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Slide 1 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ SPHSC 569: ___________________________________ Independent Variables ___________________________________ Identification and Definition ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Slide 2 ___________________________________ Three Types of ___________________________________ Independent Variables ___________________________________ • Subject/Participant or Organismic Variables ___________________________________ • Environmental or Situational Variables ___________________________________ • Instructional Variables ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Slide 3 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Subjects ___________________________________ • Target Population – Clinical and demographic ___________________________________ characteristics • Accessible Population ___________________________________ – Geographic and temporal characteristics • Intended Sample ___________________________________ – Feasibility – Optimize results ___________________________________

Slide 4 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Subject Selection ___________________________________ • Inclusionary Criteria – What characteristics are required ___________________________________ – Be specific • Exclusionary Criteria ___________________________________ – Of those who meet inclusionary criteria, who should be eliminated – Be parsimonious ___________________________________ – Enhance feasibility; reduces generalizability ___________________________________ Slide 5 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Subjects: Major Criteria ___________________________________ • Diagnostic label from a known source (e.g., DSM-Diagnostic ___________________________________ and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, FAS-DPN) ___________________________________ – Agreed upon definition and large body of descriptive literature to support ___________________________________ • Cut-offs on reliable and valid tests/instruments ___________________________________ Slide 6 ___________________________________ Subjects: ___________________________________ Other Characteristics ___________________________________ • Personal Characteristics – Age ___________________________________ – Gender – Family Situation – SES ___________________________________ – Diagnosis • Behavioral Characteristics – Current language/communication skills ___________________________________ – Current cognitive, social, emotional, motor, self-help,etc. related to diagnosis ___________________________________

Slide 7 ___________________________________ Subjects: ___________________________________ Other Characteristics ___________________________________ • Medical/Developmental Characteristics – Medical history (medications) ___________________________________ – Neurological status – Developmental history – Sensory status ___________________________________ – Social/Emotional – Behavioral ___________________________________ – Motor • Experiential Characteristics – Educational background ___________________________________ – Vocational background – Previous therapy-time, duration, degree of success Slide 8 ___________________________________ Environmental or ___________________________________ Situational Variables ___________________________________ • Conditions that alter the environment or situation in an ___________________________________ experiment • Variations in what is done TO , ___________________________________ WITH or BY the participants ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Slide 9 ___________________________________ Environmental or ___________________________________ Situational Variables ___________________________________ • May consist of: – Treatment vs. no treatment ___________________________________ – Treatment A vs. Treatment B) – Providing different amounts of treatment (strength) at different ___________________________________ points in time – Changing length of treatment – Providing qualitatively different ___________________________________ conditions (integrity) at different points in time (variation in antec., conseq. or reinf. sch.) ___________________________________

Slide 10 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Instructional Variables ___________________________________ • Specific type of environmental or situational manipulation ___________________________________ Variation in what participants – are told – are led to believe through verbal ___________________________________ or written statements about the experiment and their participation ___________________________________ Instructional variables are usually aimed at altering the participant’s ___________________________________ perception or evaluation of a situation or condition Slide 11 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Behavioral Approaches • Increasing Behavior ___________________________________ – Reinforcers • Social/verbal • Tokens/points ___________________________________ • Tangibles – Reinforcement Schedules • Fixed ___________________________________ • Intermittent • Decreasing Behavior – Extinction ___________________________________ – DRO – Differential reinforcement of other behavior ___________________________________ – TO – time out from positive reinforcer – Response cost, over correction, fines, restrictions – Physical Pain Slide 12 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Behavioral Approaches ___________________________________ • Fading Instructor Assistance (Billingsley) ___________________________________ – Increasing Assistance (least to most prompts across trials) – Decreasing Assistance (most to ___________________________________ least prompts across trials) – Graduated Guidance (within ___________________________________ trials) – Time Delay (natural + prompt) ___________________________________ – Antecedent Prompt and Test – Antecedent Prompt and Fade

Slide 13 ___________________________________ Threats to Validity of Tx ___________________________________ (Or Sources of Confound) ___________________________________ Consider: • Treatment ___________________________________ • Therapist • Subject ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Slide 14 ___________________________________ Importance of Precision ___________________________________ in Defining Independent Variable ___________________________________ • “Provide operational definitions of the independent variable ___________________________________ appropriate to the study’s theoretical and philosophical orientation” (LeLaurin & ___________________________________ Wolery) ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Slide 15 ___________________________________ Define Critical Features ___________________________________ of the Treatment ___________________________________ • Determine schedule of implementation • Identify and define critical ___________________________________ events/behaviors comprising the intervention (clinician/instructor performance; client performance) ___________________________________ – Quantify these components – Pace/intensity of components ___________________________________ – How often (minutes) • Identify and define efforts to insure “focus” or behavioral control ___________________________________ • Develop a manual

Slide 16 ___________________________________ Define Critical Features ___________________________________ of the Treatment ___________________________________ • How controlled do you need to be in the delivery of treatment ___________________________________ • Procedural Reliability ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________