Evaluating the effects of motivating operations on skill acquisition

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2015

First Committee Member

Graff, Richard

Second Committee Member

Dube, William

Third Committee Member

Thompson, Rachel

Abstract

"The identification and effective use of reinforcers is crucial when teaching individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three participants with ASD served as participants in this study. In Phase 1, paired-stimulus preference assessments identified a high-preference edible item for each participant. In Phase 2, reinforcer assessments were conducted using the edible item identified as most preferred from Phase 1. For all participants, the high-preference item functioned as a reinforcer for a simple maintenance task. In Phase 3, the motivating operations evaluation, acquisition rate was assessed using simple discrimination tasks. On each trial participants were presented with 3 stimuli, one of which was designated as S+. No prompting was used, and participants were given the reinforcer identified in Phase 2 for correct responses. Reinforcement was withheld for incorrect responses. Simple discrimination sessions were conducted under satiation and deprivation conditions. In the satiation condition, access to the reinforcer was regulated for 24 hr; then, immediately prior to presenting the simple discrimination task, participants were given 5 min free access to the reinforcer. In the deprivation condition, the participant did not have access to the reinforcer for 24 hr prior to sessions. Two of the 3 participants learned the simple discriminations faster under deprivation conditions when compared to satiation conditions."

This document is available upon request to Western New England University faculty, students, and staff. Please contact D'Amour Library at dref@wne.edu for access.

Share

COinS