Case Study Project

Infant and Toddler Care : Case Study Project

Lesson 5 Overview

Although several important principles are discussed in your text, one in particular is the
principle of trust. For this project, you’ll read a case study and respond to each of the
questions in paragraph format. Each response must demonstrate thoughtful knowledge of
the core concepts discussed in the text.

5.1 Evaluate a scenario involving a parent dropping off a child at a child
care center
Case Study Project
READING ASSIGNMENT
Your project must be submitted as a Word document (.docx, .doc) or Rich Text Format file (.rtf)*. Your
project will be individually graded by your instructor and therefore may take up to five to seven days to
grade. Be sure that your document contains a Title Page indicating the following information:

Project Name/Title of Paper
Your name
Your student ID number
Name of School
The course number and name
Project number
Date of submission

To submit your graded project, follow these steps:

Log in to your student portal.
Click on Take Exam next to the lesson you’re working on.
Find the exam number for your project at the top of the Project Upload page.
Follow the instructions provided to complete your exam.

Be sure to keep a backup copy of any files you submit to the school!

Infant and Toddler Care

Introduction

Infant and Toddler Care (v2) : Lesson 5 : Page 1© 2021 Penn Foster Inc.

For this project, review the concepts in your textbook Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers: A
Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive Care and Education, by Janet Gonzalez-Mena and
Dianne Widmeyer Eyer. In particular, pay attention to the concepts presented in Chapters 5–
11.

Although there are several important principles discussed in your text, one in particular is the
principle of trust. For this project, you’ll read a case study included in your textbook on page
104 and write an essay reflecting on the importance of building trust in relationships with
infants and toddlers. The essay must demonstrate thoughtful knowledge of the core
concepts discussed in the text. It may be necessary to conduct outside research to further
support your responses and understanding of the core concepts.

Case Study

Go to page 104 of your textbook and read The Principles in Action on Principle 9. This case
study outlines a scenario where a child (Cameron) is being left in child care for the first time.
As you’re reading the scenario, think about how you would handle the situation if you were
the child’s parent and how you would handle the situation as the caregiver in the child’s
classroom.

Essay

After reading through the case study, you’ll write an essay that addresses the following
questions in separate paragraphs of 4–6 sentences each. No bulleted or number lists should
be included in the essay. Remember to include an introduction and conclusion paragraph.

Write responses to the following questions. Each response should be at least 4–6 sentences
in length.

1. When Cameron realized her mother was gone, she became somewhat inconsolable.
Reflecting on what was learned throughout the course, what attachment behavior(s) is
Cameron experiencing and why?

2. How do you feel about Cameron’s mother leaving the classroom while her daughter was
distracted? How might this affect Cameron’s development of a sense of trust and what
problems may occur in the future?

3. If you were the caregiver in Cameron’s classroom how would you address the situation

Infant and Toddler Care (v2) : Lesson 5 : Page 2© 2021 Penn Foster Inc.

with the mother? How could you support attachment and the development of trust
between Cameron and her mother and you (the caregiver) and Cameron?

4. Chapter 11 discussed caregivers’ responses to children’s separation anxiety issues. It’s
important for caregivers to cope with emotions and to understand how to manage
separation anxiety, so they can be most effective in helping the children. How did you
learn to deal with separation anxiety issues?

Writing Guidelines

1. Type your submission, double-spaced, in a standard print font and size. Calibri 11, Arial
11, and Times New Roman 12 are all recommended fonts and sizes. Use a standard
document format with one-inch margins.

2. Include a Title Page in APA format that includes your full name, the name and number
of this assignment, the name and number of this course, the name of the school, and
the date of submission. Refer to the Sample APA Paper for ECE Students on the Early
Childhood Learning Resource Center.

3. Be sure to cite all sources used to support your writing using in-text citations in the body
of your essay and a References page at the end; use APA format for both.

4. Review the grading rubric that follows this section to ensure all portions of the
assignment are satisfied.

5. You’re encouraged to access and review the course resources available on the Early
Childhood College Programs and Courses Learning Resource Center for additional
guidance on completing this
assignment: https://pflibrary.pennfoster.edu/earlychildhoodcenter/college (pflibrary.penn
foster.edu/earlychildhoodcenter/college) .

To learn how to cite sources in APA format, please review all available APA resources on the
Early Childhood Learning Resource
Center https://pflibrary.pennfoster.edu/earlychildhoodcenter/college (pflibrary.pennfoster.edu/
earlychildhoodcenter/college) .

Grading Criteria

Your final project will be graded according to the following rubric.

Infant and Toddler Care (v2) : Lesson 5 : Page 3© 2021 Penn Foster Inc.

Case Study Project

Grading Criteria Exemplary100–90
Proficient

89–80
Fair

79–70
Poor
69–0

Introduction: The introductory paragraph introduces
the reader to the setting presented in the case study
and highlights the importance of building trust in
relationships with infants and toddlers.

10–8 8–7 7–6 6–0

Paragraph 2: The student provides a clear
explanation of at least one attachment behavior the
child is exhibiting and rationale for why that behavior
is present. The student’s rationale is supported by
the course text and/or outside research.

15–14 14–13 13–12 12–0

Paragraph 3: The student provides a clear
explanation of his or her feelings towards the use of
distraction at departure and the effect such practices
can have on the development of a child’s sense of
trust. The student’s explanation is supported by the
course text and/or outside research.

20–19 19–17 17–15 15–0

Paragraph 4: The student identifies ways to
appropriately and supportively address the situation
with Cameron’s mother. The student identifies and
explains ways to support attachment and the
development of trust between Cameron and her
mother and Cameron and the student. The student’s
explanation is supported by the course text and/or
outside research.

20–19 19–17 17–15 15–0

Paragraph 5: The student provides a clear
explanation of how they learned to deal with
separation anxiety issues.

15–14 14–13 13–12 12–0

Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes what was
learned from the experience and how it can be
applied to future work.

10–8 8–7 7–6 6–0

Overall Formatting and Mechanics: Grammar,
spelling, and format are appropriate, including
components of APA and professionalism.

10–8 7–6 5–4 3–0

Infant and Toddler Care (v2) : Lesson 5 : Page 4© 2021 Penn Foster Inc.

1

Ford Motor Company’s Strategic Plan

John Smith
BUS 402 Strategic Management & Business Policy

Instructor Dr. Ronald Beach
June 19, 2020

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 2

Ford Motor Company’s Strategic Plan

Executive Summary

Company History

Mission Statement

Ford’s mission statement, according to Corporate Ford (2019), is “One Team. One Plan.
One Goal […] One Ford is Fords motor Company’s mission and vision” (para. 1). The
statement is concise, easy to remember, unique and incorporates the importance of the people,
goal and plan, but it does not contain the four especial questions in their mission statement as

Ford Motor Company has a long history of innovation, quality, and cutting-edge
technology and brand recognition that has become a household name around the world. Henry
Ford started his journey as an automaker 1896 with a four-cylinder Quadracycle on four
bicycle wheels. Ford founded the Detroit Automobile Company eighteen months later; the
company ended in bankruptcy. Moving his talents, knowledge, and experience to the second
innovative company, Ford founded another automotive company in 1901, which was called
the Henry Ford Company. This company would then fail, and later become Cadillac, one of
Ford’s major competitors (Henry Ford Biography, n.d.).

Investing $28,000, in June of 1903, Henry Ford and twelve others founded the
formattable Ford Motor Company in Dearborn Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Also
incorporated the same year, Ford sought to produced affordable cars for the average working
man as they were inexpensive to manufacture (Ford Motor Company Timeline, 2019).
According to Henry Ford’s obituary (1947) Starting with the Ford Model A one month after
incorporating, the Ford Motor Company produced the most affordable and serviceable cars
during his tenure. The Model A base model sold for a whopping base price was $850.00 (Ford
Motor Company, 2019c).

After the Model A was produced, Ford’s next innovation was the Model T, manufactured
in Highland Park, another suburb of Detroit in 1908 also priced at $850.00. In 1909, 10,666
Model T’s were produced (Tomac, Radonja & Bonato, 2019). In 1913 Ford’s state of the art
assembly line reduced the cost of the Model T to just $300.00 (Ford Motor Company, 2019c),
and in 1921 the same Model T was only $200.00 (Link, 2018), this was due to an upgraded
assembly line and consolidation of parts. Although the public mocked the early models
because they were not made for the elitists, the Ford Motor Company “Became the greatest
automobile manufacturer in the World” (Henry Ford obituary, 1947, p. 399). Ford models
were regarded as poor people’s cars, but the laugh was on them, as people were buying them
“By the thousands” (Henry Ford obituary, 1947, p. 399). Ford Motor Company’s products
over the next hundred years include trucks, WWI, and WWII military vehicles such as boats,
tractors, tanks, and airplanes. Ford also mass-produced Lincoln and Mercury luxury vehicles,
race cars, the famous Mustang, economical cars, minivans, SUVs, hybrid and electric cars, as
well as the favorite F-series trucks (Ford Motor Company, 2019b). In 1959 Ford founded the
credit department (Ford Motor Company Timeline 2019), which provides financing to its
buyers and lessees, as well as mobility services; a smart connectivity program provides
transportation networks to urban areas (Reuters, 2019).

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 3

it does not present what they do, how it’s done and for whom, nor does it express the benefit
or value the organization brings (Hull, 2014).

Analysis
Ford is an automotive manufacturer which is not stated. As Abraham (2012) expressed,

“The mission does not differentiate the company from other firms” (sec. 2.1); this
differentiation is essential to the mission statement, as it must state what Ford does. There is
no mention of the product or service that is offered. Although the company works together,
and this could be a partial answer to what they do, but it is too broad and assumed. Ford’s
mission statement does not reveal how they do it, although that they do it as one. Ford’s
customers are global dealers, distributors, and the end-user which is the buyer of the vehicle.
This mission statement does not identify Ford’s customers. The target market should be
defined in the strategic analysis and revealed in the mission (Martin, Cowburn & Mac Intosh,
2017). Ford brings a vehicle that will change the lives of its customers, workforce, community,
and the world, but the mission statement does not express the value they bring to other than
working together for the common goal.

Using the Fortune 500 five-star rating system, Ford’s mission statement would score one
star, as the statement does not encompass the company. The statement is vague and does not
include the industry, or products they produce, nor does it define the customers, how they are
providing their products or the value they offer. Although once researched, the “One Ford”
mission and value statement did reveal that Ford’s strategy is one plan to lower variability in
the parts used to manufacture its cars and compete in one world market. According to
IBISWorld (2019), One Ford’s purpose was to streamline “Ford’s global design and
production by sharing designs, platforms and parts for Ford vehicles sold in different regions”
(sec. 2, para. 2). After examination of the Ford website, governance policies, and sustainability
report the mission statement was nowhere to be found. It should be integrated into every
website, flyer, policy, and the sustainability report as the mission statement should drive the
progress of the company.

Situational Analysis
Current Situation

The Ford Motor Company is a multi-billion-dollar global company that manufactures
autimobiles, mobility, and a credit-issuing company and has been in business for over one
hundred years. Ford’s headquarters located in Dearborn, Michigan and employed over 199,000
people globally at the end of 2018 and is the number one American automobile producer.
Ford, designs, manufactures, markets, and services; cars, trucks, SUVs, Lincoln luxury
vehicles, as well as parts and accessories. Ford also provides financing to its buyers and
lessees, as well as mobility services; a smart connectivity program provides transportation
networks to urban areas (Reuters, 2019). The mobility programs that will connect drivers with
parking locations, alternative traffic routes, and rideshare, this service will connect with the
autonomous cars once in production. As the front runner of electric performance vehicle/SUV
such as the Mustang, which debuted November 21, 2019, and is in the process of transforming
trucks to electric power as well. Today the lowest price car that Ford Motor Company offers is
the Fiesta, with a base price of approximately $14,000, and in the first quarter of 2019,
15,943 units were produced (Cruz, 2019).

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 4

SWOT Analysis

The purpose of the SWOT analysis is to assess the company’s strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats. This is done by listing external and internal factors that affect the
company, determine alternative strategies, and mitigate threats (David, David & David, 2017).

Ford’s SWOT Analysis
Environment
Opportunity Threat

The Ford Motor Company is the highest revenue yielding automotive company in the
United States. As the leader of the “Big Three,” Ford Motor Company has remained successful
over the last century, and was the only company that did not pursue funding from the $85
billion governmental bailouts of 2009. These bailouts were the “Largest government bailout of
a nonfinancial industry in modern history” (Wollmann, 2018, p. 1374). The Ford Motor
Company’s 2019 revenue is 158 billion (Mergent, 2019). Ford’s top U. S. competitors are;
General Motors (GM) with 144.81 billion revenue (Deloitte & Touche LLP., 2019), and Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) 110.4 billion revenue (Ernst & Young S.p.A., 2018). Ford’s
household name, known for its steadfast force of serviceable, high-quality, and affordable cars,
trucks, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has remained strong over its tenure.

(Gale Business Insights: Global, 2019)

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 5

Strengths
 A technology leader for over 100 years
 The brand is an industry tradition which presents strong customer loyalty
 High revenue in the U.S. automobile market
 A competitive edge on autonomous and electric performance vehicles
 Financial health overall is strong

Weaknesses
 Recall costs for 2018 were 147.7 billion
 Business strategies must change to accommodate autonomous and

environmentally friendly cars
Opportunities
 Collaboration with Volkswagon to build smart and autonomous vehicles
 The demand for smart cars combined with Ford’s well-known brand will

create greater loyalty
 The U. S. automotive market is the second in the world and Ford is a top

competitor
 Creating a more conclusive global strategy
 An innovative contribution to yet again change the world
 By changing the business strategy, sales will increase in the global market

Threats
 The aggressive race for technology between competitors
 Advancing technology may be difficult to integrate
 Global issues; exchange rates, tariffs, no brand recognition
 Governmental regulation has raised operational costs and lowered profit

C
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pa
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S
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Technology leader

Brand recognition and loyalty

High revenue stream

Completive edge – Innovative
vehicles

Financial health

Rapidly advancing technology

Oil price instability

Innovative process changes

W
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s

Product recalls

Changing business strategy

Debt

Global market

Changes in government policy

Fierce competitors

Supply chain

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 6

 Supply chain interruptions have plagued Ford over the last

S.W.O.T. Summary
As environmental and atmospheric changes are developing, so too is the influence

society brings to decreasing the environmental impact of the people in the world. The demand
and need to change gas-guzzling vehicles, into innovative low environmental impacting
machines. Today technology is changing rapidly, but Ford has stepped across the finish line
as according to the article Autonomous Vehicles (2019), “In 2018, Ford became the first
automotive manufacturer to pilot autonomous vehicles in Washington, DC” (para. 3), and is
working on electric cars as well. Ford has joined forces with Volkswagen to advance
autonomous automobiles and develop electric vehicles (Autonomous Vehicles, 2019). Ford is
now the first to mass-produce cars, the first in autonomous vehicle production and has proven
it has a competitive edge. Although they are not in mass production, autonomous vehicles and
electric cars are the wave of the future, and Ford, GM, FCA, and every other U. S. competitor
is racing to the finish line.

There were several threats found in Ford’s SWOT analysis, such as oil price instability,
governmental regulations, rapidly advancing technology, and fierce competition, as every
automotive company is competing for zero-emissions vehicles. Oil instability has always been
a problem; the automotive world is still trying to play catchup with these fluctuations. Another
threat is changing governmental regulations. But, new environmental regulations will be added
as chemicals are used in the batteries, and to store them. These chemicals are corrosive, and
will ultimately leak, allowing them into the atmosphere. Global expansion produces other
governmental and environmental regulations.

Another threat of doing business globally is foreign currency rates; the translation costs
are higher than expected. Ford faced a supply chain interruption, last year a fire erupted at the
Meridian Magnesium Products plant; this plant three critical parts for the F-series trucks.
Resulting in almost nearly 8,00 layoffs, a shutdown production of an estimated 35,000
vehicles costing Ford $1.6 billion in lost revenue (Foley, 2018). Taking into consideration that
Ford is an industry leader in technology, with a global presence and an excellent reputation
and impressive revenue stream, the opportunities for environmentally-friendly vehicles will
alter business as they know it in the future. Opportunities such as introducing alternative fuels
and smart cars will also be a challenge as it is doing business differently than it has been done
over the last 100 years.

Contingency Plan
As the currency exchange rate continues to be volatile, Ford should investigate

manufacturing in more host countries, and utilizing local suppliers; this will maintain the same
exchange rates (Abraham, 2012). Research opportunities to mitigate volatile currency
exchange rates (i.e., joint ventures, acquisitions, forward exchange rate contracts and variable
prices) (Lander, 2016). Unpredictability in oil prices are a constant concern, but the hybrid,
alternative fuel, and electric vehicles are the contingency plan for this risk. Once these vehicles
are mass-produced, oil instability will no longer be a threat. To drive the Ford brand, it must
also ramp up the advertisement in the host countries to drive the Ford brand as well as
continue to develop alternative fuel vehicles, smart cars, and autonomous automobiles.

To mitigate supply issues generated by the fire, Ford must find alternative suppliers to
step in when another supplier drops the ball; this is done by having a few key suppliers that
distribute parts and diversify suppliers. Ford could also add to the strategic plan to seek other
suppliers so that this trigger or contingency will not be required; furthermore, the company

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 7

could store supplies, build up six to eight months supply as part of their strategic plan, and
then implement the contingency once the inventory drops to 30%. As mentioned above, the
trigger is an external supplier, specific, and quotative as the chemicals are delayed for six
months, the trigger is when the manager learns that the needed supplies will be delayed
(Abraham, 2012). As always, the contingency plan must be reviewed at least annually.

Environmental Scan and Porter’s 5 Forces

The environmental scan revealed that the challenges Ford faces are new technology,
moving away from the traditional automotive industry, to utilizing alternative fuels, moving to
all-electric popular vehicles such as the Mustang and F-150 trucks, to smart vehicles, and
autonomous cars (Ford, 2019). Ford’s competitors such as GM touts, they are “The only
company with a fully integrated solution to produce self-driving vehicles, at scale” (General
Motors, n.d., p. 1). Tesla is also an upcoming competitor that has built its first all-electric car
in 2008, which has become best in class (Tesla, 2019). The environmental scan demonstrates
that Porter’s five-forces model aids in Ford’s understanding of its competitive position as the
rivalry of competitors are fierce amongst automakers, which means there is little profit margin,
especially automobiles manufactured in the United States of America.

Ford’s environmental analysis revealed fierce competition and that rivalry drives the
following four forces of Porter’s model which effects buyer bargaining power; this requires
the supplier or seller to lower the profit margin to sell the product (Abraham, 2012). Most
automotive manufacturing in the U.S. is approximate in size and delineates little in variation;
thus, industry growth is slow, and barriers are high (Porter, 2008). Rivalry among the
automakers lowers profitability by forcing the company to lower prices, increase advertising,
and create distinctive vehicles, all of these expenses reduce the profit margin. One example of
Ford Motor Company’s sustainable innovation, was its history of mass-production, and has
now entered the mass-production race to manufacture electric vehicles (Azadi & Rahimzadeh,
2012).

The Ford Motor Company has created a brand that reduces buyer’s bargaining power, as
an emotional connection has been created; customers are loyal to its brand, and will buy that
brand even though the price may be slightly higher (Kwan, 2018). The bargaining power of
suppliers can be mitigated by utilizing multiple suppliers and not just put its eggs in one
basket. According to Mergent (2018), Ford’s form 10k “We purchase a wide variety of raw
materials from numerous suppliers around the world for use in the production of our vehicles”
(p. 7). Ford, GM, and FCA have faced many new entrants from the global industry, and these
entrants receive a higher profit margin and can lower their price points, which has burdened
the U.S. automakers over the last several years. Ford contributes to the threat of entrants as the
company has brand loyalty, experience in the industry, supply connections, capital, and
resources. The final concept in Porter’s forces revealed by the environmental scan, is the high
risk of substitution, as competition is high and automobiles do not vary, customers may choose
another brand. Ford has created a brand that is dependable, easy to service, and reasonably
priced, the customers loyal to the brand will keep them buying, and the threat of substitution is
low in the U. S. Although this is true in the U. S. the global market does not hold the loyalties
of domestic buyers. Ford’s U. S. brand loyal customers consistently buy, but if a bargain does
come along, they will weigh the options, including their emotional comfort, before buying
another brand.

