A review of the behavioral literature on self-injurious behavior reveals that few definitive conclusions can be made regarding etiology, maintenance, or treatment. Recent evidence suggests that more thorough assessments are required and that antecedent intervention may hold promise for treatment. (Author/CL)

This article on the use of applied behavior analysis with students who have autism focuses on selected recently developed stimulus control techniques. These include new methods for teaching conditional discrimination (matching) skills, stimulus equivalence procedures, prompt and prompt-fading techniques, and incidental teaching procedures.…

This paper offers a case study of the origins, emergence, and evolution of the term "cumulative record" as the name for the means by which B. F. Skinner brought his behavior under the control of his subject matter. Our methods included on-line searches, reviews of Skinner's publications, and journal codings and counts. The results reveal that the…

Two issues of each volume of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis were reviewed to identify research reports focusing on individuals with autism. The identified articles were analyzed to describe the ages of individuals with autism, the settings in which the research occurred, the nature of the behaviors targeted for intervention, and the…

Although applied behavior analysis has made a significant contribution in the area of challenging behavior, to date, researchers have not systematically investigated the episodic severity of behavior as a dependent variable. "Episodic severity" is defined as the measure of intensity or gravity of a behavioral incident. Research up to now has…

This study produced a second replication of an investigation of the effects of a multicomponent cognitive-behavioral intervention on the challenging behavior of young children with growing behavioral concerns after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The participants were two young elementary-age children with escalating behavior problems after severe…

In school settings, behavior analysts are often called in to consult on severe behavioral issues that surpass the knowledge, experience, and training of local school personnel. Severe behavior such as aggression to staff, SIB, and property destruction are common severe behavior referrals. The benefits of functional assessments, functional…

Within the context of behavioral economics, the ratio of response requirements to reinforcer magnitude is called "unit price." In this investigation, we yoked increases in reinforcer magnitude with increases in intervals of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to thin DRO intervals to a terminal value. (Contains 1 figure.)

In order to understand the complex behavior of an individual, what that individual has learned must be understood. Unfortunately, behavior analysis and psychology in general have not studied the cumulative effects of the learning principles. However, there are concepts in behavior analysis that, although not well researched, address this area.…

This paper comments on the controversy surrounding the use of gentle teaching and applied behavior analysis. Strengths of gentle teaching are noted, such as its wide focus and emphasis on mutual change between client and caregiver. Behavioral interpretations are offered for behavior change reported in the use of gentle teaching procedures. (JDD)

We report a randomized trial of a revised Behavioral Family Systems Therapy for Diabetes (BFST-D) intervention. Families of 104 adolescents with diabetes were randomized to standard care (SC) or to 6 months of an educational support group (ES) or BFST-D. Family communication and problem-solving skills were assessed at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months by…

When behavior suggests that the value of a reinforcer depends inversely on the value of the events that precede or follow it, the behavior has been described as a "contrast" effect. Three major forms of contrast have been studied: "incentive contrast," in which a downward (or upward) shift in the magnitude of reinforcement produces a relatively…

Stimulation paradigms that induce perforant path long-term potentiation (LTP) initiate phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and induce expression of a variety of immediate early genes (IEGs). These events are thought to be critical components of the mechanism for establishing the changes in synaptic efficacy that endure for hours or longer. Here we show that…

Acquisition of verbal behavior is a major goal of interventions for children with developmental disabilities. We evaluated the effectiveness of manipulation of an establishing operation for functional discriminated mands. Four individuals with developmental disabilities participated in a training procedure designed to teach two separate mands for…

Treatment integrity refers to the degree to which an intervention is delivered as intended. Two studies evaluated the adequacy of treatment integrity procedures (including establishing, assessing, evaluating, and reporting integrity; therapist treatment adherence; and therapist competence) implemented in psychotherapy research, as well as…