|
|
F |
View of Oakwood Parking Lot
News | Events
Calendar | Jobs | Behavioral
History
(see Disclaimer below New quantitative
meta-analysis by BAAM members shows non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) to be an empirically supported treatment for problem behavior.
In contrast to some previous narrative and qualitative analyses of the effectiveness of NCR, Severtson, Carr, and Lepper applied an objective set of ratings to the articles they examined. Of the original 59 studies chosen, they found that 24 studies met the basic inclusion criteria. The analysis of those 24 showed that NCR consisting of FT reinforcer delivery, extinction, and response-thinning could be classified as "well-established;" NCR consisting of FT or VT reinforcement and extinction could be considered "probably efficacious." It should be noted that the inclusion criteria were quite stringent, and excluded studies that had not included an experimental functional analysis of likely reinforcers. Thus, a number of NCR studies with valid experimental designs and strong treatment effects were excluded from the analysis. Reference:
B.F. Skinner's classic Science
and Human Behavior available as free download for personal use from
the B.F. Skinner Foundation. The B.F. Skinner Foundation has made Skinner's classic Science and Human Behavior available as a free PDF download for personal use. Published in 1953, Science and Human Behavior was Skinner's third book on behavior analysis. Skinner applied behavioral principles to the analysis of human behavior at all levels, from individual responses to basic stimuli, to private behavior such as thinking and dreaming, to social and cultural behavior. Science and Human Behavior is rightly considered one of the foundational works of behavior analysis, and served as the introduction to the science of behavior for an entire generation of behavior analysts. It is indispensable reading for all modern behavior analysts as well. Those who believe behavior analysis is unconcerned with the depth and breadth of human behavior will likely be surprised by the scope and prescience of Skinner's analysis. A half-a-century of research in basic and applied behavior analysis has only strengthened the empirical foundations of what in 1953 was substantially theoretical. Related Links:
New
review of twenty-five autism treatment studies shows Applied
Behavior Analysis (ABA) is more effective and better researched
than other approaches. A new review of twenty-five treatment outcome studies to be published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities shows that comprehensive autism treatments based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) principles are superior in effectiveness to treatments based on the TEACCH or Colorado Health Science models. Treatment models other than ABA have also received comparatively little attention from researchers, leading to the conclusion that they cannot be deemed either "Well-Established" or "Probably Efficacious."
Eikeseth graded each study according to its scientific merit and magnitude of treatment effect on a rigorously defined three-point scale (1=highest; 3=lowest). Five studies, all ABA-based treatments, achieved Level 1 or 2 scores of scientific merit. Eleven studies received a score of 3 on scientific merit--nine of which evaluated ABA and two evaluated TEACCH. Nine studies were deemed to have "insufficient scientific value" (ISV). Six of the ISV studies evaluated ABA, one evaluated TEACCH, and two investigated the Colorado program. Outcome analyses showed that four ABA studies received Level 1 ratings of treatment effectiveness. A Level 1 outcome rating indicated that "children receiving ABA made significantly more gains than control group children on standardized measures of IQ, language and adaptive functioning." Three ABA studies received Level 2 ratings. Level 3 ratings were achieved by two TEACCH and five ABA studies. The rest of the studies did not have sufficiently well described procedures or outcomes to evaluate. Eikeseth's analysis demonstrates that ABA remains the only comprehensive approach to autism that can claim to be effective based of high-quality outcome data. Eikeseth points out that only three of the many comprehensive autism treatment approaches have been subjected to any kind of rigorous analysis. Thus, many children are being treated in programs of entirely unknown effectiveness. The difficulty of establishing long-term effectiveness is recognized. But that fact does not mean that shorter-term assessments are not possible--with the possibility that children in programs that are not effective after a reasonable period might be moved to a more effective intervention. Reference
Police
scandal revealed in dismissed FC abuse case. Coercion and deception
improperly used in interrogation of 13-year-old boy with Asperger's
syndrome. Recent Developments
Highlights & Details
Just
days following the dismissal of all charges against parents accused
of sexually abusing their daughter, news sources are revealing
previously
unreported details of the coercive interrogation of the girl's brother
with Asperger's syndrome.
