Neef, N. A., Bicard, D. F., & Endo, S. (2001).
Assessment of impulsivity and the development of self-control in students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
34, 397-408.
We examined a combined approach of manipulating reinforcer
dimensions and delay fading to promote the development of self-
control with 3 students diagnosed with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder. First, we administered a brief
computer-based assessment to determine the relative influence of
reinforcer rate (R), reinforcer quality (Q), reinforcer immediacy
(I), and effort (E) on the students' choices between concurrently
presented math problems. During each session, one of these
dimensions was placed in direct competition with another
dimension (e.g., RvI involving math problem alternatives
associated with high-rate delayed reinforcement vs. low-rate
immediate reinforcement), with all possible pairs of dimensions
presented across the six assessment conditions (RvQ, RvI, RvE,
QvI, QvE, IvE). The assessment revealed that the choices of all 3
students were most influenced by immediacy of reinforcement,
reflecting impulsivity. We then implemented a self-control
training procedure in which reinforcer immediacy competed with
another influential dimension (RvI or QvI), and the delay
associated with the higher rate or quality reinforcer alternative
was progressively increased. The students allocated the majority
of their time to the math problem alternatives yielding more
frequent (high-rate) or preferred (high-quality) reinforcement
despite delays of up to 24 hr. Subsequent readministration of
portions of the assessment showed that self-control transferred
across untrained dimensions of reinforcement.
DESCRIPTORS: _attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
self control, impulsivity, delay, concurrent schedules