Assignment 1

For 2 of the following scenarios, you will do the following:

1. Briefly describe how you will conduct a functional behavior assessment of the target behavior in the scenario (to meet ethical standards and demonstrate evidence-based practice). Assessments may be informal for some of the scenarios, but they should be descriptive assessments based on direct and indirect observations of behavior.
2. Provide a hypothesis statement about the function of the behavior based on the FBA.
3. For each scenario you choose, discuss 3 strategies you could use to either increase a desirable behavior, train a replacement behavior, and/or decrease an undesirable behavior. The discussion of each strategy must include a description of the strategy and the rationale for using it (in at least 2 sentences).

You can use your textbooks, your notes from this course and previous courses, and the in order to come up with the strategies.

An example response is provided for the first scenario below. You need to pick 2 other scenarios to address.

SCENARIOS:

1. Sally is a nine-year-old girl in third grade. She is frequently late to school, and her mother is trying to figure out a way to get her out the door on time to walk to school. Even when she is not walking and the mother is driving her to school, she is late coming out of the house and getting into the car. How might you handle this if Sally was your daughter?

I would first conduct a functional behavior assessment (i.e., descriptive assessment) by interviewing Sally and asking her what causes her to be late leaving the house in the morning. I would also collect observational data on the relevant behavior using an antecedent-behavior-consequence (ABC) Chart during the time that she is getting ready for school from 6:45 a.m. 7:30 a.m.

Hypothetical results: Based on the data collected, it appears that she takes 20 minutes to pick out clothes to wear in the mornings. She also says in the interview that it takes her a long time to decide what to wear. These factors result in a delay in getting out and to school on time.

Hypothesis: Sallys lateness in getting to school is maintained by an access function, specifically due to too much time spent selecting clothes (i.e., potentially a decision or choice-making problem).

Strategy 1: Use a goal setting procedure for Sally in which she has a (duration) goal for how long she will spend picking out her clothes each morning. She will start with 18 minutes (since her baseline is 20 minutes), and the goal will be reduced by 2 minutes every day until she can pick out her clothes in 8 minutes. She can earn a special snack in her lunch if she meets the goal that day. This provides reinforcement for meeting the goal and shortening the duration of time taken to get ready.

Strategy 2: Use an antecedent intervention by requiring her to pick her clothes out the night before. She can pick them out each evening before her nighttime snack. This will reduce her time taken to get ready in the morning so that she should be on time. She will also be provided the opportunity to request assistance with picking her clothes.

Strategy 3: Skill shaping procedure. Her parent will model and assist with different clothing options and styling and use praise to shape Sallys decision and choice skills

Strategy 4: Use a positive reinforcement procedure in which she earns an additional 30 minutes of computer game or TV time after school for every day she gets to school on time. She normally gets 30 minutes of TV and/or screen time after school and can add to that by getting to school on time. This may be an effective motivator to shorten the duration of time she spends picking out her clothes (and therefore be on time to school) if her screen time is a potent reinforcer.

2. The night shift supervisor at the local grocery store has noticed that employees are taking twice as long to complete their closing tasks. This not only delays everyone leaving for the night, but the supervisor is concerned that this behavior will transfer over to the morning shift who have the responsibility of restocking shelves, placing the tills in the cash register, booting up the point of sale (POS) machines, and unlocking the doors for customers. You have been consulted to find a solution to increase employee productivity and efficiency. What would you suggest to the supervisor?

3. A student in Mrs. Kellys 3rd grade English class has become incredibly disruptive recently and talks out of turn, bullies other students by pushing them and glaring, gets up out of his seat in the middle of instruction and yells out loud when he does not get what he wants. What would you do about this?

4. You are having issues with your roommate because she is very messy, especially in the kitchen, where she never picks up or cleans up. She routinely leaves dishes in the sink and doesnt even soak them. How might you use behavior change principles to change this unwanted behavior?

5. Your friend Isabella is struggling in her statistics class and knows you are taking the same class. She comes to you for help. You find out the main reason she is not doing well because she spends very little time studying. You learn that every evening after supper, she spends time with her friends, talking, watching TV and videos, and playing video games. How might you help her to make better use of her study time?

6. Thomas is an 8-year-old boy who sucks his thumb while reading during language arts instruction. His parents and teacher want to stop this behavior, as some of the kids in his third-grade class make fun of him. What are some strategies that you might use?

Please note: Your assignment should be submitted in a Word Document format using Times New Roman 12. The assignment must use APA format (See link to APA publication style in the course site resources.) Please include an appropriate heading on your paper and references to support methods or procedures used.

