Inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB) is a type of feeding challenge within the broader class of food refusal. The purpose of this study was to critically analyze the efficacy of interventions for the treatment of IMB through a meta-analysis of research using single-case experimental designs. We examined the extent to which different interventions…

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom behavior management procedure that has been shown to be effective in reducing disruptive behavior across many settings and populations (Flower, McKenna, Bunuan, Muething, & Vega, 2014). We investigated the effects of the GBG on student and teacher behavior in two classrooms containing fourth- to…

Progressive-ratio (PR) schedules were used to identify the break point (i.e., the last schedule value completed) for 2 reinforcers under single and concurrent schedules. After the respective break points were established, the same reinforcers were presented under concurrent fixed-ratio (FR) schedules that were yoked to the break points obtained…

A study of three children (ages 3-9) with severe problem behavior investigated alternatives to the typical application of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) for problem behavior. Instead of using continuous access to reinforcers and extinction, the study found that an NCR schedule based on latency and NCR without extinction were more effective for…

Three experiments involving three adults with profound mental retardation whose self-injurious behavior (SIB) was maintained by automatic reinforcement, examined interactions between stereotypic SIB and the manipulation of objects that appeared to provide substitutable sources of reinforcement. Attempts to reduce SIB using the preferred objects as…

A treatment was developed that analyzed response allocation across two break options for two females (ages 12 and 30) with behavior problems: break alone and break with access to preferred social activities. The break with preferred activities decreased aberrant behavior and increased appropriate behavior. (Contains two references.) (Author/CR)

The effects of a presession exposure to attention on responding during subsequent assessment of attention as a reinforcer were evaluated across three behavioral assessments. In each experiment, the children responded differentially within the test condition according to the presence or absence of dense schedule of attention immediately prior to…

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…

The current study describes an assessment sequence that may be used to identify individualized, effective, and preferred interventions for severe problem behavior in lieu of relying on a restricted set of treatment options that are assumed to be in the best interest of consumers. The relative effectiveness of functional communication training…

Two experiments examined the effects of rewards alone, rewards plus discussion, and self-evaluation plus rewards on peer interactions of elementary level students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Observational data on eight students showed the self-evaluation procedures to be effective in improving peer interactions when implemented in a…