In
an extensive interrogation, a police officer lied to the
boy, saying the police had videotapes of sexual encounters and other
physical evidence proving the allegations that the father had assaulted
the daughter. No such videotapes or evidence existed. The boy initially
resisted the questioning. But after repeated threats and false statements
from the police interrogator, the boy began making up bizarre reports
of sexual activities denied by all others in the case. This interrogation
occurred without the knowledge of the child's court-appointed guardian,
and without parents or attorneys present.
The boy's questioning occurred shortly after the police questioned the daughter about abuse through the discredited techique facilitated communication. Despite numerous verifiable errors in the allegations, and no independent evidence of abuse, the parents were charged of rape, abuse, and witness tampering. No attempt was made by the school, police, or prosecutor to test the validity of the girl's original facilitated accusations or any of those made later by the same facilitator. Based on false facilitated allegations of guns at the parents' house and an unauthorized visit by the parents to the children at the Rabbi/guardian's home, the father was placed in prison for 80 days, the mother was placed on an electronic tether, and the children were removed. Despite court authorization, the mother was not given the opportunity to visit the son for several weeks. (See Behavior News 03-11-08) In a January hearing, FC critics and an FC advocate agreed that the FC accusations could not be trusted. The experts cited factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the scientific evidence against FC, and many verifiable errors throughout the accusations. Despite a favorable decision by the judge to allow the facilitated testimony into the record, the prosecution's case began to fall apart in a January hearing when FC failed to produce a single correct answer in two separate in-court tests. In these tests, the facilitators had not been allowed to hear the simple questions asked of the girl. The facilitators had claimed they could successfully facilitate without hearing the questions. Defense experts James T. Todd and Howard Shane had testified that scientific evidence showed that FC involves complete control of the output by the facilitators, and had predicted that FC would fail in court when the facilitators did not know the questions.(See Behavior News 02-11-08) Other news coverage
Information and commentary on FC:
It is BAAM's official position that the accumulated scientific evidence has convincingly demonstrated that facilitated communication does not work as its advocates say it does, and that output from FC should never be used to support allegations of sexual abuse. Read and sign the BAAM Resolution on Facilitated Communication Other FC Resolutions and Statements All
charges dropped in facilitated communication abuse case. In a hearing conducted Tuesday morning (03-11-08), Oakland County Michigan District Judge Marc Barron agreed to dismiss all charges against an Bloomfield Hills Michigan couple accused of sexual abuse and witness tampering through the discredited autism intervention, facilitated communication. In facilitated communication, a "facilitator" typically holds the hand or arm of a person who cannot speak, supposedly to prevent impulsive movements, thereby allowing typed communication. In a surprise development on Monday (3-10-08), prosecutors moved to dismiss all charges without informing the defense.The prosecution claimed that the girl with severe autism at the center of the case had expressed, through facilitation, that she was not willing to testify in court. Oakland County Chief Prosector David Gorcyca wrote, "The option of alternative proofs have been fully evaluated and found to be not legally sufficient to sustain the requisite burden of proof." Defense experts had stated in a January hearing that overwhelming scientific evidence shows that messages authored through facilitated communication are authored by the facilitator, not the person with autism. Based on the original allegations, the father had been placed in jail from early December to late February with no bond. The mother had been placed on an electronic tether. The children had been removed, and the mother afforded only very limited opportunities to visit the son. In a January hearing, FC critics and an FC advocate agreed that the FC accusations could not be trusted. The experts cited factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the scientific evidence against FC, and many verifiable errors throughout the accusations. These errors included misidentified and non-existent family members, and religious statements inconsistent with the family's Jewish faith. The family's orthodox Rabbi had vigorously disputed allegations that the parents had visited the children in his home in defiance of court orders. The prosecution's case suffered additional difficulties in the January hearing when FC failed to produce a single correct answer in two seperate tests. In these tests, the facilitators had not been allowed to hear the simple questions asked of the girl. The facilitators had testified that it was not necessary to hear the questions to successfully "facilitate" successfully. Defense experts had testified that scientific evidence showed that FC involves complete control of the output by the facilitators, and had predicted that FC would fail when the facilitators could not hear the questions. Prosecution
moves to drop all charges in facilitated communication abuse case.
Hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 11. In a suprise development on Monday (3-10-08), Oakland County Michigan prosecutors moved to dismiss all abuse and witness tampering charges in an case involving allegations produced using the discredited autism intervention technique, facilitated communication. In facilitated communication, a "facilitator" typically holds the hand or arm of a person who cannot speak, supposedly to prevent impulsive movements, thereby allowing typed communication. In Monday filings, the prosecution claimed that the girl with severe autism at the center of the case had expressed, through facilitation, that she was not willing to testify in court. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that messages authored through facilitated communication are authored by the facilitator, not the person with autism. Defense experts had testified that the girl had virtually no expressive verbal ability and estimated non-verbal cognitive abilities in the 2-3 year-old range. Prosecutors stated that without the girl's testimony there is insufficient evidence to proceed with the case. Oakland County Chief Prosector David Gorcyca wrote, "The option of alternative proofs have been fully evaluated and found to be not legally sufficient to sustain the requisite burden of proof." Based on the original allegations, the father had been placed in jail from early December to late February with no bond. The mother had been placed on an electronic tether. The children had been removed, and the mother afforded only very limited opportunities to visit the son. In an important reversal, the father had been released from jail on personal bond in late February. In an additional reversal of previous rulings, Oakland County Judge Joan Young ordered that the girl and her brother, who has Asperger's syndrome, be returned to the parents immediately. In a January hearing, FC critics testifying for the defense and an FC advocate testifying for the prosecution had all agreed that the accusations accepted by the court could not be trusted. The experts cited factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the total absence of any protection against facilitator control in generating the allegations, overwhelming scientific evidence showing that facilitators unconsciously control the FC output, and many verifiable errors and inconsistencies throughout the accusations themselves. These errors included misidentified and non-existent family members, misspellings that had not appeared in other FC transcripts, and religious statements inconsistent with the family's Jewish faith. The family's orthodox Rabbi had vigorously disputed allegations that the parents had visited the children in his home in defiance of court orders. In a dramatic courtroom moment, the prosecution's expert witness, an FC advocate who had already agreed with the defense experts in repudiating the prosecution's contentions about the reliablity of the accusations, revealed that she had called the police prior to their interview of the child and facilitator. She had warned of the problem of facilitator control and suggested protective protocols. Her advice was rejected. In a seperate development, it was also revealed that the thirteen year-old brother was interviewed early in the case without the guardian's knowledge, and without parents or an attorney present. The prosecution's case suffered additional difficulties in the January hearing when FC failed to produce a single correct answer in two tests conducted on two different days. In these tests, the facilitators had not been allowed to hear the simple questions asked of the girl. The facilitators had testified that it was not necessary to hear the questions to successfully "facilitate" successfully. Before and after the failed demonstrations, defense experts had testified that scientific evidence showed that FC involves complete control of the output by the facilitators, and that FC reliably fails when the facilitators cannot hear the questions or do not know the answers. A hearing to rule on the prosecution's dismissal request is scheduled for 10 am Tuesday (3-11) in front of Bloomfield Hills District Judge Marc Barron.
Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention (EBCAI) brings together professionals from several disciplines to promote evidence-based practice (EBP) in serving individuals with communication impairments. We target speech-language pathologists, special educators, regular educators, applied behavior analysts, clinical psychologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists who serve children or adults with communication impairments. We select and appraise the latest and highest quality studies and reviews related to assessment, intervention, diagnosis, and prognosis published across 60+ professional journals in speech-language pathology and related fields. We make these appraisals accessible through value-added structured abstracts that include expert commentary about the quality of the evidence as well as its practical implications. This affords the practitioner a one-stop reading experience to stay on top of research findings in order to facilitate evidence-based decision-making. Researchers and university professors will benefit from access to cutting-edge and clinically relevant studies. EBCAI also provides a forum for the dissemination of original research and discussion of methodologies and concepts that advance EBP as well as of experiential accounts of relevant stakeholders involved in the EBP process. Please consult the Information for Authors for the specific kinds of submissions EBCAI seeks to publish. Links:
Iceland:
The Most Scientific Nation on Earth.
Links: Facilitated
Communication Allowed in Court in Michigan, Science Rejected. Despite
the failure of facilitated communication (FC) to produce a single
correct answer in two separate courtroom tests during a two-day
special hearing, accusations "facilitated" by a Walled
Lake Schools paraprofessional have been admitted in an ongoing Oakland
County Michigan sex abuse case.
In a dramatic show of agreement across FC lines, the defense and prosecution experts all stated that the accusations accepted by the court could not be trusted due to factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the total absence of any protection against facilitator control in generating the allegations, the scientific evidence demonstrating the problem of facilitator control, and many verifiable errors and inconsistencies throughout the accusations themselves. These errors included misidentified family members, non-existent relatives, misspellings that had not appeared in previous FC transcripts, and religious statements inconsistent with the family's Jewish faith. Other incidents in the accusations have been strongly disputed by the family's Rabbi. The prosecution's expert witness, an FC advocate who had testified to the unreliability of the accusations, revealed that she had called the police prior to their interview of the child and facilitator. She had warned of the problem of facilitator control and suggested protective protocols--including the use of an independent, naive facilitator. Her advice was rejected. It has also been revealed that the thirteen year-old brother, who has the developmental disability Asperger's syndrome, was interviewed in early December by the West Bloomfield police without the guardian's knowledge, and without parents or an attorney present.. After allowing the prosecution to conduct two tests of FC with the child, with the person responsible for the original accusations also facilitating in court, the judge refused to permit the defense experts to conduct any validity tests at all. The judge also denied the defense a Daubert hearing on the scientific admissibility of FC. By doing so, the judge rejected the role of science in determining the reliability of FC as courtroom testimony. The father, who had been in jail since the beginning of December with no bond, was released on an electronic tether in late February; the mother is also on an electronic tether; the children have been taken away. The facilitator responsible for the original accusations continues to work with the child and served as the de facto FC "interpreter" in court. Circuit court judge Joan Young has ruled that FC can continue with the girl in school--where it has been used for the last three years without being tested for reliability. Commenting on the lack of physical evidence, repeated failures of FC to work in court, and other significant weaknesses in the case, Detroit Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson has described the prosecution's case as a "breathtakingly unprofessional witch hunt." Todd
R. Risley, behavior analysis pioneer, dies of heart surgery complications.
Risley contributed to the field of behavior analysis in many different ways. He was best known for his collaboration with Montrose Wolf and Hayden Mess in 1964 on the behavioral treatment of problems associated with autism, "Application of Operant Conditioning Procedures to the Behavior Problems of an Autistic Child--sometimes called the "Dicky Article"--and for the seminal 1968 JABA article, "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis," with Donald Baer and Montrose Wolf. It is accurate to say that Wolf, Risley, and Mees's work with Dicky, using reinforcement principles to establish functional independent living skills in a child who probably would not have had them otherwise, set the stage for virtually all systematic applied behavior analytic interventions with autism to follow. The 1968 Baer, Wolf, and Risley article, "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis," literally defined an entire field. Although Risley will be sorely missed by all those who knew him, his enduring contributions to the science of behavior will continue to benefit untold numbers of people with disabilities.
