Kennedy, C. H., & Meyer, K. A. (1996).
Sleep deprivation, allergy symptoms, and negatively reinforced problem behavior.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
29, 133-135.
We studied the relation between the presence versus the absence
of sleep deprivation or allergy symptoms and the rate and
function of problem behavior. Three students whose problem
behavior was negatively reinforced by escape from instruction
were studied across several weeks using analogue functional
analyses. Our results indicated that the extraexperimental events
were associated with (a) termination of instruction functioning
as a negative reinforcer, (b) increased rates of negatively
reinforced problem behavior, or (c) increased rates of problem
behavior across all conditions.
DESCRIPTORS: severe disabilities, problem behavior, interaction
effects, functional analysis, establishing operations