ABA Inside Track Episode 298: "Auld Bag Syne (Winter 2025 Grab Bag)"

Release Date: January 15, 2025
Hosts: Robert Perry Crews, Diana Perry Cruz, Jackie McDonald

Episode Overview

This special "grab bag" edition of ABA Inside Track features the hosts diving into three behavior-analytic research articles not tied to a single theme—each selected for their immediate interest and practical application. The premise: to review recent, intriguing studies the hosts couldn't fit into regular topic episodes, focusing on interventions relevant to daily life, skill acquisition, and inclusive practices.

With their trademark conversational, playful, and candid style, Rob, Diana, and Jackie take listeners through:

• Reducing problematic social media use with self-management tech
• Using brief experimental analyses to address slow writing skills
• Promoting inclusive behaviors in classrooms through a group contingency game

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Effects of a Technology-Based Self-Management Intervention on Social Media Use

(Reviewed by Jackie McDonald, 03:05–17:31)

• Rationale:
  Jackie selects this article due to her own unresolved New Year’s resolutions: getting her dog to canine good citizen status and reducing phone screen time, specifically by lowering her social media usage.

• Study Summary:
  Published by Magan, Gandunu, Horror, and Campos in Behavior Analysis in Practice (June 2024), the study explores whether a technology-based self-management tool (the Clear Space app) can reduce a college student's social media use.

• Background Stats and Challenges:

  • Social media use among youth is high, with college students averaging about 7.5 hours daily.
  • Social media is a mixed bag—good for connection and information but linked to lost productivity, sleep problems, and (in severe cases) addiction and depression.

• Intervention Details:

  • Participant: A 22-year-old college student who feels her social media use disrupts her life.
  • Procedure:
    • Baseline – measured prior phone usage retrospectively using screenshots.
    • Intervention – Used the Clear Space app, which created a 10- or 30-second mindfulness delay before opening social media apps.
    • Data: Student self-reported app usage daily; 100% IOA via mutual screenshotting.
    • Design: ABAB reversal (baseline, intervention, withdrawal, reintroduction).

• Main Findings:

  • Baseline use reached up to 5 hours/day.
  • With the 10-second delay: Usage dropped to below 50 minutes.
  • With a 30-second delay: Usage sometimes dropped to zero (28 days at zero minutes).
  • 93% decrease in usage relative to baseline.
  • Lasting effects: Even at 30-day follow-up, the participant maintained very low or zero usage.

• Mechanism & Practical Notes:

  • Increasing "response effort" (having to wait or breathe before opening apps) decreased the reinforcing value of social media.
  • Both Jackie and Diana decide to try the app themselves during the episode ("I'm going to download the app." – Diana, 16:56).

• Notable Quotes:

  • "The self definition of self management is applying tactics in the present to change behavior in the future. So simple."
    (Jackie, 08:02)
  • "As the delay increased, the function of the reinforcer for the social media decreased."
    (Jackie, 14:27)
  • “The usage went from five hours to around 19 minutes overall and it was a 93% decrease relative to baseline.”
    (Jackie, 13:56)
  • “I did it today too... it’s like, breathe in and out, and I’m like, never mind.”
    (Jackie, 14:28)

2. Using a Brief Experimental Analysis for Writing Speed Intervention Identification

(Reviewed by Diana Perry Cruz, 20:46–41:23)

• Rationale:
  Diana picks this article for its intriguing title and focus on academic performance—an area where ABA is often underutilized. The study features a brief, systematic approach to identifying an intervention to increase writing speed.

• Study Summary:
  Schmidt, Krantz, King, Vetter, and Marushka (2024, Behavioral Interventions) implement a multi-element brief experimental analysis (BEA) with a single participant—Ellie, a 16-year-old with slow writing while in an inpatient unit.

• BEA Explained:

  • A quick, systematic comparison of multiple interventions to see which is most effective—akin to a rapid assessment for best instruction, not direct teaching itself.
  • Useful for tailoring interventions quickly, especially when environmental or instructional factors might affect skill acquisition.

• Procedures:

  • Five intervention components alternated in a multi-element design:
    1. Baseline: Copying words from a sheet.
    2. Tracing: Words appear as dotted lines to trace.
    3. Oral: Words are spoken aloud; participant writes from dictation.
    4. Fixed Ratio: Each written word earns a checkmark, each checkmark earns a minute of tablet access.
    5. Response-Dependent Reinforcer Magnitude (RDRM): Complete up to seven words in 12 minutes; remaining time is for tablet access.

• Findings & Analysis:

  • Tracing yielded the lowest rates; fixed-ratio reinforcement (checks for writing) was highest—indicating motivation, not skill, was the limiting factor.
  • Student's fastest rate: ~20 letters per minute (still modest); slowest: ~5 letters per minute.
  • The pattern suggested that writing skill was present, but lacked motivation. Reinforcement increased output but did not dramatically accelerate over time.
  • Questions remain about the underlying cause of slow writing—could be boredom, perfectionism, or other factors.

