This study extended prior observer-effect training research by evaluating whether scoring video models improved procedural fidelity when implementing discrete-trial instruction (DTI) with early intervention clients. Fifteen undergraduate students were assessed on implementation of three DTI skills (e.g., matching) following written instructions alone and received asynchronous, online training where they scored video models of DTI implementation using a procedural fidelity checklist. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the efficacy and generalization of the observer effect on procedural fidelity across skills. After scoring a matching video, 73.33% of participants (n = 11) met mastery criteria for implementing matching and 46.67% (n = 7) generalized skills to imitation and listener responding. Consistent with prior research, observation alone produced improvements in procedural fidelity and for most participants, mastery without in vivo modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. Results support observer-effect training as an efficient method for establishing high-fidelity DTI implementation.

Competing stimulus assessments (CSAs) are designed to identify stimuli that reduce challenging behavior through reinforcer competition or substitution. Haddock and Hagopian (2020) found that CSAs demonstrate utility across functions and topographies of challenging behavior. Stimuli identified by CSAs often performed similarly in validation tests. Since that review, augmented CSA (A-CSA) procedures have demonstrated efficacy in identifying greater numbers of competing stimuli compared with free-access tests. Given these rapid advancements, another review appears warranted. The current review analyzed individual participant data to measure the prevalence, procedural characteristics, efficacy, and predictive validity of CSAs and A-CSAs across functions and use of high-competition stimuli in treatment packages. Approximately one third of applications used augmented procedures. Applications for socially reinforced behavior and subsequent treatment evaluations appear to be increasing. The efficacy of A-CSAs for automatically maintained behavior suggests that augmentations for socially reinforced behavior may prove fruitful. Future directions for CSA research are discussed.

Treatment durability can be compromised when challenging behavior recurs following context changes (i.e., renewal), yet the temporal features of lapses have not been well described in large clinical samples. We examined latency to onset and persistence of renewal to inform clinical monitoring and planning following context changes. Using a retrospective consecutive case series of 98 patients receiving intensive outpatient treatment for challenging behavior, we analyzed 749 context changes involving person, setting, and task variables. Renewal emerged quickly (M = 1-2 sessions), with half beginning in the first postchange session. Persistence was often brief (49.74% resolved within one session), whereas 32.28% persisted for three or more sessions and 12.17% for five or more. Latency and persistence did not differ meaningfully across context-change types. Latency was not systematically associated with magnitude or persistence, whereas greater renewal magnitude predicted prolonged persistence. Results support extended monitoring and high-fidelity implementation following context changes.

We examined the effects of varied versus constant high-probability (high-p) instructional sequences on cooperation with a low-probability (low-p) task. Three children diagnosed with autism participated. We first conducted an instruction identification phase to verify high-p and low-p instructions and then compared varied-to-constant high-p instructional sequences to improve cooperation with low-p instructions using reversal designs. The results of the study show that the varied high-p instructional sequence was more efficacious to increase cooperation with low-p instructions for one participant and that the varied and constant high-p instructional sequences were equally efficacious for the other two participants. We discuss the implications of these results for the use of the high-p instructional sequence in practice.

Previous research on the relation between heart rate patterns and severe behavior has yielded mixed findings. Specifically, some studies have identified distinct heart rate patterns surrounding challenging behavior, whereas others have found it to be an unreliable predictor. Notably, the relation between heart rate and precursors remains largely unexplored. It remains unclear whether changes in heart rate surrounding severe behavior are due to physical exertion or physiological arousal. The purpose of the current study was to (a) replicate Fritz et al. (2013) to identify precursors to aggression, (b) replicate and extend the methodology of McCabe and Greer (2023) by comparing heart rate surrounding precursors to differing levels of motor activity, and (c) examine the relations between heart rate and precursors to aggression during a precursor functional analysis. Results were idiosyncratic across participants when analyzing heart rate before and after precursors.

Effect size measurements in single-case experimental designs are essential for identifying evidence-based practices; however, each effect size index has notable limitations. To address constraints of nonoverlap-based indices, Aydin and Tanious (2022) introduced the performance-criteria-based effect size (PCES), which quantifies socially meaningful behavioral change. However, the original PCES for trend correction (PCEStrend) uses a basic split-middle method. This study sought to enhance PCEStrend measurements by incorporating five advanced linear trend-fitting techniques. A total of 87 published graphs with therapeutic baseline trends were analyzed, comparing techniques using performance indicators such as mean absolute scaled error, coefficient of variation, and R[2], along with visual judgments and ancillary outcomes (e.g., out-of-bounds forecasts and missing data imputation). Results revealed that ordinary least squares (OLS) provided the most accurate and reliable adjustments. Based on these findings, PCES calculations with OLS were incorporated into a user-friendly Google Sheet tool to increase accessibility and facilitate applied use.

To date, only one behavior analytic study has systematically examined the use of functional analysis to assess arranging and ordering, which is a form of higher level restricted and repetitive behavior (Rodriguez et al., 2012). The researchers found that arranging and ordering was automatically maintained and developed efficacious interventions that involved some form of prompting and response disruption. The current study applied the Hagopian et al. (2020) treatment model (i.e., augmented competing stimulus assessments) for automatically maintained self-injury to higher level repetitive behavior. A variety of pretreatment assessments including preference assessments, functional analyses, process-versus-product analyses, and augmented competing stimulus assessments were conducted to inform treatment. Following treatment, generalization probes were conducted. For all four participants, efficacious treatments were identified that consisted of providing competing stimuli identified via the augmented competing stimulus assessment.

