Response-contingent taste-aversion in treating chronic ruminative vomiting of institutionalised profoundly retarded children.

Two case studies are presented describing the use of response-contingent taste-aversion procedures to treat chronic ruminative vomiting of profoundly retarded children. Each treatment programme was designed to be carried out by para-professional staff in an institutional setting. Each programme eliminated rumination, with effects maintained one to nine months following treatment. For one subject who exhibited major weight-loss prior to intervention, substantial weight-gain was also demonstrated.

Withdrawal of chronic chlorpromazine medication: an experimental analysis.

Approximately 50% of all institutionalized, mentally retarded adults receive psychotropic medication to control inappropriate behavior. In this study, behaviors exhibited by five retarded adults were formally observed while they were on and off medication. Each subject had been receiving chlorpromazine for six or more years prior to the start of the study. The drug was withdrawn and readministered using a double-blind B-A-B (drug placebo-drug) design. Effects were highly individualized. Some desirable behavior emerged when chlorpromazine was discontinued.

Effects of diet and behavior therapy on social and motor behavior of retarded phenylketonuric adults: an experimental analysis.

The effects of a low phenylalanine diet on six retarded phenylketonuric adults were assessed. An ABA individual-subject design was used in experiment I to assess the effects of a low phenylalanine diet on social and motor behavior. Following a baseline during which the subjects ingested a normal phenylalanine diet (phase A), a low phenylalanine diet (phase B) was administered in a double blind fashion. Finally, the baseline condition (phase A) was reinstated (normal diet). The low phenylalanine diet resulted in few significant behavioral changes for those subjects with which proper methodologic controls were employed. However, for two of six subjects motor behavior, including stereotypy and tremor, seem to have ameliorated. In experiment II, applied behavior analysis techniques, including differential reinforcement of other behavior and time out, were combined to radically reduce the frequency of stereotypy and self-abuse exhibited by one of the six subjects of experiment I.

Individualizing behavior therapy for children in group settings.

Individualizing behavior-modification programs in group settings requires a carefully devised plan applying general principles and specific procedures. This description of techniques may serve as a model for such programs.

Stimulus control in the classroom as a function of the behavior reinforced.

Eight fifth- and sixth-grade children with behavior problems performed in a classroom under three conditions: (1) unreinforced baseline, (2) reinforcement for being on task, and (3) reinforcement for the accuracy and rate of math problems solved. The teacher was absent for a portion of the class session under each of these conditions. In the teacher's absence, on-task behavior declined markedly and disruption markedly increased, regardless of the reinforcement condition in operation. In addition, the teacher's absence resulted in fewer problems attempted and decreased accuracy. However, the extent to which the children became disruptive was reduced and the number of problems attempted increased when reinforcement was contingent on academic accuracy and rate, instead of being contingent on being on task. The results suggest that by providing contingencies for the products of a child's classroom activities, rather than for being on task, the child will become more independent of the teacher's presence, and more under the control of the academic materials.

Methodological issues in psychopharmacological research: chlorpromazine--a case in point.

Past research on the relative efficacy of powerful psychotropic agents has generally relied on group designs, which may mask critical individual differences in drug response. This and other methodological inadequacies raise questions about much of the vast literature in support of the clinical efficacy of chlorpromazine and similar drugs. A research strategy employing within-subJect designs, using a single subject as his own control, is suggested as advantageous in assessing individual drug effects at specific dosage levels.

Effects of group response-cost procedures on cash shortages in a small business.

The effect of a group response-cost procedure (accompanied by verbal and written instruction) designed to decrease cash shortages in a small business was evaluated with a reversal design. When cash shortages were subtracted from the six employees' salaries on days in which the shortage exceeded 1% of total daily sales, the magnitude of daily shortages sharply decreased. This response-cost contingency was used only three times throughout the study, with a maximum cost of $8.70 per subject over the 41-day period. The efficacy of the procedures may be due to either increased precision in change calculations, a decreased frequency of stealing from the cash register, increased shortchanging of customers, and/or increased incidents of register under-ringing. Ethical questions relative to the utilization of group punishment procedures are raised, and it was concluded that the procedures used were more humane than commonly used alternatives.

The effects of biasing information on behavioral observations and rating scales.

The effects of biasing information on behavioral observations and rating scales were studied. Forty-one undergraduate students trained in making reliable behavioral observations were given differential expectations concerning the activity level of a target child. They then viewed videotape recordings of that child and tallied frequency counts of six behavioral categories simultaneously. In addition, subjects completed postexperimental rating scales composed of specific, identifiable behaviors in regard to the target child. Results indicated that, for the most part, neither the behavioral observations nor the rating scales were significantly affected by the biasing information. It is suggested that rating scales constructed of items as discrete and readily identifiable as those of behavioral observation measures may prove resistant to biasing effects.

The effect of a teacher's presence on the classroom behavior of conduct-problem children.

Six institutionalized conduct-problem children performed in a classroom under three reinforcement conditions: (1) noncontingent reinforcement: (2) reinforcement for being on task and (3) reinforcement for the accuracy and rate fo their academic behavior. Within each of these conditions, the teacher was either present throughout the class session or absent for a portion of the session. In the teacher's absence, on-task behavior was markedly reduced and disruption was markedly increased, regardless of the reinforcement condition in operation. In contrast, the teacher's absence had no effect on academic accuracy and had a major effect on academic rate only when reinforcement was delivered noncontingently. Furthermore, the extent to which the children became disruptive in the teacher's absence was reduced when reinforcement was contingent upon academic accuracy and rate, instead of being contingent upon being on task or delivered noncontingently. It is suggested that the reinforcement of academic behavior, rather than on-task behavior or classroom social behavior, not only will improve the latter behaviors as well, but possibly also make them less dependent upon the presence and continued surveillance of the teacher.