Date of Award
12-2024
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Styleguide
apa
Degree Name
Applied Behavior Analysis: M.S.
Department
Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy
College
School of Health and Human Services
First Advisor
Stephen Walker
Second Advisor
Benjamin Witts
Third Advisor
Michele Traub
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
mastery criteria, instruction format, conditional discrimination, stimulus control, computer-based instruction
Abstract
In everyday life, the likelihood of contacting reinforcement contingencies for engaging in a particular response depends on the presence or absence of multiple stimuli within the respective context. Individuals who demonstrate generalized conditional responding have histories of reinforcement for responding differentially to discriminable stimuli in this manner; however, some individuals may require more programmed instruction to acquire these conditional discrimination skills. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of different instructional arrangements for facilitating the acquisition of auditory-visual conditional discriminations with seven undergraduate students. Specifically, a within-subjects experimental design was used to teach participants 36 novel, arbitrary auditory-visual conditional discriminations via a custom-made software program across four conditions: 80% blocked-trial, 80% mixed-trial, 100% blocked-trial, and 100% mixed-trial. Under the blocked-trial format, the same conditional sample stimulus was presented consecutively across a predetermined number of trials. In contrast, the same conditional sample was presented randomly across learning opportunities under the mixed-trial format. Each participant acquired all 36 conditional discriminations, regardless of the experimental condition. Results indicated that the 80% mastery criterion led to more efficient learning outcomes and both instructional formats were effective in teaching novel conditional discriminations, though the blocked-trial format was slightly more efficient. Additionally, block size fading was unnecessary for proper stimulus control development. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed, and directions for future research are provided.
Recommended Citation
McCumber, Brookelynn R.; Walker, Stephen F.; Witts, Benjamin; and Hammons, Jordan, "Effects of Performance Expectation and Instruction Format on Student Learning" (2024). Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy. 118.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cpcf_etds/118
