Behavior Modification

Two groups of inpatient youths (n = 4 and n = 5) received group conversational skills training. Conversational component behaviors of both groups at baseline were compared to the behaviors of normal youth from the community. For each inpatient group, component behaviors on which they were most discrepant from normal youths were selected for training. Multiple baseline designs across component behaviors were used and patients were trained to socially validated criterion levels. Effectiveness of training was demonstrated through (a) behavioral ratings during dyadic, unstructured conversations with other members of their group, (b) behavioral ratings during conversations with unfamiliar nonpsychiatric persons, (c) global ratings of conversational effectiveness by nonpatient peers, (d) generalization to in vivo conversations, and (e) maintenance of improvement at 1 and 3-month follow up assessments. Results were replicated across both groups and indicated that training effects were socially validated, generalized to conversations with unfamiliar persons and to in vivo conversations, and maintained over time.

Peermediated interventions have been widely employed with seriously impairedautistic and handicapped children to modify social withdrawal. This study extendsthe literature by examining the impact of a peer intervention on the interactions ofdevelopmentally normal, socially isolated girls. Two to three actual classroompeers were trained to serve as helpers to initiate and maintain interactions with thesubjects. The intervention was introduced sequentially across 2 girls in a multiple-baseline design, and a within subject ABA withdrawal design was used to assessmaintenance. Behavioral observations during recess periods indicated that bothchildren's positive social interactions with peer helpers and other classmates wereincreased significantly during intervention and were maintained in return to-baseline conditions and at 4-month follow-up. Increases in positive socialinteractions of both subjects generalized to a second recess setting, in whichintervention was not introduced. Subjects' interactions in both recess settingsreached levels comparable to those of social comparison groups of peers. Teacherand self report ratings suggested that both girls had fewer social problems andexperienced less loneliness and dysphoria as a result of the intervention.

A modified reversal/ multiple-baseline design across three supermarkets was used to examine the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in increasing the frequency of safety belt usage in shopping carts. Following low baseline rates, safety belt usage increased significantly during a prompt plus personal contact condition at Stores 1 and 2. Safety belt usage then decreased, but remained above baseline levels, in a prompt alone condition at both stores. However, at Store 1, usage increased when the personal contact procedure was reintroduced but reversed to lower levels in a second prompt alone condition. Finally, social validity scales indicated that adult shoppers with children favored both safety belts on carts and the experimental procedures used in this study and said that they intended to use safety belts on carts in the future. Implications and directions for further research are briefly discussed.

Contingently applied protective equipment is a treatment strategy to control self injury but one that has received limited experimental evaluation. This study examined the effects of contingent glove wearing for the treatment of self excoriating, skin picking behavior in a sensory impaired adolescent. Brief application of gloves following occurrences of self injury produced clinically significant reductions in the behavior as demonstrated in a multiple baseline design. Intervention effects were maintained at 1-and 3-month follow-up assessments.

This study provides a systematic demonstration of generalization failures in which irrelevant stimulus control of competing responses interferes with, or overrides, the stimulus control of adaptive behavior developed during training. Appropriate and inappropriate verbal responses by a 26-year-old woman with severe mental retardation served as the dependent variables. A reversal design across trained and nontrained settings indicates that presenting a stimulus with a prior history of control over "inappropriate" verbalizations concurrently with a stimulus controlling newly acquired "appropriate" verbalizations significantly reduces the strength of the appropriate stimulus control relationship. The implications for training generalized skills are discussed.

This study investigated the usefulness of aversive conditioning of a mild punishment procedure that had ceased to suppress target behaviors to clinically acceptable levels. A 6.8-year-old severely retarded boy with high levels of aggressive, destructive, and loud screeching behaviors was readmitted to a psychiatric facility to adjust behavioral programs and rule out seizure disorder. A design combining withdrawal and multiple baselines across behaviors tested the effects of aversive conditioning of visual screening with ammonia and the impact of anticonvulsant medication (carbamazepine, phenytoin). Data indicated that aversively conditioned visual screening temporarily lowered rates of responding. It is tentatively concluded that aversive conditioning might be a useful mechanism to strengthen suppressive effects of mild punishment procedures and a promising approach for alleviating placement problems due to maladaptive behaviors in mentally retarded persons. Maintenance of treatment effects, community placement, and the mandate to choose the least restrictive aversive treatment alternative are discussed. Anticonvulsant medication showed no beneficial effect for the target behaviors investigated.

The effects of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) individualized across type and frequency of behavior were examined in three classes of severely behaviorally disordered students using a reversal design. The findings showed that the individualized GBG was effective in simultaneously decreasing a variety of inappropriate behaviors exhibited by the three classes, including inappropriate verbalizations, touching, negative comments, cursing, and drumming. Teacher and student satisfaction data indicated that both groups had positive reactions to the individualized GBG. Reasons for the success of the technique are discussed.