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- Title
BRIEF REPORT: CAN CONTINGENT IMITATION REINFORCE TRUCK LIFTING IN A THREE-MONTH-OLD INFANT?
- Authors
Cautilli, Joseph; Dziewolska, Halina
- Abstract
Infant leg lifting is a well-researched operant response and now forms the basis of many childhood activities. Contingent imitation is a process where the trainer often will imitate the activities of the subject and attempt to get an increase in those activities. Gradually in the contingent imitation procedure variation is introduced in an attempt to get the subject to reciprocate the imitation process by incorporating it into the behavioral routine. This study explores the first part of the contingent imitation exercise- can contingent imitation increase trunk lifting in a three-month-old infant. We used an ABA design to explore this phenomenon. In the first phase, the infant was placed on a bed where the number of spontaneous lifts was recorded over a 90 second period. In the next phase the experimenter lay next to the infant and imitated all the infants' motor behavior. Only the number of lifts of the legs raising the trunk was recorded, since it was the easiest behavior to clearly mark occurrence. Contingent on the infants lifting of the legs and trunk, the experimenter would lift their legs and trunk. This was recorded over a 90 second interval. In the final phase, the experimenter left the room for 90 seconds and the number of lifting was recorded. In the baseline phase the infant averaged 3 lifting in a thirty second period, during intervention lifting rate went to approximately an average of 4-lifts/ thirty-minute intervals. In the return to backline phase, the infant averaged 2-lifts/ 30-second intervals. These results support the use of contingent imitation to serve as reinforcement for infants trunk lifting.
- Subjects
IMITATIVE behavior; INFLUENCE; INFANTS; OPERANT behavior; CONDITIONED response
- Publication
Behavior Analyst Today, 2005, Vol 6, Issue 4, p229
- ISSN
1539-4352
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1037/h0100076