Increasing cooperation with activity transitions

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2022

First Committee Member

Dickson, Chata A.

Second Committee Member

Ahearn, William H.

Third Committee Member

Pinkston, Jonathan

Abstract

"Activity transitions are associated with challenging behavior, perhaps especially when transitions are from higher to lower preference activities. We compared the effects of two methods of prompting activity transitions on pausing and challenging behavior. Participants were two students at a school for children with autism. The two methods, advance notice and intervening activity, were presented in a multi-element design. higher, moderate, and lower preference activities (HP, MP, and LP) were identified using preference assessments. In the advance notice condition the participant was informed that he had 1 more minute with the HP before he was cued to engage in the LP. In the intervening activity condition the participant was provided with an MP for 1 min before he was cued to engage with the LP. Pausing started when the participant was cued to begin the LP and ended with the first active response. For one participant, the intervening activity condition resulted in shorter transition times and fewer instances of challenging behavior. For the other participant there was no difference between the two conditions. For some individuals, scheduling a period of engagement with a moderate preference activity may result in shorter times to engagement in the next activity."

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