The Behavior Analyst Certification Board's BCBA and BCABA credentialing programs are now accredited by the National Council for Certifying Agencies in Washington, DC. The NCCA is the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance. According to Gerald Shook, Chief Exective Officer of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board,
Links: The Michigan Psychology Licensing
Board decreases requirements for full psychology license applicants
and increases requirements for applicants for limited licensure. Other
changes made. The Michigan Psychology Licensing Board has enacted a sweeping list of changes to licensure requirements and other rules for licensed and limited-license psychologists. The new provisions were made effective August 14, 2007, with various provisions becoming active on future dates. The most important changes are:
The changes enacted for full licensure primarily affect doctoral-level psychologists while the changes enacted for the limited license affect mostly masters-level psychologists. The effect of the new regulations is to relax the requirements for gaining full licensure and increase the requirements for acquiring limited licensure. There is no increase in privileges for limited-license psychologists or practice-parity with other mental health professionals with similar or less training in psychological assessment and treatment. Among the changes which would go into effect in 2009 and 2010 are to:
Albert Ellis (September 27, 1913 - July 24, 2007) died today of natural causes related to age (obituary). Ellis is known for developing "Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy" (REBT), an approach in which certain psychological problems are attributed to faulty thinking and emotional responses to life events. By therapeutically altering the troublesome thinking and emotions, the client may subsequently respond in more effective ways. In this view, Ellis considered thinking and feelings as private events that could be aversive to experience in themselves or lead, as links in a chain of behaviors, to dysfunctional overt behavior. Ellis's basic philosophy, that the past cannot be changed but our responses to it can be, bears similarities to the philosophy of Stoicism. Ellis also recognized certain similarities between REBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), viewing ACT with apparently more favor than ACT practitioners viewed REBT. In a 2005 article, "Can Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Resolve Their Differences and Be Integrated?" (abstract), Ellis disagreed with ACT founder Steven C. Hayes (abstract) and stated:
Links:
Spanish
language version of "ABCs of ABA" released as a two-DVD freeware-set
by FEAT-Houston and TXABA Cost The DVDs are free, but FEAT-Houston suggests a $20 donation so that we may reprint the DVDs when they have all been distributed.http://udgserv.cencar.udg.mx/~ceip/Aparicio.htmrders may be placed through the FEAT-Houston website. www.feathouston.org. Software
giant Microsoft, building supplier Home Depot, cover costs of behavioral
treatments for autism. Microsoft, which sells the Windows operating system, and Home Depot, the familiar "big box" hardware and building supplies outlet, cover the costs of intensive behavior therapy for their employees' dependents with autism. Persuaded by the documented success of applied behavior analysis-based treatments for autism, these employers started providing substantial treatment benefits several years ago. They are among the few major employers that provide such benefits to their employees. Parent advocacy was instrumental in getting the ball rolling. Behavior analysts at the University of Washington, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Marcus Institute provided expertise for program development. The stories at Microsoft and Home Depot are similar. As reported on May 8, 2007 on the SmartMoney.com web site:
Few other companies or insurers provide the kind of support for effective autism treatments that Microsoft and Home Depot do. These examples suggest that this situation can be changed by strong advocacy within the corporation along with the assistance of knowledgeable behavior analysts. From the perspective of the company, support for well-done early intensive therapy has significant long-term financial benefits, can reduce employee absenteeism, and has significant social benefits (cost-benefit analysis). Related links:
Your Blackberry:
Conditioned social reinforcement dispenser. According to James E. Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Computing at Rutgers University , the almost obsessive addiction exhibited by some PDA users results from the device being a source of variable-interval conditioned social reinforcement:
A variable-interval schedule, in which reinforcement becomes available at unpredictable intervals, maintains a steady rate of responding. There is nothing in the schedule to indicate when reinforcement might become more available or less available, so responding occurs at an even pace. Responding will continue even during long periods of non-reinforcement. On fixed schedule, such as a fixed-ratio schedule (where the reinforcer comes after a specific number of reinforcers), the delivery of a reinforcer will cause a pause in responding because the reinforcer indicates that another reinforcer is not immediately forthcoming. The high predictability of fixed schedules means that responding will stop fairly soon after reinforcers stop. Relevant Articles:
