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INTERSPERSED REQUESTS: A NONAVERSIVE PROCEDURE FOR REDUCING AGGRESSION AND SELF‐INJURY DURING INSTRUCTION
Author(s) -
Horner Robert H.,
Day H. Michael,
Sprague Jeffrey R.,
O'Brien Michelle,
Heathfield Lora Tuesday
Publication year - 1991
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.1991.24-265
Subject(s) - aggression , psychology , injury prevention , poison control , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , medical emergency , medicine
Interspersed requests are simple commands, with a high likelihood of being followed correctly, that are interspersed among instructional trials to increase the probability that a learner will attempt to perform new or difficult tasks without engaging in aggression or self‐injurious behavior. This report presents two assessments of the effect of interspersed requests on aggression and self‐injury during instruction. The participants were individuals with severe mental retardation who used aggression and self‐injury to avoid difficult instructional situations. Results from both studies indicate that interspersed requests were effective at increasing the responsiveness of the learners to instructions and reducing levels of aggression and self‐injury.