Self Stimulatory Behavior

Durand and Carr carried out this single-subject study with four special education day school students diagnosed with autism or pervasive developmental disorder who engaged in stereotypic behaviors (hand flapping and body rocking). The purpose of the study was to determine whether there may be social functions to behavior, often referred to as self-stimulatory, that had commonly been assumed to serve sensory functions. All experiments were conducted with the child and the experimenter in a room next to the child’s classroom. Data was taken by two assistants behind a one-way mirror.
In the first experiment, there were three conditions: 1. a baseline condition in which the children did five minutes each of a match-to-sample task and a receptive-labeling task. Timed commands, social comments and verbal praise were given on a variable ratio 3 schedule …show more content…
Self- stimulatory behavior, also referred to as stereotypic behavior, can interfere with the ability of individuals to learn, complete tasks, and relate in a socially accepted way with family and peers resulting in isolation and reduced intellectual, emotional, and social opportunities; therefore, it is a significant problem ethically worthy of study in order to help these individuals.
Behavioral
This study is behavioral. The experimenters chose hand-flopping and body rocking as two of the stereotypical behaviors to change (dependent variables). These behaviors, as well as the correct and incorrect responses in the academic tasks and the response, “Help me” in experiment three were clearly defined with good inter-observer agreement about occurrence and non-occurrence and therefore could be measured directly. Experimenter’s behavior was clearly defined and monitored for consistency to preserve integrity of the