Arthur Snapper (1934-2007),
computer pioneer and retired Western Michigan University professor,
dies. Dr. Arthur (Art) Snapper, a pioneer in the use of computers to run operant labs and a retired professor at Western Michigan University, died on March 12, 2007 after a long fight with cancer. Snapper was known for developing "SKED" software in the 1960s for controlling behavioral experiments based on "state notation." Originally designed for Digital Equipment Company's PDP line of minicomputers, SKED has been adapted for use by modern microcomputers. Elements of SKED can still be seen in Med Associates MED-PC systems and Coulborn Instrument's Graphic State 2 . There will be a public visitation at Langelands West Side Chapel , 3926 South 9th Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Friday from 5 - 8 pm (Langelands obituary ). Relevant Articles:
Los
Alamos scientists train bees to detect bombs. From the Los Alamos Laboratory Newsletter:
Association for Behavior
Analysis (ABA) introduces online abstract search feature. The Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) has introduced an online abstract search feature for its journals, The Behavior Analyst and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior . Users may search by keyword, author name, year, and other parameters. Students, scholars, and others should find the search feature of great value in locating classic articles from these important, hard-to-locate journals. BAAM upgrades its web
server. BAAM has moderninzed and upgraded its webserver. Server speed has been increased 40%, and the speed of server-side processing of forms has been doubled or tripled. Users of high-speed internet services should find the BAAM website more responsive. Other enhancements should improve the transfer of video material and other non-text resources. Google's
Book Search offers full text of classic behavioral books and indexed contents
of recent volumes. Readers may view and download the full text of rare volumes such John B. Watson's doctoral dissertation Animal Education (full text ) and his 1914 classic, Behavior: An Introduction to Comparative Psychology (full text ). Other works that were influential in the history of behavior analysis include Edward Thorndike's 1911, Animal Intelligence (full text ) and Jacques Loeb's 1916 Organism as a Whole (full text ). The contents of many modern works have been indexed and may be searched. For instance, a interested in the behavioral view of private events such as "thinking" and "feeling" can enter the search terms, "behaviorism" and "private events" and see a list of works that contain those terms and read the relevant passages (search results ). A parent interested in works on using applied behavior analysis with autism can enter those terms and see a list of books that contain information on ABA (search results ). Google's project to digitize works is in its early stages. Searches are not comprehensive because many books have yet to be digitized. Care must be exorcised to distinguish between works that have substantive content about the search terms and those that merely include them somewhere in the text. Entering the terms "behaviorism private events thinking feeling" returns a series of mostly relevant books on the behavior analytic view of private events --but not the two most important classic texts: Skinner's 1953 Science and Human Behavior and 1974 About Behaviorism. Entering "verbal behavior" does not return Skinner's Verbal Behavior . Some technical glitches remain in the system. Even though the system is generally compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems, full text downloads did not work properly using the Safari browser on some Macintosh computers. Even with the early problems, Google's effort should prove very useful to students, parents, academics, and others who previously did not have easy access to the classic works of psychology. BAAM
2007 Call for Papers announced Help
with the dentist: New study shows benefits of "non-contingent escape"
for children with behavior problems at the dentist . The
Western Michigan University Clinical Psychology and Industrial Psychology
Programs have been spared from proposed program cuts. The Western Michigan University programs in Clinical Psychology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology have been spared from planned program cuts following an appeals process. Both programs had been slated for elimination by Western Michigan University's President and Provost. Outcry over the proposed cuts led to the creation of an appeals process ( coverage ) and the resignation of the Provost ( coverage ). After successful appeals, the Clinical Psychology program was retained without condition ( summary ). The Industrial-Organizational program was retained with conditions ( summary ). In a July 8, 2006 story announcing the appeals decisions, the Kalamazoo Gazette noted the very strong support for their programs by the students and faculty of the Western Michigan University Psychology Department.
