Squad Contingencies (Group Contingencies Revisited)

Let's talk about group projects. We all have experienced some cringe worthy assignments when not all members are willing to do what is needed. But fret not, today I want to talk about group contingencies (insert eye roll and/or sighs of relief here).

I work in a school system where, let's face it, the number one concern is classroom management. Class size can vary from less than 5 students to over 30 and that can cause a problem when determining how to make the environment reinforcing for all. This is where the magical group contingency comes in. The basic idea is that reinforcement is available for every student if they comply with the academic and behavioral demands (this will be determined before implementing a group contingency) and there are three variations

1. Independent Group Contingency: Only the students who meet the criteria will get the reinforcement. This is a challenge due to the amount of reinforcement that needs to be given out at the end of a trial (especially of its tangible items). In a classroom setting this could be as simple as giving a few extra points on a quiz for every student that turned in their homework for the whole week.

• Everyday Example: Only runners who run the full 26.2 miles and cross the finish line get a medal of completion.

(Happy runner knows what he is working for)

2. Dependent Group Contingency: An individual of the group (random selection) is chosen and if they have met the criteria the entire group gets the reinforcement. This has some ethical concerns because if the individual is known to the group they can be a hero or they could be a huge let down. Best is to keep it anonymous. In a school setting an example would be a randomly selected quiz is picked and if they have an 80% or higher the whole class gets a night off of homework. 

• Everyday Example: Lottery pooling with coworkers, everyone on your team gets a few Megabucks tickets and hope that a randomly selected ticket is one in your group. Then you all get private islands!

3. Interdependent Group Contingency: Everyone gets reinforcement if everyone complies. Before a midterm a review was assigned, if the entire class fills it out they can all use it on the midterm. If one student doesn't complete it then the whole class cannot use the review regardless if they individually completed it or not. 

• Everyday Example: A bar requires a trivia team to be at least 4 people if you only have 3 people show up, none of you can play trivia. Then you look like Dawson, and no one wants to be an ugly crier. 

So get a group together and make it to the reinforcing finish line. Go Team! 

The Ode to Joe

Completely unrelated to the wonderful world of ABA (its the first week of school- I need to focus on something else) I want to talk about my love affair. "Who is the lucky object of my affection?" you may ask. Well besides the guy who has been putting up with my shenanigans since 2007, I am talking about Trader Joes. Let me list the ways in which the groceries encapsulate my heart with joy:

1. Let them drink coffee: Two of my meals during the work day are consumed at work. My breakfast usually is a protein shake or smoothie of some sort because ease. Trader Joe's has allowed me to drink my coffee and eat my breakfast too. I give you Trader Joe's Coffee Concentrate, you use only two ounces to get a great cup of iced coffee. So when I really in need of a coffee I use the concentrate in my morning smoothie. Hello chocolate coffee protein shake.

2. A little sunshine: Trader Joe's you saucy devil you. You know I am a sucker for pretty flowers and you put them right in the front of the store. Every time I snag a small bouquet of tulips or hydrangeas I hear Donna and Tom from Parks and Rec saying "Treat Yo Self". Darn your beauty!!

3. Snacks! Snacks! Snacks: Snacks are a must for me during the week. The schedule changes daily and therefore my lunch break changes daily. So why not make that half hour be slightly more enjoyable with a variety of delicious snacks. Trader Joe's has the best bars, dried fruit, and trail mix compared to any other store. Just thinking about them makes me excited to pack a lunch (I have a bad case of the adult-itis). 

4. Mecca of Junk Food: If I want to get some junk food I will say NO to the candy isles in any other convenience or grocery store. Why get Pringles when you can get cookie butter?!?! Thats right people you can spread cookie on a cookie if that is what you choose. But I am holding out for the holidays when the most magical item arrives: The Astounding Multi-Flavor Joe-Joe's that are Decadently Enforced. They are the best flavors then dipped in a variety of chocolates. Sorry I'm not sorry Reese's PB Cups (jk I love you). 

4. When  you don't want to completely go off the wagon: When you are not fully ready to give yourself over to the junk food magic Joe's has plenty of foods that will give you comfort without the high cholesterol. My most recent find is Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins. Yes there is chocolate chips in them but they are small and have 5grams of soy protein. I had one for breakfast and I was full until noon. Another product is their Guilt Free Mac and Cheese which I think tastes better than their regular Mac. 

5. So fresh and so clean clean: Didn't know Trader Joe's sells some beauty and hygiene products? Boom, they do! Their Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo and Conditioner smell like high end shampoo and they do not break the bank. My hair feels great from using it and I hope when the cold weather comes it will beat the dry skin.

