|
| The Good Behavior Game: Examining Procedural Variations, Indirect Effects, Generalization, and Maintenance |
| Saturday, May 23, 2020 |
| 10:00 AM–11:50 AM |
| Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Independence D |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: P. Raymond Joslyn (Utah State University) |
| Discussant: Timothy R. Vollmer (University of Florida) |
| CE Instructor: Timothy R. Vollmer, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective, empirically supported classroom management procedure that behavioral researchers continue to study and refine. In the current symposium, researchers from multiple laboratories will present their research on procedural variations, component analysis, indirect effects, generalization, and maintenance. In Study 1, researchers examined the effects and social validity of variations in team size. Study 2 examined the effects of systematic component removal on student behavior. In Study 3, researchers examined the effects of fading effortful components of the GBG and conducted a systematic analysis of peer interactions as an indirect effect. Study 4 examined the differential effects of dosage levels on the generalization and maintenance of GBG effects on student behavior. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Keyword(s): Behavior Game, Classroom Management, Group Contingencies |
| Target Audience: Behavior analysts working in or consulting with schools, special education teachers, university faculty members, graduate students, and other certified behavior analysts interested in group contingencies |
| Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the effects of variations in team size. 2. Describe methods for fading the GBG that may maintain treatment effects. 3. Describe how different dosage levels may affect generalization and maintenance. |
| |
| A Comparison of Good Behavior Game Team Sizes in Preschool Classes |
| SARAH HOLMES (Louisiana State University), Erica Lozy (Louisiana State University), Jeanne M. Donaldson (Louisiana State University) |
| Abstract: Disruptive behavior in the classroom is associated with many other problems (e.g., lost instructional time, teacher burnout). The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective intervention to reduce disruptive behavior across all grade levels, including preschool. The GBG involves multiple components, including dividing the class into teams. In the current study, we compared one-, two-, and five-team versions of the GBG. Following an initial phase of standard teacher contingencies (no GBG), we used a multielement design in which GBG versions and a standard teacher contingencies condition alternated across days in 4 preschool classes. Following the intervention comparison, we examined teacher and paraprofessional preference for the GBG and the team size versions using a concurrent chains arrangement. In all classes, all versions of the GBG consistently reduced disruptive behavior below standard teacher contingencies, but we observed no difference between GBG versions. The different team arrangements produced differences in the likelihood of all or no students earning the reward. In general, the teaching staff in 3 classes preferred the two-team version, and the paraprofessional in 1 class showed no clear preference. These findings support the use of the traditional version of the GBG in which the class is divided into 2 teams. |
| |
| Effects of Systematically Removing Components of the Good Behavior Game in Preschool Classrooms |
| ERICA LOZY (Louisiana State University), Mallorie Paige Galjour (University of South Wales), Jeanne M. Donaldson (Louisiana State University) |
| Abstract: Disruptive classroom behavior produces a host of problems for students and teachers. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective procedure to reduce disruptive behavior. In this study, experimenters conducted the GBG in two preschool classes and demonstrated its effectiveness using a reversal design. Subsequently, experimenters systematically removed components of the GBG in a multiple baseline across classes design. In both classes, the rules and visual feedback were successfully removed from the GBG without a return of disruptive behavior. In Class 2, dividing the class into teams was also successfully removed from the GBG. Vocal feedback could not be removed in either class without disruptive behavior increasing, nor could contingent rewards from Class 2. We calculated Cohen’s d statistics to describe the size of the effects of the GBG on disruptive behavior for each class. A large effect size was demonstrated for all phases of the GBG. These data demonstrate one potential way to reduce teacher effort while maintaining the effects of the GBG. |
| |
| The Good Behavior Game: Maintenance and Side-effects in Preschoolers |
| ELIZABETH FOLEY (University of Kansas), Claudia L. Dozier (The University of Kansas), Sara Camille Diaz de Villegas (University of Kansas), Rachel Jess (University of Kansas), Kathleen Holehan (University of Kansas) |
| Abstract: The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective intervention used to change a variety of behaviors, across populations, and in various settings (see Tingstrom, Sterling-Turner, & Wilczynski, 2006, for a review). There is limited research on the intervention with preschoolers (Foley et al., 2019; Wiskow et al., 2019), the efficacy of the intervention when the GBG is faded or removed (Dadakhodjaeve et al, 2019; Ruiz-Olivares et al., 2010), and the potential side-effects associated with the GBG (Groves & Austin, 2019). We evaluated the efficacy of the GBG with preschoolers and determined whether effortful components of the GBG could be faded while maintaining treatment effects. Furthermore, we conducted a systematic analysis of peer interactions as a potential side effect of the GBG. Results suggest the GBG is an effective intervention for reducing the disruptive behavior of preschoolers and treatment effects maintained as we faded components. Finally, the side-effect analysis showed the GBG was associated with an increase in peer interactions and specific variables (e.g., delivery of reward) were associated with specific types of peer interactions. |
| |
| Effects of Good Behavior Game Dosage on Maintenance of Behavior Change |
| Jennifer L. Austin (University of South Wales), MALLORIE PAIGE GALJOUR (University of South Wales), Jenna Howells (University of South Wales), Abbie Shorthouse (University of South Wales) |
| Abstract: The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom management system with decades of research demonstrating its effectiveness across a range of educational settings. However, one specific limitation of the GBG is that effects observed while the game is being played do not appear to generalize to settings or times in which the game is not being played. It is possible that the lack of treatment effect maintenance may be due to the limited dosages of the GBG employed in most of the extant research. This study evaluated the effects of GBG dosage across six primary school classrooms in Wales. Classrooms were paired based on key classroom variables (e.g., age of students, approach to teaching, schedule) and then assigned to deliver either low-dose GBG (one game per day) or high dose GBG (2-3 games per day). Effects of the GBG were evaluated using a withdrawal design and student disruptions during withdrawal phases were used to evaluate maintenance of GBG effects. The GBG was effective in reducing disruptions across all classrooms. However, for two of the three pairs, examinations of behavior after the initial withdrawal phase showed lower levels of disruptive during subsequent withdrawals in the high-dose classrooms. These results suggest that higher doses of the GBG may result in greater maintenance of GBG effects. |
|
| |