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 8

International Performance

Ford Motor Company is a global organization that manufactures automobiles in North
and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific (Ford Media Center,
2019). As automobile manufacturing exceeds the demand globally, Ford has not maintained a
profitable price point and a prolonged period of this situation, according to Mergent (2018),
“Could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations”
(p. 19). Below is the operating profit margin of Ford’s global market.

(Ford Motor Company, 2019c)

Above are Ford’s operating margins for the last six quarters, 2018 and 2019. The
operating profit margin is the Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) divided by the total
revenue. The higher percentage rate means higher profitability, and at the end of the third
quarter, Ford’s operating margin was 8.6%; this means that there is only $0.086 operating
profit for every $1 of revenue in the North American market. South America came in at
(15.9%), Europe (2.8%), Middle East and Africa (4.4%), and Asia Pacific (1.9%). The global
operating margins are in the negative. Thus far, it appears that Ford’s global strategy is not
working and must be reexamined. The foreign exchange rates are volatile, and this risk
“Cannot be avoided” (Abraham, 2012, sec. 11.2). The alternative is to reevaluate the strategies
in place to create more revenue and reduce costs. Foreign currency translation cost Ford $4.8
billion in 2018, which contributed to a deficit of $2.2 billion, earnings before interest and taxes
(EBIT) in South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific (Mergent, 2018).
Monetary exchange rates are one of the risks that every corporation performing business
globally will face, as they are unstable, to say the least.

Operational Planning

Financial Performance

As mentioned above, Ford Motor Company’s financial health has been at a gradual climb
since 2009, with a few dips; as you can see below, September 30, 2019, the revenue drop was
8%. PricewaterhouseCoopers (2019) expects the trend to stay constant, and the Earnings
Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) is anticipated to be
$12,613.00 in the first quarter of 2021, although with the release of the all-electric Mustang
the trend could go straight up.

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 9

(Gale Business Insights: Global, 2019)

(Mergent, 2018)
Ford’s liquidity or current Ratio is 1.2, which means that the company has positive

capital sufficient to satisfy short-term liabilities. The Inventory turnover rate is 12.68 which
means that every 29 days the inventory stock turns over. Ford’s return on assets (ROA) is
1.43, and the return on equity (ROE) is 10.38. ROA and ROE measure how effectively assets
and equity are being used, and the numbers show that they are using debt, assets, and equity
adequately. Ford’s Debt-to-Equity Ratio is 4.3; this means that the company’s debt is high, as
for each dollar of equity, there is four dollars debt. Although the debt to equity ratio is high,
the ROE is greater than the ROA, which means that Ford is increasing overall earnings by
using its borrowing effectively. Although the total revenue has improved, the total costs and
expenses have also increased resulting in the third-lowest net income in three years.

The outlook in the global industryperformance has declined recently but is estimated to
be flat in 2019, compared to the 2018 volumes sold (Mergent, 2018). After assessing the Ford
Motor Company’s financials, overall, the financial health of the company is robust, extremely
well managed, and the financial condition proves they are performing exceptionally to date
(Abraham, 2012).

Operational Budget and Assessment

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 10

An organization’s condition is demonstrated by its financial health, and analyzing the
financial statements. These statements provide a financial picture that illustrates the
organizations’ performance at specific periods of time, such as annually, quarterly or monthly.
The visual representation of the financial statements allows the organization to see trends that
may affect company progress, and quickly move to correct negative trends. Below is an
estimated budget for the current quarter and the next, a trend analysis, as well as a simple
balance sheet, and a ratio chart that analyzes the financial health of Ford. The estimated
working capital is determined by subtracting the current liabilities, Ford’s working capital for
this quarter is 16.7 billion, and next quarter is projected to be 15.3 billion; this lower estimate
is due to the current assets steadily declining since the first quarter of 2019.

[Prior Quarter]

Budget
Projection Next

Q

Var +/-

Var %
Revenue

Sales Revenue 36,990,000,000 36,600,000,000 (390,000,000) (1.05)

Interest Income N/A – 0

Investment Income N/A –

0

Other Income N/A 350,000,000 350,000,000 100

TOTAL INCOME 36,990,000,000 36,950,000,000 (40,000,000) (1.08)

[Prior Quarter]

Budget
Projection Next

Q
Var +/- Var %

Costs and Expenses

Salaries 2,601,000,000 2,615,000,000 14,000,000 .54

Supplies 33,969,000,000 34,029,595,000 60,595,000 .18

Insurance N/A

Rent/Lease Payments 400,000,000 304,400,000 (95,600) (24)

Interest Expenses 1,000,000 1,000,000 0 0

TOTAL
EXPENSES 36,971,000,000 36,949,995,000 (21,005,000) (.06)

NET
PROFIT/LOSS (19,000,000) 5,000 (18,995,000) (.05)

Net Earnings Before
Taxes (Gain or Loss) (19,000,000) 5,000 (18,995,000) 99.97

Income Tax
Expense

442,000,000

1,250 (441,998,750) (99.99)

Net Earnings After
Taxes 423,000,000 3,750 (422,996,250) (99.99)

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 11

Ford Motor Company
(In Millions)

Estimated Next
Quarter

September 30, 2018 Percentage of
Change

Total Current Assets 114,700 115,754 (.9)
Total Assets 258,300 258,157 .05
Total Current Liabilities 99,400 99,087 .316
Total Liabilities 223,000 222,770 .15
Total Equity 35,000 35,387 (1.11)
Retained Earnings 21,000 22,590 (7.5)
Total liabilities & equity 751,000 753,749 (.365)

Ford Financial Health

(In Millions except NPM & ROA 12/18, and ROE 9/18) Ratio
Ratios 12/30/18 9/30/18 12/18 9/18 Ideal

Current
Ratio 114,700/99,400 115,754 /99,087 1.15 1.17 1.0 >
Total-asset
turnover 36,600/258,300 36,990/258,157 .14 .14 0.5 <
Debt-to-
equity ratio 223,000/ 35,000 222,770/35,387 6.37 6.30 2.0<
Net profit
margin 3,750/36,990,000,000 423,000/36,600 0.0010138 1155.7 5 >
Return on
assets 3,750/258,300,000,000 423,000 /258,157 0.0000014 1.64 10 >
Shareholder
Equity 258,300-223,000 258,157-222,770 35,300 35,387
Return on
equity 423/35,300

3,750
/35,387,000,000 1.2 0.0001 10 >

The Ford Motor Company’s ratios demonstrate its financial health. According to the ratio
chart above the 2018 last quarter revealed a current ratio of 1.15, which is favorable, as it is
greater than one, and working capital was positive in both quarters revealing that Ford’s
liquidity is 1.5/1.7 times more assets than liabilities, and can meet its short-term obligations.
The automotive industry average is 1.58, which is slightly higher; therefore, Ford’s short-term
liabilities will take longer to settle than its average competitor (CSI Market Inc., 2019). The
total asset turnover ratio of 0.14; this means that for every dollar in assets generates $0.14 of
revenue. The ratio is below the industry standard of 1.02 (CSI Market Inc., 2019), which
indicates that Ford is less efficient than its competitors, revealing that it needs to invest more
to deliver more revenue. Ford’s leverage is high, as its debt-to-equity ratio is 6.37, revealing
that creditors’ funding is unequal to Ford’s input.

To determine profitability and efficiency, the following ratios and analysis will reveal the
effectiveness of management. Ford’s net profit margin (NPM) dropped from the third quarter
to the last quarter as the last quarter did not include an income tax benefit of 42 million,
revealing a NPM of $0.01, which means that Ford’s net income is less than one cent per dollar
of its revenue. Profitability ratios are ROA and ROE. The ROA was also below .01% which
means for every dollar the company invests, there is a less than 0 return; this is less than the
industry standard of 4.47% (CSI Market Inc., 2019). The ROE is the return that Ford earns on

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 12

its shareholder equity is 1.2%, which is considerably below the industry standard of 14.67%
(CSI Market Inc., 2019).

According to the estimated budget, the financial health of the Ford Motor Company is
weak, as many of the ratios are low, for the history of the company and below industry
standards. Ford’s asset turnover is low, creating a $0.86 revenue deficit for each dollar of
assets which reveals it cannot keep up with the efficiency of its competition. When comparing
Ford to the industry standards, the deficiency of its dollar declines to $0.88; this means that
Ford’s competition generates $0.88 more revenue. Ford’s debt is high, as for each dollar of
equity, there is $6.37 debt, and compared to the industry standard of $0.36, its debt is
exceptionally high, revealing that Ford’s debt management is abortive, as its competitors start
with a $6.01 lead. Ford’s profitability ratios are also low, revealing that it is not as efficient as
its competitors, as the return on equity is approximately $13.00 less than the industry
standards. Although the Ford Motor Company is the highest revenuing U. S. based company,
the industry standards show that it is not being managed well, and its financial health is
unsatisfactory. It is imperative that Ford creates an aggressive, comprehensive strategic plan or
its legacy will be just a memory.

Strategic Goals: Core Strategies and Tactics
Strategic Goals

In January of 2019, Ford committed to reforming global operations, as well as strengthen
North America (Ford Media Center, 2019). Ford has changed its strategy to generate more
sales globally by hiring a global advertising company and will put in place a tier two
advertising campaign. This will broadcast local deals in these regional global markets to bring
more attention to Ford’s already known brand. Another strategy that Ford will be focusing on,
is replacing its existing lineup in the U. S. and utilizing common parts between the different
models to streamline and reduce production time (Ford Motor Company, 2019c). Ford’s more
agile marketing model, restructuring production line, reducing inefficiencies, and offering
cutting-edge designs will increase revenue and decrease costs, and will transform its global
presence, and become the world’s most trusted company.

Today more than ever, people are trying to find ways to contribute to environmental
sustainability, and with Ford’s hybrids, electric vehicles, and smart cars, they will be able to
enjoy the performance while saving the planet. Ford estimates that during the 21st-century,
transportation will look very different from the traditional gas-fired automobiles of yesteryear
(Hughes-Cromwick, 2011). As environmental and atmospheric changes are developing, so too
is the influence society brings to decreasing the environmental impact of the people in the
world. Today technology is changing rapidly, but Ford has stepped across the finish line, as
according to the article Autonomous Vehicles (2019), “In 2018, Ford became the first
automotive manufacturer to pilot autonomous vehicles in Washington, D.C.” (para. 3), and is
working on electric cars as well as collaborating with Volkswagen to advance autonomous
vehicles (Autonomous Vehicles, 2019). Ford is now the first car mass producer and will be the
first in autonomous car production and has proven it has a competitive edge. Although they are
not in mass production autonomous vehicles and electric cars are the wave of the future, and
Ford, GM, FCA, and every other competitor is racing to the finish line.

FORD’S STRATEGIC PLAN 13

Prioritized Core Strategies

Campbell Essential Biology, Seventh Edition, and Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology, Sixth Edition

Chapter 14

How Biological

Diversity Evolves

Campbell Essential Biology, Seventh Edition, and Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology, Sixth Edition

Chapter 15

The Evolution of Microbial Life

Campbell Essential Biology, Seventh Edition, and Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology, Sixth Edition

Chapter 16

The Evolution of Plants and Fungi

Campbell Essential Biology, Seventh Edition, and Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology, Sixth Edition

Chapter 17

The Evolution of Animals

Persuasion and Influence
in American Life

Seventh Edition

Woodward-Denton 7E.book Page i Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:03 PM

Woodward-Denton 7E.book Page ii Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:03 PM

Persuasion and Influence
in American Life

Seventh Edition

Gary C. Woodward
College of New Jersey

Robert E. Denton, Jr.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

WAVELAND

PRESS, INC.
Long Grove, Illinois

Woodward-Denton 7E.book Page iii Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:03 PM

For information about this book, contact:
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Woodward-Denton 7E.book Page v Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:03 PM

Contents

Preface xiii

1 Persuasion and Influence 1
The Necessity and Challenge of Persuasion 4
Persuasion Defined 4
Five Introductory Settings 8

The Unanticipated Effects of Selling Inclusion 8
Doubt and Influence in the Jury Room 9
Advocating Dangerous Forms of Religion 11
A Campus Food Fight 13

Persuasion in Everyday Life 14
What These and Other Persuasion Settings Suggest 16

Persuasion is as much about sources as messages. 16
Persuasion is measured by its effects on others. 16
Persuasion is enormously difficult. 16
Even minimal effects can be important. 18
Persuasion can easily stray toward the arts of deception. 19
Persuasion outcomes are not very predictable. 19

Three Types of Communication 20
Pure Information 20
Pure Expression 21
Pure Persuasion 21

Summary 22
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 23
 ADDITIONAL READING 24

v

vi  Contents

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2 The Advocate in an Open Society 27
Freedom of Expression and Its Limits 28
Subduing Advocacy in a One-Party State 30
Weighing the Value of Public Opinion 32

“Man Is the Measure of All Things.” 34
Individual Freedom and the American Experience 35
The Technological Push toward Openness 38

How “Open” Is American Society? 39
Governmental Controls 39
Corporate Controls 41

Summary 44
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 45
 ADDITIONAL READING 47

3 The Advocate and the Management of Symbols 49
The Nature of Language 51

Signs 51
Symbols 52
Meaning 52
Functions of Language 55

Language, Interaction, and Reality 59
The Creation of Reality through Interaction 59
Self as a Product of Interaction with Others 60
Society as a Product of Interaction with Others 60

Political Uses of Language 61
Functions of Political Language 62
Strategic Uses of Political Language 64
Common Political Language Devices 68

The Changing Nature of Public and Political Discourse 73
Summary 76
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 77
 ADDITIONAL READING 78

PART I
Origins of Persuasive Practice 25

Contents  vii

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4 Persuasion and Reasoning 81
Understanding Practical Arguments: Key Distinctions 83

Analytic Arguments and Practical Enthymemes 84
Demonstration and Argumentation 87
Factual and Judgmental Claims 88
Implied and Stated Components of Arguments 90
Reasoning to Discover and to Defend 91
Finding Good Reasons for Claims 91
The Most Common Error of Reasoning Analysis:

The Alleged Logic–Emotion Distinction 92

Common Forms of Defective Reasoning 93
Ad Hominem 94
False Cause 94
Non Sequitur 95
Circular Argument 96
Fallacy of Oversimplification 97
Excessive Dependence on Authority 98

How Persuasion and Logical Argumentation Differ 98
Denial Often Defeats Reasoning 98
Persuasion’s “Self-Interest” and Argumentation’s “Public Interest” 100

Summary 102
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 103
 ADDITIONAL READING 103

5 Theories and Models of Source Credibility 105
The Three Meanings of “Credibility” 107

Ethos as Good Character 108
The Rational/Legal Ideal of Credibility 109
Source Credibility as Believability 112

Credibility as Authority: Strategic Dimensions 116
Legitimation 116
Mystification 118
Anonymity and Identity Concealment 119
Two-Step Flow 120
Source/Placebo Suggestion 121
Authoritarianism and Acquiescence 122

Summary 125
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 126
 ADDITIONAL READING 127

PART II
Four Perspectives on the Nature of Persuasion 79

viii  Contents

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6 The Mind in Persuasion 129
Cognitive Elements Affecting Persuasion 130

Beliefs 131
Attitudes 131
Values 134
How These Elements Work Together 134

Essential Theories and Models of Persuasion 135
Stimulus-Response Theory 135
Inoculation Theory 136
Attribution Theory 138
Consistency Theory I: Theory of Cognitive Dissonance 140
Consistency Theory II: Theory of Induced Discrepant Behavior 143
The Boomerang Effect 144
Social Judgment Theory 146
Elaboration Likelihood Theory 148
The Motivated Sequence 152
Theory of Motivated Reasoning 153

Summary 153
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 154
 ADDITIONAL READING 155

7 Persuasion, Audiences, and Social Learning 157
A Conceptual Baseline: Social Learning 159
Audiences: The Generative Forces of Persuasion 160

The Challenge of Finding Homogenous Audiences 161
Is There a Common Center? 162

The Audience Analysis Process 163
The Principle of Identification 164
Universal Commonplaces 165
Audience-Specific Norms 167

Advocates, Messages, and Audiences 170
Believing in Our Words 170
High Credibility/High Agreement Persuasion 172
High Credibility/Low Agreement Persuasion 172
Low Credibility/High Agreement Persuasion 173
Low Credibility/Low Agreement Persuasion 174

Summary: The Ethics of Adaptation 175
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 176
 ADDITIONAL READING 177

Contents  ix

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8 Interpersonal Persuasion 181
Dimensions of Interpersonal Communication 183
Variables of Interpersonal Persuasion 184

Verbal Characteristics 184
Nonverbal Characteristics 185
Power and Control 189
Compliance-Seeking Messages 190
Conflict 194
Gender Differences 199
Culture and Diversity 202
Leadership 204

Contexts of Interpersonal Persuasion 207
Organizations 207
Sales 213
Interviews 217

Summary 219
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 220
 ADDITIONAL READING 221

9 Public and Mass Persuasion 223
Public Communication and Persuasion 224

Characteristics of Public Communication 225
Public Opinion and Persuasion 226

Persuasive Campaigns 229
Product or Commercial Campaigns 230
Public Relations Campaigns 230
Political Campaigns 232
Issue Campaigns 234

Social Movements 244
Characteristics 244
Persuasive Functions 246
Life Cycle 247
Leadership 248
Resistance to Social Movements 249

Campaign Implementation 250
Summary 251
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 252
 ADDITIONAL READING 253

PART III
The Contexts of Persuasion 179

x  Contents

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10 Advertising as Persuasion 255
Advertising Today 256

Expenditures 256
Celebrity Endorsements 257
Cross Selling 258

What Is Advertising? 259
The Evolution of Advertising from a

Communication Perspective 262
Cultural Frames 262
Identification with a Product 264
Using Music to Structure the Message 264

The Role of Psychology in Advertising 266
Neuromarketing 266
Psychographics 268
Branding 269

How Advertising Works 270
Consumer Decision Making 271
Involvement 272
Creating Demand 272
Reach, Frequency, and Integrated Marketing 274
Subliminal Advertising 276

Advertising as Myth 277
Common Advertising Appeals 280

Emotional Appeals 280
Transformative Appeals 282
Rational-Functional Appeals 285

How to Critique Ads 285
Criticisms of Advertising 287

Deception 287
Language 289
Children 290
Consumerism 292
Social Effects 292
Freedom of Speech 293
Privacy 293
Private versus Public Interests 294

What Can I Do? 295
Summary 295
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 296
 ADDITIONAL READING 297

Contents  xi

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11 Political Persuasion 299
Language, Communication, Politics, and Persuasion 302
Characteristics of Political Communication and Persuasion 304

Short-Term Orientation 304
Specific Objectives 305
Mediated 305
Audience Centered 305

Ideology 306
The Political Socialization Process 307

Political Socialization Outcomes 307
Agents of Political Socialization 308
Levels of Interaction 310

Forms of Political Persuasion 311
Administrative Persuasion 311
Legislative Persuasion 313
Campaign Persuasion 316
Political Persuasion through Symbolic and Status Issues 323
Political Persuasion in the Context of Entertainment 324

What We Can Learn from Political Persuasion 327
Limited Effects Model 327
Significant Effects Model 328

Politics and Trust 328
Summary 329
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 330
 ADDITIONAL READING 331

12 Ethical Considerations of Persuasion 335
Ethics, Values, and Principles 338
Communication, Ethics, and Society 339

Persuasion and Communication Ethics 341
Sources of Attitudes and Values 342
Categories of Communication Ethics 344

PART IV
Issues and Strategies of Message Preparation 333

xii  Contents

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Considerations for Ethical Communication 346
Communicator Considerations 346
Message Considerations 347
Medium Considerations 347
Receiver Considerations 348
Ethical Values of Communicators 348

Areas of Special Concern 349
Media and New Technologies 349
News Journalism 352
Politics and Political Communication 356
Public Discourse 359

Summary 361
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 362
 ADDITIONAL READING 363

13 Constructing and Presenting Persuasive Messages 365
Strategic Considerations for Nondiscursive Persuasion 367

The Visual Image 368
Honoring Gestalt Values in Visual Design 369
Set Realistic Goals 376
Keep the Message Thematically Simple 376
Consider the Appropriate Cultural Palette 376
Use a Sympathetic Figure or Key Icon to

Communicate Your Central Idea 378
Frame the Discussion in the Imagery of

Heroes, Villains, and Victims 379

Strategic Considerations of a Set Presentation 379
Know the Audience 380
Determine Your Objectives 381
Determine Your Thesis 382
Develop Main Points as Good Reasons 383
Amplify and Support the Main Points 384
Write the Introduction 386
Prepare the Outline 389
Presenting the Message 390

Two Additional Considerations for Discursive Messages 391
When to Reveal the Thesis 391
Whether to Recognize Opposing Views 392

Summary 392
 QUESTIONS AND PROJECTS FOR FURTHER STUDY 393
 ADDITIONAL READING 394

Endnotes 395
Index 431

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Preface

The first edition of this book was published twenty-five years ago. At that time
interest in persuasion in universities was largely defined by a tight circle of con-
cerns drawn largely from the fields of rhetoric, communication theory, and experi-
mental psychology. But the circumference of the subject’s boundaries has grown to
such an extent that it is even pushing against formerly distant fields such as ethnog-
raphy and neurobiology. Researchers now track “neural pathways” activated when
subjects are exposed to everything from “shooter” video games to deodorant ads.1

Factor in recent interest in personal and social media, alternative routes to tradi-
tional advertising, or “screen time” as a measure of the dominant activity of
humans during their waking hours, and it becomes evident why nearly everyone
now seems interested in the processes of personal influence.

