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Show 49 Therefore, the lack of functional analysis may have led to problems with identifying the primary functions ofproblem behavior completely and correctly. Functional analysis manipulations can test variables and events that may all be closely related to the problem behavior, therefore helping to identify any correlation between the environment and problem behavior (O'Neill et al., 1997). Another weakness was the lack ofparticipants' discrimination between the reward conditions. This problem may have been attributable to the multiple treatment design. Kazdin (1982) asserts that the ability ofparticipants to discriminate between multiple interventions depends on the similarity of the procedures that are compared. The conditions in this study were similar, thus making it difficult to isolate the efi'ects of one condition from the other condition. A final weakness of this study may have been the time flame. The first issue was the session length. Each session was only 20 minutes in length. Better results may have been seen if the session time had been increased, allowing the participants to have time to settle in, remember the procedures, and remember the reward conditions. The longer session may have also given the participants the perception of working harder and thus strengthening the value of the reward. Another time issue may have been that the number of sessions was spread out over several weeks, with one session per day. Better effects may have been demonstrated if there were more sessions per day. This may be true because the more frequently an intervention is applied the more likely the participants will be able to distinguish which intervention is in effect (Kazdin, 1982). This also may have allowed the participants to more easily adjust to |
