title: Interspersed requests: a nonaversive procedure for reducing aggression and self-injury during instruction.
abstract: Interspersed requests are simple commands, with a high likelihood of being followed correctly, that are interspersed among instructional trials to increase the probability that a learner will attempt to perform new or difficult tasks without engaging in aggression or self-injurious behavior. This report presents two assessments of the effect of interspersed requests on aggression and self-injury during instruction. The participants were individuals with severe mental retardation who used aggression and self-injury to avoid difficult instructional situations. Results from both studies indicate that interspersed requests were effective at increasing the responsiveness of the learners to instructions and reducing levels of aggression and self-injury.
authors.affiliation: College of Education, University of Oregon, Eugene 97403.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Horner
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sprague
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Heathfield
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology