Purdue Response Maintenance and Generalization
Discussions are fundamental to shared learning, so please be sure to participate early and often! After you have completed the Reading, and without reviewing your classmates’ responses, post your initial response to the following Discussion. Your post should be at least 300 words in length, should extend the discussion of the group, and should be supported by your course materials and/or other appropriate resources.
Response Maintenance and Generalization
Scenario: Bill is a BCBA who provides services as an independent contractor for Orange County Public Schools. Bill received a referral from Pine Valley elementary school to provide ABA therapy for a 5th grader, Jake, who displayed significant problems with noncompliance in response to directions from teachers and school staff, as well as physical aggression toward other students. Jake has been suspended three times within the first 6 weeks of school, and all interventions attempted have been ineffective to this point. Jake’s mother reports no significant problems at home and cannot understand why school is such a problem. Jake attends an off-campus after school program at the Boys and Girls Club, where he is in danger of losing his placement due to similar behavioral issues.
Upon completing a functional behavioral assessment, the BCBA determined that noncompliance and physical aggression were both maintained by socially mediated attention from adults. The BCBA developed a behavior intervention plan that consisted of non-contingent attention in which the teacher would spend 2 minutes providing 1:1 attention upon arrival to class, as well as a reinforcement plan in which Jake was rewarded with a token at the end of each class period for the absence of physical aggression. Jake also earned a token when he participated in social-personal training in the classroom where he practiced conflict resolution strategies with his classmates. The tokens earned could be exchanged for a variety of back up reinforcers, including lunch with a preferred teacher. This intervention plan resulted in significant overall progress in his classroom, as he began to comply with directions from the teacher and school staff more consistently and demonstrate appropriate social behavior with his classmates. Jake even earned “Student of the Week” for 2 consecutive weeks. Surprisingly, Jake continued to engage in significant noncompliant behavior and physical aggression at the Boys and Girls Club, where a meeting has been called to discuss possible dismissal from the program.
Answer the following questions based on your readings in the current unit:
- What are the requirements for response maintenance, setting/situation generalization, and response generalization? Which of these behavior change considerations appear to be most related to the problem regarding continued behavioral issues at the Boys and Girls Club after school program? Explain the reason for your response.
- According to your reading, how could the BCBA have designed his behavior intervention plan to ensure generalization of behavior change across settings? Be sure to include in your response a discussion of at least two of the five major strategies for promoting generalized behavior change.
Only references to be used
References:
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis.(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
Bailey, Jon, Burch, Mary. Ethics for Behavior Analysts: 2nd Expanded Edition. [Purdue University Global Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/#/b…
This week’s Reading will cover considerations for maintenance and generalization of behavior change. The Reading will also cover ethical considerations as they pertain to supervision.
Read the following chapter in your Applied Behavior Analysis text:
- Chapter 28: “Generalization and Maintenance of Behavior Change” (pp. 614–635)
Read the following chapter in your Ethics for Behavior Analysts text:
- Chapter 10: “The Behavior Analyst as Teacher or Supervisor” (Guideline 5)
