ABSTRACT
A functional analysis indicated that chronic eye poking exhibited by a woman with profound mental retardation persisted in the absence of social contingencies. We initiated a procedure in which a therapist delivered a punisher (mild reprimand) contingent on eye poking in the presence, but not the absence, of a neutral stimulus (wristbands). Subsequently, eye poking was suppressed when the participant wore the wristbands in novel environments without the reprimand contingency.
Subject(s)
Association Learning , Automatism/prevention & control , Behavior Therapy/methods , Eye Injuries/prevention & control , Self-Injurious Behavior/prevention & control , Automatism/psychology , Eye Injuries/psychology , Female , Generalization, Psychological , Humans , Intellectual Disability/psychology , Intellectual Disability/therapy , Middle Aged , Reinforcement, Verbal , Self-Injurious Behavior/psychology , Social Environment , Transfer, PsychologyABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the immediate and subsequent effects of fixed-time (FT) food presentations on mouthing. The effects of FT food presentations were analyzed within a three-component multiple schedule in which baseline conditions were implemented during the first and third components and treatment conditions were implemented during the second component. Results indicated that FT food reduced mouthing and that levels of mouthing during post-FT components were reliably lower than pre-FT components. Behavioral mechanisms responsible for treatment effects are discussed.