Effects of a brief auditory stimulus in the acquisition of leisure skill response chains

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2015

First Committee Member

Gould, Daniel

Second Committee Member

Karsina, Allen

Third Committee Member

Karsten, Amanda

Abstract

"Individuals with autism often lack the necessary skills to chain various responses together easily. A variety of life skills involve complex chains of responding which makes acquiring response chains an important skill. There are different methods of teaching individuals these complex chains in step-by-step instruction. However, there has not been a significant amount of research demonstrating which methods are most effective for various tasks and why. Furthermore, research comparing the methods and suggesting future modifications has been limited. The purpose of this study was to compare skill acquisition rates for a play construct using backwards chaining with and without a conditioned reinforcer at the training step. Two conditions were compared. In one, a brief auditory stimulus, BAS, was delivered contingent on correct responses at the training step, and in the other no differential consequence was provided. All 3 of the participants displayed no difference in acquisition rates between the 2 conditions in both the training and replication phases. The brief auditory stimulus may have functioned as a reinforcer following training for 1 participant."

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