The effects of changing values of concurrent fixed ratio schedules on mand allocation in children with autism
Item
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Title
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The effects of changing values of concurrent fixed ratio schedules on mand allocation in children with autism
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:114972c87744:10336
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identifier
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10536
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Creator
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Bernstein, Haven,
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Contributor
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Peter Sturmey
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Date
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2010
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Behavioral psychology
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Abstract
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Teaching situations with children with autism usually involve concurrent schedules of reinforcement. During concurrent schedules, manipulation of the schedule of reinforcement for one response affects the occurrence of alternative responses. This study evaluated the effects of four sets of unequal and one set of equal concurrent fixed-ratio schedules on the allocation of two mands in three children with autism. All three participants emitted a higher rate of mands for a highly preferred item than for a less preferred item determined by an initial preference assessment during a concurrent FR1/FR1 schedule. All participants increased mands for the less preferred item when the schedule value for mands for the highly preferred item was at some value greater than FR1. In terms of behavioral economics, positive cross price demand for the less preferred item as a function of increasing FR values for mands for the highly preferred item showed that all three participants substituted a less preferred item for a highly preferred item. This substitution, along with a negative own price demand for the highly preferred item as a function of increasing FR values for mands for that item, indicated some degree of demand elasticity for the highly preferred item. In addition, an increase in response variability measured by the number of switches from one mand to the other accompanied the increase in mands for the less preferred item at FR values greater than FR1 for the highly preferred item for two of the three participants. Comparison of measures of demand elasticity to more traditional measures of matching and maximization show that the former provides a more detailed account of response allocation during concurrent schedules. These finding have implications for the use of behavioral economics in the analysis of behavior change interventions during concurrent schedules in applied settings where a single behavior occurs at an inappropriate frequency and in the absence of desirable alternative behaviors.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
