral coaching across studies and aligning with Baer, Wolf, and Risley's (1968) technological dimension of applied behavior analysis.

The effects of blocking mouthing of leisure items on their effectiveness as reinforcers.

Leisure items are commonly used as reinforcers in behavior-analytic applications. However, a defining feature of autism is the occurrence of stereotypy, and individuals with autism often engage leisure items in a stereotyped manner. The opportunity for stereotyped interaction may be the only aspect of a contingent stimulus that makes it a reinforcer for appropriate behavior.

Parental assessment and treatment of food selectivity in natural settings.

This study evaluated the effects of a parent-conducted functional analysis and treatment consisting of differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior, escape extinction, and demand fading on food selectivity in a young child with autism. Increases in food acceptance at home and in a restaurant were obtained.