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Biomedical subjects

Gregory P Hanley

Publications and source records attributed to Gregory P Hanley.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Establishment of mands following tact training as a function of reinforcer strength.

We examined some conditions under which a response acquired as a tact might facilitate the establishment of a mand. We taught 3 participants with developmental disabilities to tact the items ranked highest and lowest in a preference assessment and subsequently tested to see if the responses occurred as mands. All participants manded for the highly preferred item but rarely manded for the nonpreferred item. These results indicate that, although tact and mand functions are different, conditions can be created to facilitate transfer from the former to the latter. Implications for communication training are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A descriptive assessment of instruction-based interactions in the preschool classroom.

The current study describes preschool teacher-child interactions during several commonly scheduled classroom activities in which teachers deliver instructions. An observation system was developed that incorporated measurement of evidence-based compliance strategies and included the types of instructions delivered (e.g., integral or deficient directives, embedded directives, "do" or "don't" commands), the children's behavior with respect to the instructions (e.g., compliance, noncompliance, active avoidance, problem behavior), and the differential responses of the teacher to the child's behavior following an instruction (e.g., appropriate or inappropriate provision of attention and escape). After 4 classroom teachers were observed at least five times in each of five target activities, simple and conditional probabilities were calculated. Results indicated that (a) the frequency of instruction and probability of compliance varied as a function of activity type, (b) "do" commands and directive prompts were delivered almost to the exclusion of "don't" commands and nondirective prompts, (c) the likelihood of compliance was highest following an embedded or an integral directive prompt, and (d) although putative social reinforcers were more likely to follow noncompliance than compliance and were highly likely following problem behavior, compliance occurred over twice as much as noncompliance, and problem behavior during instructions was very low. Implications for using descriptive assessments for understanding and improving teacher-child interactions in the preschool classroom are discussed.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2006

An evaluation of the value of choice with preschool children.

The current study examined the reinforcing effects of choosing among alternatives in a four-part evaluation. In the first study, initial-link responses in a concurrent-chains arrangement resulted in access to terminal links in which the completion of an academic task resulted in (a) the choice of a reinforcer (choice), (b) the delivery of an identical reinforcer (no choice), or (c) no material reinforcer (control). Three patterns of responding emerged: persistent preference for choice (3 participants); initial preference for choice, which did not persist (2 participants); and preference for no choice (1 participant). Additional evaluations determined if preference for choice could be enhanced (Study 2) or established (Study 3) by including more stimuli from which to choose. Choice-link selections systematically increased for all participants when more items were available from which to choose. Study 4 identified the precise value of the opportunity to choose by progressively increasing the response requirement during the choice terminal links for 3 children and determining the point at which these children stopped selecting the choice link. All children continued to select the choice link even when the work required in the choice link was much greater than that arranged in the no-choice link.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed2006

Some determinants of changes in preference over time.

Results of longitudinal studies suggest that the stability of preferences varies across individuals, although it is unclear what variables account for these differences. We extended this work by conducting periodic assessments of preference for leisure activities over 3 to 6 months with 10 adults with developmental disabilities. Although previous research has collectively shown that preferences identified via repeated assessment are highly variable, our results showed that preferences were relatively stable for the majority (80%) of participants. In an attempt to identify some environmental determinants of shifts in preference, we provided extended daily access to high-preference items (preference-weakening manipulation) and paired access to low-preference items with social and edible putative reinforcers during brief sessions (preference-strengthening manipulation). Preference assessments continued over the course of these manipulations with 2 participants. Results showed that changes in preference across time could be produced systematically and suggest that naturally occurring changes in establishing operations or conditioning histories contribute to temporal shifts in preference. Implications for preference assessments, reinforcer usage, and planned attempts to change preferences are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

An evaluation of computer-based programmed instruction for promoting teachers' greetings of parents by name.

Although greeting parents by name facilitates subsequent parent-teacher communication, baseline measures revealed that 4 preschool teachers never or rarely greeted parents by name during morning check-in. To promote frequent and accurate use of parents' names by teachers, the effects of a fully automated computerized assessment and programmed instruction (CAPI) intervention were evaluated in a multiple baseline design. The CAPI intervention involved assessment and training of relations among parents' and children's pictures and names, and produced rapid learning of parent names. The CAPI intervention also resulted in substantial improvements in the classroom use of parents' names for 3 of the 4 teachers; however, a supervisor-mediated feedback package (consisting of instructions, differential reinforcement, and error correction) was necessary to maintain name use for 2 of those teachers. The practical strengths and limitations of computer-based teacher training are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Using reinforcer pairing and fading to increase the milk consumption of a preschool child.

The present study replicates and extends previous research on the treatment of food selectivity by implementing pairing and fading procedures to increase a child's milk consumption during regularly scheduled preschool meals. The treatment involved mixing a small amount of chocolate syrup into a glass of milk and gradually eliminating the chocolate. The procedure and data collection were implemented by preschool teachers and resulted in increased milk drinking at school, which was maintained at home.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

An example of discovery research involving the transfer of stimulus control.

