Typical assessments of temporal discounting involve presenting choices between hypothetical monetary outcomes. Participants choose between smaller immediate rewards and larger delayed rewards to determine how the passage of time affects the subjective value of reinforcement. Few studies, however, have compared such discounting to actual…

A study of seven adults with mild mental retardation investigated whether nonverbal behavior was under the control of covert rules and whether verbal reports of these rules were functionally equivalent to the covert rules that control nonverbal behavior. Results indicated self-instructions, when used as external instructions, produced the desired…

During self-recording and picture cue training, the Ss completed an increased proportion of independent task changes, and this behavior was maintained for more than ten weeks following removal of the training procedures. (Author/DLS)

A study of three individuals with self-injurious behavior (SIB) evaluated a device designed for restraint fading with individuals who display hand-to-head SIB. Results demonstrated that stimulus control of SIB occurred in all individuals subsequent to restraint fading. The study also examined the effects of the rigid arm sleeves and restraint…

This study compared rates of self-injurious behavior (SIB) exhibited by a 32-year-old woman with profound mental retardation across conditions in which access to restraint was either continuously available, presented as a consequence for SIB, or unavailable. Rates of SIB increased when access to restraint was contingent upon SIB, suggesting that…

A study used a progressive delay procedure to teach self-control to six adults with mental retardation. At baseline, participants chose an immediate smaller reinforcer rather than a larger delayed reinforcer. Progressive increases in work requirements for gaining access to a larger reinforcer resulted in participants selecting larger delayed…

A study evaluated teaching a technique for self-control to three adults with developmental disabilities. Concurrent fixed-duration/progressive-duration reinforcement schedules were introduced in which both smaller and larger reinforcers were available immediately. When progressively increasing delays were introduced for the larger reinforcer,…