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THE FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL FOOD COLORS AND HYPERACTIVITY
Author(s) -
Rose Terry L.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1978.11-439
Subject(s) - psychology , ingestion , placebo , audiology , functional analysis , developmental psychology , medicine , chemistry , biochemistry , alternative medicine , pathology , gene
The presence of a functional relationship between the ingestion of artificial food colors and an increase in the frequency and/or duration of selected behaviors that are representative of the hyperactive behavior syndrome was experimentally investigated. Two eight‐year‐old females, who had been on the Feingold K‐P diet for a minimum of 11 months, were the subjects studied. The experimental design was a variation of the BAB design, with double‐blind conditions. This design allowed an experimental analysis of the placebo phases as well as challenge phases. Data were obtained by trained observers on Out of Seat, On Task, and Physically Aggressive behaviors, as they occurred in the subjects' regular class setting. Results indicated (a) the existence of a functional relationship between the ingestion of artificial food colors and an increase in both the duration and frequency of hyperactive children.