Previous research has suggested that the topography of instructions (general vs. specific) may influence the likelihood that young children comply with instructions. The purpose of the current study was to compare the rates of task completion of a young man diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when provided with general and specific instructions…

The successful application of functional analysis to problem behavior suggests the need to examine: additional functional properties of behavior involving social avoidance, biological reinforcement, and respondent conditioning; the role of context (including social factors and biological factors); and the multidimensional character of assessment…

Evaluation of reductive treatment versus instructional treatments on the generalized reduction of problem behaviors in two adolescents with severe intellectual disabilities indicated that when only one member of a response class was blocked, a collateral increase in other problem behaviors was observed, but learning an alternative positive…

A review of the January 1993 issue of the "Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior" concludes that behavioral interventions produce collateral effects, but predicting those effects in applied work is complicated because of verbal and instructional influences and because of interactions among reinforcer types. (JDD)

Recent experiments are reviewed in three areas of research concerning reinforcement schedules: (1) behavioral history effects on schedule performance; (2) the role of instructions in schedule performance of humans; and (3) dynamic schedules of reinforcement. The paper concludes by identifying some general issues concerning reinforcement schedules…

Seven parents conducted assessments in an outpatient clinic using a prescribed hierarchy of antecedent and consequence treatment components for their children's problem behavior. Brief assessment of potential treatment components identified variables controlling children's appropriate behavior. Experimental control was achieved for six of the…

This commentary summarizes methodological and conceptual issues in functional analysis methodologies and offers some suggestions for their resolution. Considered are increasing complexity, absence of contingencies during assessment, use of subtle manipulations, alternative assessment strategies, analysis of antecedent influences on behavior,…

This study examined how 3 students (ages 14-18, with emotional or behavioral disorders) allocated their responding across 2 concurrently available tasks associated with unequal rates and equal versus unequal qualities of reinforcement. It found that time allocated to concurrent response alternatives was approximately proportional to obtained…

This study examined methods for determining how extinction should be applied to different functions of self-injurious behavior, specifically head-banging of three children with developmental disabilities. Since each subject's head-banging was maintained by different reinforcement contingencies, behavioral treatment techniques, although all based…

Performance feedback has facilitated the acquisition and maintenance of a wide range of behaviors (e.g., health-care routines, seat-belt use). Most researchers have attributed the effectiveness of performance feedback to (a) its discriminative functions, (b) its reinforcing functions, or (c) the combination of the two. In this study, we attempted…

Three adolescent students with special educational needs were given reinforcers (nickels) according to three different concurrent variable-interval schedules. Time allocated to the assigned tasks was in linear relationship to the reinforcement rate. However, changes in reinforcement schedules were not followed by changes in allocation patterns…

This study examined how reinforcer rate, quality, delay, and response effort combined to influence the choices of six adolescents with emotional disturbance and learning difficulties and the feasibility of an assessment methodology based on matching theory for determining differential responsiveness to reinforcer and response dimensions. Results…

This study analyzed specific stimuli reinforcing destructive behavior in two 11-year-olds males with mental retardation and severe destructive behavior problems maintained by attention. The use of concurrent schedules of reinforcement identified alternatives to the reinforcing verbal reprimands and led to development of effective treatments to…

This paper summarizes brief functional assessments of 79 cases of people with developmental disabilities and self-injurious, aggressive, stereotypic, or other aberrant behavior. Outcomes were evaluated across three variables: (1) referring topography, (2) control over behavior, and (3) the identified maintaining conditions for aberrant behavior.…

This study investigated the relationship between self-restraint (e.g., entanglement of limbs in clothing or furniture) and self-injurious behavior (SIB) using functional analysis with five males with severe mental retardation. Results suggested that self-restraint, like SIB, may be maintained by idiosyncratic contingencies. (Author/DB)