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Biomedical subjects

T Ayllon

Publications and source records attributed to T Ayllon.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1972

Effects of reinforcement on standardized test performance.

The effects of two different motivational conditions upon standardized test performance were explored for two student populations. The first study involving 12 trainable retardates showed a significant increase in score on the Metropolitan Readiness Test given under reinforcement conditions when these results were compared with scores taken under standard testing conditions. In a second study, these same results were obtained with a group of 30 normal fourth-graders. An additional study was conducted to determine the effect of different experiences with token reinforcement procedures on test performance. It was found that a group of children with six weeks' exposure to reinforcement for daily academic performance scored higher under both conditions of test administration (standard and reinforcement) than a control group. However, in a single exposure to token reinforcement for correct performance on the Metropolitan Test, both the experimental group and its match control showed a parallel increase in test performance. These findings offer a procedure that yields a more representative assessment of a student's academic achievement than does testing under standard conditions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1968

Reinforcer sampling: a technique for increasing the behavior of mental patients.

Mental hospital patients in a motivating ward environment were using the available reinforcers less than was desired. A procedure for increasing the frequency of using reinforcers was developed: all patients were required to engage in the reinforcing event each time it was available but the duration of this required participation was limited so that the event was merely sampled. The effect of this required sampling was experimentally evaluated for three different reinforcers: going for a walk, watching a movie, and attending a music session. More patients used each of the three reinforcers and to a greater extent when the sampling procedure was used. Participation was increased even for those patients who had already been using the reinforcers, demonstrating that the technique did more than provide simple familiarization. Some familiarization was involved since the participation was slightly increased even after the sampling procedure was discontinued. The technique appears to be especially applicable when reinforcers are being delivered infrequently.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1968

Behavioral engineering: postural control by a portable operant apparatus.

Recent studies suggested a general behavioral engineering approach to behavioral disorders by portable operant treatment instruments. The approach was applied to the problem of poor posture, specifically rounding of the back or slouching. An apparatus was developed that provided a warning stimulus followed by an aversive tone for the duration of slouching. Slouching was thereby punished by onset of the tone, and non-slouching was reinforced by tone termination and postponement. Twenty-five adults wore the apparatus during their normal working day during alternate periods in which the aversive tone was connected and disconnected experimentally. A miniature time-meter recorded the duration of slouching. The results showed that slouching decreased for each subject during each period in which slouching produced the aversive tone. For two subjects, a second control procedure was applied in which slouching terminated the tone. The result was an increase of slouching, demonstrating that the postural changes were controlled by the scheduled relation between the aversive tone and the response, and not by other factors such as simple response feedback. The substantial changes in posture indicate that the present procedure may prove to be an effective treatment alternative and suggests the general value of the behavioral engineering approach.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1966

Punishment as a discriminative stimulus and conditioned reinforcer with humans.

Mental hospital patients were reinforced for responding in a two-response operant situation. When a noise was used to punish one of the responses, all subjects shifted to the unpunished one. When the noise was then paired with positive reinforcement, the subjects responded to produce the noise. Also, a novel response was reinforced by noise in the absence of other reinforcers. This study with humans extends the findings of previous studies with animals in revealing how a punishing stimulus can acquire discriminative or conditioned reinforcing properties.

Conditioning, Operant↗
PubMed1965

The measurement and reinforcement of behavior of psychotics.

An attempt was made to strengthen behaviors of psychotics by applying operant reinforcement principles in a mental hospital ward. The behaviors studied were necessary and/or useful for the patient to function in the hospital environment. Reinforcement consisted of the opportunity to engage in activities that had a high level of occurrence when freely allowed. Tokens were used as conditioned reinforcers to bridge the delay between behavior and reinforcement. Emphasis was placed on objective definition and quantification of the responses and reinforcers and upon programming and recording procedures. Standardizing the objective criteria permitted ward attendants to administer the program. The procedures were found to be effective in maintaining the desired adaptive behaviors for as long as the procedures were in effect. In a series of six experiments, reinforced behaviors were considerably reduced when the reinforcement procedure was discontinued; the adaptive behaviors increased immediately when the reinforcement procedure was re-introduced.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parental versus professional perceptions of obstacles to pediatric diabetes care.

Parents of children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) (n = 38) were surveyed to identify common and difficult obstacles to diabetes care. A list of these obstacles was cross-validated by a second parent sample (n = 47) who rated each item according to how common and difficult each item was for them. The list then was rated by a sample of diabetes professionals (n = 15) to evaluate the extent of agreement between parents and health care professionals regarding the frequency with which these obstacles occur and the difficulty they pose to everyday diabetes care. Professionals disagreed with parents regarding which obstacles were most common and difficult, generally rating problems as significantly more common and difficult (t = 5.20, P = < .001) than did the parents who experienced them. The results of the survey underscore the importance of health care providers evaluating the concerns of the local patient community when developing educational and treatment services for these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Peer instruction of home glucose monitoring.

During a 2-wk summer camp for insulin-dependent children aged 9-15 yr, a voluntary program of home glucose monitoring using an Ames' Dextrometer was offered. The primary instructors were campers who had mastered the procedure and who, with limited staff assistance, tutored naive campers. By camp's end, 96% of all naive campers had practiced this new home glucose monitoring procedure. Procedural errors were infrequent and decreased as a function of practice. No significant differences were found in error rates as a function of either the age or sex of the user. The data suggest that home glucose monitoring could be incorporated into the treatment regimen of many young patients and that peer instruction is an effective method of introducing the procedure to young children.

Adolescent↗