Date of Award

Summer 2012

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the interdependent group contingency procedure known as the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on decreasing disruptive behaviors in general education high school students. The effectiveness of the GBG has been investigated in many studies as means of managing a variety of behaviors across many developmental levels; however, not all populations have been investigated. Although many studies exist that have utilized the GBG to alter behaviors across ages ranging from pre-school to adulthood, few studies exist in which the GBG has been used with a general education high school population. The present study adds to the literature base of the GBG by extending the versatility of the GBG to a general education high school population. To date, only one other study exists which has examined the effectiveness of the GBG with high school general education students (Kleinman & Saigh, 2011). Though supportive of the positive effects on disruptive behavior in this population, Kleinman and Saigh had several limitations regarding methodology and only used one classroom which limited the external validity of the intervention. The present study extends this literature base with further investigation of the game, by presenting the game as a Teamwork Competition (TC), and utilizes a separate ABAB withdrawal design across three classrooms, with withdrawal and reimplementation in two of the classrooms. All three classrooms demonstrated decreases in disruptive behaviors during intervention phases. Classrooms also had increases in disruptive behaviors during the withdrawal phase. Teachers and students found the GBG/TC to be acceptable for use in their classrooms. These results support the use of a modified version of the GBG in high school classrooms.

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