Social validation: the evolution of standards of competency for target behaviors

Um, so, like, do speech disfluencies matter? A parametric evaluation of filler sounds and words

This study evaluated how speech disfluencies affect perceived speaker effectiveness. Speeches with filler sounds and filler words at different rates of disfluencies (i.e., 0, 2, 5, and 12 per minute) were created and evaluated by a crowdsourcing service for survey-based research for the speaker's public speaking performance. Increased disfluencies, particularly filler sounds, significantly affected perceptions across most categories, notably at higher rates of filler sounds (i.e., 12 per minute). A low, but nonzero, rate of disfluencies (5 per minute) did not adversely affect perceived effectiveness. These findings suggest that although reducing filler sounds is crucial for optimizing perceived speaking effectiveness, a rate of five or fewer disfluencies per minute may be acceptable.

The efficacy of remote video-based behavioral skills training and awareness training on public speaking performance

This study evaluated the efficacy of (a) remote video-based behavioral skills training (BST) with added speech outlines on teaching public speaking behaviors and (b) remote video-based awareness training (AT) on speech-disfluency rates. A multiple-baseline design across speech behaviors was used to evaluate the training. Remote video-based BST and AT were effective at teaching public speaking behaviors and reducing speech disfluencies, respectively, for both participants. In addition, performance generalized to increased audience size. Although expert ratings of perceived public speaking effectiveness improved following BST, the ratings did not improve and some worsened following AT. Both participants reported satisfaction with video-based BST and AT. One participant reported greater comfort, confidence, overall ability, and less anxiety as a public speaker following BST. Both participants reported greater improvements in those categories following AT. Our results suggest that public speaking behaviors can be taught using remote video-based BST and speech disfluencies can be reduced using remote video-based AT.

Trash talk about the other gender: Content of, reactions to, and willingness to confront stereotypical comments about men and women

We examined the content of and reactions to stereotypical comments about men and women. In Study 1, daily comments participants recalled hearing people make about “what men/women are like” were generally negative and targeted the other gender. Men rejected negative comments about both genders, whereas women rejected negative comments about women more than comments about men. In Study 2, college participants could confront an online interaction partner who made an other-gender sexist comment. Women confronted a comment targeting women and had more negative reactions to sexism directed at a woman than at a man; men had equivalent, negative reactions to sexism that did not depend on target gender. Study 3 extended and replicated Study 2 by including both other-gender and same gender sexism. Results showed that (a) women were more attuned to men’s sexism toward women compared to all other types and (b) men responded negatively to sexism about either gender, but were more likely to confront sexism directed at women than sexism directed at men. We suggest that women’s tendency to confront sexism when it targets women but not men may reinforce stereotypes that undermine gender equality.

Increasing Praise Delivery Within Dorms of a Juvenile Justice Facility

Researchers have shown that adolescents in residential treatment facilities benefit from behavior-analytic intervention. However, it remains unclear whether practitioners can apply behavioral interventions to increase staff members' appropriate interactions with residents within a juvenile justice facility. In Study 1, researchers compared direct measures of staff behavior in three target dorms (D1, D2, and D3) containing high levels of resident disruptive behavior to a dorm (D4) with consistently low levels of resident disruptive behavior. Results indicated that staff members in the target dorms engaged in significantly higher rates of reprimands and negative statements than in D4. In Study 2, researchers used didactic and video instruction to train staff members in D1, D2, and D3 to increase contingent and noncontingent praise delivery. Results indicated praise delivery by staff members increased slightly in each target dorm. In Study 3, researchers first evaluated the extent to which measures of staff members' and residents' behaviors improved following training within each dorm. Subsequently, researchers compared the post-training behavioral measures from D1, D2 and D3 to D4 to determine the extent to which staff behavior in the training dorms was distinguishable from D4. Results of Study 3 indicated that one or more staff behaviors improved in each training dorm. Nevertheless, residents' disruptive behavior was unchanged in each target dorm. In addition, staff members' behavior in each target dorm continued to be distinguishable from staff members' behavior in D4 on most behavioral measures.

An external review of the conclusions regarding the peak direct training module

Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge-Direct Training Module (PEAK-DTM) is a commercially available assessment and curriculum for individuals whose language skills are not developmentally adequate. In their review of PEAK-DTM, Reed and Luiselli (2016) analyzed the extant literature on PEAK-DTM and concluded that it has a sound and growing body of empirical support on its efficacy, usability, and psychometric properties. Similar conclusions are mirrored in the PEAK-DTM literature and promotional material. I review these conclusions and contend that many overrate the research that backs them. Suggestions for a more rigorous research agenda on PEAK-DTM and its related modules are provided.

Establishing a Scale for Assessing the Social Validity of Skill Building Interventions for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Scale of Treatment Perceptions (STP), a measure of treatment acceptability targeting skill-building interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This scale utilizes a strength-based approach to intervention assessment, and was established by modifying the Behavior Intervention Rating Scale (Elliott and Von Brock Treuting in J School Psychol 29(1):43-51, 1991. doi: 10.1016/0022-4405(91)90014-I ) and the Treatment Evaluation Inventory (Kazdin in J Appl Behav Anal 13(2):259-273, 1980. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1980.13-259 ) to be appropriate for assessing multiple dimensions of acceptability across skill-building ASD treatments. Overall, the STP demonstrated good psychometric properties: the scale had appropriate internal consistency, demonstrated a stable three-factor structure that was invariant across samples, and discriminated among different skill-building treatments for ASD. This has important implications for dissemination, as perceived acceptability of a treatment relates to treatment utilization and adherence.

Educational Validity Revisited

In 1983, Voeltz and Evans introduced a set of criteria for establishing educational validity. Their intent was to improve the documentation of quality educational programs for learners with severe disabilities. Although the concept of educational validity is sound, we feel that Voeltz and Evans were not justified in rejecting single-subject research methodology as a vehicle for assessing educational validity. The present paper (a) provides a summary of the arguments of Voeltz and Evans against the use of single-subject research designs in establishing educational validity, (b) addresses each of the major concerns of Voeltz and Evans with single-subject research methodology, and (c) demonstrates how single-subject research methodology can be used to demonstrate educational validity.

Supported Employment and Social Validity

Whereas considerable data exist demonstrating positive outcomes for people working as a result of supported employment, little attention has been paid to more qualitative measures of consumer satisfaction. Given the vast array of potential consumers of supported employment services, it seems imperative to determine consumer acceptability, or the social validity, of supported employment goals, procedures, and outcomes. The purpose of the present paper was to review a portion of the supported employment/social validity literature in relation to a proposed Social Validity Matrix and to suggest areas for future research. A review of 30 studies based on the matrix indicated future research is needed to (a) broaden the scope of supported employment social validity assessment, (b) investigate alternative strategies for assessing social validity, (c) develop systematic procedures for collecting and using social validity data, and (d) establish functional variables within supported employment.

Increasing Integrated Workplace Social Interactions: The Effects of Job Modification, Natural Supports, Adaptive Communication Instruction, and Job Coach Training

The effectiveness of job modification, natural supports, instruction on the use of a communication device, job coach social facilitation training, and co-worker support for social integration in a supported employment setting was examined. The intervention consisted of four phases: Job modification; natural supports instruction to nondisabled co-workers; introduction of a communication device without instruction; communication device training; and job coach social facilitation training and eliciting co-worker support for social integration. Social interaction data were collected using direct observation. Results indicate that the use of the communication device, job coach social facilitation training, and eliciting co-worker support for social integration were necessary in order to increase the supported employee's levels of workplace social interaction; the earlier conditions did not have any impact. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Social Validity in the Assessment of Children's Social Skills: Establishing Standards for Social Competency

Social validity is a concept that, in part, deals with the social or applied importance of the effects of intervention programs. Given the importance of assessing social competence in school-age children and youth, it is critical that these measures be socially valid. That is, these measures should reflect outcomes that social systems such as the schools consider important. Various assessment methods were classified as Type I, Type II, and Type III measures based on their social validity. Conclusions focused on the increased use of Type I measures, the establishment of appropriate normative groups for these measures, the adoption of a competence-correlates definition of social skills, and the increased use of multivariate research methods in the area of social skills assessment.

Rates of Teachers' Verbal Approval and Disapproval

Existing rates of teacher approval and disapproval were assessed in 35 classrooms (grades K-4, 9, 12) during various activities. Teachers'mean rates of both approval and disapproval were highest in first grade and lower in upper grades, with the partial exception of the ninth. These data lend certain generality to those reported by White (1975), but there are also substantial differences between the two data sets. White's conclusions-that disapproval predominated after grade 2 and may account for disillusionment of children in grades thereafter-are questioned. Transition was the only activity in which disapprovals exceeded approvals. Approval and disapproval rates were not related to teachers' ages, years of experience, or recency of training. One implication is that teacher training should focus more on skill at verbal approval, particularly in classroom management, and that such training should be conducted by behavior analysts in classrooms.