6. Try something new: Last, the best part about Trader Joe's is that although it is a small grocery store they have such a great variety of products. Growing up I was not an adventurous eater- my favorite sandwich was cheese and mustard. Now that adulthood has granted me an appreciation for more flavors and textures (sorry Mom it took so long). Their prices wont break the bank for a spur of the moment purchase of some delicious treats. Next time I am coming for you India Relish.

What store makes you happy as a clam? Why haven't you tried the concentrate yet? Go! It will change your caffeine needing life.

Misconceptions

As I get ready for another school year (2015-2016 is going to be the best) I thought about what others view my job to be. The head tilt and puzzled look on a new persons face who I have just exchanged introductory information to. "Hey I am Meghan I work as Behavior Therapist with kids on the Autism Spectrum" followed by the slow and questioning "...oh?" After the person has tried to process what I have just said I usually get the following responses:

"So are you analyzing my behavior right now?"
"Isn't that training kids like dogs?"
"Yep I know what you do, I used to babysit someone who had (insert mental health diagnosis here)."
"Oh yeah you bribe kids to do their work."
"Wow you must get beaten up a lot."
"Aren't you afraid of all the vaccines? What do you think causes Autism?"

All three of these remarks could not be more far from the truth! So settle in reader because Meghan is going to drop some knowledge on you.

So are you analyzing my behavior now? The answer is no! ABA is my job and like most individuals I try to leave my work for work. Also I have just met you so the only analysis I could do on your behavior is take baseline.

Isn't that training kids like dogs? No, I do not walk around with a clicker and give out treats every time Timmy gets the newspaper. The techniques that some (not all) dog trainers use are derived from ABA but the focus of behavior change is particular to the client. I work with kids to learn a variety of academic and social behaviors to function in society. Examples: for academics I may work on problem solving math word problems or looking up a definition of a word when reading. For social I could work with a student to find a group to eat lunch with or to make eye contact with the person they are speaking with.

(These kids just face palmed from you comparing my job to that of a babysitter)

Yep I know what you do, I used to babysit a person who was special needs.: In some cases the person may be completely accurate in describing my job but most of the time no. My job does not mean that I hang out with an individual with a mental health diagnosis and we enjoy each others company. ABA is data driven so it is rare that you will see me at work without a clipboard full of data sheets. Babysitting (to me) implies that I take care of the individuals basic necessities when really my job is the opposite. ABA I am training students to become as independent as possible.

Oh yeah you bribe kids to do their work: It is called punishment and reinforcement and can be used as consequences for behavior change. To have a student do their work they first must know prerequisite skills to complete the work (addition and subtraction before multiplication). Then I provide reinforcement when they met the predetermined criteria for reinforcement. Bribe implicates that the student gets something and I get something back when really it is about the student being successful and completing the work. No it is not a quid pro quo situation.

Wow you must get beaten up a lot: Define "a lot". No it is not an everyday occurrence for me because Behavior Therapists go through a lot of training on how to deescalate students before it gets to the point of aggression. Yes, sometimes students will aggress on me for a variety of reasons (feeling sick, escaping work demand, didn't get enough sleep the night before, etc.) but it is not the student picking a fight with me and I lay there like a punching bag. I haven't had my hair pulled in over a year (knock on wood) thank you very much!

Aren't you afraid of all the vaccines? What do you think causes Autism?: This one is a two parter. No I am not afraid of vaccines because there is no scientific proof that the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) series of vaccines has caused Autism in children. I am not a fan of needles and get light headed in the doctors office but that is a story for another time. As an individual who received those shots at 2 years old I can say that I may be quirky but they did not cause me to obtain the diagnosis. Nor do I have a problem with getting an annual flu shot because I work in a school (its a big old petri dish during the winter). Please look to medical professionals for information on Autism not celebrities. To the second part, if I knew the causation of Autism I would publish it as soon as possible. I do not have a clue what is the cause of the rise in the diagnosis of Autism. I only know that I work with kids on the spectrum to ensure that they can be as independent in the world as possible. I constantly am reading articles from medical and behavior analysis journals to see what treatments are most effective and thats the best I can do.

Now enjoy your day and don't let the misconceptions get you down! Picard knows what's up.

Monthly Motivators: September

September is right around the corner, and do you know what that means? For a person who is head-over-heels in love with Autumn this is my month. I have comprised a list of motivators that I will refer to when my motivation for the gym or other tasks (looking at you vacuum cleaner) is less than stellar. Let's get listing:

1. First Day of School: There is something that happens the first week of school that gets me all aflutter (yes I am going to be a bit mentalistic in this post- deal with it). The opportunity to get a new schedule, work with some new students, and see some coworkers I haven't seen since June.  Back to school means back to routine and I could not be more thrilled. I am ready to battle teenage angst with a big old smile on my face.