We enthusiastically endorse the expanding exploration of persuasion, although
with some concern about the growing fashion for seeking answers using brain
imaging devices. It is increasingly common to find research where neural imaging
is used to map the “brain activity” of individuals while they view movies, play
video games, or scan web pages.2 There is no question that we have much to learn
about specific brain locations and routes that are awakened by certain kinds of
media and presentational forms. And while there is ample evidence that some mes-
sages and activities influence hormone releases that affect mood and feelings, we
believe such mapping feeds a growing impression that a relatively new “science”
will give the analysis of persuasion a form of certainly that it has never had. We
heartily welcome all forms of research that give us more insight into how we pro-
cess communications, but we doubt that persuasion can be usefully understood as a
function of electrochemical processes.3 The reduction of cognition to the connec-
tivity of neurons is like describing a piece of music in terms of the physics of the air
pressure created by the musicians who created it. To be sure, it is easy to measure
sound this way, converting pressure into frequencies, and perhaps displaying them
on an audio analyzer. But to study music or persuasion by focusing on their physical
processes has the effect of mistaking the conditions necessary for their production
with their essence.

xiii

xiv  Preface

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It is important to remember that human communication must be understood
as a cluster of outcomes produced when minds are engaged. The brain is indeed the
physical site where thinking—cognition—takes place. But unlike nearly all other
body organs, it has no single function. In terms of higher-order mental activities, it
facilitates thought and perception, but in ways that are always unique to the experiences
of an individual. An individual’s presence—a rich mix of genetics, personal and
social history, and attendant memories—must be measured in terms of what we
say and do, what we “know,” what we believe about our intentions and the inten-
tions of others, and so on. Thinking, decision-making, the weighing of options, the
interpretation of other’s words are the functions that are more interesting for why
they occur than where they occur. The brain is so “plastic”—various centers accom-
modate so many different kinds of thought—that any search for a single “pathway”
of cognition seems far too simple. Neuroscience usually concedes as much.4 And
that acknowledgement serves as a healthy reminder that the analyst of persuasion
must be an interpreter of the person in their world.

The processes of influence discussed in this book are drawn from a holistic per-
spective that marries the social and “hard” sciences to the humanities and the ori-
gins of persuasion in rhetorical theory. This mix of approaches reflects the view
that this is a subject that must be explored by placing the individual not just in
material realm but also in the conceptual space of their experiences, ideas, atti-
tudes, and social judgments.

These myriad complexities keep us humble. The basic idea of a textbook is that
it will offer settled knowledge about its subject. But that has never really been true
of persuasion, where the contingencies and unique features of every situation com-
plicate efforts to make definitive claims. The subject requires respect for nuance
and a capacity to accept unanticipated outcomes. Students of persuasion may use
the tools of the sciences to test various strategies and approaches, but in basic ways
persuasion rarely submits to the kinds of certainties to which researchers aspire.
Though textbook style is traditionally the very definition of certainty, we are happy
to acknowledge the very soft ground on which theories of influence rest.

As you would expect this far into the new millennium, this edition pays more
attention to social media and online communities, to Internet product and politi-
cal marketing, and to refinements of theories and models that have become part of
the canon of persuasion theory. To better highlight the growing terminology avail-
able for analysis, key ideas in each chapter are set off from the running text in bold
italics, and simple definitions follow. We hope this formatting creates a useful run-
ning glossary of key terms that can be easily referenced when reading or reviewing
a chapter.

As with earlier editions, we examine the process of seeking influence from its
roots in the timeless ideals of democratic institutions and social ethics. And we
continue to see it as a set of interactions typically involving active rather than pas-
sive agents. From this perspective, persuasion is not necessarily something some-
one does to others. In its best forms, it works with willing recipients and attentive
persuaders, often in the same space. When asked about his techniques for manag-
ing the outsized Hollywood egos that filled his days, the former chairman of Sony
Pictures offered a piece of candid advice that seemed as accurate as it was simple.

Preface  xv

Woodward-Denton 7E.book Page xv Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:03 PM

He noted that success often amounts to just being “in the same room” with some-
one and “breathing the same air.”5 As academics we instinctively want to add qual-
ifiers and exceptions, but his comment is a good place to start.

Endnotes
1 See, for example, Tom Hummer, et. al, “Short-Term Violent Video Game Play by Adolescents Alters

Prefrontal Activity During Cognitive Inhibition,” Media Psychology; April–June, 2010, pp. 136–154,
Ebsco Communication and Mass Media Complete, http://ezproxy.tcnj.edu:2417/ehost/
detail?sid=7436d970-3710-4b34-b1f7-fcd2651767ce%40sessionmgr110&vid=16&hid=113&bdata=
JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ufh&AN=51377162

2 Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (New York: Norton, 2011), pp.
115–138.

3 For a preliminary look at how neuroscience fits into studies of communication see Jack Jordynn and
Gregory Appelbaum, “‘This is your Brain on Rhetoric:’ Research Directions of Neurorhetorics,”
Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 5, 2010, pp. 422–437. See also Sally Satel and Scott Lilienfeld,
Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience (New York: Basic Books, 2013), pp. ix–xxiii.

4 Steven Pinker, “My Genome, My Self,” The New York Times Magazine, January 11, 2009, p. 50, and
Ibid, pp. 26–35.

5 Michael Cieply, “In Film and Life, The Story Is King,” The New York Times, February 27, 2011, Sun-
day Business, p. 6.

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1

Persuasion and Influence
Introduction

OVERVIEW

 The Necessity and Challenge of Persuasion

 Persuasion Defined

 Five Introductory Settings
The Unanticipated Effects of Selling Inclusion
Doubt and Influence in the Jury Room
Advocating Dangerous Forms of Religion
A Campus Food Fight
Persuasion in Everyday Life

 What These and Other Persuasion Settings Suggest
Persuasion is as much about sources as messages
Persuasion is measured by its effects on others
Persuasion is enormously difficult
Even minimal effects can be important
Persuasion can easily stray toward the arts of deception
Persuasion outcomes are not very unpredictable

 Three Types of Communication
Pure Information
Pure Expression
Pure Persuasion

1

2  Chapter One

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The pursuit of wisdom through discourse is, after all, the charac-
teristic humanistic act. We are all worshipers of Peitho, the God-
dess of Persuasion.1

—Hugh D. Duncan

Every year about 30,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 21 pass
through a well manicured collection of low buildings that adjoin the Provo campus
of Brigham Young University. The Missionary Training Center of The Church of
Latter Day Saints (LDS), perhaps the largest institution for that purpose in the
world, lies at the base of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. The specific goal of the center
is to prepare recruits to proselytize Mormonism in the United States and overseas.
These novice missionaries spend up to twelve weeks honing their foreign language
skills, studying the Book of Mormon and the Bible, and getting ready for the rigors
of 10-hour days of communicating with strangers in distant locales. It’s all part of
the church’s tradition of encouraging young members to devote two years of their
lives to finding new converts.

This massive effort at persuasive outreach is a huge change from the mid-nine-
teenth century, when small groups of followers of Joseph Smith escaped the East
and Midwest in their own diaspora. Although the Mormons eventually settled in
the geographic isolation of Utah with the hope of being left alone, the LDS Church
is now among the largest five denominations in the United States, and one of the
fastest growing religions in the world.

All male Mormons over 18 are asked to serve on a mission, and about half do.
Women who are at least 21 can also join the ranks, but they do so in smaller num-
bers.2 After they leave the training center, individuals are assigned a partner who
will be their constant companion for the duration of the mission. Young men in
buttoned-down white shirts, pressed slacks, and conservative haircuts easily stand
out from their surroundings. They may end up in Baltimore, Manila, or Sao Paulo,
but they all look like they could have just walked out of the pages of your grandpar-
ent’s high school yearbook.

Missionaries call potential converts “investigators,” recognizing that conver-
sion is usually not sudden. Investigators seem at least willing to listen, often at bus
stops, or on street corners, and front yards. The logic is that the more they learn, the
more willing they may be to explore the church or to attend services or meetings.

The Student Manual at the Missionary Training Center sees the task of winning
converts in terms of the expected biblical admonitions to go out and serve as wit-
nesses for the faith. In this frame of reference, missionaries often think of them-
selves as “sharing” or “teaching” the two primary works in the Mormon canon,
with the hope that some of these scriptures will be prophetic or provide moral clar-
ity.3 The church also emphasizes the classic persuasion idea that you should physi-
cally embody what you advocate, a principle that echoes back to ancient rhetorics

Persuasion and Influence  3

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that urged persuaders to show in their own conduct the values that they espouse.
New missionaries are taught to be positive, courteous, and to approach every per-
son as a potential new friend. They also talk up the importance of family and try to
communicate with the unambiguous certainty of a committed believer. This is not
an effort that owes much to the irony or cynicism that flows through much of the
rest of American life.4 Earnestness is the order of the day.

Many new recruits are initially shy. Most who openly write about their experi-
ences are positive about the experience. But a reader of these accounts sometimes
gets a sense that many of the church’s volunteers don’t see themselves as natural per-
suaders.5 After all, this is not going to be their career. Some appear to struggle to find
the confidence to approach people in settings far different than the prosperous Rocky
Mountain enclave that is the center of the LDS church. What do you say to an
impoverished mother of seven in a rundown section of Columbus, Ohio? One resi-
dent, Star Calley, feels the awkwardness of the moment, but invites Jonathan Hoy
and Taylor Nielsen to sit on her porch and talk. She worries about raising her kids in
the neighborhood. The missionaries listen, sympathize, and then ask her to pray with
them.6 After they leave, she admits she was just trying to be nice, noting that “it must
take a lot of courage to do what they do, for all the good it does.”7 For their part, they
hope they can come by again, perhaps building on a first encounter to offer more
reassurance that her family will be better off within the local LDS community.

The Manual also offers a range of more secular advice about how to maximize
success. As a general rule, it urges missionaries to follow what is by now an axiom of
political persuasion: look for people who have recently been buffeted by reversals or
unwanted change. “People who are experiencing significant changes in their lives—
such as births, deaths, or moving into new homes—are often ready to learn about the
restored gospel and make new friendships.”8 It also reminds recruits to find a way to
be brief and effective. What can be offered to someone waiting for a bus, or a person
who is willing to give up just a few minutes? The promise of eternal salvation is, of
course, the primary message. But there are other inducements that open doors as well,
such as helping someone do a simple household repair or offering to help a family
research its own history through the vast genealogical resources of the LDS church.9

One researcher studying Mormon missionaries estimates that in the thousands
of contacts a single member makes in a given year, he or she will convert only
about four to seven people.10 That can amount to a “success” rate of a fraction of
one percent. Jonathan Hoy went through the experience and remembers even
fewer but still found his limited success worth the effort. In 2007 Hoy recalls the
nearly 10,000 people he talked to during a 22-month stint in Ohio and Greece. He
especially remembers a young woman in Athens who converted after spending
time studying various “restored” scriptures from the Book of Mormon. “I saw it
change her life,” he said. “That’s what keeps me going.”11

The seemingly low rates of conversion are balanced by the crucial role that this
rite of passage has on the missionaries themselves—self-persuasion. Sometimes the
greatest effect of a message is on the persuader. While these missionaries may return
with limited success in attracting large numbers of converts, they have become
committed activists for their faith, carrying some of that fervor into their relation-
ships with others.12

4  Chapter One

Woodward-Denton 7E.book Page 4 Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:03 PM

 The Necessity and Challenge of Persuasion
A mandate that urges young members to find new recruits for a church may be

somewhat unique to Mormons, but the underlying process of reaching out to oth-
ers with a vision or belief to share is a lifeline of identity for most of us. Words con-
vey praise, blame, guilt, and joy. We invest them with enduring significance. We
establish our place in the lives of others by the ways we label our actions and those
around us. The natural impulse to associate and connect gives language the awe-
some responsibility of carrying our judgments and feelings.

The LDS missionary experience is also a reminder that persuasion is a particu-
larly challenging form of communication. Defined as a request for others to agree
or yield, it turns out that persuasion is neither simple to understand or easy to
achieve. One of its early theorists, the Roman philosopher Cicero, noted that
“whether it is acquired by art or practice, or the mere powers of nature, it is the
most difficult of all attainments.”13 He thought that mastery of its various compo-
nents was beyond the reach of most. Aristotle, who preceded Cicero and wrote one
of the first practical persuasion handbooks, was more certain that its study could be
systematized, although he also noted that resistance was more the norm than the
exception.14 Both Cicero and Aristotle seemed to sense that persuasion was a spe-
cial subject made all the more interesting by its tendency to put all forms of human
genius and frailty on conspicuous display.

The primary goal of this book is to offer a systematic description and vocabu-
lary for the persuasive process, focusing on some of the same questions that first
drew the attention of philosophers. How do we change deep-seated attitudes?
What makes us susceptible to or immune from constant attempts to persuade us to
accept ideas, products, and people? How can advocates sometimes cause people to
deny their beliefs and accept actions that impose serious hardships? The answers to
these questions not only equip us to better adapt to our communication-saturated
world, but they also reveal some interesting and surprising characteristics of
human nature.

Persuasion takes no single form. It occurs in a diverse range of contexts and
media—from simple exchanges of opinions between friends to elaborate campaigns
designed for specific broadcast and Internet audiences. Persuaders may be as well-
financed as the Microsoft Corporation or as resource-poor as a small band of home-
owners fighting the decisions of a local zoning board. The range of human contacts
that call for effective advocacy is nearly endless. As citizens in a free society, we can-
not escape the responsibility for organizing or participating in public persuasion. As
friends, family members, and coworkers linked to a web of personal relationships, we
similarly face the necessity of managing a vast array of demands and opportunities.

In the remainder of this chapter we will offer a definition of persuasion and several
additional case studies. We will also offer a set of key propositions about persuasion.

 Persuasion Defined
There are two competing traditions in the definition of persuasion. One tradi-

tion sees it as an ethically suspect process—a form of hucksterism—where advo-

<

Vol:.(1234567890)

J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 47:564–578
DOI 10.1007/s10803-016-2977-0

1 3

ORIGINAL PAPER

EAT-UP™ Family-Centered Feeding Intervention to Promote
Food Acceptance and Decrease Challenging Behaviors: A Single-
Case Experimental Design Replicated Across Three Families
of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Joanna Cosbey1  · Deirdre Muldoon2,3 

Published online: 30 November 2016
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Introduction

Feeding and eating difficulties among children with autism
spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly being recognized
as an integral part of the disorder (e.g., Cermak et al. 2010;
Edmond et al. 2010). The growing body of research in this
area has provided information to establish evidence-based
practices (EBPs) to support mealtimes, particularly through
the use of therapists or other professionals as the interven-
tionists. There is limited information regarding the efficacy
of multicomponent interventions that are implemented by
parents using these established EBPs.

Parent implemented intervention (PII), in which a par-
ent learns to provide intervention in their home or commu-
nity through a guided training program, is an EBP for use
with young children to make the behavior change sustain-
able across time and outcome areas (Moes and Frea 2002;
Wong et al. 2013). Studies such as one conducted by John-
son et  al. (2015) examined the use of parents as interven-
tionists through strategies such as clinic-based behavioral
training programs. However, the majority of studies related
to promoting mealtime behaviors involve an interventionist
working directly with the child and may or may not have a
family training component. In fact, a comprehensive syn-
thesis of treatment outcomes in feeding interventions by
Sharp et  al. (2010) indicated that only 58.3% of the inter-
ventions documented caregiver training and over 80% of
the studies had trained professionals, rather than parents,
providing the intervention. Additional research is needed to
determine appropriate methods for integrating PII and feed-
ing interventions to make lasting changes for children and
their families.

The current research has examined the efficacy of spe-
cific strategies and intervention approaches, such as behav-
ioral strategies, sensory strategies, and communication

Abstract This study evaluated the effectiveness of a fam-
ily-centered feeding intervention, Easing Anxiety Together
with Understanding and Perseverance (EAT-UP™), for
promoting food acceptance of children with autism spec-
trum disorder at home. A concurrent multiple-baseline
design was used with systematic replication across three
families. Baseline was followed by an ‘Intervention-Coach-
ing’ phase and then an ‘Intervention-Independent’ phase.
Using direct observation and pre- and post-intervention
questionnaires, data on acceptance of less preferred foods
and challenging mealtime behaviors were collected. Proce-
dural fidelity was monitored throughout all study phases.
Data were analyzed using visual analysis and measures
of effect size. All children demonstrated increases in food
acceptance (effect size >0.90) and dietary diversity and
decreased challenging behaviors. Implications for practice
and research are discussed.

Keywords Autism spectrum disorder · Parent
implemented intervention · Mealtime behaviors · Food
refusal · Evidence based practices

* Joanna Cosbey
jcosbey@salud.unm.edu

1 Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Pediatrics,
University of New Mexico, HSSB Room 140, MSC09 5240,
1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA

2 Center for Development and Disability, Department
of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM,
USA

3 Present Address: Department of Communication Sciences
and Disorders, The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY, USA

565J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 47:564–578

1 3

interventions. The majority of the research in the area of
feeding and eating difficulties in ASD is focused on spe-
cific behavioral strategies to ameliorate difficult behaviors
at mealtimes (for a review see Volkert and Piazza 2012).
These evidence based practices (EBPs) include strategies
such as: functional assessment (e.g., Gale et  al. 2011);
positive, differential, or non-contingent reinforcement (e.g.,
Allison et  al. 2012); and escape extinction (e.g., Galensky
et  al. 2001). Several researchers have addressed the possi-
ble behavioral functions of food avoidance and challenging
mealtime behaviors (e.g., Gale et al. 2011). Although iden-
tifying the clear functions of these behaviors is extremely
important within research and clinical contexts, in natural
contexts it may not always be appropriate or feasible for
parents to fully evaluate the function of a particular behav-
ior. While many of the current feeding interventions are
behavioral and include assessment of function, it is often
difficult to decide which interventions are most appropri-
ate to address challenging mealtime behaviors and thus,
require multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment (Sharp
et al. 2013; Tanner et al. 2015).

A number of authors have described the impact of a
child’s sensory processing characteristics on food selectiv-
ity and subsequent mealtime behaviors (see Cermak et  al.
2010 for a review). Sensory factors, such as the taste, tex-
ture, or appearance of foods, can influence an individual’s
behavioral response to foods, leading to food refusal, gag-
ging, vomiting, etc. Researchers in this area have focused
on manipulating food (Ahearn 2003) or using sensory-
based interventions to support the child (Adison et  al.
2012). Other interventions that have been found to be effec-
tive in supporting the mealtimes of children with ASD
address both behavioral and sensory components of feed-
ing, such food chaining (Fishbein et al. 2006) and changing
bite size and/or number of bites (e.g., Sharp et al. 2010), as
well as changes to the physical environment, such as seating
and type of plate (e.g., Gale et al. 2011; Gentry and Luiselli
2007). Communicative strategies such as functional assess-
ment and functional communication training with children
with ASD and their families has been found to be effective
in reducing the occurrences of challenging behavior (Moes
and Frea 2002; Wong et al. 2013), but have not been explic-
itly investigated during mealtimes. Additionally, visual sup-
port strategies to support a child’s receptive understanding
and promote appropriate behavior during meals have been
used as part of intervention packages (e.g., Binnendyk and
Lucyshyn 2008). However, these communication strategies
have not been explicitly investigated during mealtimes and
have not been used to address the complex, dynamic com-
munication interactions that occur between the parent and
the child.