A comparative analysis of massed vs. distributed practice on basic math fact fluency growth rates

To best remediate academic deficiencies, educators need to not only identify empirically validated interventions but also be able to apply instructional modifications that result in more efficient student learning. The current study compared the effect of massed and distributed practice with an explicit timing intervention to evaluate the extent to which these modifications lead to increased math fact fluency on basic addition problems. Forty-eight third-grade students were placed into one of three groups with each of the groups completing four 1-min math explicit timing procedures each day across 19 days. Group one completed all four 1-min timings consecutively; group two completed two back-to-back 1-min timings in the morning and two back-to-back 1-min timings in the afternoon, and group three completed one, 1-min independent timing four times distributed across the day. Growth curve modeling was used to examine the progress throughout the course of the study. Results suggested that students in the distributed practice conditions, both four times per day and two times per day, showed significantly higher fluency growth rates than those practicing only once per day in a massed format. These results indicate that combining distributed practice with explicit timing procedures is a useful modification that enhances student learning without the addition of extra instructional time when targeting math fact fluency.

Do Australian Behaviourists Have a Heart?

Are Australian behaviourists compassionate and caring? Do we bother to find out what our consumers want? Do our consumers find our approach acceptable or are we running the risk of becoming an endangered species? These questions are considered along with how we might approach the problems the species of Australian behaviourists face so that our heart can beat steadily well in to the nineties.

Overcorrection: Reviewed, revisited and revised

Overcorrection is a widely used behavior management procedure, the success of which has been well documented. However, overcorrection is not a simple, single procedure. Rather, it is a complex combination of procedures that often make it a complicated strategy to understand conceptually and to implement correctly. The complex nature of overcorrection combined with the use of multiple labels has created much confusion and debate among both researchers and practitioners. A number of issues relating to overcorrection are examined and evaluated. A proposal is made for revising the present overcorrection terminology. Finally, directions for future research are suggested.

Trends in the measurement of social validity

Since its inception in the mid-1970s, social validity has provided applied behavior analysts with a critical measure of the social impact and importance of their interventions. Recent discussion, however, has questioned the use of this construct in regard to the frequency and types of social validty measures employed in research. Despite the ensuing discussion, virtually no quantitative information has been made available to frame various perspectives and opinions. The purpose of this report is to present a content analysis of social validity measures used over the previous 20 years. Social validity was assessed along three dimensions: (a) type of assessment, (b) focus of assessment, and (c) time of assessment. Articles published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (1968-1990) and Behavior Modification (1977-1990) were surveyed. The results of the content analysis indicate that current applications of social validation procedures are presented in 20% of the articles surveyed. The majority of articles used subjective evaluation of outcomes following intervention to assess social validity. In addition, the data indicated that normative comparison was a rarely used method of social validation and that its use has been decreasing over time.

The nature of behavioral assessment: A commentary

This special issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis provides the reader with a sample of current work in behavioral assessment. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of behavioral assessment and to place the other articles in context of this developing area.

Some Normative Goals for Conversation Training

The conversation of three small groups of manual workers was observed in order to provide tangible goals for conversation training. A wide range of conversation styles emerged from the data, providing ranges of responding for various behaviours like percentages of short initiations, longer initiations, questions and length of latencies. Ranges of responding were also shown for the patterns of certain types of conversation involving initiations and reactions to these utterances. Despite the wide ranges of style in the conversation of the normal groups, their behaviour was in marked contrast to three small groups of socially inept psychiatric patients, in that, the patients were discrepant on every index of social behaviour. The study provides clear targets for conversation training programmes in terms of both the frequencies with which patients should engage in behaviour and the patterns of utterances with which patients might respond. To illustrate the way in which the data act as goals, patient groups are compared before and after treatment

Stereotypy II: a review of neurobiological interpretations and suggestions for an integration with behavioral methods

Stereotypy is a relatively common behavioral disorder displayed by individuals with developmental disabilities, including autism. In this paper, we review selected studies on neurobiological interpretations of stereotypy and pharmacological interventions for stereotypy. Specifically, we review studies that evaluated the effects of serotonin uptake inhibitors (e.g., clomipramine) or opioid antagonists (e.g., naltrexone) on stereotypy displayed by humans. Throughout, suggestions are made for the incorporation of behavioral methods into this area of research.

