Alternate Title

Utility of two demand assessments

Advisor(s)

Eileen M. Roscoe

Contributor(s)

Jason C. Bourret, Jessica Sassi

Date of Award

2011

Date Accepted

7-2011

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, autism, demand assessment, negative reinforcer

Subject Categories

Behavioral assessment, Autistic youth - Behavior modification, Reinforcement (Psychology)

Disciplines

Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms

Abstract

The purposes of the current study were (1) to evaluate the utility of an indirect assessment for identifying tasks for use in demand assessments, (2) to assess the reliability of demand assessments, and (3) to assess the validity of the identified demands in a functional analysis and a negative reinforcer assessment. A 16-year-old individual with an autism spectrum disorder, who exhibited self-injury maintained by escape from demands, participated. The study included four phases: an indirect assessment, two different demand assessments, a functional analysis, and a negative reinforcer assessment. Both demand assessments yielded consistent outcomes and identified the same low-preference (LP) and high-preference (HP) demands. However, the LP demand identified from the demand assessments was not consistent with that identified in the indirect assessment. The functional analysis and negative reinforcer assessment demonstrated that the LP demand identified from the demand assessments was a more potent negative reinforcer than the LP demand identified from the indirect assessment.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Holder

Carly Cornelius


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