Caregivers of eight children with severe disabilities were asked to rank order, according to predicted client preference, a standard list of reinforcers and a list generated using a structured interview with caregivers. Systematic choice assessments were then conducted. Results indicated that caregiver predictions of client preferences were…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a brief, 2-minute pre-session stimulus preference assessment in predicting the levels of responding of four students (ages 6-9) with profound multiple disabilities. Use of the identified preferred stimulus resulted in higher levels of student responding during the instructional condition across all four…

Identity theory model was tested with fathers (N=186) to assess whether commitment to the fathering role identity affected the psychological centrality of that role. Results showed that fathers who perceived that their wives evaluated them positively as fathers were more likely to report higher levels of involvement in child-related activities and…

Within-session delay-of-reinforcement gradients were generated with pigeons by progressively increasing delays to reinforcement within each session. In Experiment 1, the effects of imposing progressive delays on variable-interval and fixed-interval schedules were investigated while controlling for simultaneous decreases in reinforcer rate across…

This project examined whether a history of reinforced relational responding would result in derived requesting skills in 3 adults with disabilities. Participants were first taught to request preferred items using pictures; they were then taught conditional discriminations between pictures and their dictated names and between dictated names and…

Background: When developing a domain-specific academic self-concept, students are not restricted to social comparisons; they may also make temporal or dimensional comparisons. Aims: The main purpose of this study was to examine whether these different types of comparison trigger paradoxical effects of praise and criticism in the sense described by…

The present study, using a multiple baseline across subjects design for two children and a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across subjects design for two additional children, evaluated whether the addition of eye contact and then contingent praise for compliance (CP) would lead to increases in childhood compliance for both statement and question…

We used functional communication training to teach Bob, a 10-year-old student with autism and severe language delays, to reject items by touching an icon. Our initial assessment revealed that Bob's behaviours serving a rejecting function consisted of pushing away, yelling, bear hugging-grabbing, and leaving. We used prompting, differential…

Students with externalizing disorders make up from three to five percent of the population in public school classrooms and are some of the most difficult students to manage in an educational setting. Behavioral excesses and deficits exhibited by these students are a major factor in poor retention rates for new teachers while the students…

In their meta-analysis, Stage and Quiroz (1997) found that group-oriented contingencies yielded the largest effect size of interventions designed to reduce inappropriate behaviors in public schools. However, such procedures may be underutilized for enhancing academic performance and learning. The current article describes how interdependent…

Research on the additive interspersal procedure was extended by exposing seventh-grade students to curricula-based (e.g., educationally valid) language arts assignments. In Experiment I, each student was given a control language arts assignment containing 20 discrete target items and an experimental assignment containing 24 equivalent target…

There are various opinions concerning the value of positive reinforcement when discussing modifying behaviors of young children. In some cases, individuals considered positive reinforcement difficult to implement and, in extreme cases, even felt it to be detrimental. Educators often use praise interchangeably with positive reinforcement when…

Students with learning and behavioral disorders often lack the requisite academic skills and behavioral self-control to remain engaged during passive seatwork activities. Because independent seatwork composes a large portion of the instructional time in general education classrooms and teachers expect students to demonstrate self-control in these…

The purpose of this paper is to provide brief descriptions and links to a number of reputed websites on various topics and issues of special education. The web sites are organized in the following categories: (1) Teaching in Inclusive Classroom, (2) Policies, Procedures, & Process of Special education, (3) Students with High Incidence…

Classroom management strategies designed to improve problem behavior directly affect student achievement. Researchers have demonstrated positive behavior supports (PBS) can reduce problem behavior. However, researchers have also found evidence that PBS may not always be successful and further studies are needed to improve the use of PBS as a…