The effects of social interactive training on early social communicative skills of children with autism

Growing attention has been directed at the relation between early social communicative skills of children with autism and subsequent development of these children's social and communicative functioning. We reviewed 16 empirical studies that investigated the effects of social interactive interventions designed to increase early social communicative skills of young children with autism by increasing their role as initiator of social interactions. To identify factors relating to treatment effectiveness, we analyzed studies in relation to participant characteristics, settings, target behaviors, training methods, and results. To determine durability of treatment, we analyzed generalization effects across persons, settings, stimuli, and time. Increases were found for social and affective behaviors, nonverbal and verbal communication, eye contact, joint attention, and imitative play. Limited generalization or maintenance of target behaviors was reported. Findings are discussed in relation to critical variables that may relate to treatment effectiveness in future research and practice efforts.

Identifying critical social interaction behaviors among high school students with and without disabilities

This article describes an investigative process used to identify critical behaviors that relate to social interaction among high school students with and without disabilities. A series of studies resulted in the identification of six empirically and socially validated conversational behaviors that could serve as targets of interventions designed to increase social interaction. Findings also indicated that little social interaction occurred among high school students with and without mental retardation in the absence of programming or supports. Implications of the findings are discussed as well as suggestions for future research. Finally, a model for social skills interventions is proposed that may result in increased social interaction among students with and without disabilities.

Sentence combining as a technique for increasing adjective use in writing by students with autism

A multiple-baseline across-subjects design was used to determine whether reinforcement alone or in combination with sentence-combining exercises would increase the number of descriptive adjectives used in daily writing samples by three adolescents with autism. The cumulative number of new adjectives (adjectives never before used by a student in the entire study) was also recorded. Experimental conditions were baseline, sentence combining, and maintenance. Writing sessions consisted of a 20-min worksheet period followed by a 20-min writing period. The addition of sentence-combining exercises increased the number of adjectives in the students' writing samples. Maintenance of this increase occurred in the absence of sentence-combining lessons and in the presence of reinforcement for use of adjectives. The addition of sentence-combining exercises also increased the cumulative number of new adjectives, although new adjectives did not occasion reinforcement, and we had not expected their use to increase in students with autism without specific instruction. Maintenance of new adjective use also was demonstrated. Finally, for all three students, minimal terminable unit (T-unit) length, a measure that facilitates comparison with normative data, increased from baseline to maintenance, and independent raters judged writing samples written during maintenance as better than those written during baseline.

Measuring children's social skills using microcomputer-based videodisc assessment

This article describes the development of a microcomputer-based videodisc assessment prototype for measuring children's social skills. The theoretical and empirical foundations for the content are described, and the contributions of interactive microcomputer-based video technology to assessment of children with handicaps are detailed. An application of Goldfried and D'Zurilla's "behavior-analytic" approach to development of the content of assessments is presented, and the related video and computer technology development is detailed. The article describes the conceptual foundations of the psychometrics of the assessment prototype as well as the psychometric methodology that was employed throughout the development process. Finally, a discussion of the potential applications and implications of the social skills assessment prototype is included.

Peer Sampling: Developing Individualized Mobility Goals to Orient Visually Impaired Persons to a New Environment

This report discusses the use of peer sampling and its application in planning individualized instructional programs. The procedures are illustrated by a plan to familiarize an incoming student to a university campus and community. The plan is formulated for two potential residences to illustrate the environmental specifity of the procedure.

Training supervisors in a collaborative team approach to promote peer interaction of children with disabilities in integrated preschools

Three supervisors of integrated preschools were trained in a collaborative team approach to encourage resource and classroom teachers to develop strategies that promote peer interaction of all children, including children with disabilities. The focus of classroom teachers' behaviors and the interactive play of children with disabilities were measured daily in both a training (indoor play period) and a generalization (outdoor play period) setting. In a multiple baseline design, supervisors were individually trained in a collaborative team approach using a manual, modeling, and role playing; then they implemented the approach with classroom and resource teachers. We found that after supervisor training, classroom teachers increased their behaviors directed towards children with disabilities and decreased their behaviors directed towards nondisabled children. Moreover, we found a doubling of the interactive play of children with disabilities and, for two of the three classes, an increase in the interactive play of comparison children, randomly selected by the classroom teachers. Changes in both teachers' and children's behaviors were also found in the generalization setting. The implications of the results for interventions in community settings are discussed.

