The effects of A Contingency-Based Lottery on the behavior of A Special Education Class

Abstract

A contingency-based lottery system was implemented to improve the classroom behavior of 18 learning disabled and educably mentally handicapped students, aged 13 to 16 years. Students earned points for remaining in their assigned area and being prepared for class, and lost points for talking without permission. Points were redeemable for tickets that were drawn randomly at the end of the week with material reinforcers dispensed to the winners. A reversal design (ABAB) was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the lottery for the entire class. The lottery led to substantial increases in the average daily percentage of intervals in assigned area per student and the average daily percentage of students prepared for class. In addition, the lottery resulted in a marked reduction in the daily median incidents of talking without permission per student. The rationale for the lottery's effectiveness as well as its advantages for use in a classrom setting were discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ayllon

& Azrin

(1968). Token economy: A motivational system for therapy and rehabilitation. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Brooks

D. B.

(1975). Contingency management as a means of reducing school truancy. Education, 95, 206–211.

Kazdin

A. E.

(1973). Methodological and assessment considerations in evaluating reinforcement programs in applied settings. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 1–23.

Kazdin

A. E.

(1977). The token economy: A review and evaluation. New York: Plenum Press.

Stokes

T. F.

& Baer

D. M.

(1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367.

Sulzer-Azaroff

& Mayer

G. R.

(1977). Applying behavior analysis procedures with children and youth. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Thorpe

H. W.

, Darch

C. B.

, & Drecktral

(1978). The principal lottery: A system utilizing contingent principal telephone calls to increase on-task behavior. Corrective and Social Psychiatry and Journal of Behavior Technology Methods and Therapy, 24, 20–24.