Most of these studies and other research conducted in
the area of promoting mealtime behaviors has focused

on identifying specific variables that are responsible for
behavior change. For example, studies have evaluated
the efficacy of one specific strategy or of one strategy in
comparison to another (e.g., Ahearn 2003; Peterson et al.
2016). These studies have contributed to the knowledge
base regarding EBPs, but typically do not focus on the
complex, dynamic nature of naturally occurring family
mealtimes. So although they are able to demonstrate effi-
cacy from a research perspective under controlled condi-
tions, the success of the intervention in a more natural
context is not as clear. Additionally, as discussed, most
of the interventions addressed in published research
approach feeding difficulties as residing in the child,
with either behavioral or sensory explanations for the
challenges. More recent research (e.g., Chao and Chang
2016; Estrem et al. 2016) recognizes that feeding difficul-
ties impact both child and parents and supports a more
comprehensive approach to addressing mealtime behav-
iors. In other words, although it can be important to sys-
tematically control for all variables in the early stages
of research examining EBPs, after a practice has been
established to be effective in controlled settings, it is also
important to evaluate its efficacy in more natural settings,
which often includes the use of multiple interventions
simultaneously to promote progress.

In order to address the dynamic nature of eating, feed-
ing and mealtimes, the components outlined above are
the focus of the current study. For clarity when talking to
the parents, the components were organized as (a) social
environment (use of behavioral interventions, such as
reinforcement, prompting strategies, etc.), (b) physical
environment (positioning, etc.), (c) food characteristics
(primarily sensory manipulations, such as the types of
food provided at meals/snacks); and (d) dyadic commu-
nication supports (both receptive and expressive for both
the parent and the child). These components provided a
framework for the menu of intervention options for par-
ents when individualizing their intervention and directly
addressed the unique dynamics of each family in the
study. As outlined above, a number of researchers have
evaluated these components in isolation or by grouping
one or two components together. However, interventions
looking holistically at the mealtime environment related
to all of those areas have not been explored, particularly
in the context of family-as-interventionist.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to expand
on the research outlined above and to determine the
efficacy and perceived intervention acceptance (social
validity) of EAT-UP™, a parent-implemented multicom-
ponent intervention package designed to improve the
mealtime performance of children. This study specifically
examined the efficacy of EAT-UP™ with children with
ASD.

566 J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 47:564–578

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Method

Participants

Three boys from diverse backgrounds who were diagnosed
with ASD (Blake, Craig, and Dominic) and their families
participated in this study. Each of the boys had received a
diagnosis of ASD prior to his third birthday by interdisci-
plinary teams, meeting criteria for autism according to the
World Health Organization, ICD-10, (1992).

The children were recruited from a statewide interdis-
ciplinary feeding clinic. Families were provided informa-
tion about the study by the second author and completed
a screening to determine eligibility for participation. To be
included in the study, the family had to live within 30 miles
of the clinic and have at least one parent who was profi-
cient in English. The child had to have a multidisciplinary
diagnosis of ASD, be between the ages of 2 and 9  years
old, have no medical contraindications for oral feeding,
and have significant behavioral difficulties around meal-
times. Significant behavior difficulties were assessed using
the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory (BAMBI)
(Lukens 2005) and were defined as a total score >45, which
corresponds to a score that is >+2 SD from the mean for
children who are typically developing (Lukens 2005). Upon
completion of the screening, if they met the inclusion crite-
ria for the study, families were provided with more detailed
information about the study and the opportunity to pro-
vide informed consent to participate. Informed consent
was obtained from all individual participants included in
the study. Because of their age and language abilities, the
children were not asked to provide assent for participation.
This study was approved by the University of New Mexico
Human Research Protection Office.

Blake was a 6-year-old White, Hispanic boy who lived
with his married parents and several siblings. He had two
older siblings and two younger siblings when the project
began, with a baby born towards the middle of the project.
His father worked full-time out of the home and his mother
worked part-time, mostly from home. His family typically
ate together at a dinner table, with the expectation that
everyone eat the same meal. Blake would stay at the table
for very short periods of time and often would not eat any
of the dinner. He would eat granola bars and other “snack
foods” during non-meal times. His parents’ primary goals
were (1) increase his participation in family mealtimes, (2)
incorporate vegetables into his diet, and (3) decrease chal-
lenging behaviors (leaving the table and banging his head
with his hand to communicate refusal). Both of his parents
were targeted as interventionists and they worked together
to support Blake and the other children during meals.

Craig was an 8-year-old White boy who lived with his
married parents. His father typically traveled 1–2 weeks out

of every month for work, so it was often just Craig and his
mother at home for meals. Craig was an only child and his
mother did not work outside the home. Craig typically ate
his meals alone at a desk in their living room or while rid-
ing in the car to/from therapy sessions. His mother reported
that they had him eat alone because he frequently chewed
food without swallowing it, then spit the masticated food
into his palm, shaped it into a ball, and put it back in his
mouth to chew again. He commonly repeated this routine
multiple times before ultimately swallowing the food. He
primarily ate highly processed and/or fast-food and was
very particular about the brand of food. He did not eat any
fruits, vegetables, or meats, and was significantly over-
weight at the time of his initial evaluation at the feeding
clinic. His mother was the interventionist and her primary
goals were (1) increase his acceptance of healthier foods,
(2) decrease his manipulation of masticated foods so that
he could eat with his parents, and (3) decrease other chal-
lenging behaviors (verbal refusals, licking preferred foods
repeatedly, hitting others, and throwing objects).

Dominic was a 7-year-old African-American boy who
lived with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather. He
was an only child and his mother was a single mother. His
mother worked full-time outside the home, typically eve-
nings and weekends, so his mother and grandmother shared
caregiving responsibilities relatively equally. Both of his
grandparents also worked outside the home. Dominic’s diet
consisted of crunchy and sweet food, as well as a nutritional
supplement drink and large quantities of milk. He would
not eat any fruit or vegetable and he disliked food that was
wet (e.g., apple slices). Everyone in the family ate meals at
different times and was on a different specialty diet (e.g.,
gluten-free), so meals did not have a social component
at his house. Dominic most often ate dry cereal, cookies,
and chips in front of the television. Dominic’s mother and
grandmother were both the interventionists and their pri-
mary goals were (1) increase the number of foods he would
eat and (2) decrease challenging behaviors (verbal refusals,
overstuffing of his mouth, and hiding under pillows/blan-
kets). Most often only his mother or his grandmother was
home during an intervention session, but if they were both
home, they would identify the primary parent for that par-
ticular meal or snack.

Setting

All of the sessions were conducted in the family home
using the foods and utensils that were typically used by
the family during mealtimes. Based on family preference,
intervention sessions occurred during mealtimes for Blake
and snack times for Craig and Dominic.

Blake’s interventions were at the family dinner table,
typically with both parents and all of his siblings present.

567J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 47:564–578

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On rare occasions, his father wasn’t present for the meal.
Craig’s interventions were initially at a small table in the
living room, but within the first month of intervention, his
mother began expecting him to eat at the family dinner
table at least during intervention sessions. Dominic’s inter-
ventions, like his meals and snacks, took place in a variety
of places within his house, including in front of the tele-
vision, on the living room floor, in his bedroom, and in a
hallway. Over the course of the intervention, an increasing
number of sessions occurred at a small corner of the dining
room table that had been cleared specifically for the ses-
sions with the researchers.

Experimental Design

A mixed-methods quantitative design was used to examine
changes in mealtime behaviors of the child and his parents
(i.e., Craig’s mother, Blake’s mother and father, and Domi-
nic’s mother and grandmother). This study used both sin-
gle-case experimental design (i.e., single subject research
design) and pre-/post- measures to document changes in
child and parent behavior over time. The use of the two
types of data collection methods allowed for triangulation
of our findings, providing support for the conclusions both
through parent report and through direct observation.

Single subject data collection for this project was devel-
oped following the recommended practices for single-case
experimental research (e.g., Wolery 2013). A concurrent
multiple-baseline design with replication across partici-
pants was used to document changes in the children’s food
acceptance by direct observation. In this study, reversals
of the target behaviors were unlikely, so the multiple base-
line design was used to demonstrate causality. The baseline
phase was limited to 5–6 sessions per participant because
this number of sessions provided adequate documentation
of the stability of the children’s behaviors (Gast and Led-
ford 2010) without unnecessarily prolonging the delay in
implementing intervention and risking further behavioral
and/or nutritional difficulties. Following baseline, Phase 1
was an Intervention-Coaching phase during which the par-
ent was trained to implement the interventions with coach-
ing and post-session feedback. When the parent indepen-
dently implemented 90% of the intervention strategies each
session over three consecutive data sessions, they would
begin Phase 2, which was an Intervention-Independent
phase. During this phase, the coaching was eliminated but
the post-session feedback continued. Phase 2 was termi-
nated after the child met a level of food acceptance score
greater than 85% based on their individualized food accept-
ance hierarchy across three consecutive data days or after
5  months of intervention, whichever came first. Neither
randomization nor blinding strategies were used in this
study. The decision was made to start the intervention at

the same time for all families rather than randomly assign-
ing them to staggered baseline and intervention phases
because of the families’ expressed urgency for intervention.

Procedural fidelity data were collected on the parents’
implementation of the intervention during every session.
Using a variety of questionnaires, quantitative data were
collected prior to the initiation of the intervention and upon
completion of the intervention period to document the
children’s food acceptance and their parents’ perceptions
of mealtime behaviors, as well as the parents’ perceived
acceptance of the intervention.

Interobserver Agreement

Interobserver agreement (IOA) between the authors was
established prior to the interventions using video tape of
evaluations conducted at the feeding clinic. IOA was estab-
lished across three variables: ‘less preferred opportunities,’
‘less preferred points on hierarchy,’ and ‘parent behavior.’
IOA was considered adequate when agreement reached
90%. Through direct observation of sessions, IOA was col-
lected for an average of 34.1% of the total sessions per par-
ticipant (range 31.0–38.5%), with IOA sessions distributed
relatively evenly across study phases.

Data Collection

Data to assess the effectiveness of the intervention were
collected at various points throughout the study. Prior to
the onset of intervention and again after the completion
of the intervention phase, each child’s mother completed
questionnaires related to his mealtime behaviors, food
acceptance/dietary diversity, and family quality of life. The
children’s mealtime behaviors were assessed using two
questionnaires: the BAMBI (Lukens 2005) and the Behav-
ioural Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) (Crist
and Napier-Phillips 2001). Both measures use anchored
Likert-scales, are quick to administer, and have been used
in other studies to assess the parent’s perception of meal-
time behaviors. The children’s food acceptance and dietary
diversity were assessed through the use of a Food Fre-
quency Questionnaire (adapted from Harvard School of
Public Health 2012) and a 24-h food recall (adapted from
Lukens 2005). The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)
provides parents with a list of approximately 150 foods,
asking them to indicate if each food had been presented to
the child in the previous 6  months and, if so, if the child
rejected it or how often they ate it. In addition, they were
asked to document everything that their child ate in one
24-h period (Lukens 2005).

In addition to these data, data on the child’s food accept-
ance and the parent’s behaviors were collected during every
session throughout the study. The researchers developed

568 J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 47:564–578

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coding sheets to document the food available to the child
and the child’s interaction with the food based on a food
acceptance hierarchy. Data were collected throughout the
course of a meal or snack, as defined by the parent, so the
number of opportunities per session varied greatly. A bite
opportunity was defined as beginning when either the par-
ent or the child initiated interaction with the food and end-
ing when both the parent and the child ceased interaction
with the food. At the end of every session, the researcher
completed a feedback sheet for the parent that documented
the parents’ implementation of the intervention strategies.
These feedback sheets were shared with the parent during
the Intervention and Maintenance phases.

To assess the acceptability of the intervention strategy
by the child’s parent, a goodness-of-fit survey that used
an anchored Likert-scale (adapted from Albin et  al. 1996)
was distributed to the parent before the intervention began
and after the intervention period ended, as well as a Family
Quality of Life Scale (Hoffman et  al. 2006) that evaluates
multiple aspects of quality of life for families that include
an individual with a disability. All three mothers responded
to these surveys.

Procedures

Individualization of Intervention Targets and Strategy

The authors facilitated the intervention for all three fami-
lies. Prior to baseline, the researchers met with each fam-
ily to identify the primary intervention goals for their child.
Additionally, at this stage in the study, data were collected
regarding the child’s food consumption (using the 24-h
food recall and FFQ), as well as mealtime behaviors (using
BPFAS). During baseline, data were collected on the inter-
vention targets identified and on a wide variety of potential

intervention strategies that the parent could use. At this
time, a food acceptance hierarchy was also individualized
for each child based on his individual patterns of accepting
new foods (see Table 1).

Following baseline, the researchers met with each child’s
parent to finalize the goals and to develop an individualized
intervention plan that would collectively address the child’s
needs, fit within the family routines, and utilize strategies
that addressed the family’s strengths (see Table  2). As
discussed previously, the same two general goals related
to increasing dietary diversity (the total number of foods
accepted) and decreasing challenging behaviors were iden-
tified by all three families. The specific foods introduced
and the challenging behaviors to target were individual-
ized for each family. All three of the family’s intervention
plans included interventions in four areas: food character-
istics, dyadic communication supports, physical environ-
ment, and social environment. See Table  2 for a complete
accounting of the interventions that were selected by each
family. Food characteristics included strategies to increase
the variety of foods presented, recognize the sensory char-
acteristics of the foods being presented, and increase the
consistency of presentation of less preferred foods. Dyadic
communication supports included strategies to promote
communication between the parent and child, including
giving the child a voice in the process and ensuring that the
parent was communicating appropriately and effectively.
Physical environment strategies were designed to ensure
appropriate positioning and use the physical environment
to promote attention, compliance, and reciprocal interac-
tions. Finally, social environment strategies were intended
to support positive parent–child interactions around meals
and food, including avoiding power struggles and ensuring
clear communication. There were several intervention strat-
egies that were consistent across all three families, but each

Table 1 Individualized food
acceptance hierarchies and
associated point scores

Point Scores Blake Craig Dominic

0 Anything lower than “touches
with tool”

Anything lower than “toler-
ates on table/plate”

Anything lower than
“touches with tool”

1 Touches with tool Tolerates on table/plate Tolerates on table/plate
2 Touches with hand Touches with tool Touches with tool
3 Touches to face Touches with hand Touches with hand
4 Touches to lip(s) Touches to face Touches to face
5 Touches to teeth Touches to lip(s) Touches to lip(s)
6 Touches with tongue Touches to teeth Touches to teeth
7 Food hovers in mouth Touches with tongue Touches with tongue
8 Spits bite out Spits bite out Spits out small bite
9 Spits bite out after delay Swallows small bite Swallows small bite
10 Chews once, spits it out Swallows typical bite Spits out typical bite
11 Chews >1×, spits it out – Swallows typical bite
12 Swallows bite – –

569J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 47:564–578

1 3

family also had strategies specific to their situation (see
Table 2).

Baseline

During baseline sessions, the parent was asked to provide a
meal or snack to the child under usual circumstances. The
researcher(s) observed the meal/snack to collect data on
parent and child behavior, but no instruction on mealtime
interventions was provided to the children or their parents.
Blake and Craig each had five baseline sessions and Domi-
nic had six.

Intervention‑Coaching

During the first part of the intervention phase of the study,
one researcher coached the parent through the meal/snack
to increase the child’s food acceptance. Coaching continued
until the parent demonstrated the ability to independently

implement at least 90% of the intervention strategies each
session across three consecutive data sessions. This phase
of the intervention lasted for 9–21 sessions, depending
on the needs of the family (Craig = 9, Blake = 11, Domi-
nic = 21). Strategies such as demonstration, verbal instruc-
tions, and visual supports were used to teach the parents to
implement various strategies. Significant efforts were made
to maintain the interaction between the child and the par-
ent, so most of the coaching was conducted verbally while
the parent was implementing the strategy. Occasionally it
was necessary for the researcher to teach a technique out-
side of the meal or snack. Parents were asked to implement
the intervention throughout the week, but were not required
to document the use of the interventions outside of the data
collection sessions. The researchers emphasized that the
parents had ownership of the intervention and were free
to decide how often to implement it throughout the week,
with the understanding that more frequent implementa-
tion would likely lead to faster progress. At the end of each

Table 2 Components of
individualized intervention
plans for each family

Intervention strategy Child

Blake Craig Dominic

Food characteristics
 Offer foods from three food groups X X X
 Select foods he is likely to learn to eat (texture, color, shape, etc.) X X X
 Present both preferred and less-preferred foods at each snack/meal X X X

Dyadic communication
 Use picture menu or verbal choices for child to select foods to eat X X
 Promote communication during meals X X X
 Use visual supports for “first/then” X X X
 Follow through with use of “first/then” X X X
 Use more commands/statements than requests for less preferred foods X X X
 Use visual food acceptance hierarchy X X X
 Help child appropriately communicate ideas like, “I don’t want that” X X X

Physical environment
 Eat meal/snack at specified table X X X
 Use appropriate seating (e.g., booster seat) X
 Stay at the table with the child X X X
 Position adults/siblings near child X X
 Remove distractions from environment X X
 Keep TV/tablets off for at least 30 min X
 Increase expectations for time at table X

Social environment
 Maintain a generally positive tone X X X
 Use positive reinforcement X X X
 Encourage exploring less preferred foods X X X
 Limit to two verbal prompts before helping child meet hierarchy target X X X
 Follow through on expectations you set X X X
 Stay focused on goal of food consumption X X X
 Use siblings as peer models X
 Use token-based system X X

570 J Autism Dev Disord (2017) 47:564–578

1 3

coaching session, the researcher would provide the parent
with written feedback regarding implementation of the tar-
get strategies and recommendations for strategies to sup-
port the child until the next research session.

As discussed, Table 2 provides an overview of the inter-
vention strategies that each family included in their inter-
vention package. Overall most of these strategies have been
described elsewhere and reflect general strategies used to
promote behavior change and food acceptance (e.g., use
of a positive tone throughout the meal, gradually increas-
ing expectations, etc.). A few elements of the interven-
tion appear to be somewhat unique to EAT-UP™ and
require further explanation. First is the use of a verbal or
visual menu to allow the child to select the less-preferred
food he wanted for a meal or snack each day, support-
ing active involvement by both the child and the parent
in the mealtime. In general, the parent would provide the
child with two choices of less preferred foods. If the child
didn’t choose between the two, the parent would make the
choice. Blake’s family did not select this strategy because
everyone was expected to eat the same thing and none of
the children were given a choice of foods. Second was the
use of a visual hierarchy. These individualized hierarchies
presented the expectations outlined in Table  1 using color
photographs (matching approximate age, gender, and race
of child) and simp

pplied behavior analysts have a
rich history of teaching socially

important behavior to individuals
with developmental disabilities and autism
using behavior chaining. A behavior chain
is a sequence of responses leading to a
terminal behavioral objective. For example,
brushing teeth involves responses such as
picking up the toothbrush and toothpaste,
squeezing the toothpaste onto the brush,
bringing the brush into the mouth, brushing
all of the teeth thoroughly, and rinsing the
mouth. The order of this sequence is not
fixed (e.g., the toothpaste can be picked
up before the toothbrush), but some steps
must come before others (e.g., toothpaste
should be on the brush before the teeth are
brushed). The units of responding within
a chain are established by developing a
task analysis, which is the delineation
of a skill into its essential components
(Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007; Foxx,
1982). Task analyses specify the response
components and response sequences
necessary to teach a complex skill. Task
analyzed chaining has been used to teach a
variety of skills, such as mending (Cronin
& Cuvo, 1979), cooking (Schleien, Ash,
Kiernan, & Wehman, 1981), completing
vocational tasks (e.g., Maciag, Schuster,
Collins, & Cooper, 2000), and following

picture activity schedules (e.g., MacDuff,
Krantz, & McClannahan, 1993).

A variety of response prompts,
including vocal instruction, modeling,
and physical guidance, have been used to
teach chained responding (e.g., Cuvo, Leaf,
& Borakove, 1978; Glendenning, Adams,
& Sternberg, 1983). For example, Cuvo
et al. used vocal instructions, along with
modeling and physical guidance, to teach
janitorial skills. Glendenning et al. found
that vocal prompts were more effective
when combined with physical prompts
when teaching vocational tasks (i.e., tying
strings around boxes). Systematic fading
of prompts is also important to promote
prompt-free or independent performance.

Effectiveness and efficiency of teaching
are often cited as critical factors in evaluating
chaining procedures. A procedure is
considered effective if it leads to acquisition
of the targeted skill. Efficiency is defined
as the number of learning trials or time it
takes to reach criterion performance, as well
as the number of errors that occur during
acquisition (Gast, Doyle, Wolery, & Ault,
1991). Response prompting procedures
used to teach response chains likely have
a crucial impact on the effectiveness and
efficiency of teaching.

The focus of the current study was on

the use of physical prompts to teach behavior
chains. Generally, physical prompts are
faded using either most-to-least or least-
to-most techniques, both of which can be
combined with a time delay. Most-to-least
prompting consists of a teacher placing
his or her hands over the learner’s hands
to guide the learner through the initial
training trials. A less intrusive prompt, such
as guiding the learner at the wrist, is used on
subsequent training trials. The intrusiveness
of the prompt continues to be faded as long
as the learner is demonstrating success
during training trials. With least-to-most
fading, the teacher allows the learner a brief
opportunity to respond independently on
each training trial and then delivers the least
intrusive prompt if needed. Increasingly
more intrusive prompts are then delivered
as necessary for the learner to complete
each training trial. Time delay refers to
the amount of time the learner is given to
engage in the desired response prior to the
teacher issuing a prompt. Inserting a delay
to the prompt can be helpful when fading
physical prompts.

One strength of behavior analytic
techniques is that they can be tailored
to the unique learning characteristics of
each person. However, there have been
far too few systematic comparisons of

A Comparison of Most-to-Least and Least-to-Most
Prompting on the Acquisition of Solitary Play Skills
Myrna E . Libby12, Julie S . Weiss1, Stacie Bancroft12 and William H . Ahearn12

The New England Center for Children1

Northeastern University2

Two studies are presented in which common prompting procedures were evaluated while
teaching children with autism to build Lego® play structures. In the first study, most-to-
least (MTL) and least-to-most (LTM) prompting were compared. All participants learned
to build the play structures when the teacher used MTL, which was associated with fewer
errors than LTM. Nonetheless, three participants learned more quickly with LTM. This
finding suggests that MTL may prevent errors, but it sometimes slows learning. The second
study compared LTM to MTL without and with a delay (MTLD). MTLD provided an
opportunity for the child to independently initiate responding but still minimized the
likelihood of errors. Results showed that acquisition was nearly as rapid when the teacher
used MTLD as LTM but it produced fewer errors than LTM. Best practice guidelines for
choosing prompting procedures are proposed.
Descriptors: autism, behavior chains, play skills, prompting

A

ABSTRACT

37A Comparison of Most-to-Least and Least-to-Most Prompting

BAIP_1-48.indd 37 4/7/08 2:02:08 PM

prompting procedures to determine the
relative efficacy of each. Demchak (1990),
who reviewed the literature on response
prompting procedures, made the following
tentative conclusions for behaviors taught
through chaining: (a) Most-to-least
prompting is associated with fewer errors
than least-to-most prompting; (b) constant
time delay and least-to-most prompting
are equally effective in teaching chains, but
constant time delay is more efficient; and
(c) more comparative research on prompt
fading methods would be useful to guide
practitioners. Many studies have examined
specific prompting techniques or variants
of effective strategies since Demchak
was published. However, very few have
systematically compared them and no
definitive conclusions have been made.

The purpose of the current study was to
conduct a comparative analysis of common
prompting techniques for teaching
behavior chains. The goal was to develop
a strategy for identifying the most effective
and efficient prompting procedure for
learners who require systematic prompting
to acquire new skills. When conducting
this type of comparative analysis, special
consideration must be given to other factors
that might influence the relative outcomes

of prompting techniques. One
such variable is the size and
complexity of the steps in the
chain. It can be challenging to
equate the difficulty or complexity
of tasks associated with different
prompting techniques. Previous
comparison studies have examined
chains with equal numbers of
steps or with steps of equal
difficulty (e.g., Kayser, Billingsley,
& Neel, 1986; Spooner, 1984;
Walls, Zane, & Ellis, 1981).
However, these studies evaluated
heterogeneous chains (steps with
different response characteristics),
so it is likely that task difficulty
remained a relatively uncontrolled
variable.

With this in mind, the
children in this study were taught
to manipulate Lego® blocks to
assemble structures as they would
during certain types of solitary
play (e.g., building a house from

blocks). Increasing appropriate
solitary play skills was a goal for all of
the participants. Each step of the chain
consisted of locating and placing one piece
in its designated place. The structures
constructed were arbitrary in that they did
not resemble real-life structures. This was
done in an attempt to equate task difficulty
and control for learning history. That is,
while our participants may have had varied
experience playing with Lego® blocks, none
would have had any prior history with
the actual structures they were taught to
construct in the study.

We compared most-to-least and least-
to-most prompting in the acquisition of
these construction tasks. Based on the
literature review, we assumed that the
children would make fewer errors with
most-to-least prompting than with least-
to-most prompting. However, clinical
experience led us to believe that the
prompting procedure that would produce
the most rapid acquisition (in terms of
trials to criterion) would likely vary across
the participants. In the first study, we
compared most-to-least prompting to least-
to-most prompting. In the second study,
we compared least-to-most prompting to
most-to-least prompting when it did and
did not include a time delay.

.

Study 1 – Method

Participants

All five participants were children
who resided in a private residential
school for children with autism and
related disabilities. Each child received
educational and behavioral services at
a centrally located school and in their
various residences. All of the participants
except Zach were diagnosed with autism.
Zach was a 15-year-old boy with a primary
diagnosis of pervasive developmental delay
(PDD). He communicated through the
use of a voice output device and a few
manual signs. He also used a picture-based
communication system with approximately
12 pictures. He produced vocal imitations
and approximations but frequently emitted
stereotypic vocal utterances. He could
follow 2-step directions and was grouped in
a 1:2 teacher-to-student ratio throughout
his day. Ernie was an 11-year-old boy who
had minimal expressive and receptive skills
and communicated through vocalizations
which approximated word sounds. He
also used a picture-based communication
system with approximately 30 pictures and
had some limited signing. He could follow
2-step directions and was typically grouped
in a 1:2 or 1:3 teacher-to-student ratio.

Tom, a 9-year-old boy, communicated
vocally and could follow multi-step
directions. He frequently received 1:1
staffing for problem behavior but was
typically grouped 1:2 for academic
instruction. Ricky was a 9-year-old boy who
communicated vocally, often in complete
sentences, and had good receptive skills.
He could follow multiple-step directions
and typically received 1:1 staffing due to
behavior problems. Andy, a 9-year-old boy,
communicated with the use of a picture-
based communication system and manual
signs. Andy had a receptive and expressive
vocabulary of approximately 10 signs and
was learning to make full sentence requests
with picture cues using over 50 pictures. He
followed 2-step directions and was typically
grouped in a 1:2 teacher-to-student ratio.

All participants had received
developmental testing in conjunction with
the development of individual educational
plans and all tested below 3 years of age.
None were on behavior control medications

Figure 1. Pictures of the play structures that children
were taught to build in Study 1.

38 A Comparison of Most-to-Least and Least-to-Most Prompting

BAIP_1-48.indd 38 4/7/08 2:02:08 PM

during the study. Although all of the
participants exhibited behavior problems,
none of the target behaviors occurred
during the study.

Setting

Training was conducted either in a
classroom at the participants’ school or in a
leisure room at their residence. For a given
participant, all training sessions occurred in
the same setting. Materials in the training
settings included a table, at least two chairs,
data sheets, pencils, the task materials,
preferred edibles, and a video camera. More
than 60% of sessions were videotaped.

Materials and Task Analyses

Four play structures made from Lego®
blocks were developed. The structures
were randomly assigned to a teaching
condition, and each structure was
taught at least once with each response
prompting technique. The four structures
were evaluated by six independent raters
(teachers and administrators) and judged to
be of equivalent difficulty. Each structure
consisted of a base upon which seven other
Lego® pieces were placed. The bases for
the four structures were the same shape and
size, but varied in color. The completed
play structures are shown in Figure 1. For
each structure, the individual building
pieces varied in color and shape but only
one was used for each step in the chain. An
8-step task analysis that specified the order
of placement of the pieces was developed
for each structure. The first step of each
chain was for the participant to pull the
base out from a group of the blocks. The
second and all following steps involved
picking up and placing one block in the
order determined by the task analysis.
(To view the task analyses, visit www.
abainternational.org/BAinPractice.asp).
Each structure was taught to the participants
using a different prompting technique so
that the effectiveness and efficiency of the
techniques could be compared.

Training Procedures

Prior to the study, a food preference
assessment based on the methods described
by Fisher et al. (1992) was conducted to
identify highly preferred food items for
each participant. At the beginning of
each training session, the participant chose

between two highly preferred
foods, and the selected item was
used as a reinforcer for correct
responses in that session.

Forward chaining was used
to teach all chains, regardless of
the prompting technique. That is,
each successive step in the chain
was taught after the participant
had mastered the previous step
in the chain. At the beginning
of each instructional trial, the
trainer placed the materials in
front of the participant in a
random arrangement and said,
“Let’s play.” Data were collected
on the number of steps performed
independently in sequence on
the last trial of each session, the
number of errors per session,
and the number of sessions to
acquisition. Correct order and
placement were required to
score a step as being correctly
completed.

Each training session
consisted of one “probe” trial
followed by 10 training trials. The
purpose of the probe trial was to
allow the learner an opportunity
to independently construct the
Lego® structure in the absence
of prompting and reinforcement.
The probe trial continued until
the participant made an error or
went 15 s without responding. Probe data
from the very first session served as baseline
and indicated that none of the participants
demonstrated any correct steps in the
chain.

During training trials, the chain was
taught using either most-to-least or least-
to-most prompting. Each prompting
technique was associated with a different
but equally difficult response chain. The
most-to-least prompting hierarchy (MTL)
included five prompting levels: hand-over-
hand, hand on the participant’s forearm,
hand on the participant’s upper arm, light
touch or shadow by the elbow, and no
prompt. The prompting levels associated
with MTL prompting are shown in Figure
2. The criterion for reducing the level of
assistance on a step was two consecutive
correct responses at the designated prompt
level. Two consecutive errors led to an

increase in the intrusiveness of the prompt
used. After two consecutive correct
independent responses, training moved
to the next step in the chain. The least-
to-most prompting hierarchy (LTM) was
the same as that used for most-to-least but
in the reverse order (see Figure 2). At the
training step, the participant was given 2 s
to respond independently. If there was no
response, the trainer proceeded to give the
next most intrusive prompt at 2 s intervals
until the training step was completed.
After 2 consecutive independent trials, the
next step was taught. The training step
at the start of each session was based on
performance in the prior session.

With both prompting techniques,
any errors made on the training step or on
previously acquired steps of the chain were
immediately corrected with hand-over-
hand guidance. Two consecutive errors

Least-to-Most

Independent
Light touch/shadow
Manual guidance at upper arm
Manual guidance at forearm
Hand over hand

Most-to-Least

Hand over hand
Manual guidance at forearm
Manual guidance at upper arm
Light touch/shadow
Independent

Most-to-Least with 2-s Delay

Hand over hand
2-s delay, manual guidance at forearm
2-s delay, manual guidance at upper arm
2-s delay, light touch/shadow
Independent

Figure 2. This diagram shows the prompt levels
associated with the three prompting techniques
examined across the two studies (least-to-most and
most-to-least with and without a 2-s delay); The
most intrusive prompt in the sequence is shown in
boldfaced type, and the opportunity for independent
performance during training trials is italicized.

39A Comparison of Most-to-Least and Least-to-Most Prompting

BAIP_1-48.indd 39 4/7/08 2:02:08 PM

on a previously acquired step resulted in
retraining on that and all subsequent steps.
Reinforcement consisting of the trainer
saying, “Good Job,” and delivering a
preferred food item immediately followed
correct completion of the trained step.
After delivery of the reinforcer, the trainer
completed the remaining (untaught)
steps in the chain prior to starting the
next training trial. Thus, a full model was
displayed to each participant at the end of
each trial. Each participant was taught by
only one trainer, and there were different
trainers across participants.

The mastery criterion was met when
all steps of the chain were completed
independently for two consecutive trials.
If performance was 100% correct on a
probe trial, another probe was run. If both
probe trials were 100% correct, the solitary
play structure was considered mastered.
Thus, a structure could either be mastered
at the start of a session, as indicated by
performance during the probe, or mastery
could emerge during the training trials.
Following mastery, generalization probes
were conducted by a novel trainer in a
different room, typically on the same day
as mastery was achieved. The skill was
considered generalized if the participant
completed the structure independently
during the probe.

Performance associated with the
two different prompting techniques was
compared by rapidly alternating training
sessions with each chain. This is called a
multielement or alternating treatments
design. Sessions were alternated such that no
more than two sessions of either prompting
procedure were run consecutively.
Participants received training sessions one
to three times per day, 2 to 5 days per week.
Multiple sessions on one day were separated
by a minimum of 10 min of unrelated
activities.

Interobserver Agreement and
Procedural Integrity

Most sessions were videotaped to allow
interobserver agreement and procedural
integrity to be measured. Agreement
on each student’s performance was
examined on a trial-by-trial basis. Two
trained observers independently recorded
participant responses during at least 50%
of sessions, and reliability was calculated

by dividing the number
of agreements by the total
number of agreements
and disagreements
and multiplying by
100%. Mean agreement
scores on training step
performance exceeded
95% for each participant
across conditions (range,
92% to 100%) Another
critical aspect of teaching
is procedural integrity or
the accuracy with which
the training procedures
are implemented. The
accuracy with which the
trainers set up each training
step, prompted correct
responses, and delivered
reinforcement was assessed
by trained observers
during a minimum of
50% of sessions across
participants, conditions,
and trainers. Mean
accuracy scores were 95%
(range, 93% to 100%).

Results and Discussion

Acquisition graphs in Figures 3
and 4 show the number of consecutive
independent steps performed by each
participant on the last training trial of each
session, as a function of the prompting
procedure. Examining the last training trial
reveals the learner’s performance at the end
of the training session. If all steps on the
initial probe trial for a session were 100%
correct, the data point for that session reflects
performance on the probe. Three of the
children (Ernie, Ricky, and Tom) acquired
the chain in fewer sessions with LTM than
with MTL. On the other hand, Zach had
not yet progressed beyond Step 3 of the
chain associated with LTM prompting when
he acquired the chain associated with the
MTL prompting. Therefore, after the 22nd
LTM session, the prompting technique was
changed to MTL. Zach then acquired the
chain in 6 additional sessions. In a similar
manner, Andy had made no progress on the
structure being taught using LTM when
he had acquired the chain taught through
MTL. At that point, the LTM prompting
procedure was changed to MTL. Andy

then acquired that chain in 6 additional
sessions. All participants immediately
showed generalized responding to a novel
therapist and setting.

Table 1 shows the total number of
sessions and the average number of errors
per session that were associated with the
two prompting techniques. All participants
made more errors with LTM prompting
than with MTL prompting. The type of
errors varied across individuals and did not
cluster around a specific step of the task
analysis for a structure.

To summarize briefly, for two of the
five participants, MTL was more effective
and efficient than LTM in teaching solitary
play chains. However, both prompting
techniques produced learning for the other
three participants, although LTM was more
efficient in all cases. Thus, although MTL
may not be necessary for all learners, there

40 A Comparison of Most-to-Least and Least-to-Most Prompting

Video clips of simulated training sessions
can be found on the BAP website

http://www .abainternational .org/BAinPractice .asp

Participant Most-to-Least Delayed Prompt Least-to-Most

Total
Sessions

Ave. per
session

Total
Sessions

Ave. per
session

Total
Sessions

Ave. per
session

Ernie 15 2.33 6 2.17 5
3.4

Ricky 15 1.6 5 1.4 3 2.3

Ian 6 0 4 0.5 3 0

Table 1: Total Number of Sessions and
Average Number of Errors per Session in Study 1

Participant Most-to-Least Least-to-Most

Total Sessions Avg. per
session

Total Sessions Avg. per
session

Ernie 6 1.2 4 3.8

Ricky 4 0.5 3 1.3

Tom 11 0.8 7 2.7

Zach 22 2.2 23 4.6

Andy 26 1.6 22 2.2

Table 2: Number of Sessions and Average Number of
Errors per Session in Study 2

BAIP_1-48.indd 40 4/7/08 2:02:09 PM

were more errors per session with LTM
prompting than with MTL prompting.
This finding is consistent with those
reported previously (Demchak, 1990).
Overall, results support the use of MTL
when errors are highly undesirable.

It is possible that the slower
acquisition associated with MTL for the
three participants was simply an artifact
of the prompting procedure itself. As
implemented, the prompt fading procedure
required 8 trials of guided performance (2
trials of correct responding at each prompt
level) before independent performance
was possible, unless it occurred on the
probe trial. Thus, the physical prompts
provided to the participants at each step
may have prevented them from engaging
in independent responding. Prompt fading
may have occurred more slowly than was

necessary for the participants.
If so, this limitation of MTL could be

remedied by combining MTL with a time-
delay procedure. To examine this possibility,
the trainers delayed the prompt for 2 s
when using MTL in a second study. This
allowed for independent performance to be
demonstrated within the session as soon as
the participant acquired the step. It could
be very beneficial to develop a procedure
that allows the learner to demonstrate a
response as soon as it is acquired, as with
LTM, but which also limits errors, as with
MTL.

Study 2 – Method

Participants and Setting

Ernie and Ricky participated again,
along with a third participant, Ian. Ian was

a 9-year-old boy whose primary diagnosis
was autism. Ian communicated vocally,
followed 2- and 3-step directions, and
could expressively label a variety of pictures,
objects and people. Ian was typically
grouped in a 1:2 teacher-to-student ratio.
The setting was the same as that in Study
1.

Training Procedures

All procedures were the same as in
Study 1 except that 10-step rather than
8-step solitary play chains were taught. In
addition, three prompting techniques were
compared for each participant: LTM, MTL,
and MTL with a fixed time delay (MTLD).
The MTLD procedure was identical to
the MTL procedure except that, on all
prompting steps except hand-over-hand, the
experimenter waited 2 s before prompting

Figure 3. The number of steps of the task analysis performed
independently during training with most-to-least and least-to-most
prompting for three participants in Study 1. Each graph shows the
results for one participant. The solid squares represent the acquisition
of independent steps for the least-to-most condition. Open squares
represent acquisition of independent steps for the most-to-least
condition. The triangles represent the generalization trials.

41A Comparison of Most-to-Least and Least-to-Most Prompting

Figure 4. The number of steps of the task analysis performed
independently during training with most-to-least and least-
to-most prompting for two participants in Study 1. Each
graph shows the results for one participant. The solid squares
represent the acquisition of independent steps for the least-to-most
condition. Open squares represent acquisition of independent
steps for the most-to-least condition. The triangles represent the
generalization trials.

BAIP_1-48.indd 41 4/7/08 2:02:10 PM

the participant unless an error was made;
errors were corrected immediately with
hand-over-hand guidance (see Figure 2
for prompt levels). Each participant was
taught 3 different chains, each of which
was associated with a different prompting
technique. Sessions with each technique
were rapidly alternated, as in Study 1.
The assignment of chains to a prompting
procedure was counterbalanced across the
participants.

Results and Discussion

Acquisition graphs in Figure 5 show

the number of consecutive independent
steps performed by each participant on
the last training trial of each session, as a
function of the prompting procedure. All 3
participants acquired the chain trained with
LTM first, followed by the chain trained
with MTLD and then the chain trained
with MTL. However, it should be noted
that acquisition was nearly as rapid when
the trainer used the MTLD procedure as
the LTM procedure. Furthermore, both
MTL and MTLD were associated with
fewer errors per session than LTM, with the
exception of Ian who had very few errors

with any of the prompting techniques (see
data in Table 2). These findings showed
that MTLD was just as efficient as LTM in
producing acquisition yet produced fewer
errors.

Conclusions and Guidelines
for Best Practice

Developing efficient and effective
procedures for teaching students with
autism and other developmental delays is
fundamental to advancing applied behavior
analysis as a field. Overall, results of these
empirical analyses showed that MTL led
to fewer errors per training session than
LTM and produced fairly rapid acquisition
when it was combined with a time delay.
Furthermore, it was much more effective
than LTM for two participants.

Practitioners may want to minimize
errors because they have been shown
to impair discrimination learning (e.g.,
Terrace, 1963). Errors provide no more,
and perhaps less, feedback than correct
reinforced attempts. They require additional
training trials depending on the retraining
criteria and make training more complex
for teachers because decisions have to be
made about resetting training steps and
prompting levels. Errors also produce a
lower rate of reinforcement per response,
which may impair learning. Finally,
minimizing errors may reduce the likelihood
of problem behavior during instruction
(Weeks & Gaylord-Ross, 1983).

Thus, MTLD may be the best choice
as a default strategy. Nonetheless, some
individual differences were found among
the learners in this study. For example,
although MTL prompting was the only
technique that was effective for two
participants in Study 1, LTM produced the
most rapid acquisition for the remaining
children. Based on these findings and those
of previous studies, the following guidelines
are recommended for best practice:

• MTLD is likely the best default response
prompting technique when a child’s learn-
ing history is unknown.

• MTL or MTLD is preferable if errors
have been found to impede a child’s
learning or to increase problem behavior;
however, MTL without a time delay may
produce slower acquisition even though it
minimizes errors.

Figure 5. The number of steps of the task analysis performed independently during training
with least-to-most prompting and most-to-least prompting with and without a delay for the
three participants in Study 2. Each graph shows the results for one participant. The solid
squares represent the acquisition of independent steps for the least-to-most condition. Open
squares represent acquisition of independent steps for the most-to-least condition. The triangles
and diamonds represent the generalization trials.

42 A Comparison of Most-to-Least and Least-to-Most Prompting

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BAIP_1-48.indd 42 4/7/08 2:02:10 PM

• LTM may be preferable for students who
have already shown rapid acquisition with
this prompting technique.

• Progress should be monitored frequently
to insure that errors do not stall learning.

These recommendations indicate
another important clinical implication of
the findings: The prompting technique
should be tailored to the individual learner.
The procedures used in this study may be
useful for determining the most effective
prompting technique for individual
learners. As demonstrated in this study,
practitioners who would like to compare
different prompting strategies for their
learners should make certain that the tasks
are of equal difficulty and that the learner
does not have unequal exposure to the tasks
prior to the comparison.

Practitioners should also consider the
possibility that the most effective prompting
technique for a learner may vary across the
types of skills that are being taught. For
example, a student may readily learn to
answer questions with LTM prompting but
require MTL prompting when learning to
button a shirt. Further research is needed
to address this issue. In the meantime,
practitioners should probably conduct
these comparisons for different skills areas
with individual learners.

It should also be pointed out that the
present data were obtained with participants
diagnosed with autism, all boys between
the ages of 9 and 15 who lived in the same
residential facility. These findings may
not generalize to other individuals, such
as those who do not have the diagnosis of
autism but do have profound intellectual
disabilities. More research on chaining
and prompting techniques is necessary to
inform our practices so that we provide
our students with the most effective and
efficient training technology.

References

Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L.
(2007). Applied behavior a

Toward a behavior-analytic understanding of jealousy and
compersion in romantic and sexual relationships
Glenna Hunter a and August Stockwellb

aChildren’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada; bChicago, USA

ABSTRACT
Jealousy is the emotional response to a real or imagined threat to
an important relationship, and is a common source of distress
within romantic and other close interpersonal relationships. In
contrast, compersion is the experience of joy in response to
a partner experiencing emotional or sexual attraction toward and
interactions with another person. In this paper the authors present
a contingency analysis of jealous responding and identify ways in
which contingencies may be altered to produce a reduction in
jealous responding in situations in which this is a targeted goal.
Contingencies involved in compersive responding are also pro-
pounded, with suggestions as to how compersive responding
may be fostered within relationships in which compersion is a goal.

ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 3 January 2020
Accepted 6 September 2021

KEYWORDS
Jealousy; compersion;
monogamy; consensual non-
monogamy; behavioral
contingencies; emotion

I love thee not as something private and personal, which is your own, but as something
universal and worthy of love, which I have found (Thoreau, 1980, p. 219).

Jealousy has been a common theme in poetry, prose, and song and a preoccupation of
romantic couples for centuries. Jealousy has been identified as a common source of
distress within romantic relationships (Elphinston et al., 2013) when one partner suspects
that the other is attracted to someone else. Matters of jealousy are frequently the cause for
couples to seek counseling (De Silva, 1997), and jealousy is particularly problematic when
it is related to violence and abuse that occurs within relationships (American Medical
Association, 1992; Dittman, 2005; Hettrich & O’Leary, 2007).

Jealousy is not the only response that may occur when one’s partner experiences
sexual or romantic feelings for another person. In contrast, compersion is the experience
of joy in response to a partner experiencing emotional or sexual attraction toward and
interactions with another person (Aumer et al., 2014; J. Deri, 2015; Eve, 1985; J. H. Deri,
2011; Hypatia from Space, 2019; Mogilski et al., 2019). While compersion is little talked
about in the context of monogamous relationships (though see Aumer et al., 2014 for an
exception), it is considered particularly important in promoting the well-being of con-
sensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships (Aumer et al., 2014; J. Deri, 2015; Eve,
1985; J. H. Deri, 2011; Hypatia from Space, 2019; Wolfe, 2003). CNM relationships are
those in which partners agree that each may engage in romantic or sexual relationships

CONTACT Glenna Hunter glennahunter@gmail.com
The authors would like to thank Deric Toney, Worner Leland, Rivanna Jihan, Jessica Gamba, Sara Beck, and anonymous
reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
https://doi.org/10.1080/15021149.2021.1981751

© 2021 Norwegian Association for Behavior Analysis

with others, with the full knowledge and consent of all involved (Conley et al., 2013;
Mogilski et al., 2019). CNM relationships exist in a number of forms which are typically
categorized based on the degree to which the extra-dyadic relationships are primarily
sexual in nature, as in the case of swinging and open relationships, or emphasize
emotional involvement and commitment, as in the case of polyamory (Grunt-Mejer &
Campbell, 2015).

While there is a paucity of research on compersion, there is a rich body of research on
the topic of jealousy spanning a range of theoretical perspectives (Demirtas-Madran,
2011; Duma, 2009; Pines, 1992), including evolutionary (e.g., Easton et al., 2007), socio-
logical (e.g., J. Deri, 2015; J. H. Deri, 2011), cognitive (e.g., Bauerle et al., 2002;
Schumacher & Slep, 2004), and neurobiological (e.g., Harmon-Jones et al., 2009) frame-
works, each of which have yielded important insights. In contrast, the body of research
on compersion (e.g., Aumer et al., 2014; Balzarini et al., 2021; Duma, 2009; J. H. Deri,
2011) is relatively small. Neither jealousy nor compersion have been examined from
a behavior-analytic perspective.

What follows is a preliminary foray into understanding jealous and compersive
responding through a behavior-analytic lens, focused on the direct contingencies1

involved in these collections of responses. Implications for reducing jealous responding
are discussed, as well as possible ways of fostering compersive responding in situations in
which compersion is a desired outcome. In keeping with much of the research on this
subject, the authors will discuss jealous responding as it occurs in the context of intimate
relationships but do so with the recognition that any time two people are in an important
relationship (e.g., friendship and family relationships; Parrot, 1991) the opportunity for
jealous responding exists, and with the hope that the framework suggested may be
extended to other types of relationships as well. Furthermore, whereas the degree to
which jealous responding is perceived to be negative or positive varies across different
cultures and subcultures, in this paper the authors strive to present an analysis of jealousy
without negative or positive valence. Instead, they attempt, without judgment, to present
jealous behavior as a natural response to the contingencies within the relationship.

Defining jealousy

Attridge (2013) provides a definition of jealousy standard of those commonly used in
jealousy research: “an emotional response to the real or imagined threat of losing some-
thing of value from a romantic relationship” (p. 1). This definition can inform
a behavior-analytic account of jealousy with further specification of what is meant by
emotional response, as well as threat to something of value.

Jealousy: an emotional response

In a number of studies, researchers have attempted to catalogue specific response
topographies that characterize jealousy. Typically, participants are first asked to remem-
ber a situation in which they have felt jealous (e.g., L. Guerrero et al., 1995; L. K. Guerrero
et al., 2005), or to imagine situations2 that may induce jealousy, such as their partner
engaging in sex with or falling in love with another person (e.g., Attridge, 2013; Barelds &
Barelds-Dijkstra, 2007; Marelich, 2002; Salovey & Rodin, 1986). Participants are then

2 G. HUNTER AND A. STOCKWELL

asked to list (e.g., L. Guerrero et al., 1995; L. K. Guerrero et al., 2005), or to rate on
a Likert scale (e.g., Attridge, 2013; Barelds & Barelds-Dijkstra, 2007; Bryson, 1991;
L. Guerrero et al., 1995; L. K. Guerrero et al., 2005; Marelich, 2002) the actions that
they did/would do, and the thoughts and feelings that they had/would have in the
situation. The participants’ responses are then grouped into categories such as those
found in Table 1.

Jealousy as described in research is commonly conceptualized as being divisible into
the components of behavior, cognition and affect (Guerrero et al., 2005), or actions,
thoughts, and feelings (Kim et al., 2017). In a behavior analytic approach, these three
components are not viewed as fundamentally separate processes, but rather all are viewed
as behavioral responses (Anderson et al., 1997). Thoughts and feelings, rather than being
non-behavioral hypothetical constructs that affect a person’s behavior, are construed as
private events (i.e., events observable only by one person) that are behavioral responses as
much as are overt behaviors. While the role of private events in the analysis of behavior
continues to be a point of discussion between behavior analysts (Anderson et al., 1997;
Schlinger, 2011), private events are generally afforded no special status, but instead
viewed as being subject to the same environmental contingencies as overt behaviors
(Moore, 2000; Skinner, 1957, 1974). Briefly, thinking is behavior, such as talking, that
typically occurs at a covert level such that it may not be observed by others besides the
person behaving but that nevertheless is governed by environmental contingencies in the
same way as overt behavior (Moore, 2000; Skinner, 1957, 1974).3 Feelings are recognized
as “conditions of the body” (Moore, 2000, p. 50) that come about in response to the
circumstances under which they occur, and that can thereby be understood through an
analysis of the contingencies involved. Therefore, the triad of actions (overt behavior),
thoughts (covert behavior), and feelings (conditions of the body) may be analyzed in
terms of environmental contingencies.

A traditional analysis of emotion, which corresponds to a lay understanding of
emotions, would posit that emotional behavior (e.g., yelling) is caused by the emotion
itself (e.g., anger) or that emotional behavior is a way of expressing the emotion felt. This
position is clearly reflected in a study by Guerrero et al. (2005) in which participants were
asked to remember a situation in which they had felt jealous and to describe the emotions

Table 1. Categories of jealous responding.
Response Category Examples

Negative affect expressiona Showing sadness or anger
Solution oriented

communicationa
Talking with their partner in a constructive way, self disclosure, providing explanations

for their reaction
Distributive communicationa Yelling
Active distancinga Ignoring their partner
Avoidance or deniala Denying being jealous
Violent communicationa Threatening their partner
Surveillance restrictiona Spying on their partner
Contacting the rivala Telling the rival not to see their partner any more
Manipulationa Trying to make their partner feel guilty or jealous
Compensatory restorationa Trying to improve the relationship, trying to become more attractive to their partner
Violence towards objectsa Breaking objects
Intropunitiveb Blaming self
Emotional devastationb Rumination, depression, crying
Need for social supportb Talking with friends

aL. Guerrero et al. (1995). bBryson (1991).

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 3

that they had felt as well as the way in which they had communicated with their partner
about the situation. The authors then correlated the reported behavior with the reported
emotions and explained the behavior in terms of the emotions. For example, those who
reported having felt hostile were more likely to report that they had used violence, from
which the authors concluded that the violence may come about due to underlying
hostility. This conclusion comes about from circular reasoning: Why are they threatening
their partner? Because they feel hostile. Why do they feel hostile? Because they are
jealous. How do you know they are jealous? Because they are threatening their partner.

A behavior-analytic approach avoids circular reasoning in that emotional behavior is
not considered to be caused by emotion. Rather, the feeling of jealousy (the privately
experienced conditions of the body) and the emotional behavior (both covert and overt
responses) are seen to be the result of the same environmental variables (Moore, 2000;
Skinner, 1953) but not causal of each other even though they are temporally contiguous.
That is, a person did not yell because they felt jealous when they found out that their
partner had kissed someone else, but rather, they yelled and felt jealous when they found
out that their partner had kissed someone else. An analysis of jealous responding there-
fore requires an examination of the contingencies between the responses and the
circumstances under which they occur.

Jealousy: a response to a threat to something of value

The definition provided by Attridge (2013) points toward circumstances under which
a response is considered one of jealousy: the real or perceived presence of a threat to
a valued aspect of one’s relationship.

Valued aspect of a relationship
Many characteristics of a relationship may be valued by those in the relationship, and
those characteristics which are valued vary across relationships as well as between people
in a relationship. For example, one person may value time spent working on common
projects, or the way in which they co-parent with their partner. Another may value the
way in which they and their partner discuss and share worldviews. While an exploration
of the variables that determine what a person values in a relationship is beyond the scope
of this paper, it is important to acknowledge that each person comes to a relationship
from a different learning history that affects what they value in that relationship.

A valued aspect of a relationship (VAR) may be identified as some abstract quality of
the relationship characterized by a set of behaviors and their related reinforcers that
maintain continued responding specific to that relationship (Hunter & Stockwell, 2019).
For example, Sternberg (1997), in his Triangle Theory of Love, lists the abstract qualities
of intimacy, passion, and commitment as components of love that characterize relation-
ships. Terms such as intimacy, passion, and commitment suggest classes or patterns of
behavior whose consequences serve as reinforcers. For example, behaviors such as talking
about feelings, and sharing secrets may fall under the umbrella of intimacy – behaviors
which may be reinforced by one’s partner responding in kind. Engaging in acts of
physical affection or sexual interactions with another person that occur at high rates,
high magnitudes, or both may fall under the term passion. Commitment can be con-
ceptualized as relationship-related behaviors that persist across time and circumstances,

4 G. HUNTER AND A. STOCKWELL

including adverse situations (as in the traditional Christian wedding vows: to have and to
hold for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health). Another term of particular
importance to the discussion of jealousy is exclusivity, which refers to certain responses
that occur only within the specific relationship. For example, physical exclusivity refers to
the practice of engaging in physically affectionate behavior (e.g., kissing, cuddling, or
sexual behavior) only with one’s partner, and emotional exclusivity to engaging in certain
social responses (e.g., self-disclosure, saying “I love you”) only towards one’s partner.

VARs may also involve reinforcers obtained outside of the interactions between the
people in the relationship. For example, being in the relationship may bring about an
increase in social status: community members may interact with the people in the
relationship in a way that results in increased contact with reinforcement by those in
the relationship. Practical benefits such as increased financial security or support in child
rearing may also constitute VARs.

Throughout this analysis, contact with a VAR refers to contact with another’s VAR-
related behavior or with opportunities to engage in VAR-related behavior. Under
circumstances in which VAR-related behavior results in reinforcement, contact with
a VAR is synonymous with contact with reinforcement (Hunter & Stockwell, 2019).
The introduction of the acronym VAR does not suggest that any process is in play
over and above reinforcement; the acronym is used simply as an efficient way of referring
to specific reinforcers contacted by virtue of being in the relationship.

Threats to a valued aspect of the relationship
A threat to a VAR refers to any event or condition that signals a decrease in the frequency
of another’s VAR-related behavior or in opportunities to engage in VAR-related beha-
vior, and therefore signals a decrease in reinforcement available. For example, if the
attention of their partner is a valued aspect of the person’s relationship, the arrival of the
partner’s friend may constitute a threat to this VAR given a history of the partner shifting
their attention away from the person and toward the friend. The friend’s arrival signals
a decrease in the partner’s attention, and thus, in circumstances in which the partner’s
attention serves as an effective form of reinforcement, the friend’s arrival signals
a decrease in reinforcement available.

A threat to a VAR may also be any event or condition that reduces the reinforcing
effectiveness of contact with one’s partner’s VAR-related behavior or in the consequences
of one’s own VAR-related behavior. For example, even if physical intimacy is a VAR,
after one discovers that one’s partner has been cheating, one’s partner’s physical affection
may no longer function as a reinforcer as it did prior to the discovery of betrayal.

As Attridge’s (2013) definition of jealousy suggests, the threat may be either real
or imagined. A real threat may involve environmental events which relate directly to
a loss in reinforcement (e.g., a partner stating “I want to spend more time with
other people”), whereas an imagined threat may constitute a situation in which
there are some, but not all, events present that have preceded that change in the
past (e.g., a partner spending more time out of town than usual). It is important to
note that, for either type of threat situation, the person may not have a direct
history with these environmental events leading to loss of reinforcement and may
instead be engaging in rule-governed behavior. In the example above, a person may
not have had a previous partner who began taking more out-of-town trips and then

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 5

disclosed their infidelity; instead, this person may be operating according to the rule,
“If they take more out-of-town trips, this means they are cheating on me”. This rule
may have been stated by someone in the person’s verbal community or presented
through media messages, or it may have been self-generated (see Hayes et al., 1998;
Rosenfarb et al., 1992; Skinner, 1945).

Much research into jealousy presumes that exclusivity – be it emotional or sexual or
both – is the VAR to which a threat would evoke jealous responding (J. H. Deri, 2011).
Participants in jealousy studies are typically given scenarios to read which depict
hypothetical situations in which their partner is either engaged in an emotional or
sexual interaction with someone else (e.g., Attridge, 2013; Marelich, 2002), or else
asked to imagine such a situation (e.g., Shackelford et al., 2000), and then asked to rate
how they would respond in such a situation. The underlying assumption upon which
these studies lie is that any deviation from exclusivity constitutes an act in response to
which a person would respond with jealousy. This assumption may be valid to many
people in monogamous relationships but would not necessarily be so for those in CNM
relationships. Thus, it is important to consider that threats to aspects of the relation-
ship other than exclusivity may evoke jealous responding. This recognition is impor-
tant when examining jealous responding that occurs in the context of CNM
relationships, in which sexual or emotional exclusivity is not a defining aspect of the
relationship.

Within any relationship, specific agreements govern the behavior of those in the
relationship. These agreements serve to maintain the VARs and may be implicit or
explicitly established by the people in the relationship. As the agreements serve to
maintain the VARs, any breaking of an agreement constitutes a threat to a VAR and
may set the occasion for jealous responding. For example, in most monogamous relation-
ships each person in the relationship agrees implicitly to engage in sexual behavior only
with the other partner and with no one else; sexual exclusivity is presumed to be a VAR.
Any situation in which the agreement is broken, such as if one partner engages in sex
with another person, constitutes a threat to sexual exclusivity, and is likely to lead to
jealous responding on the part of the other partner. Partners within CNM relationships,
who agree that each partner may engage in romantic or sexual relationships with other
people, may establish agreements as to what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable
behavior regarding each person’s relationships with other people (Cook, 2005; Hardy &
Easton, 2017; Hypatia from Space, 2019; Veaux & Rickert, 2014; Wolfe, 2003; Wosick-
Correa, 2010). These agreements are often created through direct and ongoing commu-
nication (Wosick-Correa, 2010), and established so as to ensure that each person con-
tinues to contact that which they value in their relationship with their partner. Honest
communication is one example of a possible VAR. Partners in a CNM relationship may
agree that it is acceptable for each person to date other people so long as they first talk to
their partner and that they honestly answer any questions or respond to any concerns
that their partner may have. If one partner breaks this agreement and dates another
person without first talking with their partner, or if they lie to their partner about dating
someone else, this situation would constitute a threat to honest communication, and may
thus lead to jealous responding on the part of their partner.

6 G. HUNTER AND A. STOCKWELL

Contingency analysis of jealous responding

Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise
picture of it.. (Frankl, 1963, p. 117)

A contingency refers to “the relations between the responses and other events” (Lattal,
1995, p. 210). While both operant and respondent relations are no doubt involved in
jealous responding, the current discussion focuses on the operant relations involved, and
therefore on the roles of events that serve as motivating operations (MOs) and discri-
minative stimuli (Sds and S∆s) as antecedents, and consequent events that serve to
reinforce, punish, or extinguish jealous responding.

Interlocking contingencies

Situations of jealousy that occur within a relationship involve the behavior of at least two
people: the person engaging in the jealous response and their partner. The behavior of
each person in the relationship has an effect on the other, and so, to fully understand
a person’s jealous responses, one must consider the actions of their partner and vice versa
(Ridley, 1996). Considering the interlocking contingencies at play for both partners
mirrors the approach of Toney and Hayes (2017) in their analysis of interpersonal
conflict, which in turn reflects Skinner’s (1957) handling of verbal interactions.

