Previous research indicates that manipulating dimensions of reinforcement during differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) for situations in which extinction cannot be implemented is a potential approach for treating destructive behavior. Therefore, we replicated and extended previous research by determining (a) the conditions under which DRA without extinction decreased and maintained low levels of destructive behavior and (b) whether intervention effects maintained during reinforcement schedule thinning for the alternative response (i.e., compliance). Results showed that effective treatments were developed in the absence of extinction by manipulating the quality of reinforcement for compliance for 2 participants and by combining manipulations of the magnitude and quality of reinforcement for compliance for the other 2 participants. However, maintaining treatment effects during reinforcement schedule thinning required combining the magnitude and quality of reinforcement for 3 of the 4 participants. We discuss the clinical utility of this approach, review limitations of the study, and suggest directions for future research.

Personal hygiene is critical for preventing the spread of infection. One important component of personal hygiene is handwashing. This review summarizes research on behavioral strategies to address handwashing in children, offers areas for additional research, and suggests a treatment package to teach handwashing to young children.

Schedules of covariation are those in which changes in a specific response class (e.g., rate, intensity, or duration of behavior) produce corresponding changes in a reinforcer (e.g., rate, intensity, or duration; Williams & Johnston, 1992). Furthermore, these schedules involve the behavior and reinforcer fluctuating or varying together. A synchronous-reinforcement schedule is a type of schedule of covariation in which the onset and offset of the reinforcer covaries with the onset and offset of the behavior (Ramey, Heiger, & Klisz, 1972;Weisberg & Rovee-Collier, 1998). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of and preference for a synchronous-reinforcement schedule for increasing on-task behavior in preschoolers.Specifically, we compared the effects of a synchronous-reinforcement schedule to one in which continuous access to stimuli were delivered at the end of the session and yoked to the duration of on-task behavior that occurred during the session. Thus, in both conditions, continuous access to stimuli was delivered for the duration of time in which on-task behavior occurred; the only difference was whether the stimuli were delivered based on moment-to-moment changes in the occurrence of on-task behavior or at end of the session. Results showed the synchronousreinforcement schedule was more effective for increasing on-task behavior and more preferred for most participants. Results are discussed in light of potential mechanisms by which the synchronous schedule was more effective and preferred and areas for future research. I would like to thank my family for their endless support throughout this journey. I appreciate everything that you do for me so that I can reach my goals. I truly could not have made it without having my family and pups by my side. To my lab mates, thank you for providing me with feedback, assisting me with sessions, and engaging in thoughtful discussions about my project. I would also like to thank some wonderful people in my life, Austin O'Neal, Ally Salzer, and Jessica Juanico, for supporting me, motivating me, and reminding me to find the positive nuggets every day. I would also like to thank my participants for being a part of my study. I cannot even begin to express how much I have learned as a researcher from each and every single participant. Finally, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Claudia Dozier for all your constant support and guidance. Thank you for all your feedback, countless hours reviewing my documents, and your invaluable contributions to this project that have shaped my behavior.Thank you all for helping me to accomplish such an important milestone in my life.

In a series of recent studies, Hanley and colleagues have evaluated the efficacy of an FA methodology termed the Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analyses (IISCA; Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014), which involves conducting (a) an open-ended interview to determine potential antecedents, consequences, and precursors to target problem behavior; (b) a brief observation based on the interview results; and (c) test and control conditions that involve synthesized contingencies (as determined by interview and observation). However, it is unknown whether synthesis of contingencies is necessary for determining a functional relation between problem behavior and environmental events. We extended Fisher, Greer, Romani, Zangrillo, and Owen (2016) and Slaton, Hanley, and Raferty (2017) by comparing the outcomes of FAs that involved isolated versus synthesized contingencies while controlling for other differences across the FAs for problem behavior of five young children. Next, we compared the effects of function-based interventions based on isolated and synthesized functional variables for each participant. Results showed that synthesized contingencies were not necessary to show functional relations between problem behavior and environmental events, and function-based treatments based on isolated contingencies were equally effective to those based on synthesized contingencies.

Young children who attend out-of-home care (e.g., preschool) are more susceptible to infections than children who do not attend out-of-home care. Previous research suggests handwashing is effective in reducing risk of infection and illness. However, research suggests that individuals do not routinely wash their hands using methods that healthcare agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have determined best practice. We evaluated the effects of a multicomponent handwashing intervention package on correct handwashing across groups of preschool children. Furthermore, we measured the degree to which their hands were clean using premeasures and postmeasures. Results suggest the intervention package was effective at increasing both correct handwashing and cleanliness of participants' hands. K E Y W O R D Shandwashing, preschool children, video modeling, visual feedback