Author Question: What is a disadvantage of a changing criterion design? A. The possibility of multiple treatment ... (Read 92 times)

tatyanajohnson · **on:** Jun 20, 2018

What is a disadvantage of a changing criterion design?

A. The possibility of multiple treatment interference when the treatments interact
B. It is not the best to use with behaviors that change slowly
C. It can sometimes be difficult to implement (e.g., counterbalancing the treatments)
D. Target behavior must be able to change in a gradual, stepwise fashion

Question 2

Assume a researcher uses positive reinforcement via praise in an initial intervention phase, followed by positive reinforcement via tokens and praise, and response cost for inappropriate behaviors. The target behavior increases slightly during the praise only reinforcement phase but then improves much more so during the praise, tokens, and response cost phase. Explain whether this circumstance best represents a threat to reliability or validity.

What will be an ideal response?

kkenney · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 20, 2018

Answer to Question 1

D

Answer to Question 2

The circumstance best represents a threat to validity. This represents multiple treatment interference making it very difficult for the researcher to determine which of the procedures (praise, tokens, response cost, and/or the combination) actually influenced the changes in the target behavior. The dependent variable could be very reliably recorded but this would not eliminate the threat to validity.