In this article, the authors discuss program evaluation of intervention studies when the outcome of interest is collected routinely at equally spaced intervals of time. They illustrate concepts using data from the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study, where the outcome is state per capita tobacco consumption. States differ widely in mean…

This study explored the use of focused stimulation as an intervention technique for a three-year-old boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His parents were trained to use focused stimulation to facilitate comprehension of "what is x doing" question forms. Responses to question probes were collected at both pre- and post-treatment…

The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to describe the perspectives of elementary teachers about what supports were needed by them to successfully include a student with challenging behaviors in their general education classroom using positive practices. Fourteen general education teachers participated, each having had the experience…

The development of technologies for monitoring the welfare of crewmembers is a critical requirement for extended spaceflight. Behavior analytic methodologies provide a framework for studying the performance of individuals and groups, and brief computerized tests have been used successfully to examine the impairing effects of sleep, drug, and…

Response rates under random-interval schedules are lower when a brief (500 ms) signal accompanies reinforcement than when there is no signal. The present study examined this signaled-reinforcement effect and its relation to resistance to change. In Experiment 1, rats responded on a multiple random-interval 60-s random-interval 60-s schedule, with…

Background: Dysarthria is a common post-stroke presentation. Its management falls within the remit of the speech and language therapy profession. Little controlled evaluation of the effects of intervention for dysarthria in stroke has been reported. Aims: The study aimed to determine the effects of a period of behavioural communication…

In an examination of the effects of timing of feedback on student learning, participants were randomly assigned to complete five introductory course tests using either control (Scantron form) or one of three feedback (end-of-test, 24-hr delay, immediate) procedures. A cumulative final examination with 50 new items and 10 items repeated from each…

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and healthy controls were administered a flanker task that consisted of the presentation of colored targets and distractors. Participants were required to attend to the center target and identify its color. The stimulus displays were either congruent (i.e., the target and flankers were the same color) or…

Confidence intervals are beginning to play an increasing role in the reporting of research findings within the social and behavioral sciences and, consequently, are becoming more prevalent in beginning classes in statistics and research methods. Confidence intervals are an attractive means of conveying experimental results, as they contain a…

Our research on learning enhancement has been focusing on the consequences for learning and forgetting of some of the more obvious and concrete choices that arise in instruction, including: How does spacing of practice affect retention of information over significant retention intervals (up to two years)? Do spacing effects generalize beyond…

Pressure variations applied by newborns and by infants 1 to 4 months old to rubber nipples were recorded in three different procedures under no-fluid conditions. In the first study, infants were presented for 90 seconds with novel nipples varying in shape and in shape plus material. Results suggested that a developmental trend existed for an…

One purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the presence or absence of background pictures would have differential effects on kindergarten children's free recall and whether such effects would be affected by the relationship between the test items and the backgrounds. (Authors)

Evidence from the present study indicates that the delay-retention effect is due primarily to the forgetting of interference-producing errors during the delay interval and, secondarily, to the increased time a subject spends studying the feedback after a delay. (Authors)

Basic experimental design tested to see whether semantic shifts and variation of intertrial interval influences performance in short-term recognition memory in a manner similar to their influence in short-term recall. (Authors)

Results support the contention that with advancing years brain-damaged children may adapt to and/or recover from the deficit(s) involved in the inability to develop and maintain a readiness to respond. (Author/MB)