Date of Award

Summer 8-2007

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Dr. Daniel Tingstrom

Committee Chair Department

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Dr. D. Joe Olmi

Committee Member 2 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Dr. Heather Sterling-Turner

Committee Member 3 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 4

Dr. Brad Dufrene

Committee Member 4 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 5

Dr. Sara Jordan

Committee Member 5 Department

Psychology

Abstract

The present study utilized 2 multiple baselines across participants designs to evaluate the effects of instruction type as well as the addition of Contingent Praise (CP) to Effective Instruction Delivery (EID) for increasing compliance of children. A second purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of proximity (close versus distant) on the compliance of children while giving specific instructions to the teacher for proximal distance. A final purpose of the study was to examine if the addition of CP would increase levels of compliance above those obtained during the previous phases. Participants were 4 students in grades 1, 4, and 5. Group 1 consisted of 2 students who received commands from their teacher who was within 5 feet. Group 2 included 2 students who received commands from their teacher who was at a distance of greater than 10 feet. Following baseline, one teacher in each group delivered commands in the front of a statement than a question in the following phase. The other teacher in the group delivered commands in the form of a question than a statement in the following phase. All four teachers were instructed to deliver CP along with commands as statements in the final phase. The results indicated that commands may be more effective if given in the form of a statement as well as in close proximity. Additionally, the results suggested that EID can be successful in increasing levels of compliance; however, CP may be necessary to achieve further increases in compliance beyond those obtained by EID alone.

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