• Notable Quotes:

  • “We in our field are, to me, uniquely suited to addressing these challenges related to skill acquisition.”
    (Diana, 22:13)
  • “Just having a strong vocabulary doesn’t mean that you can then transpose words either from another textual cue or from an auditory cue… they do seem to operate as independent response classes.”
    (Diana, 30:59)
  • “The tablet was motivating and it was clear that it was functioning as a reinforcement when the check marks were being provided.”
    (Diana, 33:30)
  • “I feel like that’s me… Can job. Motivation will. Job.”
    (Jackie & Rob, 35:13)

• Reflections:

  • This approach is valuable for testing interventions for academic behaviors not obviously dangerous, expanding ABA’s typical scope.
  • The hosts discuss that while the study echoes prior work, having a quick, efficient comparison method is a useful contribution.

3. All for One and One for All: The Good Inclusion Game

(Reviewed by Robert Perry Crews, 41:23–59:34)

• Rationale & Background:
  Rob's pick extends the classic "Good Behavior Game" (GBG)—a well-established group contingency for classroom management—but refocuses it from compliance (rules-following) to inclusive, prosocial behaviors in a classroom in Northern Ireland. The study responds to Ireland’s push for inclusive education (Special Education Needs and Disability Act, 2016) and addresses social rejection and bullying of SEN students.

• Study Summary:
  Graham, Keenan, and Dillenberger (Behavioral Interventions 2024) implement the "Good Inclusion Game" (GIG) with 27 first-graders (including four with special needs), in one team rather than pitting groups against each other.

• Intervention Details:

  • Target behaviors: Initiating and sustaining social interactions, sharing, offering help, positive comments.
  • Points awarded for classwide inclusive behaviors; after earning 5 points as a class, the team earns a collective reward.
  • Used existing Class Dojo system for visual feedback; teacher delivered behavior-specific praise at set intervals.

• Design & Procedure:

  • ABAB (withdrawal) design; sessions across lessons conducive to interaction.
  • Teacher training was brief (< 20 min), focusing on modeling and delivering contingent praise/points.

• Findings & Impact:

  • Baseline: Low rates of inclusion; GIG implementation increased inclusive behaviors to 40–62% of intervals.
  • Withdrawals led to decreased inclusion, but some maintenance above baseline.
  • Teacher praise increased during the intervention, dropped in withdrawal.
  • Social validity: Most students (15/17) and the teacher gave positive feedback; students said things like, “I love sharing. It makes people happy.”
  • Suggests that even without competitive contingencies (just one team), group reinforcement can foster inclusion.

• Reflections & Future Questions:

  • Would two-team formats be more or less effective?
  • Could GIG replace or complement broader social emotional learning (SEL) efforts?
  • How much procedural integrity is required for continued effectiveness?
  • Is targeting the teacher’s praise behavior enough to evoke change, or is the game structure necessary?

• Notable Quotes:

  • “What if we looked at inclusive kind of friendship behaviors?”
    (Rob, 43:53)
  • "I love sharing. It makes people happy. I love that we get to help each other, which is really sweet."
    (Rob, 55:28)
  • "This did feel a little more cohesive... We all picked articles around interventions that... we kind of said, huh, I kind of want to try that, or, huh, that might be kind of useful."
    (Rob, 59:50)

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On the theme of anti-New Year’s resolutions:
  "All the problems I had in 2024 that I said these are 2025 problems, turns out they're still here."
  (Jackie, 02:14) "2025 clean up and I'm a new person."
  (Jackie, 02:26)

• App Recommendations and Real-time Application:
  -"I'm going to download the app."
  (Diana, 16:56)
  -"What's it called for the audience?" "It's called Clear Space."
  (Jackie & Diana, 17:06)

• On the blend of research and real-life:
  "We in our field are, to me, uniquely suited to addressing these challenges related to skill acquisition."
  (Diana, 22:13) "I feel like that's me... Can job. Motivation will. Job."
  (Jackie & Rob, 35:13)

• On the use of group contingencies for inclusivity:
  "What if we took the good behavior game rules and... it was about, hey, share with your friends, hey, include them in conversations, hey, talk to them a little bit more."
  (Rob, 45:12)

Important Timestamps

• 03:05–17:31: Review of social media self-management intervention (Jackie)
• 20:46–41:23: Brief experimental analysis in writing speed (Diana)
• 41:23–59:34: The Good Inclusion Game and inclusive group contingencies (Rob)

Episode Takeaways

• Behavior analysis is versatile—recent research applies ABA principles to novel, everyday problems, from personal technology use to classroom inclusion.
• Self-management strategies (especially those increasing response effort) can meaningfully reduce problematic behaviors outside clinical settings.
• Rapid experimental analyses can help educators and practitioners quickly identify effective intervention strategies, especially for skill acquisition.
• Group reinforcement systems can transcend compliance, driving positive social interaction and inclusivity without competition.

Final Thoughts

This grab bag episode reveals the hosts’ excitement about applying ABA both to timely practical problems (screen time habits) and broader societal goals (inclusion in education), all with an eye towards interventions the hosts themselves would try. As Rob summarizes: “We all picked articles around interventions that... we all said, huh, I kind of want to try that, or, huh, that might be kind of useful.” (59:50)

For full text and more resources, visit abainsidetrack.com.