Social validation of component behaviors of following instructions, accepting criticism, and negotiating

This study evaluated whether behaviors often taught as part of social skills training are judged favorably by others. Community judges evaluated the performances of people in various situations requiring one of three social skills: following instructions, accepting criticism, and negotiating to resolve conflicts. These skills were displayed in videotaped scenes by actors with and without mental retardation who acted out roles that had different types of authority relationships, and when different components or clusters of behavior (nonverbal, specific verbal, or general verbal behaviors) were performed well or poorly. The highest ratings by judges were of videotaped scenes that depicted correct use of all behaviors, regardless of which skill was being examined, whether or not the actor had mental retardation, or what the relationship was between the two actors. The lowest ratings were of videotaped scenes that depicted poor performance of all behaviors, and intermediate ratings were obtained when only some of the behaviors were performed poorly. These results, as well as the verbal responses of judges to questions, indicated that the different behaviors commonly used in teaching the skills of following instructions, accepting criticism, and negotiating are relevant to judgment of social performance, and are likely to be reinforced and maintained by social contingencies.

Social behavior of students who are seriously emotionally disturbed. A quantitative analysis of intervention studies

The social behavior of students who are seriously emotionally disturbed sets them apart from their normative classroom peers. This article provides a quantitative analysis of intervention studies dealing with the social behavior of seriously emotionally disturbed students. Social behavior was broadly defined as including social skills deficits, behavior under inadequate stimulus control, and inappropriate behavior in the classroom. Of the 28 studies located, 11 dealt with some aspect of social skills and 17 with inappropriate classroom behavior. Each study was analyzed with respect to (a) the age, gender, and classification of the subjects; (b) the setting, referral source, and therapist; (c) the dependent and independent variables; (d) type of evaluation design used; (e) reliability of the dependent and independent variable; (f) social validation; (g) programmed generalization, maintenance, and follow-up; (h) measurement of collateral behaviors; (i) functional analysis of the target behavior; and (j) efficacy rating of the results on a 3-point scale. The results are presented and discussed in terms of current status and implications for future research.

Is social validity what we are interested in? Argument for a functional approach

It is argued that neither the term social nor the term validity is best to identify the processes used or the results obtained in questioning consumers about the goals set, procedures employed, or outcomes achieved in habilitative programming. The term consumer satisfaction acknowledges the fact that it is essentially a collection of consumer opinions. The underlying intent of the process might be called habilitative validation, a name that seems to better guide our validation efforts. More important, in carefully considering consumer satisfaction assessment, it becomes clear that not only does consumer satisfaction itself need to be validated, but also that more objective methods can be used for assessing habilitative validity. However, legitimate uses still remain for consumer satisfaction measurement, as long as we do not mistake it for strong evidence of the habilitative validity of our goals, procedures, or outcomes.

Social validity assessments: is current practice state of the art?

The use of evaluative feedback from consumers to guide program planning and evaluation is often referred to as the assessment of social validity. Differing views of its role and value in applied behavior analysis have emerged, and increasingly stereotyped assessments of social validity are becoming commonplace. This paper argues that current applications of social validity assessments are straying from the point originally proposed for them. Thus, several suggestions for improving current social validity assessment are proposed, including (a) expanding the definition of consumers to acknowledge the variety of community members able and likely to affect a program's survival, (b) increasing the psychometric rigor of social validity assessments, (c) extending assessment to heretofore underrepresented populations, (d) implementing widespread application of well-designed social validity assessments, (e) increasing meaningful consumer involvement in the planning and evaluation of behavioral programs, and (f) educating consumers to make better informed programming decisions.

Overview of supported employment

This article traces the emergence of supported employment as a result of philosophical changes in expectations for persons with disabilities, based on scientific developments that challenged traditional service-delivery models. Supported employment program characteristics also are reviewed, and the influence of applied behavior analysis is outlined. Finally, areas for future research in supported employment are discussed.

Response interruption and DRL for the reduction of rapid eating

We assessed the efficacy of several procedures for reducing the rate of eating responses during mealtime by three institutionalized mentally retarded clients. A time-based (15 s) response interruption procedure was implemented which resulted in little change in eating responses for 2 of 3 subjects. A spaced-responding DRL 15-s procedure resulted in decreases in eating responses to target levels only after a prompting procedure was added. Procedures were evaluated using a multiple baseline across subjects design with assessment of generalization to nontreated meals. A change in eating behavior during breakfast occurred only after direct training in the breakfast setting. Maintenance data were collected at 1- and 5-month follow-up periods.