Advisor(s)

Paula Braga-Kenyon

Contributor(s)

Karen E. Gould, Chata Dickson, Meca Andrade

Date of Award

2010

Date Accepted

8-2010

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

autism, delay, human participants, reinforcement, visual matching

Subject Categories

Reinforcement (Psychology)

Disciplines

Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms

Abstract

A reinforcer is a stimulus presented closely following a response which results in a future increase in frequency of that response. In an ideal applied setting, a stimulus should be presented immediately. But, it may not always be possible to present stimuli immediately in the applied setting. The current study compares the effects of consequence delivery delivered immediately to consequences delayed by five seconds. Three typically developing males, ages 25-30 participated in visual-visual matching tasks using arbitrary stimuli. Half of the stimuli were always presented with immediate consequences, while the other half was only followed by delayed consequences. Participants quickly achieved mastery of the matching tasks when consequences were immediate, but did not achieve quick mastery (within five sessions) when consequences were delayed by five seconds. These results support the accepted wisdom that immediate consequences are always best for skill acquisition and that high treatment integrity is crucial. Additionally, it provides an example of adapting basic research practices for use in applied contexts.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights Holder

Casey Moore


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