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AN ASSESSMENT OF ANTECEDENT EVENTS INFLUENCING NONCOMPLIANCE IN AN OUTPATIENT CLINIC
Author(s) -
Call Nathan A.,
Wacker David P.,
Ringdahl Joel E.,
CooperBrown Linda J.,
Boelter Eric W.
Publication year - 2004
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.2004.37-145
Subject(s) - antecedent (behavioral psychology) , novelty , psychology , task (project management) , preference , outpatient clinic , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , statistics , mathematics , management , economics
Several studies have shown that various factors can influence noncompliance, including task novelty, rate of presentation, and task preference. This study examined the impact of selected antecedent variables on noncompliance in an outpatient clinic setting. In two experiments involving 6 typically developing children, the consequences for noncompliance remained constant. During Experiment 1, demands that included noncontingent access to adult attention were contrasted with the same demands that did not include attention within a multielement design. In Experiment 2, demands were altered by decreasing the difficulty or amount of work or providing access to attention. In both experiments, results indicated idiosyncratic responses to the manipulated variables, with decreases in noncompliance observed following introduction of one or more antecedent variables with 5 of the 6 participants. These results suggested that noncompliance can be reduced via changes in antecedent variables, including adding potential positive reinforcers to the task situation, and that it is possible to probe variables that alter noncompliance in an outpatient clinic setting.