We examined a combined approach of manipulating reinforcer dimensions and delay fading to promote the development of self-control with 3 students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. First, we administered a brief computer-based assessment to determine the relative influence of reinforcer rate (R), reinforcer quality (Q), reinforcer immediacy (I), and effort (E) on the students' choices between concurrently presented math problems. During each session, one of these dimensions was placed in direct competition with another dimension (e.g., RvI involving math problem alternatives associated with high-rate delayed reinforcement vs. low-rate immediate reinforcement), with all possible pairs of dimensions presented across the six assessment conditions (RvQ, RvI, RvE, QvI, QvE, IvE). The assessment revealed that the choices of all 3 students were most influenced by immediacy of reinforcement, reflecting impulsivity. We then implemented a self-control training procedure in which reinforcer immediacy competed with another influential dimension (RvI or QvI), and the delay associated with the higher rate or quality reinforcer alternative was progressively increased. The students allocated the majority of their time to the math problem alternatives yielding more frequent (high-rate) or preferred (high-quality) reinforcement despite delays of up to 24 hr. Subsequent readministration of portions of the assessment showed that selfcontrol transferred across untrained dimensions of reinforcement.DESCRIPTORS: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, self-control, impulsivity, delay, concurrent schedules An estimated 3% to 5% of children in the United States meet the current diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), making it one of the most prevalent disorders in the school-aged population

We conducted a brief computer-based assessment involving choices of concurrently presented arithmetic problems associated with competing reinforcer dimensions to assess impulsivity (choices controlled primarily by reinforcer immediacy) as well as the relative influence of other dimensions (reinforcer rate, quality, and response effort), with 58 children. Results were compared for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were and were not receiving medication, and with typically developing children without ADHD. Withinsubject and between-groups analyses of the ordinal influence of each of the reinforcer dimensions were conducted using both time-and response-allocation measures. In general, the choices of children with ADHD were most influenced by reinforcer immediacy and quality and least by rate and effort, suggesting impulsivity. The choices of children in the non-ADHD group were most influenced by reinforcer quality, and the influence of immediacy relative to the other dimensions was not statistically significant. Results are discussed with respect to the implications for assessment and treatment of ADHD.

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This study examined the effects of two types of instructions on the academic responding of 4 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Tactical instructions specified how to distribute responding between two concurrently available sets of math problems associated with different variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. Strategic instructions provided a strategy to determine the best way to distribute responding. Instruction conditions were counterbalanced in an ABAB/BABA reversal design nested within a multiple baseline across participants design. Experimental sessions consisted of a learning session in which participants were provided with one type of instruction, followed by a test session in which no instruction was provided. The schedules of reinforcement were subsequently reversed during test sessions. When learning and test schedules were identical, the responding of all 4 participants closely matched the reinforcement schedules. When tactical instructions were provided and schedules were subsequently changed, responding often remained under the control of the instructions. When strategic instructions were provided, responding more quickly adapted to the changed contingencies. Analysis of postsession verbal reports indicated correspondence between the participants' verbal descriptions (whether accurate or inaccurate) and their nonverbal patterns of responding.