Several studies have evaluated false positives and false negatives produced with partial interval recording (PIR) and momentary time sampling (MTS) using simulated data. However, no study to date has evaluated false positives and negatives using a large sample of non-simulated behaviors. In addition, few studies have evaluated whether interval methods of data collection alter trends that are evident in continuous records. We conducted three experiments to evaluate the extent to which various interval sizes of MTS and PIR produced false negatives (Experiment 1), false positives (Experiment 2), and trends that were inconsistent with the continuous records (Experiment 3). Collectively, the results show the following: (i) 10-s PIR and 10-s MTS produced few false negatives and few false positives (i.e., both were sensitive) to changes in duration events; (ii) 10-s PIR produced very few false negatives, but an unexpected high percentage of false positives for frequency events; and (iii) each interval size of PIR and MTS produced a high percentage of changes in trending for duration events and frequency events. We briefly discuss the potential limitations and clinical implications of these findings.
Behavioral skills training (BST) is effective for teaching safety skills but often requires a behavior analyst to conduct the training, which can make it costly and inaccessible for most parents. Parent-conducted BST may allow for children to receive training without the need for a trained behavior analyst. Manualized training from a website could allow parents access to needed material at a low cost. This study evaluated a web-based manualized intervention implemented by parents for teaching firearm safety skills using BST. We used a multiple-probe across participants design to assess the effectiveness of parent-conducted BST. Results indicate that three children acquired the safety skills after parent-conducted BST alone, and the other three children required experimenter-conducted IST.
This study evaluated the probability of generating false positives with A-B graphs. We generated 1,000 graphs consisting of three stable A-phase data points at 25% and three random B-phase data points; 1,000 graphs consisting of three stable A-phase data points at 50% and three random B-phase data points; and 1,000 graphs consisting of three random A-phase data points and three random B-phase data points. Results indicate that false positives were produced for (a) a relatively high percentage of graphs containing nonrandom data points in the A phase and (b) less than 2% of graphs containing random data points in both the A and B phases. These findings suggest that A-B designs may be a stronger clinical tool for evaluating the effects of interventions than previously recognized.
There is limited research using small-scale simulation in applied behavior analysis. We used small-scale simulation to train firearm safety skills to 3-to 5-year-old children and assessed whether the skills generalized to the natural environment through in situ assessment. Three participants completed the training, and all participants learned the safety skills from simulation training. Two of the participants acquired the safety skills after the first simulation training, and the third participant required one booster training before demonstrating the safety skills in the natural environment.
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