2. First Day of Fall: Yes the lose of summer days can be viewed as a tragedy but I my heart belongs to Autumn. Now I hope it is a nice slow transition to cooler weather but when those leaves change color in New England it is something special. Doesn't hurt that I also have that day off of work.

3. Work Out Routine: The summer has been a crazy when it came to scheduling. Working two summer camps, going to visit my family, etc. I did not make working out a daily priority. Now with my school schedule being put in place I can ensure that I will make room for some exercise. There is a 6-7am spin class Monday thru Friday calling my name. 

4. Knitting: I have a crafting obsession and knitting is my go-to fall project. It is a great feeling to know that for a few hours of work I can make a scarf in a color and size that I love for way cheaper than buying one pre made. I jumped the gun on this one since I am 1/3 of the way done with an evergreen infinity scarf.

5. Fall Flavors: Hi my name is Meghan and I have an obsession with pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and any other Autumn flavor. I am categorized as a basic white girl (no I will not wear Uggs) but that does not stop me from the joy of iced coffee tasting like Autumn. Do I buy everything in sight that is labeled pumpkin spice? No. Will I wait until it is at least September 23rd? Absolutely, I am not an animal. 

6. Halloween Costume Planning: I have loved Halloween since I can remember and therefore I plan costumes early. Tom and I have an agreement in which one will chose our theme and then switch off the following year. Last year we were Egon and Janine from Ghostbusters (Tom's choice) this year its my turn. No spoilers but I cross my heart it will be awesome. 

7. Apple Picking: This may happen in October but either way I am excited for it. Last year we had a blast with a few friends up in New Hampshire. We each got bags of apples, freshly made (and consumed) apple cider donuts, and some quality time outdoors.

There it is my list of motivators to keep me going this September. What do you find motivating?

Change your attitudes of science? Never!

After a very fun weekend of making working out reinforcing I am ready to talk about another ABA subject. This one is all about attitude. Attitudes of science that is.

Attitudes of Science for ABA guide our practice to use scientifically valid treatments. The six attitudes are:

Determinism: everything that happens is a result of some previous event. Meaning that things do not just happen without a reason.
Example: finding $20 on your way to work is not a stroke of luck it is a result of money falling out of a strangers pocket/wallet.

Empiricism: objective observation of the subject matter. In other words, leave your opinions at home people.
Example: the researcher who only records the frequency of nail picking regardless of their ideals of how the treatment will change the participants behavior.

Not without a differential reinforcement procedure Ned. 

Experimentation: when observing behavior you carefully implement your treatment (independent variable) to your behavior (dependent variable) to demonstrate a functional relation. Making sure that your treatment is the only variable changing the behavior.
Example: reinforcement for working out is putting money aside ($5 for every hour of physical exercise) there are no other reinforcement procedures put in place (make special protein shakes, night off from work, posting how awesome you are on Facebook etc.)

Admit it, all of those likes from friends can be highly reinforcing.

Replication: to repeat the treatment phase and baseline of an experiment to verify that the treatment was the only variable manipulating the behavior.
Example: If I give a child a jelly bean for every time they sit in their seat for a minute over two weeks. During the second baseline I should see a decrease in sitting because I have stopped delivering jelly beans. If there is no change in the behavior that means there is some other variable influencing the behavior.

Figure 1: Cartman demonstrating sitting behavior. 

Parsimony: when you investigate simpler reasons for behavior before the more complex.
Example: To determine why a student is asleep in class first investigate how many hours of sleep the student is getting a night. If the student is getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night then move to a more complex issue (escaping behavior so they will not have to answer questions, new medication, etc.)

I am picking up what you are putting down scholarly dog.

Philosophic Doubt: when observing behavior always question what is viewed as fact. Meaning there could be other treatments that should be investigated for the same behavior. Never be happy with one result for a behavior.
Example: Weight watchers may be a scientifically valid way to lose weight but it is not the only way an individual could do that.

How much would that job pay? How hard would I have to slap your hand? 

There you have it, the attitudes of science. Don't ever change your attitude, Science, you are great the way you are. 

Not so empty threats, to validity

After an extremely long break from this blog I am back (again). Today I want to review threats to validity. Typically when I think of threats to validity I think of grants, poster presentations, and publications. As a Behavior Therapist who is not motivated to be published threats to validity did not seem like something I would need to worry about. That notion is completely false!!

