The Psychological Record

, Volume 19, Issue 2, pp 177–210 | Cite as

Methodology for Experimental Studies of Young Children in Natural Settings

  • Sidney W. Bijou
  • Robert F. Peterson
  • Florence R. Harris
  • K. Eileen Allen
  • Margaret S. Johnston
Article
First Online:

Abstract

A method for the experimental study of young children in natural settings is described. These settings include the home, institution, school, and clinic as well as the behavior of parents, peers, and professional workers. Dominant stimulus and response events are assessed in preliminary observations which typically involve written accounts of the child’s behavior and the conditions under which it occurs. Subsequently, a behavioral code which specifies these events is constructed. The adequacy of the code is then tested and revised until independent observers reliably agree on the occurrence of the events. The training of observers, methods of calculating reliability coefficients, and the frequency of observations are discussed. The experimental design is a single subject strategy in which data are collected on individual children under four or more conditions to evaluate the functional relationships between behavior and environmental stimuli. During the first of these conditions, the baseline period, the field situation is left unchanged. Next, the variable of interest is manipulated to assess its effect on the behavior being observed. When response frequency has again stabilized, the conditions are changed to those that were in effect during the baseline period. In the fourth phase, the conditions of the first experimental period are reinstated. Ways of analyzing the data and interpreting the findings are also discussed.

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Copyright information

© Association of Behavior Analysis International 1969

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sidney W. Bijou
    • 1
  • Robert F. Peterson
    • 1
  • Florence R. Harris
    • 2
  • K. Eileen Allen
    • 2
  • Margaret S. Johnston
    • 2
  1. 1.Child Behavior LaboratoryUniversity of IllinoisChampaignUSA
  2. 2.University of WashingtonUSA

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