The authors assessed the extent to which multielement designs produced false positives using continuous duration recording (CDR) and interval recording with 10-s and 1-min interval sizes. Specifically, they created 6,000 graphs with multielement designs that varied in the number of data paths, and the number of data points per data path, using a…

The rich technology of stimulus preference assessment (SPA) is a product of 40 years of experimental research. Basic principles of reinforcement and a modest empirical literature suggest that high-preference stimuli identified via SPA may enhance treatment efficacy and decrease problem behavior more effectively than less-preferred stimuli. SPAs…

This study aimed to isolate the conditions under which aversive stimulation is experienced as more or less discomforting/unpleasant. Discomfort was induced by playing loud noises through headphones while participants performed computer tasks. We employed 4 main conditions. Condition 1: the acceptance-based protocol (ACT), intended to integrate…

Administrators of community-based treatment programs are increasingly being required to utilize psychometrically validated instruments to measure the effectiveness of their interventions. However, developers of psychometric measures have often failed to report strategies relevant to the administration of these measures in nontraditional settings…

We used a three-component multiple-schedule with a brief reversal design to evaluate the effects of structurally unmatched and matched stimuli on immediate and subsequent vocal stereotypy that was displayed by three children with autism spectrum disorders. For 2 of the 3 participants, access to matched stimuli, unmatched stimuli, and music…

Discrete-trials teaching (DTT) is commonly used to implement applied behavior analysis treatment for children with autism. The authors investigated a revised self-instructional manual for teaching university students to implement a 21-component DTT procedure to teach three tasks to confederates role-playing children with autism. Also, as a…

Despite their formal dissimilarity, problem behaviors (e.g., substance misuse, binge eating, self-harm) may share a common function. According to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), this shared function is "Experiential Avoidance," the process of avoiding, escaping or otherwise altering unwanted private events (e.g., thoughts, feelings,…

The feeding behaviors of two children who maintained failure to thrive diagnoses and displayed food refusal are assessed in their homes. Descriptive assessments are used to identify schedules of consequence provided by each child's care providers for bite acceptance and food refusal behaviors. Assessments reveal rich schedules of praise and access…

This article explores the efficacy of virtual environments representing situations that are emotionally significant to patients with eating disorders (ED) to modify depression and anxiety levels both in these patients and in controls. Eighty-five ED patients and 108 students were randomly exposed to five experimental virtual environments (a…

Some children with autism have excessive daytime sleep but intervention research for this problem has not been conducted. The present study evaluated procedures with a 13 year old boy who had autism and slept for prolonged periods during the day. Classroom staff at a specialized school implemented procedures with the boy according to an ABAB…

The validity of using rapidly alternating multiple schedules (RAMS) as a method for assessing and treating aggression was demonstrated by using the naturally occurring reinforcers identified in the RAMS to develop treatments that were experimentally tested. All treatments using the reinforcers identified in the RAMS were effective. Possible uses…

Discusses the process of conducting a functional assessment of a problem behavior. Reviews current research on functional assessment methods, such as direct observation and indirect assessment, and covers applications of functional assessment. Applies functional assessment to binge eating and the antecedents and consequences of binge eating…

This special issue of Behavior Modification is designed to add to the literature on the behavioral assessment and treatment of CP displayed by adolescents. Contained in this issue are six empirical articles dealing with important issues on the topic. They provide examples of the richness of clinical problems classified as "conduct problems"…

Controversy exists regarding appropriate methods for summarizing treatment outcomes for single-subject designs. Nonregression- and regression-based methods have been proposed to summarize the efficacy of single-subject interventions with proponents of both methods arguing for the superiority of their respective approaches. To compare findings for…

Social skills deficits and excesses are a defining aspect of mental retardation (MR). Research indicates that there is an established relationship between social skills and maladaptive behaviors. A number of studies demonstrate that the social competence of individuals with MR and comorbid psychopathology can be enhanced with social skills…