The current study adds to a growing body of behavioral research aimed at learning about changes in behavior over time. In this proof-of-concept study, functional analyses were conducted every 6-8 weeks with eight children diagnosed with ASD receiving early intervention services at a community-based clinic. The goal of this study was to develop a…

Linked activity schedules were used to establish appropriate game play in children with autism during a game of hide-and-seek. All 6 participants demonstrated acquisition of appropriate play skills in the presence of the activity schedules and maintained responding during subsequent phases. When the schedules were removed, responding decreased to…

Tics are rapid, repetitive, stereotyped movements or vocalizations that arise from neurobiological dysfunction and are influenced by environmental factors. Although persons with tic disorders often experience aversive social reactions in response to tics, little is known about the behavioral effects of such consequences. Along several dimensions,…

Accumulating studies are documenting specific motivational variables that, when combined into a naturalistic teaching paradigm, can positively influence the effectiveness of interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to compare two applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention procedures, a…

Amid the novel terms and original analyses in Skinner's "Verbal Behavior", the importance of his discussion of multiple control is easily missed, but multiple control of verbal responses is the rule rather than the exception. In this paper we summarize and illustrate Skinner's analysis of multiple control and introduce the terms "convergent…

Translational research inspired by behavioral momentum theory in the area of developmental disabilities has shown effects in individuals over a range of functioning levels. In the current study, behavioral momentum was assessed in 6 children diagnosed with autism and severe intellectual disability. In a repeated measures design, participants were…

This study evaluated how children who exhibited functionally equivalent problem and appropriate behavior allocate responding to experimentally arranged reinforcer rates. Relative reinforcer rates were arranged on concurrent variable-interval schedules and effects on relative response rates were interpreted using the generalized matching equation.…

If the members of a functional response class occur in a predictable order, a response-class hierarchy is said to exist. Although this topic has received some attention in the applied literature, it remains relatively understudied. The purpose of the current investigation was to develop an analogue model of a response-class hierarchy. Children…

Extinction-induced resurgence is the recurrence of previously reinforced behavior when another behavior is placed on extinction (Lieving, Hagopian, Long, & O'Connor, 2004). This phenomenon may account for some instances of treatment relapse when problem behavior recovers during extinction-based treatments. The current study sought to determine…

Few studies have made use of B. F. Skinner's (1957) behavioral analysis of language and precise taxonomy of verbal behavior when describing the controlling variables for the mand relation. Consequently, the motivating operation (MO) has not typically been identified as an independent variable and the nature of a spontaneous mand has been…

Attempts to define and measure the developmental levels at which children identify with characters and interpret scenes in children's plays. Available from: Children's Theatre Review, Children's Theatre Association of America, American Theatre Association, 1029 Vermont Ave., N.W., Suite 402, Washington, D.C. 20005

Results indicated that children exposed to the aggressive program engaged in longer attacks against an ostensible child victim than subjects exposed to the nonaggressive program. (Authors)

The amount of anxiety suggested the need for clinical intervention to reduce procedure-related distress in children with cancer. Younger children exhibited consistently higher levels of distress than older children and displayed a greater variety of anxious responses over a longer time span. (Author/BEF)

Although dissociations in children's responses are sometimes about "getting it right" for an experimenter, they might also often reflect differences between conscious and subconscious processing that are not geared to correct performance. Research with adults also reveals many cases of dissociation, and adults can more easily be subjected to…

Contends that television's portrayal of character aggression, specifically the aggressor's motives and the consequences to him, effectively modifies children's behavior. Communication Research-International Quarterly, Sage Publications, Inc., 275 S. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, California 90212. (MH)