Advisor(s)

William H. Ahearn

Contributor(s)

Jason C. Bourret, Allen J. Karsina

Date of Award

2009

Date Accepted

8-2009

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department or Academic Unit

Bouvé College of Health Sciences. Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology.

Keywords

autism, differential reinforcement, discrimination, education, prompt dependency

Subject Categories

Reinforcement learning - Case studies, Sensory reinforcement - Case studies, Children with disabilities - Case studies

Disciplines

Child Psychology | Medicine and Health Sciences | Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

This study attempted to identify a procedure which would be effective at decreasing prompt dependency and facilitating acquisition of sight word to picture discrimination. Several assessments were conducted to determine the most effective and most preferred reinforcer for each of the two participants while also identifying another stimulus which had moderate reinforcing effects. Three sets of three sight words were then taught to each of the participants using three reinforcement procedures. Reinforcement for independent and correct responses was the same across all three procedures, the highest preference stimulus; however, these conditions differed in that reinforcement for correct, prompted responses was either the same (noDR), was a moderate reinforcer (DR1), or reinforcement was not provided (DR2). The results of this study suggest that providing the most effective and preferred reinforcer following independent and correct responses while delivering a moderate reinforcer contingent on prompted and correct response was the most effective reinforcement procedure.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Holder

Catia Cividini-Motta


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