Review of sports performance research with youth, collegiate, and elite athletes.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):999-1002

Authors: Luiselli JK, Woods KE, Reed DD

Abstract
This brief review summarizes translational and intervention research in the area of sports performance. We describe studies with youth, collegiate, and elite athletes; identify recent trends; and propose recommendations for future research.

PMID: 22219554 [PubMed - in process]

Guest reviewers.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):998

Authors:

PMID: 22219553 [PubMed - in process]

Topographical and functional properties of precursors to severe problem behavior.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):993-7

Authors: Fahmie TA, Iwata BA

Abstract
A literature search identified 17 articles reporting data on 34 subjects who engaged in precursors to severe problem behavior, which we examined to identify topographical and functional characteristics. Unintelligible vocalization was the most common precursor to aggression (27%) and property destruction (29%), whereas self- or nondirected movement was the most common precursor to SIB (32%). Unintelligible vocalization and object-directed movement were the most common precursors to behavior maintained by social-positive reinforcement (27% each), and unintelligible vocalization was the most common precursor to behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement (29%). Only one precursor was reported for behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement.

PMID: 22219552 [PubMed - in process]

Can an understanding of basic research facilitate the effectiveness of practitioners? Reflections and personal perspectives.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):973-91

Authors: Sidman M

Abstract
I have written before about the importance of applied behavior analysis to basic researchers. That relationship is, however, reciprocal; it is also critical for practitioners to understand and even to participate in basic research. Although applied problems are rarely the same as those investigated in the laboratory, practitioners who understand their basic research background are often able to place their particular problem in a more general context and thereby deal with it successfully. Also the procedures of applied behavior analysis are often the same as those that characterize basic research; the scientist-practitioner will appreciate the relation between what he or she is doing and what basic experimenters do, and as a consequence, will be able to apply therapeutic techniques more creatively and effectively.

PMID: 22219551 [PubMed - in process]

Guest associate editors.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):972

Authors:

PMID: 22219550 [PubMed - in process]

Adherence with universal precautions after immediate, personalized performance feedback.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):967-71

Authors: Luke MM, Alavosius M

Abstract
We evaluated the effects of immediate, personalized performance feedback on adherence with hand hygiene by health-care staff in the context of a multiple baseline design across participants. Target behaviors reached mastery levels and were maintained near 100% throughout 2 months of maintenance probes.

PMID: 22219549 [PubMed - in process]

A flipped spoon and chin prompt to increase mouth clean.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):961-5

Authors: Dempsey J, Piazza CC, Groff RA, Kozisek JM

Abstract
We treated the liquid refusal of a 15-month-old girl using 2 antecedent manipulations: flipped spoon and chin prompt. Use of the chin prompt in the absence of the flipped spoon failed to produce increases in mouth clean (a product measure of swallowing). By contrast, modest increases in mouth clean resulted from the implementation of the flipped spoon alone. The greatest increases in mouth clean resulted from the combination of the 2 manipulations.

PMID: 22219548 [PubMed - in process]

Direct and distal effects of noncontingent juice on rumination exhibited by a child with autism.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):955-9

Authors: Kliebert ML, Tiger JH

Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of the noncontingent delivery of foods and liquids at suppressing rumination, the repeated regurgitation and rechewing of partially digested food. However, it is unclear how long this reduction is maintained after caregivers terminate this procedure. The current study examined the direct and distal effects of noncontingent juice on rumination by measuring the duration of rumination during juice delivery and immediately following the termination of juice delivery. Noncontingent juice suppressed rumination, but this suppression was not maintained after delivery termination.

PMID: 22219547 [PubMed - in process]

Spoon-to-cup fading as treatment for cup drinking in a child with intestinal failure.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):949-54

Authors: Groff RA, Piazza CC, Zeleny JR, Dempsey JR

Abstract
We treated a child with intestinal failure who consumed solids on a spoon but not liquids from a cup. We used spoon-to-cup fading, which consisted of taping a spoon to a cup and then gradually moving the bowl of the spoon closer to the edge of the cup. Spoon-to-cup fading was effective for increasing consumption of liquids from a cup.

PMID: 22219546 [PubMed - in process]

Manipulation of motivating operations and use of a script-fading procedure to teach mands for location to children with language delays.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):943-7

Authors: Howlett MA, Sidener TM, Progar PR, Sidener DW

Abstract
The effects of contriving motivating operations (MOs) and script fading on the acquisition of the mand "Where's [object]?" were evaluated in 2 boys with language delays. During each session, trials were alternated in which high-preference items were present (abolishing operation [AO] trials) or missing (establishing operation [EO] trials) from their typical locations. Both participants learned to mand during EO trials and not to mand during AO trials during training. Generalization of manding was demonstrated across novel instructors, stimuli, and settings and maintained 3 to 4 weeks following the intervention.

PMID: 22219545 [PubMed - in process]

Interteaching: the impact of lectures on student performance.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):937-41

Authors: Saville BK, Cox T, O'Brien S, Vanderveldt A

Abstract
Several studies suggest that interteaching improves student learning more than traditional lectures, but few have examined which components of interteaching contribute to its efficacy. We examined whether the lecture component of interteaching affected students' exam grades and cumulative point totals in a research methods course. Although students who received lectures had consistently higher exam scores than students who did not, the differences were statistically significant on only 2 of 5 exams. Students who received lectures, however, earned significantly more points during the semester.

PMID: 22219544 [PubMed - in process]

Effects of preference on verification of discriminated mands.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):931-5

Authors: Boelter EW, Hagopian LP

Abstract
Previous research suggests that motivating operation (MO) manipulations may assist in assessing discriminated manding (Gutierrez et al., 2007). The current study partially replicated and extended previous research by varying access to concurrently available reinforcers with different preference values (i.e., MO manipulations). Manding did not occur (a) for reinforcers that were freely available and (b) for lower preference items when relatively higher preference reinforcers were freely available. Results further demonstrated the utility of manipulating MOs to verify discriminated mands but suggest that relative preference of alternative reinforcers should be controlled during these assessments.