The initial purpose of the present study was to replicate procedures for teaching preschool children to recruit attention at appropriate times by having an experimenter signal the availability and unavailability of attention (i.e., arrange a multiple schedule involving reinforcement and extinction; Tiger & Hanley, 2004). Following the development of discriminated social responding, the schedule-correlated stimuli were removed (i.e., a mixed schedule of reinforcement was arranged). However, discriminated responding continued during these conditions. Further evaluation suggested that stimulus control over children's social responding had transferred from the schedule-correlated stimuli to the delivery of reinforcement. The effect of a history of reinforcement under multiple-schedule conditions on performance under mixed schedules was then replicated with 2 participants in a reversal design. These findings suggest that following experience with schedule-correlated stimuli, these stimuli may be removed with only modest disruption to discriminated responding.

Attention↗
PubMed2005

On the effectiveness of and preference for punishment and extinction components of function-based interventions.

The current study describes an assessment sequence that may be used to identify individualized, effective, and preferred interventions for severe problem behavior in lieu of relying on a restricted set of treatment options that are assumed to be in the best interest of consumers. The relative effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) with and without a punishment component was evaluated with 2 children for whom functional analyses demonstrated behavioral maintenance via social positive reinforcement. The results showed that FCT plus punishment was more effective than FCT in reducing problem behavior. Subsequently, participants' relative preference for each treatment was evaluated in a concurrent-chains arrangement, and both participants demonstrated a dear preference for FCT with punishment. These findings suggest that the treatment-selection process may be guided by person-centered and evidence-based values.

Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorder↗
PubMed2003

Treatment efficacy of noncontingent reinforcement during brief and extended application.

We evaluated the long-term therapeutic effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR). In Experiment 1, NCR effects were examined with 2 participants' arbitrary responses; in Experiment 2, NCR was used as treatment with 3 participants whose self-injurious behavior (SIB) was maintained by automatic reinforcement. In both experiments, NCR consisted of continuous access to a highly preferred leisure item and was implemented initially during 10-min and later during 120-min sessions. Varied reinforcers (leisure items) were subsequently introduced during 120-min sessions to determine if treatment effects might be extended. Finally (Experiment 2 only), NCR was implemented throughout the day in participants' homes. Results of Experiments 1 and 2 showed that reinforcers obtained through object manipulation can compete with those obtained automatically by engaging in SIB during brief NCR sessions. However, data from the 120-min sessions indicated that satiation to a specific leisure item might occur over periods of time more typical of those during which treatment would be implemented. Access to a variety of highly preferred leisure items extended the effectiveness of NCR for some individuals. When NCR was implemented throughout the day (Experiment 2), therapeutic effects were shown to be maintained for up to 1 year.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Functional analysis of problem behavior: a review.

Functional analysis methodology focuses on the identification of variables that influence the occurrence of problem behavior and has become a hallmark of contemporary approaches to behavioral assessment. In light of the widespread use of pretreatment functional analyses in articles published in this and other journals, we reviewed the literature in an attempt to identify best practices and directions for future research. Studies included in the present review were those in which (a) a pretreatment assessment based on (b) direct observation and measurement of (c) problem behavior was conducted under (d) at least two conditions involving manipulation of an environmental variable in an attempt (e) to demonstrate a relation between the environmental event and behavior. Studies that met the criteria for inclusion were quantified and critically evaluated along a number of dimensions related to subject and setting characteristics, parametric and qualitative characteristics of the methodology, types of assessment conditions, experimental designs, topographies of problem behaviors, and the manner in which data were displayed and analyzed.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed2003

The effects of extinction, noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement of other behavior as control procedures.

Several techniques have been used in applied research as controls for the introduction of a reinforcement contingency, including extinction, noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO). Little research, however, has examined the relative strengths and limitations of these "reversal" controls. We compared the effects of extinction with those of NCR and DRO in both multi-element and reversal designs, with respect to (a) rate and amount of response decrement, (b) rate of response recovery following reintroduction of reinforcement, and (c) any positive or negative side effects associated with transitions. Results indicated that extinction generally produced the most consistent and rapid reversal effects, with few observed negative side effects.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Response-restriction analysis: I. Assessment of activity preferences.

We used procedures based on response-restriction (RR) analysis to assess vocational and leisure activity preferences for 3 adults with developmental disabilities. To increase the efficiency of the analysis relative to that reported in previous research, we used criteria that allowed activities to be restricted at the earliest point at which a preference could be determined. Results obtained across two consecutive RR assessments showed some variability in overall preference rankings but a high degree of consistency for highly ranked items. Finally, we compared results of the RR assessment with those of an extended free-operant assessment and found that the RR assessment yielded (a) more differentiated patterns of preference and (b) more complete information about engagement with all of the target activities.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Response-restriction analysis: II. Alteration of activity preferences.

We used response-restriction (RR) assessments to identify the preferences of 7 individuals with mental retardation for a variety of vocational and leisure activities. We subsequently increased their engagement in nonpreferred activities using several procedures: response restriction per se versus a Premack-type contingency (Study 1), supplemental reinforcement for engagement in target activities (Study 2), and noncontingent pairing of reinforcers with nonpreferred activities (Study 3). Results indicated that preferences are not immutable and can be altered through a variety of relatively benign interventions and that the results of RR assessments may be helpful in determining which types of procedures may be most effective on an individual basis.

Adult↗