Self-instruction as a treatment for hyperactivity : an assessment of response generalization

• Main Author: Thinesen, Paul J.
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1982
• Subjects: Hyperactive children; Psychology; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2077; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3076&context=uop_etds

Three hyperactive boys were treated with a self-instruction treatment package utilizing a case study design with a 2 week follow-up. Generalization measures were made to the participants' classroom using the modified Stony Brook observation code. Adjunct measures included three rating scales (completed by the participants' teachers and mothers) and participant performance on the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Treatment session measures and social validity measures were also taken. Following treatment, all participants' level of appropriate behavior increased over baseline levels and was maintained during a 2 week follow-up. These results indicate that self-instruction training resulted in response generaliztion, a significant addition to self-instruction research. However, results from the rating scales and MFFT showed no change in behavior after treatment and in some cases indicated that the participants' behavior worsened. Participants' grades also did not improve. These contradictory results are discussed and suggestions for further research are made.