Biomedical subjects

M J Shirley

Publications and source records attributed to M J Shirley.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

False-positive maintenance of self-injurious behavior by access to tangible reinforcers.

Results of a functional analysis indicated that the hand mouthing of a woman with developmental disabilities was maintained by multiple sources of control (sensory stimulation and access to a leisure item). Further assessment revealed that access to several other items also produced high rates of hand mouthing. However, direct observation conducted in the woman's home indicated that none of these items was delivered contingent upon hand mouthing. When the consequence observed most frequently in the home was incorporated into the functional analysis, rates of hand mouthing were no higher than they were during an alone condition. We concluded that hand mouthing, although maintained by automatic reinforcement, was also susceptible to social contingencies when exposed to them during assessment, thereby producing a partially false-positive outcome.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Does functional communication training compete with ongoing contingencies of reinforcement? An analysis during response acquisition and maintenance.

We examined the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) in reducing self-injurious behavior (SIB) and in shaping an alternative (communicative) response while SIB continued to be reinforced. Following a functional analysis of 3 individuals' SIB, we attempted to teach an alternative response consisting of a manual sign to each individual, using the reinforcer that maintained SIB. When FCT was implemented without extinction. SIB remained at baseline rates for all participants, and none of the participants acquired the alternative response. When extinction was added to the training procedure, SIB decreased and manual signing increased for all participants. To determine if signing, when established, would compete with SIB when both were reinforced, extinction was then withdrawn. Signing was maintained and SIB occurred at low rates for 2 individuals, but SIB returned to baseline rates for the 3rd individual, necessitating the reimplementation of extinction. These results suggest that it may be difficult to establish alternative behaviors if inappropriate behavior continues to be reinforced, but that, when established, alternative behavior might compete successfully with ongoing contingencies of reinforcement for inappropriate behavior.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Assessing and programming generalized behavioral reduction across multiple stimulus parameters.

Generalization across three stimulus parameters was examined for 5 individuals whose self-injurious behavior was maintained by escape from task demands. Prior to treatment, three stimulus parameters (therapist, setting, and demands) were systematically varied across baseline sessions. These variables were held constant during treatment, which consisted of escape extinction. When treatment was completed, three novel stimulus parameters were probed. If the rate of self-injury was high during this probe, treatment was reimplemented with one new stimulus parameter (the other two were the same as in the original treatment condition). Following this second treatment, another probe with three novel stimuli was conducted. If the rate of self-injury was again high, treatment was implemented again while a second stimulus parameter was changed. This sequence continued until generalization was observed across the three parameters. Results showed idiosyncratic differences in generalization. The behavior of 2 subjects showed complete generalization during the first novel probe. A 3rd subject's behavior showed generalization following treatment across two stimulus parameters (setting and therapist). The behavior of the 2 remaining subjects showed a complete lack of generalization across the three parameters; both subjects required training for novelty by randomly varying the stimulus parameters for a substantial number of sessions.

Adult↗