Promoting Generalization of Appropriate Classroom Behaviour: a Comparison of Two Strategies

Abstract

This study applied a number of behaviour modification strategies in an attempt to reduce the level of disruptive classroom behaviour, and to programme for generalization of treatment effects across time and settings. Eight disruptive students represented either the Control, the Experimenter-selected Objects, or the Self-selected Activities Group. During intervention phases subjects in the Experimenter-selected Objects Group received school related material reinforcers for low levels of disruptive behaviour. The Self-selected Activities Group experienced a more complex set of conditions: partial self-determination of natural reinforcers, self-evaluation and recording, bonuses, group contingencies, individual progress graphs, eventual transition from continuous to intermittent reinforcement, and inclusion of common stimuli in the training and generalization settings. The results indicated that both reinforcement programmes dramatically reduced disruptive behaviour. The less complex package employed with the Experimenter-selected Objects Group, however, yielded significantly better generalization of treatment effects across time in the training setting, as well as across settings during the intervention phases. Additionally, this group showed significantly better maintenance of generalization across settings following programme termination.