Eric W. Boelter, David P. Wacker, Nathan A. Call, Joel E. Ringdahl, Todd Kopelman, & Andrew W. Gardner (2007).
Effects of antecedent variables on disruptive behavior and accurate responding in young children in outpatient settings.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
40, 321-326.
The effects of manipulations of task variables on inaccurate responding and disruption
were investigated with 3 children who engaged in noncompliance. With 2 children in an
outpatient clinic, task directives were first manipulated to identify directives that guided
accurate responding; then, additional dimensions of the task were manipulated to evaluate
their influence on disruptive behavior. With a 3rd child, similar procedures were employed
at school. Results showed one-step directives set the occasion for accurate responding and
that other dimensions of the task (e.g., preference) functioned as motivating operations for
negative reinforcement.
DESCRIPTORS: noncompliance, brief experimental analysis, motivating operations, discriminative stimuli