Caregiver Acceptability of Differential Reinforcement Procedures for Honest Reports of Transgressions

Author

Stephanie C. Bowar, University of the PacificFollow

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Corey S. Stocco

First Committee Member

Carolynn Kohn

Second Committee Member

Matthew P. Normand

Abstract

When measuring social validity, many researchers rely exclusively on subjective measures, such as questionnaires or surveys; however, these measures may fail to capture the variables that control later intervention adoption by stakeholders, and objective measures may capture these variables more accurately. Moreover, few researchers have investigated the adoptability of differential reinforcement (DR) interventions to increase children’s honesty about transgressions. We taught caregivers to implement the DR procedures reported in Lehardy et al. (2023) and measured the acceptability and adoptability of procedures using three measures: (1) a social validity questionnaire and rating scale immediately following training, (2) a concurrent-chains preference assessment with the researcher, and (3) an at-home follow-up questionnaire approximately one week after training. Caregiver preferences for procedures varied, but all caregivers reported preferring DR procedures to increase honesty over an NCR procedure. Correspondence between each participant’s three social validity outcomes also varied, but only fully aligned for one participant. Our findings indicate a need for additional research into correspondence between subjective and objective social validity measures to determine whether subjective measures can accurately predict later intervention adoption.

Pages

53

Recommended Citation

Bowar, Stephanie C.. (2023). Caregiver Acceptability of Differential Reinforcement Procedures for Honest Reports of Transgressions. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/4249