A motivating operation (MO) alters both the effectiveness of a stimulus as a reinforcer and the current frequency of all behavior that has been reinforced by that particular stimulus. This article reviews studies that have manipulated a MO during interventions with school-age participants with intellectual disabilities and problem behavior. A…

A number of studies have shown that response interruption and redirection (RIRD) decreases immediate engagement in targeted stereotypic behaviors; however, its effects on untargeted stereotypy have not yet been studied, and its effects following removal of treatment are unclear. We evaluated the immediate and subsequent effects of RIRD on targeted…

The authors evaluated the effects of matched and unmatched stimuli on immediate and subsequent engagement in targeted vocal stereotypy (Experiment 1) and untargeted motor stereotypy (Experiment 2). Results of Experiment 1 showed that (a) matched stimulation decreased immediate engagement in vocal stereotypy for 8 of 11 participants and increased…

Recent research has emphasized the importance of manipulating antecedent variables to reduce interfering behaviors when teaching persons with autism. Few studies have focused on the effects of the rate of teacher-presented instructional demands as an independent variable. In this study, an alternating treatment design was used to evaluate the…

Approximately 90% of cardiac events are attributable to a small number of modifiable behavioral risk factors that, if changed, can greatly decrease morbidity and mortality. However, few at-risk individuals make recommended behavioral changes, including those who receive formal interventions designed to facilitate healthy behavior. Given evidence…

A number of studies have used mindfulness-based interventions to influence the behavior of people with intellectual disabilities, to improve their quality of life, and to reduce challenging behavior. The present review critically evaluates 18 studies and assesses the clinical and academic impact of their findings. Strengths identified included…

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occurs with alcohol dependence (AD) and negatively affects treatment outcomes. Trauma-related negative affect enhances substance craving in laboratory cue-reactivity studies of AD individuals, but the role of positive affect has not been established. In this study, 108 AD treatment-seeking adults…

Social engagement by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in unstructured school settings generally occurs at very low levels, if at all. Although many interventions improve peer socialization, generalization and maintenance of such gains when interventions are faded are typically low. The present study employed a multiple baseline design…

Errorless academic compliance training is a graduated, noncoercive approach to treating oppositional behavior in children. In the present study, three teaching staff in a special education classroom were trained to conduct this intervention with three male students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. During baseline, staff delivered a range…

Treatment integrity is an important concern in treatment centers but is often overlooked. Performance feedback is a well-established approach to improving treatment integrity, but is underused and undervalued. One way to increase its value to treatment centers may be to expose unrealized benefits on the observer who collects the performance…

We evaluated the separate and combined effects of the antecedent manipulations of effective instruction delivery and time-in, as well as the effects of the addition of the consequent manipulation of contingent praise in a compliance training package for four elementary students displaying low levels of compliance. Four teachers were trained to…

Studies have shown that college-level self-management (SM) courses, which typically require students to complete an individual project as part of the course, can be an effective method for promoting successful self-change (i.e., targeted behavioral change). However, only a handful of studies have focused on and investigated the intensity of the SM…

The authors examined the effectiveness of a novel behavior modification method for dysfunctional and impulsive habits, based on nonremovable reminders (NrRs). NrRs were implemented by having participants wear nonremovable wristbands designated to constantly remind them of their resolution to quit the targeted habit (nail-biting). Participants were…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of cumulative risk on dropout and treatment outcome in parent training. Participants were 44 families of young children (mean age of 49.59 months) who presented with elevated externalizing behavior problems and developmental delay or borderline developmental delay. All families were offered to…

A host of factors including genetic influences, temperament characteristics, learning experiences, information processing biases, parental psychopathology, and specific parenting practices have been hypothesized to contribute to the development and expression of children's phobias. In the present study, the authors focused on parental…