PMID: 22219543 [PubMed - in process]

Evaluation of response blocking and re-presentation in a competing stimulus assessment.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):925-9

Authors: Jennett H, Jann K, Hagopian LP

Abstract
Competing stimulus assessments (CSA) have been used to identify stimuli that are associated with reduced levels of problem behavior, presumably as a function of reinforcer competition. Following a standard CSA in which stimuli simply were made available, 2 more CSAs were conducted with additional components designed to enhance reinforcer competition: re-presentation of stimuli and response blocking for self-injury. The results obtained from each CSA were validated in an extended treatment analysis. The study illustrates how the effects of additional components designed to enhance reinforcer competition can be evaluated efficiently in the context of a CSA.

PMID: 22219542 [PubMed - in process]

Using words instead of jumbled characters as stimuli in keyboard training facilitates fluent performance.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):921-4

Authors: Defulio A, Crone-Todd DE, Long LV, Nuzzo PA, Silverman K

Abstract
Keyboarding skill is an important target for adult education programs due to the ubiquity of computers in modern work environments. A previous study showed that novice typists learned key locations quickly but that fluency took a relatively long time to develop. In the present study, novice typists achieved fluent performance in nearly half the time when words rather than jumbled characters were used as stimuli. This suggests that using real words in the keyboarding program can enhance the efficiency of training.

PMID: 22219541 [PubMed - in process]

Using negative reinforcement to increase self-feeding in a child with food selectivity.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):915-20

Authors: Vaz PC, Volkert VM, Piazza CC

Abstract
We examined the effects of a negative reinforcement-based treatment on the self-feeding of 1 child with food selectivity by type and texture. Self-feeding increased when the child could choose to either self-feed 1 bite of a target food or be fed 1 bite of the target food and 5 bites of another food. Possible mechanisms that underlie the effectiveness of the intervention and implications for future research are discussed.

PMID: 22219540 [PubMed - in process]

Using conditional discrimination training to produce emergent relations between coins and their values in children with autism.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):909-13

Authors: Keintz KS, Miguel CF, Kao B, Finn HE

Abstract
The current study evaluated the effects of conditional discrimination (listener) training with coins on the emergence of novel stimulus relations, textual behavior, tacts, and intraverbals. Two preschoolers with autism were taught 3 relations among coins, their names, and values. After initial training, 4 relations emerged for the first participant and 7 for the second participant, suggesting that this technology can be incorporated into educational curricula for teaching prerequisite money skills to children with autism.

PMID: 22219539 [PubMed - in process]

Differential reinforcement with and without blocking as treatment for elopement.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):903-7

Authors: Call NA, Pabico RS, Findley AJ, Valentino AL

Abstract
Blocking is a frequent component of treatments for elopement. Unfortunately, blocking may not always be feasible because elopement often occurs when supervision is low or the behavior cannot be prevented. The present study evaluated the use of blocking in the treatment of elopement by using differential reinforcement of other behavior with and without blocking. In this case, results suggested that blocking may be an essential component for differential reinforcement-based treatments of elopement.

PMID: 22219538 [PubMed - in process]

Studying as fun and games: effects on college students' quiz performance.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):897-901

Authors: Neef NA, Perrin CJ, Haberlin AT, Rodrigues LC

Abstract
We examined college students' participation in a game activity for studying course material on their subsequent quiz performance. Game conditions were alternated with another activity counterbalanced across two groups of students in a multielement design. Overall, the mean percentage correct on quizzes was higher during the game condition than in the no-game condition.

PMID: 22219537 [PubMed - in process]

Behavioral momentum theory: equations and applications.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):877-95

Authors: Nevin JA, Shahan TA

Abstract
Behavioral momentum theory provides a quantitative account of how reinforcers experienced within a discriminative stimulus context govern the persistence of behavior that occurs in that context. The theory suggests that all reinforcers obtained in the presence of a discriminative stimulus increase resistance to change, regardless of whether those reinforcers are contingent on the target behavior, are noncontingent, or are even contingent on an alternative behavior. In this paper, we describe the equations that constitute the theory and address their application to issues of particular importance in applied settings. The theory provides a framework within which to consider the effects of interventions such as extinction, noncontingent reinforcement, differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, and other phenomena (e.g., resurgence). Finally, the theory predicts some counterintuitive and potentially counterproductive effects of alternative reinforcement, and can serve as an integrative guide for intervention when its terms are identified with the relevant conditions of applied settings.

PMID: 22219536 [PubMed - in process]

A review of recommendations for sequencing receptive and expressive language instruction.

J Appl Behav Anal. 2011;44(4):859-76

Authors: Petursdottir AI, Carr JE

Abstract
We review recommendations for sequencing instruction in receptive and expressive language objectives in early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs. Several books recommend completing receptive protocols before introducing corresponding expressive protocols. However, this recommendation has little empirical support, and some evidence exists that the reverse sequence may be more efficient. Alternative recommendations include teaching receptive and expressive skills simultaneously (M. L. Sundberg & Partington, 1998) and building learning histories that lead to acquisition of receptive and expressive skills without direct instruction (Greer & Ross, 2008). Empirical support for these recommendations also is limited. Future research should assess the relative efficiency of receptive-before-expressive, expressive-before-receptive, and simultaneous training with children who have diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders. In addition, further evaluation is needed of the potential benefits of multiple-exemplar training and other variables that may influence the efficiency of receptive and expressive instruction.

PMID: 22219535 [PubMed - in process]