The present study investigated the effects of contingency-specifying rules and a token economy to decrease the latency to comply with academic instructions by a 16-year-old girl with acquired brain injury. Results showed that treatment was successful in reducing academic response latencies. These results replicate previous research in which…

Selective mutism is a severe childhood disorder involving failure to speak in public situations in which speaking is expected. The present study examined 9 youths with selective mutism treated with child-focused, exposure-based practices and parent-focused contingency management via an alternating treatments design. Broadband measures of…

Adults in a therapeutic workplace working on a computerized keyboarding training program earned vouchers for typing correct characters. Typing technique was evaluated on review steps. Participants could pass the review and earn a bonus, or skip the review and proceed with no bonus. Alternatively, participants could continue practicing on the same…

Although treatment outcome in prize-based contingency management has been shown to depend on reinforcement schedule, the optimal schedule is still unknown. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial (Ghitza et al., 2007) to determine the effects of the probability of winning a prize (low vs. high) and…

To determine whether reduction of smoking via contingency management in dependent smokers would decrease the discounting of delayed reinforcers compared with smokers who did not reduce their smoking, moderate to heavy cigarette smokers were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a contingency management condition and a control condition. In…

This article reviews evidence from basic and translational research with pigeons and humans suggesting that the persistence of operant behavior depends on the contingency between stimuli and reinforcers, and considers some implications for clinical interventions. (Contains 4 figures.)

The value of a reinforcer may change based on antecedent events, specifically the behavior of others (Bruzek & Thompson, 2007). In the current study, we examined the effects of manipulating the behavior of the therapist on problem behavior while all dimensions of reinforcement were held constant. Both participants' levels of problem behaviors…

Recent mandates related to the implementation of evidence-based practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require that autism professionals both understand and are able to implement practices based on the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The use of the term "applied behavior analysis" and its related concepts…

Objective: Contingency management (CM) treatments are usually applied individually for drug abstinence, but CM can also be targeted toward health behaviors and implemented in groups. This study evaluated effects of a group-based CM intervention that focused on reinforcing health behaviors. Method: HIV-positive patients with cocaine or opioid use…

Social learning theory contends that group contingent reinforcement can be used as a means of shaping problematic behavior in both academic and nonacademic settings. Prior research has focused on contingent management of academic behaviors with older populations at the college level and younger students both with and without disabilities in the…

This article presents an intervention model for young children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The intervention, designed to reduce compulsive behavior and improve parenting practices, was tested using a multiple baseline design with 7 children (M = 6 years old; 57% female) in which participants were randomly assigned to 1, 2, or 3 weeks…

Researchers have documented the positive effects of classwide peer tutoring on academic performance, engagement, and other social behaviors of students with and without disabilities. Commonly, in classwide peer tutoring, students are paired and the class is divided in half. Points are awarded for tutoring behavior and academic responding during…

When humans predict criterion events based on probabilistic predictors, they often lend excessive weight to the predictor and insufficient weight to the base rate of the criterion event. In an operant analysis, using a matching-to-sample paradigm, Goodie and Fantino (1996) showed that humans exhibit base-rate neglect when predictors are associated…

Contingency management (CM) treatments have been shown to be effective in reducing substance use. This manuscript illustrates how the experience sampling method (ESM) can depict behavior and behavior change and can be used to explore CM treatment mechanisms. ESM characterizes idiosyncratic patterns of behavior and offers the potential to determine…

Three experiments were conducted with rats in which responses on one lever (labeled the functional lever) produced reinforcers after an unsignaled delay period that reset with each response during the delay. Responses on a second, nonfunctional, lever did not initiate delays, but, in the first and third experiments, such responses during the last…