Analysis of three components of affective behavior in children with autism.
Item
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Title
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Analysis of three components of affective behavior in children with autism.
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Identifier
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AAI3278443
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identifier
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3278443
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Creator
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Najjar, Nidal K.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Claire L. Poulson
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Date
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2007
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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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Psychology, Behavioral
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Abstract
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The term affect refers to a person's facial expression, postures, gestures, and verbal productions that are emitted in response to a complex set of discriminative stimuli that evoke the observer's use of terms that draw inferences about a person's emotional or physiological state. People with autism have deficits in social interaction that are apparent in nonverbal behavior, including difficulty responding in an affectively appropriate manner. Behavioral procedures have been used successfully to train people with autism to emit appropriate social responses. Based on the reviewed literature, however, only two published studies (Gena, Couloura, & Kymissis, 2005; Gena, Krantz, McClannahan, & Poulson, 1996) have applied such procedures to increase appropriate affective responding in people with autism. The present study adds to that literature by increasing precision of measurement and by using explicitly defined shaping procedures. This study used a behavioral intervention package consisting of modeling, shaping, and script-fading to increase appropriate affective responding. A multiple-baseline experimental design across affective categories was used to evaluate the effects of the treatment package on the percentage of appropriate affective responding emitted by three children with autism following teacher-presented statements designed to evoke an affective response. Affective responding consisted of vocal intonation, facial expressions, and verbalizations. The percentage of appropriate affective responding emitted by all participants across categories increased systematically with the introduction of treatment. Nonreinforced probe responding also improved following treatment.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
