For decades, evaluators have noted that it is difficult for stakeholders to accept negative evaluation results (Carter, 1971; Taut & Brauns, 2003). There is a need for additional research on evaluation to better understand when and why stakeholders reject negative or critical evaluation findings. Drawing on social identity theory (SIT), the…

In the current study, we conducted a brief assessment within a multielement design to identify motivating operations (MOs) that increased or decreased the value of negative reinforcement for children with a history of challenging behavior when presented with tasks or demands. For three of the four participants, we identified specific MOs that…

Students' misbehaviors at younger ages can lead to more significant issues at the high school level such as dropping out, drug and alcohol abuse, and incarceration. The purpose of this study was to examine high school students' perceptions of positive reinforcement and punishment practices in their high school's behavior system. Two specific…

The school-to-prison pipeline, or the relationship between school discipline and juvenile justice contact, has interested researchers and educational practitioners primary because of the negative impacts punishment can have on the life outcomes of students. Using a unique dataset of matched school and juvenile justice data, this dissertation…

The study was a latent profile analysis of teacher classroom management styles. The data used were derived from a randomized control trial that examined the efficacy of the CHAMPS behavior management program on middle school teachers. There were 187 teachers in this study recruited from Midwestern schools. A latent profile analysis was conducted…

Positive, proactive classroom management strategies support academic and behavioral student outcomes while fostering positive teacher-student relationships. However, teachers often cite struggles with classroom management and challenging student behavior as key reasons they ultimately leave the field. Additionally, pre-service teachers often fail…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether altering parameters of positive and negative reinforcement in identical ways could influence behavior maintained by each in different ways. Three undergraduate students participated in a series of assessments designed to identify preferred and aversive sounds with similar reinforcing values.…

Everyone, including children with developmental disabilities, encounters stimuli they find aversive every day (e.g., the sound of a classmate tapping their pencil). These aversive stimuli may not be problematic for typically developing individuals, because they learn to behave in ways that allow them to escape or avoid this aversive stimulation.…

Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement can be treated without escape extinction by enhancing the quality of positive reinforcement for an appropriate alternative response such as compliance. By contrast, negative reinforcement (escape) for compliance generally has been ineffective in the…

Many authors recommend various praise to reprimand ratios for teachers to use to manage their classrooms (e.g., Flora, 2000; Nafpaktitis, Mayer, & Butterworth, 1985; Wheldall, 2005); however, these recommendations are based on correlational data or secondary findings from studies not directly manipulating the praise to reprimand ratio. The…

For many years women have been under-represented in mathematics and related careers. Many women have been successful at the undergraduate level in a mathematics major, yet chose other career paths. In this study seventeen women, all of whom had done well in mathematics and have either graduated with an undergraduate degree in mathematics or had a…