Threats to validity can happen anytime there is an independent variable (treatment) that is implemented to a behavior. Meaning anytime you work with a student there is some protocol put in place on how/when/what you should do when that target behavior occurs. Therefore threats could be lurking around every behavior plan waiting to strike.

This cat represents the threats- look at it. Ready to mess up your beautiful behavior modification plan with one foul swoop.

The best course of action is to know these threats and be prepared to have safe-guards put in place. The nine threats are:

History: when other conditions are changed the same time the independent variable is implemented.

• This means that there is some other skill acquistion going on besides your treatment. An example would be a college student learning how to cook their own meals. If you were investigating weight gain during college this skill could influence that participants weight. Less take-out = decrease in weight. 

Disclaimer: No one should be this happy to be making a salad.  

Maturation: when the subject has some form natural occurring developmental process and not the implementation of the independent variable.

• By the age of 2 children should be able to walk, this is a milestone that could affect procedures put in place for mobility. We went from crawling, to walking, to running. Say hello to the new Road Runner  

Experimental Mortality: when a subject leaves the experiment before it is concluded.

• Simply put: your client/student quits services. Worst break up ever!

Regression to the Mean: when the subjects who have extreme initial scores tend to have future scoring closer to the mean.

• This is common for me when crafting. My first project like a scarf will come out as a hot mess of yarn then the next time I try I will remember all of the mistakes I made it will come out as a decent scarf. I like to call this the Pinterest Fail Formula:

Repeated Testing: participants tend to remember their answers

• If you give the same test participants could remember what answers they got right. Happened in grad school pre and post final exams (remember 50 definitions- challenge accepted!)

Instrumentation: the observers becoming better or worse at observing the target behavior. The way the pre and post tests are delivered.

• This can happen when there is a revision to the operational definition of the behavior. Giving more information on most (if not all) measures of the behavior will increase accurate data collection. 

Selection: when conducting a study with multiple groups some groups can become unequal with subject related variables

• When working with a classroom of kids and you have teams of boys vs. girls in a game of Jeopardy. This could be unequal groups based on test scores (the boys team could have one student who has an A in the class while the girls team has 3). 
• It rocks when you get the bigger piece of birthday cake but it is not equal 

We all who would win this fight! RIP big guy

Reactivity: the change in behavior due to testing

• We all act one way at work and another with friends. That is because swearing behavior is punished at work while with friends it is encouraged.  

Experimental Bias: when the researcher already has an idea of what the results should be.

• Self recording: when you write down all of the food you have consumed in a day you hope that it will decrease your over eating. If you do not focus on healthier food options or decreasing portions you will not see a decrease. Put the work in!!

Informative? Yes. 

Funny? I can hope. 

Music: Story of a Conditioned Reinforcer

 Music has been a staple conditioned reinforcers since before I can remember. For most music becomes reinforcing through pairing with our parents (them singing to their babies or playing music). I was lucky to have music be reinforcing in several different aspects of my life.



First was my parents taste in music. Sure I grew up burning a hole in The Little Mermaid Soundtrack (a ginger who had fabulous hair and NO freckles) but I also was exposed to The Doors, The Beatles, Grateful Dead, Little Feet etc. My dad went to Woodstock when he was 18 and also had been playing drums as a hobby. Later on my younger brother picked up the drums so now you hear someone practicing in the basement almost every night. My mom did not play an instrument but she does have a great appreciation of dance and letting us kids jam out for hours.



Another life event where music played the star role was when I was 3 years old. I had been born with leg issues where my feet turned in. Not to the point of needing surgery but there were really cool corrective shoes. When I turned 3 my pediatrician suggested that I took dance classes. Flash forward to my first dance recital where I was in a ballet dance called "Benny The Magic Bunny" I was hooked. During the recital I was at the end of the line and the dance ended with walking in a straight line off the stage. My mom still remembers how much I practiced "One, two, three, four, hop, wiggle your bum". The rest of the class did not get the picture so I was still on stage after the music had ended. No problem I would just walk and wiggle in place upping the cute factor. I got to make a bunch of friends, dance around, had fun, and my tutu had a bunny tail on it. To this day I still love listening to music from previous recitals and attend dance classes.



In high school music threw another reinforcement contingency. High school theatre program! I auditioned for the spring production of 42nd Street expecting to be in the back row of the chorus line. To my shock and horror I got a speaking role. After several rehearsals I was feeling great. Another new group of friends, new skills learned, and a hobby. Didn't hurt I met my boyfriend through the program either.



So let's raise a glass to music and it's potency as a reinforcer. Now who wants to dance?