title: Resistance to disruption in a classroom setting.
abstract: Substantial experimental evidence indicates that behavior reinforced on a denser schedule is more resistant to disruption than is behavior reinforced on a thinner schedule. The present experiment studied resistance to disruption in a natural educational environment. Responding during familiar activities was reinforced on a multiple variable-interval (VI) 7-s VI 30-s schedule for 6 participants with developmental disabilities. Resistance to disruption was measured by presenting a distracting item. Response rates in the disruption components were compared to within-session response rates in prior baseline components. Results were consistent with the predictions of behavioral momentum theory for 5 of 6 participants.
authors.affiliation: New England Center for Children, Southborough, Massachusetts 01772, USA.
authors.forename: Diana E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Parry-Cruwys
authors.forename: Carrie M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Neal
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ahearn
authors.forename: Emily E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: Raseeka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Premchander
authors.forename: Melissa B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Loeb
authors.forename: William V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Dube
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012574:Schools; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014705:Verbal Behavior