Please be sure to save your work using the naming convention:

Student last name, first name, ABA 506 Assignment 1

Description of early childhood, inclusion or transition depending upon your topic (What is it, when does it happen and when to begin preparations)? (See Odom, Homer, Snell and Blancher handbook of developmental disabilities). Protections, services and rights included in the IDEA, Part C or Part B.

Disabilities Act (ADA), Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students will discuss at least 3 issues of that age. One reflection page ( at the end of the literature review) including how the information researched and obtained will assist them in their current or future work in the field. Students should provide at least one real world example and/or case study to exemplify how the information will be utilized.

5 page paper not including title page and reference section is required. Select 6 articles from peer reviewed journals ( journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities) to be included in the paper ( Do not include articles found on the internet). The articles referenced by the student in the paper should be listed in the Reference section at the end of the paper. Address at the end of the paper how the information researched and obtained will assist them in their current or future work in the field. The entire paper and references should be in APA format.

Background

This assignment will give you the opportunity to apply the concepts and techniques learned in Module 2 to a practical scenario. You will formulate a detailed behavior measurement plan for a hypothetical learner, a critical skill for any behavior analyst.

Your plan should begin with a clear and precise definition of a target behavior, ensuring it is observable and measurable. Next, you will choose an appropriate measurement system that aligns with the behavior’s characteristics and the environmental constraints. This assignment will challenge you to consider various factors such as the behavior’s frequency, duration, and context, and to select the best-suited measurement methods, whether continuous or discontinuous. By completing this assignment, you will enhance your ability to design effective measurement plans essential for conducting reliable behavior analysis and implementing successful interventions.

Instructions

1. Hypothetical Learner Description:

• Create a detailed profile of a hypothetical learner. Include information such as age, grade level, background, and any relevant characteristics or behaviors.
• Provide context for the environment in which the learner operates, such as home, school, or social settings.

2. Define the Target Behavior:

• Clearly define a specific target behavior that needs to be measured. This could be an academic, social, or behavioral skill.
• Include a precise and observable description of the behavior. Ensure it is specific enough to be reliably measured.

3. Measurement System:

• Choose and describe an appropriate measurement system for the target behavior. This could include frequency recording, duration recording, interval recording, or a rating scale.
• Explain the rationale for choosing this measurement system.
• Outline the procedures for implementing the measurement system, including who will collect the data, how often, and under what conditions.

4. Data Collection and Analysis:

• Detail how data will be collected, recorded, and stored.
• Describe methods for ensuring the reliability and validity of the data.
• Explain how the collected data will be analyzed to assess the progress of the target behavior.

Additional Considerations:

• Discuss any potential challenges in measuring the target behavior and how they might be addressed.
• Consider ethical implications and the importance of confidentiality in data collection and reporting.
• The behavior measurement plan should be between 3-5 pages in length, clearly organized and well-written.
• Include any relevant charts, tables, or graphs to illustrate the measurement system.
• Submit the plan in a digital format (PDF or Word document).

Length: This assignment must be 3-5 pages (excluding the title and reference pages).

References: Include 3 scholarly resources.

Your paper must be word-processed, double-spaced and at least 750 words in length (excluding your name, title, and references). Your paper is worth 100 points.

The news media is the primary method most Americans use to get their information about myriad issues, including those relating to race and ethnic relations.

For this assignment you are to analyze a current news article that is about explicitly or tangentially race and ethnic relations (from a reputable BIPARTISAN – or NONPARTISAN – source, this includes, newspapers, newspapers or online news, or magazines such Vanity Fair or The New Yorker, etc. You may even use stories discussed in the textbook but be sure to look for and use the actual article cited) in sociological terms (or as a sociologist would do it).

Find a story that intrigues you about race and ethnic relations. Critically analyze the article using class material. Although the first part asks for a brief summary of the facts this is the least important part of the assignment. The most important part are the questions that follow! Do not forget to answer all of the questions for full credit and answer them with knowledge gained from this course. Be sure to include the following points:

Identify the following:

1. Who is involved?
2. What happened?
3. Why did it happen?
4. Where did it occur?
5. When did it occur?
6. What aspect of race and ethnic relations is being addressed?

This is the most important part! Thoroughly answer the following questions:

1. How would the aspect of race and ethnic relations in question be explained by sociologists (using sociological concepts covered in this course)?
2. How (if) could this issue be addressed differently than it is right now?
3. Be sure to clearly state how the groups or people involved are invested in the definition of the situation (i.e., the race and ethnic relations at hand) provided (either resolving it or perpetuating it).
4. cite artile and book

Review the resources from the Course Resources link, located in the top navigation bar, to prepare for this weeks assignments. Please review the provided excerpts from previous NU psychology dissertations that demonstrate alignment between Problem Statement, Purpose Statement, and Research Questions (hypotheses).

Instead of a traditional paper outline, your assignment this week will be to complete a Purpose Table where you include the key aspects of your potential research study. These specific key aspects will be included in your Purpose Statement as part of your Lesson 8 Signature Assignment. Here is an example table:

Problem gap

Resilience has been shown to be an important protective factor for mental health among older adults, although further research is needed to investigate how resilience may buffer the impact of loneliness and ageism on psychological distress (Ribeiro-Gonalves et al., 2023).

Purpose of the Study (including method and design)

The purpose of this quantitative correlational design study is to assess the potential mediator role of resilience between the effects of ageism and loneliness on PD in older adults.

1-2 Research Questions/

Hypotheses

RQ1: How does resilience mediate the relationship between agism and psychological distress for older adults 60+?

Null hypothesis: Resilience does not mediate the relationship between agism and psychological distress for older adults 60+

Alternative hypothesis: When resilience is high, there will be no predictive relationship between agism and psychological distress.

RQ2: How does resilience mediate the relationship between loneliness and psychological distress for older adults 65+?

Null hypothesis: Resilience does not mediate the relationship between loneliness and psychological distress for older adults 60+

Alternative hypothesis: When resilience is high, there will be no predictive relationship between loneliness and psychological distress.

Population, Sampling and recruitment

The population of interest is older adults age 60 and over. A convenience sampling technique will be used to recruit older adults through social media. Target sample size: according to Wison VanVooris and Morgan (2007), researchers can target a minimum of 30 participants for each predictor in a correlational study. With 2 predictors (ageism, loneliness) and 1 mediator (resilience), we can consider this the same as 3 predictors. While 30 per predictor is the minimum (3×30=90), I want to make sure I have a large enough sample, so I will aim for more participants: a target of 200 participants.

Data collection strategy

Online survey will be used to collect data at a single time point (i.e. each participant will complete the survey only once).

Operationalization and instruments

Variables of interest include: loneliness(predictor) will be measured using he Short-Form of UCLA Loneliness Scale (USL-6), ageism (predictor) will be measured using the Ambivalent Ageism Scale (AAS), resilience (mediator) will be measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and psychological distress (criterion/outcome) will be measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6).

Data analysis

2 multiple regression analyses will be performed. For each hypothesis, mediation will be determined if:

Predictor and outcome are significantly associated (block 1) until the mediating variable is added to the regression model (block 2) and the predictor is no longer significant.

Note. Study information based on Ribeiro-Gonalves et al. (2023)

References:

Ribeiro-Gonalves, J.A., Costa, P. A., & Leal, I. (2023). Loneliness, ageism, and mental health: The buffering role of resilience in seniors. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 23(1). DOI: .

Wilson VanVooris, C. R., & Morgan, B. L. (2007). Understanding power and rules of thumb for determining sample sizes. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 3(2), 43-50. DOI: 10.20982/tqmp.03.2.p043

Instructions

There are 2 parts to this assignment that can be included in a single Word document. You can include the revised Problem and Research Questions/hypotheses at the beginning of the document with the table, and you can add your reflection after the table.

Part 1

Begin with your Problem Statement and Research Questions (and hypotheses, if applicable) from previous assignments in this course. Be sure to revise these components based on any feedback and suggestions for revision provided by your professor. Next, you will begin to plan a proposed study to address your research problem and research questions.

Using the table provided in the Course Resources, complete each section of the table, citing sources to support claims as necessary. Your table should include the following:

1. The purpose of this [Study method], [study design] study is to . . . [complete the sentence by identifying your goal in conducting the research, which should address the gap you identified in your problem and answer your RQs]
2. Target population
3. Sampling frame and sampling method (including recruitment strategy)
4. Sample size (justified by scholarly sources and power analysis for quantitative studies, discussing the role of saturation for qualitative studies)
5. Research setting (location for study procedures and data collection)
6. Data collection method (including specific measurement instruments or interview protocols for all constructs/variables or phenomena of interest)
7. Data analysis method (identify the specific process or analysis you will use to answer each RQ)

Part 2

Reflect on how the revised Research Questions/Hypotheses and the information in your Purpose Table for Part 1 of this assignment were influenced by the examples you reviewed and the requirements of the assignment. Explain how well you feel the Problem/Purpose/RQs are aligned. Identify potential ethical considerations related to the research processes proposed in the Purpose Statement.

Expectations

Length: Part 1 of this assignment must be 1-2 pages (excluding the title and reference page); Part 2 must be 1-2 pages.

References: Include 2 scholarly resources.

Consider your edited problem statement from the Lesson 2 assignment, feedback you received from your professor for that assignment, and your work this week to create your elevator speech. Write a reflection to discuss what initial research questions you feel would target the gap youve identified. Discuss how your response to the questions listed in the Lesson 3 Lecture guided you in your development of these research questions:

• Will answering the research questions help solve or address the specific problem?
• Will answering the research questions help fill the knowledge gap?
• Do the research questions clearly identify the population of interest (i.e. who the questions are about)?
• Do the research questions clearly identify important concepts or variables from the Problem and gap?

Discuss if you think your research questions would be better answered by a qualitative or quantitative approach and why. Support your opinion with information from scholarly sources

Reflect on how to distinguish between questions you might ask as RQs (whole study) versus questions you might ask during interviews (data collection). Cite the Lesson readings as needed.

Expectations

Length: 1-2 page reflection

References: Minimum 3 scholarly sources

For this assignment, you will create a podcast which is a 2-minute , about the focus of your research. First, please consider your professors feedback from your Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 assignments. Next, revise your Problem Statement to reflect that feedback and your own conclusions from reflecting on your work.

Using your revised Problem Statement, please draft a 2-minute elevator speech. Based on typical speaking speed, that will be between 250-300 words. You do not need to submit a formal written version of your speech, but you will likely benefit from writing it out to prepare for your podcast recording. Be sure your speech answers the following questions:

• What is the topic of your research?
• What is the problem, issue, or question that you are asking and addressing in your research?
• Why is that problem interesting and important? (i.e., So what?)
• How does your work connect with a broader disciplinary conversation about this topic/problem in your field, and what does it add to that conversation

Please upload your recording to the assignment dropbox.

Expectations

Length: This assignment must be 2 minutes

References: The speech should be based on your Problem Statement (minimum 10 scholarly sources), but there is no need to cite or include references in this informal assignment.

Hide Assignment Information TurnitinTM TurnitinTM enabledThis assignment will be submitted to TurnitinTM. Instructions Purpose This assignment helps you practice recognizing grief and loss in later adulthood and responding with appropriate counseling support rather than assumptions or timelines. Instructions You will be provided with a fictional scenario involving an older adult experiencing one or more losses. Identify the type or types of loss present in the scenario. Explain how these losses may affect the individual emotionally and psychologically. Discuss whether the response described reflects normal grief or raises concern for complicated grief. Describe one counseling approach or supportive strategy that would be appropriate in this situation. You are not expected to diagnose. Focus on understanding, ethical awareness, and supportive response. Submission Requirements 1 page (not including title page and reference page) Double-spaced APA 7th Edition format Minimum of 2 Peer Reviewed references (within the last 10 years) Microsoft Word document only (No google docs, PDFs, etc.) Times New Roman, 12-point font Use headings for clarity No diagnosis required or expected Academic Integrity and AI Use AI tools may be used to help clarify concepts or organize ideas. AI may not be used to write this assignment for you. All submitted work must reflect your own thinking and professional reasoning. Include the following statement at the end of your submission: I used AI as a learning aid, not as the author of this assignment.

writing assignment, references and cite needed , read instructions

Three Important Things from Chapter 2 – Prenatal Development, Birth, and the Neonate

Choose three concepts or ideas that you learned from this week’s material (the chapter and/or slideshows) that you found most meaningful, useful, or interesting. For each concept:

• Explain what it means in your own words.
• Share why it stood out to you or why you found it valuable.
• Say how it might be useful to you in your understanding of others, yourself, relationships, or in your future career.

You can give your thread a catchy title, or simply list the 3 concepts you’ll be writing about.

Ive written the first thread to help get the discussion started, but please note that your post does not need to be as long as mine. A response of about 150200 words is appropriate. As always, your post should be written in your own words. I want to hear from you, not AI.

Be sure to reply to at least one person (me or a classmate). Your reply should refer to something specific from their post and add additional perspective or insight.

Write your post by this Saturday and your reply by this Sunday.

This is the link to my textbook, go to chapter two and pick any terms you would like: