project

Group Project Check-In: Graphic Display

Group Member Names:

Group Number: 3

1. Trends and possible variability

There is evidence of progress in reducing nail-biting frequency since the intervention was introduced on Day 7. In the baseline phase (Days 1–6), nail biting was frequent, with an approximate frequency of 10–12 nail bites per day. Nonetheless, as soon as the intervention process started, the frequency was observed to reduce, with episodes of nail-biting ranging between 8-9 daily. This general trend indicates a slow, but optimistic, trend of change in the intervention strategies especially when other forms of behavior such as the use of a stress ball and deep breathing were introduced when stress levels were high. As for variability, there are daily frequency variations discussed in the data set, which seem to be associated with certain antecedents such as high work demands or social pressure. For instance, on Days 9 and 11, a small worsening of the symptom was noted during some of the intervention days even though there was minor stress, suggesting that some impact from outside was still felt. However, there is Reduced variability when compared with baseline indicating that the intervention is gradually bringing stability in the behavior. This trend of reduced variability and the frequency of nail-biting episodes means that the intervention may be partly useful in controlling stress-related triggers. However, fine-tuning may be required to further reduce variability in a few more specific scenarios with high stress levels.

2. Possible extraneous or confounding variables affecting the intervention

Several extraneous and confounding factors may be influencing the intervention in mitigating nail-biting. First, work-related stress including deadlines, meetings, and social interactions are found to impact the frequency of nail-biting. For example, activities such as increased numbers of actual tasks to be completed, and or important meetings during the day are accompanied by more episodes of nail-biting; suggesting that stressors that are outside the control of the intervention are further exacerbating the behavior. Moreover, there is interference from the time of day considering that the frequency of observed nail-biting episodes varies with specific periods such as the morning and evening periods. These may encompass the time when one may be feeling tired, hungry, or stressed, and since stress usually interferes with the ability to use the other behaviors it may be some of these times. Furthermore, the accessibility of other tools such as stress balls or chewing gum can affect the intervention too. This means if these alternatives are not easily accessible at times of stress, the participant may engage in nail-biting more often. These confounding variables point to a need for a favorable context and to ensure the availability of other resources that the intervention aims to address to get the maximum outcome.

3. If you made changes to your intervention, explain how those changes made differences in your data when reviewing the graphic displays, thus far

Implemented Changes:

a. Increased Accessibility of Alternatives: We made sure that there were backups too; stress balls and chewing gum were easily accessible including when stress was expected to be high.

b. Scheduled Breaks: Implemented a break program at the points of the day when the students are likely to experience more stress, such as mid-morning and mid-afternoon to help them to shift from their stressed modes to using other coping mechanisms.

c. Daily Reminders: Encourage the use of alarms every few hours to remind the participant to perform breathing exercises, or squeeze stress balls.

Data Review Impact:

d. Reduced Nail-Biting Frequency: After these changes, the number of episodes that people bit their nails also decreased mainly on the days 12, 13 and 14 where it ranged between 6-7 times per day only. However, the reduced level of emotional tone seems to suggest an improved performance by the participant in learning and applying other problem-solving strategies.

e. Consistency in Using Alternatives: There was a notable increase in the participant’s engagement with alternative tools. During Days 12-14 activities, on each of the days, stress balls were used during what was considered to be high-stress and this was reflected by fewer incidents of nail-biting when the stress balls were in use.

f. Improved Response to Stress: The free time that was introduced as scheduled breaks appeared to give the participant a chance to manage stress much more than before thus reducing a sharp increase in the frequency of nail-biting as seen earlier in other studies such as during Days 9 & 11.

g. Overall Stabilization: The graphic displays show a steady behavior graph with lesser fluctuations in the nail-biting rate, indicating that the alterations in the intervention strategies are indeed helping in controlling the behavior as well as the stress triggers associated with it.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Suffice it to state, this revised line graph and consolidated data path approach enables us to visually analyze the baseline phase's trends, levels, and variability for each participant within a single graphical representation. By doing so, we can better interpret the ABA guidelines for baseline evaluation, intervention effectiveness, and adjust behavioral interventions to support meaningful reductions in nail-biting behaviors across all participants. The next phase will focus on analyzing any latency in response to intervention and identifying further strategies for effective behavior modification.