It has been proposed that academic materials presented to students with emotional and behavioral disorders may serve in some situations as aversive stimuli that increase escape and/or avoidance responses. The results from two single subject studies using ABAB designs that were conducted to examine the effects of the difficulty level of academic tasks (i.e., easy versus difficult) on both the disruptive and on-task behaviors of students with severe behavior disorders are presented. Results indicated that difficult tasks were generally associated with lower percentages of time on-task and higher percentages of time engaged in disruptive behavior than were easy task conditions. Implications for teachers of students with severe behavioral disorders are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
CarrE. G., & DurandV. M. (1985). Reducing behavior problems through functional communication training.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 111–126.
CarrE. G., NewsomC. D., & BinkoffJ. A. (1976). Stimulus control of self-destructive behavior in a psychotic child.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 139–153.
4.
CarrE. G., NewsomC. D., & BinkoffJ. A. (1980). Escape as a factor in the aggressive behavior of two retarded children.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 101–117.
5.
CenterD. B., DietzS. M., & KaufmanM. E. (1982). Student ability, task difficulty and inappropriate classroom behavior.Behavior Modification, 6, 355–375.
6.
DunlapG., Kern-DunlapL., ClarkeS., & RobbinsF. (1991). Functional assessment, curricular revision, and severe behavior problems.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 387–397.
7.
DunlapG., & KernL. (1993). Assessment and intervention for children within the instructional curriculum. In ReichleJ., & WackerD. (Eds.), Communicative alternatives to challenging behavior: Integrating functional assessment and intervention strategies (pp. 177–203). Baltimore: Brookes.
8.
DunlapG., KernL., dePerczelM., ClarkeS., WilsonD., ChildsK. E., WhiteR., & FalkG. D. (1993). Functional analysis of classroom variables for students with emotional and behavioral disorders.Behavioral Disorders, 18, 275–291.
9.
DunlapG., dePerczelM., ClarkeS., WilsonD., WrightS., WhiteR., & GomezA. (1994). Choice making to promote adaptive behavior for students with emotional and behavioral challenges.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 505–518.
10.
DurandV. M., & CarrE. G. (1987). Social influences on “self-stimulatory” behavior: Analysis and treatment application.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 20, 119–132.
11.
DurandV. M., & CrimminsD. B. (1988). Identifying the variables maintaining self-injurious behavior.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18, 99–117.
GunterP. L., DennyR. K., JackS. L., ShoresR. E., & NelsonC. M. (1993). Aversive stimuli in academic interactions between students with serious emotional disturbance and their teachers.Behavioral Disorders, 18, 265–274.
14.
KazdinA. E. (1982). Single-case research design: Methods for clinical and applied settings.New York: Oxford University.
15.
KernL., ChildsK. E., DunlapG., ClarkeS., & FalkG. D. (1994). Using assessment-based curricular intervention to improve the classroom behavior of a student with emotional and behavioral challenges.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 7–19.
TappJ., WehbyJ., & EllisD. (1995). A multiple option observation system for experimental studies: MOOSES.Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 27(1), 25–31.
19.
WeeksM., & Gaylord-RossR. (1981). Task difficulty and aberrant behaviors in severely handicapped students.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 14, 449–463.
