title: Functional analysis and treatment of eye poking.
abstract: In four studies we analyzed the eye poking of a youth with profound disabilities. In Study 1, a functional analysis showed that eye poking occurred during the no-attention condition, but not during demand, attention or recreation conditions. The analysis did not identify socially mediated variables involved in the maintenance of eye poking; rather, eye poking may have been maintained by consequences produced directly by the response. In Study 2 we had the student wear goggles to prevent potential reinforcement from finger-eye contact. The results of Study 2 indicated that eye-poking attempts were reduced when the student wore goggles. We then tested in Study 3 the effects of two alternative topographies of stimulation. Study 3 demonstrated that eye poking was reduced when a video game was provided as a competing source of visual stimulation, and that music was less effective in reducing eye poking. In Study 4, a contingency analysis using the video game was conducted in an attempt to (a) reduce the frequency of eye poking and (b) study whether the video game functioned as a reinforcer. The results of Study 4 demonstrated substantive reductions in the frequency of eye poking, and suggested that the video game served as a reinforcer.
authors.affiliation: College of Education, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Souza
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D005135:Eye Protective Devices; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment