Guided Notes & Qs_ Chapter 12_ Combination and Other Designs

Ch. 12 Combination and Other Designs Changing Criterion Designs  Sidman (1960) described a research design that Hall (1971) named the changing criterion design .  The changing criterion design may be appropriate for practitioners and applied researchers who wish to evaluate instructional or therapy programs that require gradual, stepwise changes in behavior.  There are two variations of changing criterion designs that are noteworthy, they are;  1) a changing criterion design with behavior measurement across response classes  2) when several mutually exclusive behaviors are measured with different contingencies applying to each. Advantages and Limitations  The changing criterion design is appropriate to evaluate programs designed to shape behaviors that are in a person’s repertoire but do not occur at an acceptable rate.  Changing criterion designs are limited to a relatively small range of target behaviors and instructional procedures.  It can be difficult to determine appropriate criterion levels within a changing criterion design. Simultaneous Treatments Designs  Simultaneous Treatments Designs have the single purpose of describing choice behavior when two concurrently available conditions exist.  Researchers can use this design when two or more options are simultaneously available and when a participant’s choice between the options is of interest. Advantages and Limitations  The ST design is uniquely appropriate for assessing choice behavior of participants.  This design may be helpful alongside another SCD, when researchers are interested in both effectiveness of multiple interventions and the preference of participants regarding which intervention should be used.  The ST design is appropriate for assessing the choice behavior of participants, no other dependent variables should be assessed with this design.  When using this design, it may be difficult for investigators to verify that participants were making “informed” choices rather than discriminately choosing one option. Repeated Acquisition Designs  Repeated acquisition designs, like ST designs, are rarely reported in SCD literature.

 RA designs are much more broadly applicable than ST designs and are one of few SCDs appropriate for comparing interventions for teaching non-reversible behaviors. Advantages and Limitations  The RA design is appropriate when comparisons between two interventions are of interest and when the dependent variables of interest are non-reversible behaviors that will be rapidly acquired by all participants.  The RA design does not require repeated testing prior to introduction of an intervention like the AATD, multiple probe across behaviors, and parallel treatment designs.  The RA design includes multiple comparisons for each participant and results in a quick comparison between interventions.  There are no built-in opportunities for assessing short-term maintenance.  Baseline measurement using this design is usually measured during one pre-instruction session, evaluation of potential threats due to history and maturation are not possible. Brief Experimental Designs  The brief experimental design is a group of SCDs that are variations of commonly used designs, specifically withdrawal and alternating treatments designs.  The BE design requires fewer sessions, making it practical in applied settings, but fewer replications reduce confidence in conclusion. Advantages and Limitations  Comparative data suggest functional analysis using the BE design is effective resulting in the same conclusions drawn from extended analyses.  Brief functional analyses, though shown to be accurate and effective in leading to implementation of effective interventions, do not have adequate replication.  When BE is used, further confirmation using a different design is needed to confirm a functional relation. Combination Designs  SCDs are combined when;  1) planning a study  2) attempting to salvage experimental control during a study in progress  A common practice by researchers interested in the functional analysis of challenging behavior has been to combine an alternating treatments design with an A-B-A design or A-B-A-B withdrawal design.  The important thing when designing your study is to select a research design, or combination of designs, that evaluates threats to internal validity and answers the research question(s) posed.

Question 5 0 pts Brief Experimental Designs can be used for: Brief functional analyses Testing an intervention across behaviors Comparing the effectiveness of different levels of the IV Testing an intervention across participants Question 6 0 pts To control for maturation in a changing criterion design, researchers can: Implement a contra-therapeutic criterion change Plan criterion changes before implementing the study Prevent participants from reaching the target goal during initial sessions Wait for stable responding in each condition before the next criterion change Question 7 0 pts Advantages of the changing criterion design include all of the following except: A relatively small range of target behaviors is appropriate for the design Only one target behavior is required No withdrawal conditions are required Participant failure due to sudden condition changes is less likely Question 8 0 pts Which design has the purpose of describing a participant's choice behavior? Simultaneous treatment design Changing criterion design Repeated acquisition design Multiple baseline design Question 9 0 pts

Researchers can combine SCRDs in order to: Answer more than one research question in an investigation Compare the effectiveness of two interventions Compare an established and an innovative intervention Compare competing interventions Question 10 0 pts Examples of combination designs include all of the following except: ABABCBC MB design across behaviors and MB across participants ATD and ABAB withdrawal MP across behaviors and MP across contexts