Reading comprehension can be considered a complex human performance involving two integrated repertoires: a verbal repertoire and an investigative (generative) repertoire. This paper describes the theoretical framework that formed the guiding foundation for the development of Headsprout[R] Reading Comprehension and to the authors' approach to…

There is an urgent need to quantify which extension methods are most effective in Africa. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of alternative extension methods on adoption of the triple bagging cowpea storage technology in Niger and Burkina Faso. This study was designed as a quasi-experiment with two alternative extension…

Six pigeons responded in a visual category learning task in which the stimuli were dimensionally separable Gabor patches that varied in frequency and orientation. We compared performance in two conditions which varied in terms of whether accurate performance required that responding be controlled jointly by frequency and orientation, or…

The evidence for a role of the striatum in the acquisition of uncued instrumental responding is ambiguous. It has been shown that post-session infusions of anisomycin into the core of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) impaired instrumental acquisition, but pre-training lesions of the NAcc suggest that it is not necessary. Recently, we demonstrated that…

Children with autism often display difficulty with swallowing pills and liquid medications. In the current study, stimulus fading and positive reinforcement established compliance with liquid medication administration in a young boy with autism. The boy's mother eventually administered liquid medication on her own. (Contains 1 figure.)

Students who engage in challenging behaviour compromise the fundamental ability of schools to educate children. Consequently, teachers face the daunting task of designing effective strategies to promote positive educational outcomes for their students. Since the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amendments, the use of positive…

Consideration of reinforcer magnitude may be important for maximizing the efficacy of treatment for problem behavior. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about children's preferences for different magnitudes of social reinforcement or the extent to which preference is related to differences in reinforcer efficacy. The purpose of the current…

Participants completed blocks of trials under simple (i.e., work-alone), competitive, and self-competitive fixed-interval 20-s schedules of reinforcement. In general, response rates were highest during competition and lowest while working alone. In addition, whereas participants emitted responses at a constant rate while working alone, competitive…

Teacher praise is one of the most important elements of teaching and learning. Behavioral consultation with and without performance has been shown to be an effective method for increasing instructional praise. The authors used an ABCBC design to investigate the effects of an interdependent group oriented contingency (GC) and the GC plus…

Schools are increasingly adopting tiered models of prevention to meet the needs of diverse populations of students. This article outlines the steps involved in designing and implementing a systematic Tier 2 behavior intervention within a tiered service delivery model. An elementary school example is provided to outline the identification,…

Preschool environments can be critical to academic success and risk reduction but disruptive behaviors can have significant and lasting negative effects on students as well as teachers. These behaviors may be pervasive in some classrooms and effective interventions are needed. A combined delayed multiple baseline and withdrawal design across a…

Objective: This study highlights Dr. Elsie Pinkston and colleagues' research on the effectiveness of behavior parent training and examines the application of single-parent training group (SPG) programs to three parent-child dyads exposed to distressed family circumstances. Methods: Single-system evaluation designs were conducted with two…

The number of schools implementing school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) practices nationwide is increasing, but still little is known about the fidelity with which teachers implement SWPBS practices in the classroom. Specifically, data are needed that reflect the consistency with which classroom-based SWPBS practices are implemented, as…

Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement can be treated without escape extinction by enhancing the quality of positive reinforcement for an appropriate alternative response such as compliance. By contrast, negative reinforcement (escape) for compliance generally has been ineffective in the…

Increasingly, early childhood practitioners are faced with children who present with significant levels of oppositional and defiant behaviour. The management of this behaviour is often difficult and stressful. Efforts to minimise disruptive behaviour and to encourage more prosocial behaviour have very much revolved around the teaching of…