Psychology ABA 504- Assignment 1

Applied Single-Subject Project

Instructions:

Design and present a single-subject research study based on a case study. Students will define the

dependent variable (based on the target problem behaviors) in measurable and observable terms,

utilize an appropriate measurement system, and evaluate the effects of a treatment through

graphing the data in an appropriate single-subject research design. Students will then assess the

generalization of the treatment effects and evaluate the effectiveness of a strategy for promoting

treatment generalization.

Please read the following case study and use it to answer the questions below.

John is a 12-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

(ADHD). Sometimes when in class at school, John engages in disruptive behavior, particularly

when the teacher is asking questions that John does not know how to answer. This can happen

several times during the day (typically 4-5 times on average), and occurs in three of his classes

(math, language arts, and science).

John’s disruptive behaviors specifically include yelling profanities, kicking over his desk or the

desk of another student, and tipping over his chair such that it falls to the floor with him in it. All

of his classes are general education classes, and other students complain when John has one of

his outbursts. At times he has injured himself or another student as well.

After John engages in a disruptive behavior (as described above), his teachers typically tell him

to go sit in the “calm corner” where there are books to read. He is allowed to stay there for 5-10

minutes before he is required to resume working on his tasks.

A behavior analyst conducts a functional behavior assessment and determines that the function

of the disruptive behavior is escape from task demands. She collects baseline data on the

dependent variable and then implements an intervention that involves John being given access to

the calm corner based on requesting a break from his schoolwork (and NOT based on engaging

in disruptive behavior). At first, John is allowed to ask for a break up to 5 times a day in the class

where the intervention is introduced (Classroom 1). (Later this will be faded down to one time

per day.)

After collecting data for several sessions while the intervention is in place, the intervention is

removed such that John does not get access to the calm corner based on requesting a break, but

instead gains access as a result of his disruptive behavior (as in baseline). In the fourth phase of

the study, the intervention is reinstated and the effect on disruptive behavior is again measured.

Part I: Treatment Effectiveness

1. Identify the dependent variable being addressed in the case study. To do this, you should

specify at least three specific target behaviors that are considered part of the overall response

class (i.e., the set of responses that achieve the same function).

2. Define each of the target behaviors in specific, observable, and measurable terms.

3. Identify what measurement dimension of the overall dependent variable will be assessed (i.e.,

frequency, duration, latency, etc.) with what type of recording system (e.g., permanent product

recording, event recording, interval recording, etc.). (Please refer to Table 7.2 on page 152 in your

textbook by Mayer et al. (2022) for a chart of possible methods and reasons to use them.)

4. Identify what single-subject design is being used to evaluate the effects of the intervention.

5. Create a graph of the data during the four phases (see table below). (You can refer to Exercise

2 from Course ABA504 to learn how to graph this type of single-subject design using Excel.)

6. Examine your graph and state whether the intervention was effective.

7. Explain your conclusion based on principles of visual analysis. Refer to the magnitude/level of

performance, the trend in performance, and the variability in performance for the data in each

phase.

Days Baseline Intervention

(Break Requests)

Baseline Intervention

(Break Requests)

1 4

2 5

3 4

4 6

5 2

6 0

7 2

8 1

9 4

10 6

11 4

12 5

13 1

14 2

15 0

16 1

Part II: Treatment Generalization

After the behavior analyst evaluated the effectiveness of the treatment, she wanted to fade the

number of times John asked for breaks so that he would not miss as much classwork. She

continued to collect data on the dependent variable while fading the number of allowed requests

from 5 to 1.

She was also interested in knowing if the effects would generalize to the other two classrooms

where John displayed disruptive behavior. She had asked the teachers of those classrooms to

collect data on John’s disruptive behavior throughout the baseline and intervention implemented

in Classroom 1.

The figure below shows additional data on the disruptive behavior across all three Classrooms at

the end of the second intervention phase of classroom 1, and during the phase when the number

of break requests were faded down to only one.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Fr eq

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o f

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Day

Classroom 1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Fr eq

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Day

Classroom 2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Fr eq

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Day

Classroom 3

Break

Requests Fading Break Card

1) When the behavior analyst had teachers collect data in all three classrooms throughout

the study such that the data could be plotted on three graphs aligned vertically, what type

of single-subject design was the behavior analyst using?

2) The behavior analyst was interested in analyzing the presence or absence of change in the

dependent variable in Classrooms 2 and 3 in order to evaluate what type of

generalization?

3) Based on the data in Classrooms 2 and 3 when the initial intervention and fading

procedures were implemented in Classroom 1, did the treatment effects generalize to the

other classrooms? How do you know?

The behavior analyst remembered that there are several suggested methods for planning ahead

for generalization. One method relies on the use of “mediated stimuli” (stimuli that can be used

for the response in both the training and generalization settings). (See the section entitled

“Contrive a Mediating Stimulus,” pp. 743-744 in Cooper et al. (2020).)

The behavior analyst decided to create a mediating stimulus in the form of a “Break Card” that

John would use to request his break during the intervention (instead of simply raising his hand).

During the “Break Card” phase, he was given a card with the word “Break” to put on his desk.

He was also provided with instructions to raise it up when he needed a 5-minute break to visit the

calm corner, and he was allowed to do that one time during the class. A similar “Break Card”

was placed on his desk in Classrooms 2 and 3 as a mediating stimulus, but John was not

provided with any instructions on how he could use the card to ask for a break.

4) What (if any) effect did the break card and instructions in Classroom 1 (plus the presence

of a break card in Classrooms 2 and 3 without instructions) have on the dependent

variable in Classroom 2 and 3? Was generalization shown in Classrooms 2 and/or 3?

Next the behavior analyst decided to implement the Break Card treatment in Classroom 2. This

meant that she provided specific instructions to John that he could use the break card on his desk

in that classroom to ask for a break one time during the class.

5) What (if any) effect did the introduction of the break card phase (break card +

instructions) in Classroom 2 have on the dependent variable in Classrooms 2 and 3? Was

generalization shown in Classroom 3?

6) Why do you think the behavior analyst did not implement the break card intervention

(break card + instructions) in Classroom 3?

7) Write a summary statement to explain under what conditions generalization did and did

not occur in this study.

8) Make a suggestion for future treatment based on what was learned about generalization in

this study.

Please note: Your assignment should be submitted in a Word Document format using Times

New Roman 12. The assignment must use APA format (See link to APA publication style in the

course site resources.) Please include an appropriate heading on your paper and references to

support methods or procedures used.

Please be sure to save your work using the naming convention:

Student last name, first name, ABA 504 Assignment 1