A behavior analyst is working with their client Malcolm who wants to quit smoking cigarettes. Malcom’s current baseline is 20 cigarettes per day. The behavior analyst and Malcolm develop a token economy where Malcom earns tokens for smoking a set number of cigarettes or fewer per day. Each week, the daily allotment decreases by one cigarette. They decide on this rate of change because Malcom wants to join a running group in about 20 weeks. What should the behavior analyst consider when using a changing criterion design?

Which experimental designs are represented in this graph?

A style of communication that involves behaviors that permit people to defend and maintain their legitimate rights in a respectful manner that does not violate the rights of others is called:

Joelle is conducting a functional analysis to determine the maintaining variables for her client’s eye-gouging behavior. Joelle ensures that she does not run all of the test and control conditions following her client’s mid-morning snack time by randomly assessing her client 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after snack time. What should Joelle consider when using a multielement design?

A BCBA is working to decrease a client’s property destruction during planned activity times at the center in which activities like arts and crafts and playing games with peers occur. After gathering baseline data, the BCBA rapidly alternates between a DRO procedure and an overcorrection procedure. After analyzing the graphed data and seeing a decrease in the frequency of property destruction, the BCBA removes the overcorrection intervention and implements the DRO procedure in isolation for several sessions in a row. The levels of property destruction increase while the DRO procedure is the only intervention being implemented. The results of these data are most likely being impacted by which confound?

Sophia, a BCBA, is analyzing data to determine the success of an intervention. She reviews her research question, determines if there are sufficient data in each condition, and looks for variables that may have affected the data both within and across conditions. During her analysis, she sees that her research assistants are inputting graphical data at different scales, rendering visual analysis of the data impossible. What step in performing a visual analysis should Sophia have taken before reviewing her research question? 

James is teaching his client how to use the toilet. He collects baseline data and determines that the potential for accidents is high. He then implements an intervention that requires the client to wear underwear instead of the diaper the client currently wears, and the frequency of accidents decreases. Once the client consistently uses the toilet properly and accidents are rare, James implements a differential reinforcement for alternative behavior (DRA) procedure. The frequency of accidents initially remains low but begins to increase (trend back up) after a few sessions of DRA. Which confound is most likely to influence these results?

Clarissa, a BCBA, has been working with her client Garth on his ability to prepare his favorite meals at home for 3 weeks. When Clarissa examines her graph of Garth’s progress, she notices that he has independently prepared meals for the last three sessions. Clarissa determines it is time to start fading out parts of her training package, which consists of several conditions. Which analysis would be the best for Wayne to use?

  What can we conclude from the data in this graph?

At a vocational rehabilitation center, Samantha analyzes two different types of instruction: (a) rapidly alternating picture prompts and (b) delayed prompting across work tasks, to determine which one is most effective. She then assesses the latency to begin the task for each type of instruction. Which experimental design is Samantha using?