Fred refuses to speak at school, although he speaks normally at home. His therapist plans out a treatment where Fred is given a gold star every time he answers his teacher, and he can then trade in his stars for prizes. Fred begins speaking in class. The therapist then tells the teacher to stop the program for a couple of weeks. Fred stopped talking during that time. The teacher then starting giving Fred stars again, and Fred again began to talk. This is an example of

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The treatment described in the scenario is an example of an ABAB experimental design study, also known as a reversal design. The therapist first establishes a baseline (A), where Fred refuses to speak in class. Then, the therapist introduces the treatment (B), where Fred receives gold stars for speaking in class. When the treatment is removed (A) and Fred stops speaking in class again, the therapist reintroduces the treatment (B) and again sees that Fred begins speaking in class. This design allows for the therapist to determine if the treatment is effective by comparing behavior during treatment phases to behavior during non-treatment phases.

Fred Refuses to Speak at School, Although He Speaks Normally