Behavior analysts have studied the development of early vocal behavior in the context of infant-caregiver interactions. In the current article, we focus on two specific aspects of a caregiver's contingent response to infant vocalizations: contingent vocal imitation, which involves an adult imitating the speech sounds emitted by the child, and parentese, which involves short phrases with high pitch, exaggerated intonation, and slower tempo. We present the evidence for (a) effects of these forms of contingent responding on children's vocalizations and (b) effective intervention in studies with clinical populations. We highlight key aspects of prior studies, including methodological and procedural details and the observed effects on the frequency and quality of children's vocalizations. We discuss the potential mechanisms underlying the observed effects on children's vocal responses, including conditioning, social reinforcement, automatic reinforcement, and evolutionary adaptations. We discuss clinical implications for practitioners and identify 10 critical areas for future research.

Systematic reviews based on single-case experimental designs (SCED) are increasingly common in the scientific literature. However, researchers reviewing SCED research may employ varying approaches and strategies, not all of which correspond with recognized standards of review quality, including those specific to SCED. Furthermore, unique features of SCED may necessitate the development of new standards specific to research synthesis. In this article, we provide an overview of the current status and functions of systematic reviews in SCED research. We offer recommendations and guidance to novice and advanced researchers to support consistency, replicability, and transparency of systematic reviews that include SCED research.

To establish a behavioral framework for understanding social media use, we assessed the validity of the Social Media Use Functional Assessment (SMUFA), a survey instrument assessing functional categories of use (i.e., attention, escape, sensory, and tangible). Participants included 357 university students. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and after reducing items, a three-factor model (attention, escape, and sensory and tangible) identified a good fit. We also examined associations between the SMUFA and two other established social media scales. Total SMUFA scores generally correlated with the Social Media Disorder Scale (r = .48) and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (r = .66) and had a weaker correlation with the Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (r = .31). Practical and conceptual issues related to assessing problematic social media use are discussed.

Public health concerns about social media use (SMU) have generated interest in the development of interventions capable of reducing SMU. In this study, we replicated and extended Stinson and Dallery (2023) by evaluating the effects of a contingency management with alternative activity selection intervention on SMU and engagement in alternative activities with four college students. Results from the current study replicate the findings of Stinson and Dallery. Reductions in SMU were observed, but no discernable influence on engagement in alternative activities occurred during the intervention phase. We extended prior work by objectively measuring participant engagement in alternative activities and measuring participant SMU using data collection procedures that potentially improve the accuracy and reliability of SMU measurement. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed including the maintenance and generality of contingency management interventions for SMU and considerations for large-scale implementation.

This study replicated Shaw et al. (2024) by comparing quiz and assignment scores in interteaching and discussion forum conditions using an alternating-treatments design. Five graduate students in an asynchronous course participated. Variations from Shaw et al. included (a) the inclusion or revision of interteaching components, (b) alternative measures of generality, and (c) social validity data. Participants scored higher on quizzes in the interteaching condition (M = 93%) than in the discussion forum condition (M = 72%). Mean quiz scores were analyzed using a paired-sample t test, which indicated statistically significant differences between the two conditions, t(24) = 5.80, p < .0001 (two-tailed), with a substantial effect size of partial η[2] = 0.58. Interteaching did not have a significant effect on project scores. Most participants (80%) favored interteaching. The discussion identifies multiple treatment interference as a potential limitation and explores the implications of the results for graduate coursework in applied behavior analysis.

Children with autism may have difficulties identifying and responding to lies, which can leave them vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation. Ranick et al. (2013) described efficacious procedures for teaching children with autism to identify deceptive statements. We replicated Ranick et al. with procedural modifications that included incorporating naturalistic differential reinforcement baselines, evaluating for faulty stimulus control, and including naturalistic probes in training. The treatment package consisted of multiple-exemplar training while the investigator and the participant played board games. Three boys between the ages of 6 and 9 years, diagnosed with autism, were presented with five trained deceptive statements and five probe deceptive statements. All three participants learned to challenge deceptive statements and distinguish them from nondeceptive statements, and all three maintained the skill after 1 month and generalized to novel deceivers.

Bilingual individuals can acquire two languages simultaneously or sequentially. Study 1 examined the effects of simultaneous instruction (introducing tacts in both languages at the same time) and sequential instruction (introducing tacts in English, followed by a second language after mastery) with four children with autism. Both instructional procedures were effective, but simultaneous instruction promoted better conditional discriminations between the two languages than sequential instruction. Study 2 compared monolingual with bilingual (sequential) instruction with three participants. Teaching tacts in a single language was substantially more efficient than teaching tacts in two languages for all participants. As in Study 1, participants required additional simultaneous teaching after mastering sequentially taught targets to establish conditional discriminations, whereas monolingual instruction required no additional teaching. These results indicate that monolingual instruction is more efficient than sequential bilingual instruction, although sequential bilingual teaching can still be effective. The findings have important implications for designing bilingual instruction.