The necessity of promoting physical activity in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been emphasized for decades. One of the barriers to participate in physical activity for individuals with ASD is limited interest and motivation. Therefore, understanding the motivation to exercise in this population is important. The objective was…

Although the good behavior game (GBG) has a long empirical record for effectively decreasing inappropriate student behavior, there are fewer studies that have targeted improving appropriate behavior. This article describes why and how the GBG can be used by teachers across grade levels and situations to increase student appropriate behavior and…

Past research has shown that when people are curious they are willing to wait to get an answer if the alternative is to not get the answer at all--a result that has been taken to mean that people valued the answers, and interpreted as supporting a reinforcement-learning (RL) view of curiosity. An alternative 'need for agency' view is forwarded…

The mand is a type of verbal operant whose response form is under control of a motivating operation (MO). It is the first verbal operant to be acquired, directly benefits the speaker, leads to the development of other behaviors, and may serve to replace problem behavior. Even though the topography of the mand is under the functional control of an…

The prevalence of psychotropic medication use among students with emotional and behavioral challenges continues to increase as intensive behavioral interventions are designed and evaluated in schools. There is general consensus among clinical professionals that psychotropic medications are not "silver bullets" but should be expected to…

Graduate students are more than six times as likely to experience depression compared with the general population. However, few studies have examined how graduate school specifically affects depression. In this qualitative interview study of 50 life sciences PhD students from 28 institutions, we examined how research and teaching affect depression…

Cognitive control describes the ability to use internal goals to strategically guide how we process and respond to our environment. Changes in the environment lead to adaptation in control strategies. This type of control learning can be observed in performance adjustments in response to varying proportions of easy to hard trials over blocks of…

Feedback given by coaches can have a profound effect on athletes' performance, as well as on their perception of the motivational climate. The Coaching Behaviors Assessment System classifies the feedback that coaches give during practices or games into 12 behavioral categories, which will be described in this article. Real-life scenarios will be…

Background: People with intellectual disabilities are more at risk of obesity than the general population. Emerging literature indicates that multicomponent interventions are most effective, however, individual results are variable and little research exists as to why this is the case. Methods: Focus groups were conducted to explore lived…

When discrete localizable stimuli are used during appetitive Pavlovian conditioning, "sign-tracking" and "goal-tracking" responses emerge. Sign-tracking is observed when conditioned responding is directed toward the CS, whereas goal-tracking manifests as responding directed to the site of expected reward delivery. These…

Social participation of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in natural environments can be enhanced by teaching them to communicate spontaneously, at least in situations where they have the motivation to access specific items or activities by controlling the amount of access for these stimuli. The purpose of this study was to determine…

"In the late 1950's, Jack Michael, a bright but irritating young psychology instructor, moved from the Universities of Kansas to Houston to Arizona State. Along the way he befriended two nontraditional students, protected them through their Ph.D. programs, and turned them loose on the world: Teodoro Ayllon…and Montrose Wolf…" (Risley,…

Early and intensive behavioral intervention has been shown to result in favorable outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder. Procedures and practices based on and influenced by B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior (VB) have been increasingly integrated into EIBI curricula in recent years. In this article, I give an overview of some basic…

Self-determination and decision-making are acknowledged internationally as key rights of persons with disabilities and should play an important role in the development of educational plans and procedures. Not only is the chance for individuals with developmental disabilities to select their own tasks, leisure activities or reinforcers a valuable…

For over a century and a quarter, the science of learning has expanded at an increasing rate and has achieved the status of a mature science. It has developed powerful methodologies and applications. The rise of this science has been so swift that other learning texts often overlook the fact that, like other mature sciences, the science of…