The behavior of other people, such as the rival, or other community members (both in
person and on social network sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc.) may also
play a significant role in how a situation of jealousy unfolds (Martínez-León et al., 2017).
For example, if a person’s friends respond sympathetically to the person’s accusational
complaints about their partner, accusational behavior may be maintained. For the sake of
concision, the behavior of others will not be included in the analysis of jealousy that
follows, but the authors recognize that a truly complete analysis of certain situations will
require consideration of others’ behavior as well.

MOs

MOs are commonly defined as events or stimulus conditions that alter the reinforcing or
punishing effects of other events (the value altering effect), and alter the frequency of
behaviors that are affected by these events as consequence (behavior altering effect;
Laraway et al., 2003; Michael, 1993). MOs that serve to increase the effectiveness of
events as reinforcers or punishers are referred to as establishing operations (EOs),
whereas MOs that serve to reduce the effectiveness of events as reinforcers or punishers
are referred to as abolishing operations (AOs; Michael, 1993). Recognizing the role of
MOs aids in analyzing the contingencies involved in both the experience and expression
of emotions (Lewon & Hayes, 2014; Toney & Hayes, 2017).

Establishing operations that are pertinent to jealous responding may involve those
that affect the reinforcing effectiveness of contact with a person’s partner and the
likelihood of behaviors occurring that produce contact with the partner. For instance,
the time a person spends with their partner may serve either as an EO or AO with
regards to further contact with them. Situations not directly related to the

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 7

relationship itself may also serve as EOs or AOs. For example, stressful events at
work, illness, or conflict within other relationships may serve as EOs that increase the
effectiveness of contact with a person’s partner as a form of reinforcement and
increase the likelihood that the person may attempt to contact their partner; in
contrast, compelling projects at work or positive experiences within other relation-
ships may serve as AOs. It is important to note that one cannot categorize events as
EOs or AOs based on the features of the event, but only by their effect on behavior.
For example, one person faced with a parent’s terminal illness may turn to their
partner for comfort, whereas another person may withdraw and spend time alone.
For the first person, this event serves as an EO with regards to contact with the
partner that increases the likelihood that the person will attempt to contact their
partner, while, for the second person, this event serves as an AO decreasing such
a likelihood.4

Two antecedent factors may be drawn from the definition of jealousy that are
suggestive of MOs. The first is the presence of a VAR – something that constitutes
a source of reinforcement, the loss or deprivation of which would serve as an EO – and
the second is the presence of a threat to the VAR – the presence of which would serve as
a reflexive EO.

Deprivation of a VAR as an EO
In cases where a person experiences a loss of some valued aspect of their relation-
ship, this relative deprivation functions as an EO for that which was lost. Contact
with the VAR increases in effectiveness as a reinforcer and behaviors that have led to
increased contact with that VAR in the past may be evoked. Some forms of jealous
behavior are suggestive of the effects of this EO. For example, a number of partici-
pants in a study by Guerrero et al. (2005), when asked to imagine instances in which
their relationship had been threatened by their partner’s attention to a rival, reported
that they made efforts to increase their attractiveness to their partner. Plausibly,
deprivation of the partner’s attention due to the presence of the rival had served as
an EO increasing the value of attention from their partner and had evoked behavior –
attractiveness-enhancement – that had in the past resulted in gaining that attention.

EOs related to aggression
Decades of research have shown that exposure to aversive stimulation or to extinction
schedules increases the chance that an organism will engage in aggression (Lewon &
Hayes, 2014), and that novel functional classes of aggressive behavior can emerge in
response to an outside party contacting reinforcement when an organism does not have
contact with reinforcement (Andronis et al., 1997). One interpretation of these findings
suggests that aversive stimulation and extinction serve as EOs that momentarily establish
the products of aggression – such as signs of damage to another – as reinforcing (Lewon
& Hayes, 2014; Michael, 1993; Winston, 2016). Note that damage need not be physical
damage, but may be signs of emotional hurt as well, such as expressions of guilt, remorse,
or sincere apologies (Toney & Hayes, 2017; Winston, 2016). Toney and Hayes (2017)
describe both verbal and non-verbal features of apologies that are generally considered to
reflect sincerity, such as changes in facial expression, crying, and statements of being in

8 G. HUNTER AND A. STOCKWELL

pain, and suggest that these “signs of sufferance” (p. 140) may be that which serves to
reinforce the aggressive behavior of the person who has been victim of someone’s
offending (i.e., aversive) behavior.5

If a person experiences a reduction in contact with some VAR or the presence of
a threat to the relationship, this aversive situation may serve as an EO that momentarily
increases the effectiveness of signs of sufferance as a reinforcer, such as signs of guilt,
remorse or apology from their partner. Furthermore, if a person’s attempts to re-establish
such contact with the VAR encounters extinction, the likelihood of aggression is
increased. For example, if a person’s partner is less responsive to their bids for attention
because the partner’s attention is diverted toward a rival, the person’s bids for attention
will contact extinction. The reinforcing effectiveness of seeing the partner hurt increases,
and aggressive behavior is evoked until the partner expresses remorse, or otherwise
shows signs of sufferance.

A number of jealous response forms described in the literature (see Table 1) involve
forms of aggression, such as distributive communication, violent communication and
violence toward objects (Guerrero et al., 1995). Active distancing and manipulation
(Guerrero et al., 1995) are less obvious forms of behavior that may inflict suffering on
the partner. Intropunitive responding (Bryson, 1991) may also be viewed as a form of
covert, self-inflicted aggression. If this interpretation is correct, an intropunitive response
may occur when a person whose learning history has resulted in the elimination of
outwardly aggressive behavior nevertheless experiences conditions (e.g., extinction) that
establish the results of aggression as reinforcers. Rather than aggressing overtly, the
person resorts to aggressing covertly (White, 2008).

Justifying aggression: evidence of betrayal as transitive EO
A transitive EO is one that establishes another stimulus or event as an effective reinforcer
or punisher (Michael, 1993). If one event serves as an EO for a second event, it may also
serve as a transitive EO for establishing those conditions necessary for the second event to
come about. For example, the message “call your partner right away” establishes speaking
with one’s partner as a reinforcer, and also serves as a transitive EO momentarily
establishing access to a phone as a reinforcer and evokes phone-seeking behavior.

The presence of a threat to the VAR serves as an EO for aggression, but also as
a transitive EO for evidence of the partner’s wrongdoing – justification for the aggression
(Winston, 2016). Engaging in aggression toward another person without evidence of
infidelity or other wrongdoing is more likely to be punished by the denial, indignation,
and distancing of the other person, not to mention by the disapproval of friends and
family, than it is to be reinforced. However, under evidence of the partner’s culpability,
such behavior may be considered justified or even condoned. Confronting one’s partner
with direct evidence of infidelity is more likely to be reinforced by signs of sufferance
(e.g., crying, apologizing, etc.) from the partner and by support

ESTABLISHING DERIVED TEXTUAL CONTROL IN ACTIVITY
SCHEDULES WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

CAIO F. MIGUEL, HEEJEAN G. YANG, HEATHER E. FINN, AND
WILLIAM H. AHEARN

NEW ENGLAND CENTER FOR CHILDREN

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Activity schedules are often used to facilitate task engagement and transition for children with
autism. This study evaluated whether conditional discrimination training would serve to transfer
the control from activity-schedule pictures to printed words (i.e., derived textual control). Two
preschoolers with autism were taught to select pictures and printed words given their dictated
names. Following training, participants could respond to printed words by completing the
depicted task, match printed words to pictures, and read printed words without explicit training
(i.e., emergent relations).

DESCRIPTORS: activity schedules, autism, conditional discrimination, derived stimulus
relations, stimulus equivalence

_______________________________________________________________________________

Activity schedules are commonly used to cue
children diagnosed with autism to perform tasks
independently (McClannahan, MacDuff, &
Krantz, 2002). Activity schedules usually consist
of binders with one picture per page that
children are taught to open, turn the pages, look
at the pictures, and engage in the corresponding
task (MacDuff, Krantz, & McClannahan,
1993; McClannahan & Krantz, 1999). When
children start learning to read, it may be
developmentally appropriate to replace the
pictures with printed words. Although McClan-
nahan and Krantz recommend using within-
stimulus fading for this task, conditional
discrimination training (i.e., matching to sam-
ple, MTS) may be a viable alternative for
transferring control from pictures to printed
words in activity schedules (Lalli, Casey, Goh,

& Merlino, 1994). One potential advantage of
an MTS procedure is the possibility of
emergence of untaught responses (i.e., stimulus
equivalence). If taught to select pictures when
given the dictated names (AB) and printed
words when given the same dictated names
(AC), participants may match pictures and
printed words (BC, CB) and label pictures
(BD) and printed words (CD) without direct
training (Sidman, 1994).

Rehfeldt and colleagues have demonstrated
that learning to relate dictated words to their
corresponding pictures and printed words via
MTS discrimination training resulted in accu-
rate mands using printed words instead of
pictures (Rehfeldt & Root, 2005; Rosales &
Rehfeldt, 2007). Other emergent relations were
also evident without direct training, including
matching words to pictures, pictures to words,
and naming pictures and words. Sidman (2004)
has suggested that matching words and pictures
is a prerequisite for reading with comprehen-
sion; thus, MTS seems to be an efficient way to
teach socially important skills that should be
evaluated with children with autism.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the
use of MTS conditional discrimination training
to replace pictures with text in activity schedules
of children with autism (i.e., derived textual

Caio Miguel is now at California State University,
Sacramento. Heather Finn is now at Cabrillo Unified
School District, Half Moon Bay, California. We thank
Rebecca McDonald and the staff in the Intensive
Instruction Program at NECC for their onsite support,
as well as Danielle LaFrance for her comments on a
previous version of this manuscript. Special thanks go to
Linda LeBlanc for her invaluable editorial assistance.

Address correspondence to Caio Miguel, Department of
Psychology, California State University, Sacramento, 6000
J Street, Sacramento, California 95819 (e-mail: miguelc@
csus.edu).

doi: 10.1901/jaba.2009.42-703

JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 2009, 42, 703–709 NUMBER 3 (FALL 2009)

703

control). Participants who could follow picture
schedules were taught to select pictures and
printed words given their dictated names fol-
lowed by an evaluation of their ability to follow a
textual activity schedule. Reading comprehension
was also assessed by testing to see if children could
match pictures to printed words (and vice versa)
and read the words out loud.

METHOD

Participants

Two 6-year-old children who had been
diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
participated in the study. Ben spoke in three- to
five-word sentences. Dennis spoke in two- to
four-word sentences that were almost all prompt-
ed. Both had a very limited sight-word vocabulary
(i.e., few correct vocal labels for written words).

Setting and Stimulus Materials

Sessions were conducted in a secluded work
area of the participants’ preschool classroom.
Materials included a three ring binder (11.5 cm
by 16.5 cm) with one strip of hook-and-loop
tape on each of six pages (i.e., activity schedule),
a stimulus placement board (50 cm by 19 cm)
with three strips of hook-and-loop tape, and 12
laminated cards (5 cm by 7 cm). The 12 cards
consisted of six digital photographs of preferred
items and six cards with their corresponding
printed names in Times New Roman 40-point
font on white backgrounds. All items and
pictures had previously been trained in picture
activity schedules using the procedures outlined
by McClannahan and Krantz (1999). Partici-

pants had previously been taught to tact each
item and picture with 100% accuracy using a
prompt delay procedure. Two sets of preferred
items and activities were identified via prefer-
ence assessments (DeLeon & Iwata, 1996).
Ben’s Set 1 items included a puzzle, a robot toy,
and crackers; the Set 2 toys included a shape
sorter, a file-folder MTS activity, and chocolate
candies. Dennis’ Set 1 items included a garage
play set, an Etch-a-Sketch, and a Magna
Doodle; the Set 2 items were a wooden pizza
play set, a pretend medical kit, and chips.

Experimental Design and Measurement

The effects of the MTS conditional discrim-
ination training on completion of textual
activity schedules were evaluated using a
concurrent multiple-baseline design across two
sets of three pictures and toys. All six words
were on the schedule in each session but
training for one three-item set commenced
before training of the other. In addition, pre-
and posttests were conducted to assess emergent
stimulus relations. The order of conditions was
as follows: emergent relations pretests, textual
activity-schedule baseline, conditional discrim-
ination training, textual activity-schedule post-
training, and emergent relations posttests (see
Table 1).

Observers scored whether the presence of
printed words on the activity schedule (i.e.,
derived textual activity control) occasioned
correct independent completion of an activity
that consisted of looking at a printed word,
retrieving the corresponding item from an array
(Ben) or bookshelf (Dennis), and either con-

Table 1

Order of Training and Testing Conditions

Condition Relations Trained or tested

Emergent relations pretest CB, BC, CDa Tested
Textual activity baseline C task completion Tested
Conditional discrimination training AB, AC, and mixed Trained
Textual activity posttraining C task completion Tested
Emergent relations posttest CB, BC, CD Tested

a A 5 dictated word, B 5 picture, C 5 printed word, D 5 participant’s vocal response.

704 CAIO F. MIGUEL et al.

suming or completing it before flipping to
another page. The percentage of correct inde-
pendent responses was calculated by dividing
the number of correct responses by the total
possible number of responses per set (three).
Observers also scored selections and oral
labeling responses during emergent relations
tests as correct or incorrect. The percentage of
correct responses was calculated by dividing the
number of correct responses by the total
possible number of responses per block (nine).
A second independent observer scored responses
during 33% and 60% of the sessions for Ben
and Dennis, respectively. Each trial was scored
either as an agreement (i.e., identical observer
record) or a disagreement. Point-by-point
agreement was calculated by dividing the
number of agreements by the sum of agree-
ments and disagreements, and this ratio was
converted to a percentage. Mean interobserver
agreement was 92% (range, 78% to 100%) for
Ben and 100% for Dennis.

Procedure

Emergent relations pre- and posttests. Relations
between pictures and printed words were tested
using a typical visual-visual MTS task. The
experimenter presented one stimulus (sample),
and the participant was required to point to the
sample prior to the presentation of the
comparisons (i.e., observing response). The
experimenter then presented three comparisons
attached to the stimulus placement board and
asked the participant to ‘‘match.’’ Testing
occurred under extinction, in which correct
responses were never reinforced and incorrect
responses or no response for 5 s resulted in the
presentation of the next trial. No additional
instructions or prompts were provided.

Testing was arranged in nine-trial blocks in a
predetermined order in which samples were each
presented three times and comparison stimuli
served as the correct comparison once on the
right, once in the middle, and once on the left of
the bottom array. Emergent conditional relations

were tested along with a socially important
topography-based response (i.e., reading aloud).
First, printed words served as the samples and
pictures served as the comparisons (CB). Next,
pictures served as the sample and printed words
served as comparisons (BC). Emergent textual
behavior (i.e., reading aloud) in the presence of
printed words was also tested in nine-trial blocks
in which each printed word was presented three
times with a pointing response and the question,
‘‘What is this?’’ (CD). The criterion for evidence
of emergent relations was set at eight of nine
(89%) correct trials during a testing block.

Textual activity baseline and posttraining
probes. All six pictures in the child’s activity
schedule were replaced with printed words.
Ben’s toys and edible items were placed on a
table in front of him. Dennis’ materials were
stored on shelves, and he had already learned to
retrieve the items. The experimenter presented
the textual activity schedule and said, ‘‘Time to
use your schedule.’’ The experimenter sat on a
chair approximately 3 m away for data-collec-
tion purposes. No adult-mediated reinforce-
ment was provided during the session. Each
session consisted of one presentation of the
activity schedule. The order of presentation of
printed words varied across sessions. Correct
responses consisted of completing the activity
displayed in the textual stimulus (i.e., printed
word). Session length varied depending on the
amount of time required for completing each
activity or consuming the item, but it never
exceeded 20 min. Although sessions would have
been terminated if all tasks had not been
completed within 25 min, this never happened.

Conditional discrimination training. For each
trial, the experimenter presented the vocal
sample (A) followed immediately by the stimulus
board with the three comparisons (i.e., auditory-
visual MTS). The experimenter cued responses by
pointing to the correct comparison at a series of
five progressive delays (0 s, 1 s, 2 s, 3 s, 4 s, and
no prompt) after the presentation of the sample.
Criterion to progress through prescribed delays

DERIVED TEXTUAL CONTROL 705

Figure 1. Percentage of correct responses during baseline and posttraining textual activity probes (i.e.,
correspondence between order of printed activity and engagement in activity).

706 CAIO F. MIGUEL et al.

Figure 2. Percentage of correct responses during emergent relations tests for Stimulus Sets 1 and 2. Emergent
relations consisted of CB (selecting the picture in the presence of the printed word), BC (selecting the printed word in the
presence of the picture), and CD (reading the printed word).

DERIVED TEXTUAL CONTROL 707

was two consecutive nine-trial blocks with eight of
nine correct responses. All correct preprompt
responses resulted in praise and tokens that could
be exchanged for preferred items at the end of the
session. Incorrect responses (i.e., incorrect selec-
tions prior to or after the prompt, no selection
within 5 s) resulted in re-presentation of the same
trial at a 0-s delay. Trials were separated with 3-s
intertrial intervals. First, the participant matched
dictated words to their corresponding pictures
(AB), followed by matching dictated words to
their corresponding printed words (AC). Then
mixed training was conducted with interspersing
trials of the AB and AC relations. The mastery
criterion for each relation and the mixed training
was two consecutive nine-trial blocks with eight of
nine correct unprompted responses (89% accu-
racy).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 1 depicts participants’ baseline and
posttraining performances during textual activ-
ity probes. Dennis’ baseline percentage of
activities completed on both sets was low, and
Ben’s baseline percentage of activities completed
was variable, with increases in accuracy in
baseline for the Set 2 items as he mastered the
Set 1 items (i.e., three of the six activities were
eliminated). These results suggest a lack of
specific textual control over participants’ behav-
ior prior to MTS training. Ben mastered the
conditional discrimination tasks in 261 trials for
Set 1 and 153 trials for Set 2, and Dennis
mastered the conditional discrimination tasks in
81 trials for Set 1 and 99 trials for Set 2. During
the posttraining activity probes, both partici-
pants responded accurately across the stimulus
sets, with a few errors by Ben. These results
suggest that the conditional discrimination
procedure was effective in transferring control
from the pictures to printed words. In other
words, neither child could consistently follow a
text-based activity schedule during baseline but
both could do so after MTS training on related
skills.

During emergent relations pretests (Fig-
ure 2), both participants scored below chance
levels for all relations on Set 1 and Set 2. Higher
accuracy scores occurred for the BC and CB
relations for Set 2 for both participants, but
these relatively high pretest scores were still
below the success criterion and were not
associated with effective use of the textual
activity schedules. Emergent relations posttest
performances showed that both participants
matched words to pictures and pictures to
words with at least 89% accuracy. Participants
also read all printed words without direct
training (CD).

In summary, after learning to match dictated
words to pictures (AB) and dictated words to
printed words (AC), children with autism
responded to printed words in the same way
that they responded to pictures. In addition,
participants matched printed words to pictures
(CB) and pictures to printed words (BC) and
read the printed words aloud (CD) without
direct training. The fact that participants were
able to match pictures to printed words suggests
that they were responding to the printed words
with comprehension (Sidman, 1994).

Future research should further evaluate the
effectiveness of the conditional discrimination
procedure and compare it to within-stimulus
fading in order to determine which of these
strategies is more efficient and effective when
transferring the control from pictures to printed
words in activity schedules, as well as whether
stimulus fading would yield any form of
emergent responding.

REFERENCES

DeLeon, I. G., & Iwata, B. A. (1996). Evaluation of a
multiple-stimulus presentation format for assessing
reinforcer preferences. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 29, 519–533.

Lalli, J. S., Casey, S., Goh, H., & Merlino, J. (1994).
Treatment of escape-maintained aberrant behavior
with escape extinction and predictable routines.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 705–
714.

708 CAIO F. MIGUEL et al.

MacDuff, G. S., Krantz, P. J., & McClannahan, L. E.
(1993). Teaching children with autism to use
photographic activity schedules: Maintenance and
generalization of complex response chains. Journal of
Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 89–97.

