Alternate Title

Value of social interactions

Advisor(s)

William H. Ahearn

Contributor(s)

Susan Langer, Brent M. Jones

Date of Award

2011

Date Accepted

8-2011

Degree Grantor

Northeastern University

Degree Level

M.S.

Degree Name

Master of Applied Behavior Analysis

Department or Academic Unit

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

Keywords

psychology, behavioral sciences, educational psychology, autism, concurrent operant, prompting, scripts, social interactions

Subject Categories

Social interaction in children, Children with autism spectrum disorders

Disciplines

Child Psychology | Developmental Psychology | Social Psychology

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by social deficits. These social deficits are pronounced and include responding abnormally to social stimuli, such as smiles, eyes and faces. This study sought to examine responsiveness to social stimuli during free choice between social interaction and solitary play. Two persons diagnosed with ASD who displayed social deficits participated in this study. During the free choice assessment, two sets of identical play materials were available, one set on each side of the room. On the social side, an adult who interacted with the participant was present. On the non-social side, an adult was present but she did not interact with the participant. Preference for social interaction was obtained as was the quality of social behavior emitted by the participant. Then a free-operant social preference assessment was used to identify social reinforcers. Prompt fading and a script was used to train social interactions with an adult. The preferred social stimuli were used as reinforcers during this training. Pre assessment sessions indicated that the participants did not engage in complex social interactions and there was a variety of preference for social interactions. Post-assessment sessions indicated the emergence of social skills that were not previously present and the emergence of a preference for social interactions in one of the participants.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Holder

Pamela Ann Sinclair


View Full Text

Click button above to open, or right-click to save.

Share

COinS