Full coverage of the proposal to cut the Clinical and Industrial/Organizational Psychology programs at Western Michigan University and the successful appeals of those cuts can be found at wmupsy.com Related News
Colombian
Association for the Advancement of the Science of Behavior and The Colombian
Association for the Welfare of the Family announce new journal:
Update:
Fake New Jersey behavior therapist is indicted for impersonating nurse.
Nancy Fisher of Manahawkin and Stafford New Jersey, who had been previously charged for theft by deception for claiming false behavior analysis credentials, has now been indicted for impersonating a licensed nurse. Fisher, who sometimes used the name, "Chatsko," provided personal services to a man with paraplegia and fraudulently collected over $215,000 for her work as a nurse, eventually rising to the position of supervisor. She was also charged for collecting over $14,000 to send her child to an out-of-district school. BAAM has previously reported on Fisher's claims to hold a Ph.D. and credentials from the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. (Behavior News )
March
23, 2006 proclaimed "Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan
20th Anniversary Day" by Mayor of Ypsilanti. New
study shows importance of giving reinforcer choices to children. A new research study published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis shows that giving a choice between potential reinforcers is itself reinforcing for children. In "An Evaluation of the Value of Choice with Preschool Children," Jeffery Tiger, Gregory Hanley, and Emma Hernandez of the University of Kansas used a concurrent-chains procedure to answer three questions about choice making: (1) Is the opportunity to make a choice more reinforcing than not having the opportunity to make a choice? (2) Does increasing the number of choices increase the reinforcing value of the choice? And (3), how reinforcing is choice relative to response effort, as tested by increasing the amount of work required to make the choice? The study included six preschool children between 2.5 and 5.5 years old, one with autism. The reinforcers consisted of a variety of small sweet and salty snack items. In various phases of the study, the children were given the opportunity to choose from a selection of reinforcers or just a single reinforcer. With few exceptions, (1) a choice of reinforcers was more reinforcing than no choice, (2) including more choices was more reinforcing than fewer choices, and (3) choice was preferred over no-choice even when much more effort was required to gain again access to the choice. According to the researchers:
Several previous studies have shown the reinforcing effectiveness of choice in both humans and non-humans. The classic study in non-humans is Catania and Sagvolden's 1980 study, "Preference for Free Choice Over Forced Choice in Pigeons," in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (BAAM Behavior Q & A ). An important early study in children is Brigham and Sherman's 1973, "Effects of Choice and Immediacy of Reinforcement on Single Response and Switching Behavior of Children" (also in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior; full text, pdf ). As a practical matter, the importance of reinforcer variation and choice has been emphasized by applied behavior analysts for decades (e.g., the "Reinforcer Variation Rule from Allyon and Azrin's The Token Economy; BAAM Behavioral Essentials ). However, studies using humans have not been as carefully controlled as those with non-humans. This new study is important in that it carefully controlled the variables involved in choice making in children. By doing so, this study demonstrated how an important behavioral process operates across species and showed the importance of giving choices between different kinds of reinforcers when working with children.
Michigan psychology
licensing and practice rules and regulations now available on the BAAM
website. Links to Michigan licensing, practice, and supervision rules and regulations have been collected on a single page on the BAAM website (Michigan rules and regulations ). All those providing psychological services in Michigan should be familiar with these rules and regulations. "Behavior modification" procedures are among the many techniques considered to be psychological services in Michigan. BAAM introduces online
reinforcement schedule demonstrations. BAAM has developed and posted a series of web-based demonstrations of simple reinforcement schedules. Available immediately are demonstrations of five different reinforcement schedules: fixed-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-ratio, variable-interval, and progressive-ratio. All schedules have user-settable parameters and produce a real-time cumulative recording of responding.
|