McClannahan, L. E., & Krantz, P. J. (1999). Activity
schedules for children with autism: Teaching indepen-
dent behavior. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

McClannahan, L. E., MacDuff, G. S., & Krantz, P. J.
(2002). Behavior analysis and intervention for adults
with autism. Behavior Modification, 26, 9–27.

Rehfeldt, R. A., & Root, S. L. (2005). Establishing derived
requesting skills in adults with severe developmental
disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38,
101–105.

Rosales, R., & Rehfeldt, R. A. (2007). Contriving
transitive conditioned establishing operations to
establish derived manding skills in adults with severe
developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 40, 105–121.

Sidman, M. (1994). Equivalence relations: A research story.
Boston: Authors Cooperative.

Received March 21, 2008
Final acceptance September 8, 2008
Action Editor, Linda LeBlanc

DERIVED TEXTUAL CONTROL 709

AN EVALUATION OF THE GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME IN
KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOMS

JEANNE M. DONALDSON AND TIMOTHY R. VOLLMER

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

TANGALA KROUS AND SUSAN DOWNS

DAVENPORT, IOWA, SCHOOL DISTRICT

AND

KERRI P. BERARD

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

The good behavior game (GBG) is a classwide group contingency that involves dividing the class
into two teams, creating simple rules, and arranging contingencies for breaking or following
those rules. Five kindergarten teachers and classrooms participated in this evaluation of the
GBG. Disruptive behavior markedly decreased in all five classrooms as a result of the
intervention. This study extends the GBG literature by systematically replicating the effects of
the GBG with the youngest group of students to date.

Key words: group contingencies, classroom management, disruptive behavior

_______________________________________________________________________________

Implementation of individualized behavior
plans in large general education classrooms can
be extremely difficult for teachers, creating a
need for classwide behavior-management strat-
egies that are easy for teachers to implement and
effective for most students. One classwide
behavior-management strategy that has been
primarily implemented and evaluated for first
through fifth grade children is the good
behavior game (GBG). Because of its simplicity
and evidence of long-term effects (Kellam et al.,
2008; Kellam, Ling, Merisca, Brown, &
Ialongo, 1994), the GBG has been termed a
‘‘behavioral vaccine’’ (Embry, 2002). The GBG
is even recommended by the Surgeon General
as a Promising Program for prevention of youth

violence (U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 2001).

The GBG is an interdependent group
contingency that involves dividing the class
into teams, creating simple rules, and arranging
contingencies for breaking or following those
rules. Barrish, Saunders, and Wolf (1969)
conducted the first empirical evaluation of the
GBG in one fourth-grade classroom. Out-of-
seat and talking-out responses were substantially
reduced as a result of the intervention. Several
studies have since evaluated the GBG and
modifications of the GBG (see Tingstrom,
Sterling-Turner, & Wilczynski, 2006, for a
review). Replication of the GBG with students
younger than first grade would provide impor-
tant information on the generality of the
procedure because kindergarten represents the
entry level of schooling for many children.
Experience with the GBG may establish
histories of appropriate behavior and rule
following when entering school. Presumably,
such effects could have longer term implica-
tions, and some evidence exists to support that

Address correspondence to Timothy R. Vollmer,
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, P.O.
Box 112250, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (e-mail: vollmera@
ufl.edu).

doi: 10.1901/jaba.2011.44-605

This study was funded by the Davenport Community
School District in Davenport, Iowa. We would like to
thank the principals and teachers at the three schools in
which the study was conducted.

JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 2011, 44, 605–609 NUMBER 3 (FALL 2011)

605

notion (Embry, 2002). Thus, the purpose of
this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a
modification of the GBG on the disruptive
behavior of kindergarten students.

METHOD

Participants and Settings

Five kindergarten teachers at three elementa-
ry schools in an Iowa public school district
volunteered to participate as implementers. The
classes were general education classrooms with
15 to 22 students each, totaling 98 students.
Overall, the classrooms were 53% female and
69% white, 12% black, 9% Hispanic, 8%
biracial, 1% Asian, and 1% American Indian.
All sessions occurred in the teachers’ classrooms
during group instruction. During group in-
struction, students were expected to sit on a
carpet in front of the teacher. Group instruction
occurred at least twice per day in each classroom
(typically for reading and math) and varied in
duration from approximately 10 to 35 min.

Target Responses, Data Collection, and
Interobserver Agreement

Target responses and response definitions
were developed by the experimenters in close
collaboration with the teachers. Students were
considered to be out of seat if they were not
sitting with their legs crossed on their spot on
the carpet and facing forward. Students were
considered to be talking out of turn if they made
any vocalization without being called on by the
teacher, unless the teacher indicated that all
students could call out answers. Students were
considered to be touching another student if their
hands or feet made contact with another
student.

During baseline and teacher implementation
phases, an observer collected data on the
frequency of each of the three target responses
for all individuals in the class (individual
student data were not isolated) using a
computer program designed for data collection
in real time. During experimenter implementa-

tion (described below), the observer served as
the implementer and scored behavior by writing
hatch marks on a dry-erase board that was
visible to the students.

A second observer recorded data during 35%
of sessions for Teacher 1, 15% for Teachers 2
and 3, 20% for Teacher 4, and 11% for
Teacher 5. Total agreement scores were calcu-
lated by dividing the smaller total score by the
larger total score and multiplying by 100%.
Total agreement was used (rather than interval-
by-interval methods) because total scores were
the only data collected by one observer during
sessions in which an experimenter was imple-
menting the GBG (and having a total of three
additional adults in the room was viewed as too
obtrusive, too impractical, or both). Mean total
agreement was 84% (range, 60% to 94%), 92%
(range, 82% to 97%), 80% (range, 56% to
100%), 81% (range, 56% to 95%), and 86%
(range, 67% to 98%) for Teachers 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5, respectively. The lower scores were
considerably lower than most scores and were
obtained during baseline when extremely high
rates of disruptive behavior occurred.

Design and Procedure

A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design
across classrooms was used to evaluate the
effectiveness of the GBG.

Baseline. During baseline, the teacher in-
structed the class as usual, and students were
allowed to sit in spots of their choosing. The
students were not told what the observer was
recording and received no feedback from the
observer.

Good behavior game. Each class was divided
into two teams by the teacher. Teachers were
asked to divide the teams in such a way that
both teams were equally likely to win. That is,
students whose behavior the teachers had
already identified as problematic were evenly
divided between the two teams. Prior to starting
the game, the students were assigned spots on
the carpet, and an experimenter explained to the
class the rules of the game, how to win, and the

606 JEANNE M. DONALDSON et al.

reward for the winning teams. Immediately
before playing the game each session, the
children were reminded of the rules and the
reward for the winners. The rules of the GBG
were to sit with legs crossed, to speak only when
called on or when the teacher indicated that
everyone could respond, and to keep hands and
feet to oneself. A team won the game by having
fewer points than the other team, or both teams
won if they both met a set criterion selected by
the teacher that was at least an 80% reduction
from baseline (no more than 15 points for
Teacher 1; 10 points for Teachers 2, 4, and 5;
and 5 points for Teacher 3). Rewards were
selected by each teacher and included snacks
(e.g., cheese crackers, yogurt snacks, fruit
snacks), stickers, small toys, extra recess, and
extra free time.

Initially, an experimenter implemented the
GBG while the teacher continued the lesson.
Eventually, the teacher implemented the game
while teaching the lesson (recall that all baseline
sessions were conducted by the teacher). Scores
were posted on a dry-erase board next to the
teacher in a location that was visible to all
students. When a student broke a rule, the
teacher stated the rule and which team was in
violation (e.g., ‘‘Team 1 needs to raise a hand to
talk’’) and made a hatch mark on the dry-erase
board. The GBG was played every time the class
came to the carpet for group instruction.
Follow-up data were collected in Teacher 3’s
classroom 1 month after the experimenter left
the classroom.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 1 shows the rate (responses per
minute) of disruptive responses for all students
in each class. During baseline, relatively high
and stable levels of disruptive behavior were
observed in all classrooms (Ms 5 13, 5, 4, 7,
and 8 responses per minute for Teachers 1, 2, 3,
4, and 5, respectively). Disruptive behavior
decreased in all classrooms following imple-
mentation of the GBG (Ms 5 2, 1, 1, 2, and 1

responses per minute for Teachers 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5, respectively). A new student entered
Teacher 2’s classroom and initially refused to
play the GBG the day Teacher 2 began
implementing the GBG herself. The new
student gradually began to join the class for
group instruction and eventually played the
GBG successfully. Teacher implementation of
the GBG was monitored during every session to
ensure that the rules and rewards were stated
and rewards were provided to the winning
teams contingent on meeting the criteria for
earning the rewards. Treatment integrity data
were collected while the teachers implemented
the GBG and were calculated by comparing the
teachers’ total number of hatch marks to the
total instances of disruptive behavior recorded
by an observer. Treatment integrity averaged
60% across all five classrooms. Although
teachers’ implementation integrity was lower
than what might be hoped, it is important to
note that these levels were enough to maintain
the intervention effects. The students did have a
history of playing the GBG with an experi-
menter before the teachers began playing the
GBG, which may have been necessary for the
GBG to be so effective when treatment integrity
declined. One area for future research could
involve systematically evaluating the effects of
changes in treatment integrity on the effective-
ness of the GBG.

Teachers easily transitioned to playing the
GBG in their classrooms while teaching without
compromising the effectiveness of the GBG.
These results were similar to those produced
with older children (e.g., Barrish et al., 1969;
Harris & Sherman, 1973) and provide further
evidence that the GBG is a simple and effective
classroom-management technique. Also, be-
cause some of the classrooms participated in
the study for several months, the longer term
effectiveness of the GBG was demonstrated. In
fact, after several weeks of exposure to the GBG,
Teachers 2, 3, 4, and 5 asked the students to
vote on whether they would like to play the

GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME 607

Figure 1. Total rate of disruptive behavior, including out of seat, talking out of turn, and touching, across sessions
for each classroom. Teacher implementation of the GBG began after the dashed vertical line. Unique features in the data
for Teachers 2 and 3 are indicated by arrows.

608 JEANNE M. DONALDSON et al.

GBG for the rest of the year. Of the students in
classrooms that participated in the social
validity assessment (students for Teachers 2, 3,
4, and 5), 78% voted to continue playing the
GBG for the rest of the year. Some students
even played the GBG during free time; one or
two students played as teachers and provided
hatch marks for students who were breaking the
rules. Data collection continued in Teacher 1’s
classroom until the end of the year, so her
classroom was not asked if they wanted to
continue to play. Teachers 2, 3, 4, and 5 also
implemented the GBG for the remainder of the
school year, independent of participation in this
study. All teachers continued to play the GBG
the following school year.

The GBG could be conceptualized as a type
of differential reinforcement of low rates of
responding schedule in which reinforcers are
delivered contingent on the occurrence of fewer
than a particular number of responses within a
specified time period (Dietz & Repp, 1973).
However, reinforcer assessments were not
conducted to determine whether the rewards
provided would actually function as reinforcers
for any specific behavior for any or all of the
children in the classrooms. Also, the GBG
includes several components, making it difficult
to determine which of the basic principles
underlie its effectiveness. Rewards may have
functioned as reinforcers for appropriate behav-
ior, hatch marks may have functioned as
punishers for disruptive behavior, and social
praise or scolding from teammates could also
have functioned as reinforcers or punishers.

One limitation that should be addressed in
future research is that data on individuals’
responses were not isolated. Data on the change
in behavior of each individual student could be
important, but because there were 15 to 22
students in each classroom, collecting data on
each individual student was not feasible.
Although the low rates of disruptive behavior
during the GBG make it likely that all or most
students who were engaging in disruptive

behavior during baseline responded to the
intervention, the extent to which the GBG
changed the behavior of each individual student
is unknown. Another area for future research is
to evaluate the effects of the GBG on academic
performance. Because the GBG is typically
played during instructional time, a decrease in
disruptive behavior during this time suggests
that the students should have fewer distractions
from the lesson (e.g., the class is quieter so the
teacher can be heard). Further support would be
provided for the use of the GBG if academic
improvements were demonstrated as a result.

REFERENCES

Barrish, H. H., Saunders, M. S., & Wolf, M. M. (1969).
Good behavior game: Effects of individual contin-
gencies for group consequences on disruptive behavior
in a classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2,
119–124.

Dietz, S. M., & Repp, A. C. (1973). Decreasing classroom
misbehavior through the use of DRL schedules of
reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6,
457–463.

Embry, D. D. (2002). The good behavior game: A best
practice candidate as a universal behavioral vaccine.
Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 5,
273–297.

Harris, V. W., & Sherman, J. A. (1973). Use and analysis
of the ‘‘good behavior game’’ to reduce disruptive
classroom behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 6, 405–417.

Kellam, S. G., Brown, C. H., Poduska, J. M., Ialongo, N.
S., Wang, W., Toyinbo, P., et al. (2008). Effects of a
universal classroom behavior management program in
first and second grades on young adult behavioral,
psychiatric, and social outcomes. Drug and Alcohol
Dependence, 95S, S5–S28.

Kellam, S. G., Ling, X., Merisca, R., Brown, C. H., &
Ialongo, N. (1994). The effect of the level of
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Received April 27, 2010
Final acceptance September 27, 2010
Action Editor, Michael Kelley

GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME 609

THEORETICAL ARTICLE

The Role of Contingency Adduction in the Creative Act

Nolan Williams1

Accepted: 8 October 2020
# Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020

Abstract
This article discusses the potential role of contingency adduction in creative behavior. Some have characterized creativity as the
study of generativity. Generativity is the investigation of procedures that result in the occurrence of untrained, often composite,
patterns from earlier trained components. An increasing number of applied programs are attempting to apply generative proce-
dures in their design. Headsprout Early Reading®, for example, explicitly employed generative procedures to teach reading.
There remains a lack of understanding about the role contingency adduction plays in the generative process. Contingency
adduction is defined when patterns shaped under one context are recruited by contingencies in another context for which the
pattern was not originally shaped. Adduced patterns may be new sequences of repertoires, the combination of repertoires, or the
repertoire may acquire a new function. The moment of reinforcement of these new patterns from previously established patterns
marks the moment of adduction. Thus, procedures that make such selection more likely may be fundamental to encourage what
might be called creative behavior. Examples and nonexamples of contingency adduction involving both verbal and nonverbal
procedures in both animals and humans will be described, and their implications noted.

Keywords Adduction . Contingency Adduction . Creativity . Variability

Most societies value creative, novel, and innovative solutions
in art, sport, business, entertainment, and science and technol-
ogy. An adequate theory of human behavior must address all
aspects of human functioning—including behavior called cre-
ative. Of course, creativity is an important topic to behavior
analysts. By extension, if behavior analysts could reliably en-
gineer such behavior, the social value of our science would
increase.

To guide behavior analysts’ efforts in developing proce-
dures to encourage creative performance, behavior analysts
must first determine what sorts of behaviors qualify as crea-
tive. This determination may be aided by an analysis of the
conditions which control the use of the tact “creative” in our
society. To establish the boundary of the tact “creative,” it
may be useful to first identify the conditions which do not
occasion the tact’s use. When do verbal communities rein-
force the use of tacts such as “uncreative,” “application,” or
“derivative?” For example, saying dog in the presence of a

new dog, even though it has not previously occurred, is not
typically considered creative.

Popular media provides numerous examples of uncreative
behavior. Critics pan screenwriters for recycling plot lines.
Fans of well-established bands, authors, and comedians groan
when their favorite entertainers repeatedly produce material
with similar sounds, themes, and punchlines. The electorate
has little patience for politicians who persist in courses of
action that have failed to produce solutions to major societal
problems. Romantic partners often brandish the accusation of
thoughtlessness and lack of creativity when a once well-
received anniversary gift becomes an annual or predictable
occurrence.

The common denominator in each example above is
behavior or a repertoire that was reinforced under one set
of conditions is simply repeated under new conditions. An
additional commonality is that the repeat performance is
emitted under contingencies where repetition is unlikely to
be reinforced. These two conditions seem to define what it
means to be uncreative. If behaviors that are extended to
and repeated across sometimes novel situations are not
creative behaviors, under what conditions do we use the
tact “creative?” What follows is a discussion of perfor-
mances the verbal community often tacts as creative.
These examples serve as the basis of an attempt to abstract

* Nolan Williams
nrwilliams42@gmail.com

1 University of North Texas, 103 East Park Place, Jeffersonville
Indiana 47130, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00440-z

/ Published online: 1 November 2020

The Psychological Record (2021) 71:543–551

what common features of these performances might con-
trol that tact “creative.”

Artistic behavior is often called creative. Painters who em-
ploy new brush strokes or who depict a subject in a novel way
are often said to be creative. Musicians who create novel ar-
rangements of notes are said to be creative. Writers who tell
new stories, or who tell old stories in new ways are said to be
creative. The behavior of scientists, engineers, and inventors
stand out as creative, when those behaviors result in novel
solutions to various problems.

Each of these instances of creativity seem to share an ele-
ment of novelty. Each example involves a new topography or
topographies of behavior. These novel topographies must also
meet some criterion for reinforcement, and in so doing, meet
the requirement in ways never directly reinforced. In addition,
the label of creativity seems to be reserved for novel acts that
meet criterion for reinforcement in a socially acceptable man-
ner. That is, these novel behaviors do not also meet require-
ments for punishment—such as hallucinations and other pat-
terns considered pathological. The tact “creative,” therefore, is
a pattern or patterns of behavior that meet criterion for rein-
forcement and for which the individual has no direct history of
reinforcement. And these patterns also fail to meet criterion
for punishment.

Behavior analysts assume all behavior is the product of
learning history, contingencies of reinforcement, and stimulus
control. Given these assumptions, the emergence of novel
topographies, or topographies that have never produced rein-
forcement for the organism before, presents a real mystery for
behavior analysts. The question that behavior analysts must
answer is, what variables are responsible for the novel behav-
iors that seem to be prerequisites for creative acts?

Variability is a critical component of any novel or creative
behavior, and therefore any behavior analytic account of cre-
ativity must address the sources of such variability. One strat-
egy for understanding variability in operant behavior is exem-
plified in the literature on the reinforcement of variability
(Page & Neuringer, 1985; Neuringer, 2002). Others have sug-
gested that extinction, rather than reinforcement, is the likely
source of variability (Holth, 2012a; Kieta, 2017). In either
case, the emerging behavior analytic account of creativity
may benefit from considering the of role contingency adduc-
tion in the generation of novel behavior and in acts of creation.
This article reviews the concept of contingency adduction and
provides examples of the role adduction plays in the produc-
tion of novel instances of behavior.

What Is Contingency Adduction?

Contingency adduction describes a class of outcomes obtain-
ed when patterns shaped in one context are recruited by con-
tingencies in contexts different from the one for which the

pattern(s) was originally established (Andronis, Layng, &
Goldiamond, 1997; Layng, Twyman, & Stikeleather, 2004).
That is, when an organism is exposed to new contingencies of
reinforcement, some aspect or aspects of the new context will
occasion a response, or a combination of previously learned
responses, that meets this new criterion for reinforcement,
selecting this new stimulus control topography and/or pattern
of behavior (Ray, 1969). This selection of new behavioral
variants from previously shaped patterns may be a primary
source of what might be considered creative behavior.

It is important to distinguish between contingency adduced
behavior and shaped behavior. Shaping involves the selection
from variation along a single dimension of behavior that has
not been previously reinforced, and that occurs in the same
context. Consider the task of shaping a dog’s approach behav-
ior. Each step in the shaping plan involves the same
dimension—the movement of the dog toward the trainer—
and the criterion for reinforcement is changed gradually, re-
quiring successive decreases in the total distance between the
trainer and the dog.

Adduction describes the moment when “previously
shaped” or “preestablished” behavior—often along multiple
dimensions—occurs in a new context and meets a new con-
tingency requirement. For instance, after a trainer shapes a dog
to approach on the command “come” and then shapes the dog
to raise its right paw in the presence of a lifted right fist, the
responses may be combined or blended by presenting the
stimulus for “come” along with a raised right fist that controls
raising the right paw. The combined behavior may result in
the dog limping towards the trainer. If the new behavior is
reinforced, this first reinforcement of the new pattern repre-
sents the moment of adduction.

Another important note, the prevailing contingencies are
responsible for the adduction of behavior. Organisms do not
adduce behavior. Organisms do not select their own physical
traits; the organism’s ecology selects its physical traits via
natural selection. Likewise, an organism is no more capable
of adducing a new response into its behavioral repertoire than
it is capable of evolving an extra arm.