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Cell phones in the college classroom can be used to increase interaction between students and the professor; they can also distract from academic tasks and decrease academic performance. To decrease task-switching in the classroom, researchers have suggested the use of "technology breaks" (TB), in which students are provided periodic breaks to use cell phones throughout class. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the use of technology breaks in a college classroom (N = 21). Cell phone use was evaluated over 22 class periods. Observers recorded how many students were using cell phones every 10 s. Three experiment conditions were alternated with yoked controls in a multi-element design: (A) 1min technology breaks, (B) 2min technology break, and (C) 4min technology break. The control condition [question breaks, (QB)] provided breaks for students to ask the professor questions regarding class materials. No penalties or punishers were delivered for cell phone use under any conditions. The average rate of cellphone use in QB was 0.53 responses per min (range = 0.06-1.02), while the average rate for TB was 0.35 responses per min (range = 0.20-0.74). Overall, the study found that technology breaks were a promising way to utilize reinforcement-based strategies to reduce classroom cell phone use, though variability in the data weakened conclusions regarding the utility of technology breaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present experiments was to systematically replicate Step it UP! Game interventions with adults with disabilities. Participants were divided into two competing teams, and the team with the highest step count participated in a prize drawing. Experiment 1 (N = 9) evaluated the efficacy of an extended version of the Step it UP! Game that included additional and longer sessions. Experiment 2 (N = 8) evaluated the addition of contingent experimenter attention during the Step it UP! Game. Baseline, Step it UP! Game, and Step it UP! Game plus interaction sessions were evaluated in a multielement design. The Step it UP! Game was effective with additional and longer sessions, and all participants took more steps during Step it UP! Game sessions. Adding experimenter interaction to the Step it UP! Game did not increase the efficacy of the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delay discounting is a behavioral measure of impulsivity in which respondents choose between hypothetical smaller immediate rewards (SIR) or larger delayed rewards (LDR). Delay discounting questionnaires quantify impulsivity by calculating the rate that delayed rewards lose their subjective value for a particular participant or group. The purpose of the present study was to collect additional evidence on the relation of delay discounting and cell phone use in the college classroom. College students at the undergraduate and graduate level (N = 43) completed a brief survey about their cell phone use in the classroom as well as a delay discounting questionnaire. The primary dependent measures were self-reported duration and rate of cell phone use. Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated between participant characteristics and delay discounting rates. Hierarchical linear regression models were used to adjust for basic demographic variables and measure the independent effect of delay discounting rates on cell phone use. Delay discounting rates were correlated with age (r(39) = -.39, p = .012), duration of cell phone use (r(41) = .42, p = .005), and rate of cell phone use per hr (r(40) = .34,p = .026). Delay discounting rate significantly predicted duration of cell phone use after adjusting for age and sex (B = 0.31, SE = 0.13, p = .023). Delay discounting rate did not predict rate of classroom cell phone use in the regression model (p = .14), nor did it alter the predictive utility of the model (p = .14). Keywords Delay discounting * Impulsivity ? Cell phone use * College classroom, Cellular (cell) phones have provided us access to a multitude of interesting and important abilities and entertainment options. Using cell phones students can engage in any number of nonclass related [...]

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Several recent studies have explored what Michael (e.g., 1982) termed the "value-altering" effect and the "behavior-altering" effect of motivating operations. One aspect of the behavior-altering effect that has garnered no recent attention involves changes in stimulus control produced by motivating operations. To call attention to this aspect of the behavior-altering effect, we herein review 11 studies that are concerned with the influence of varying levels of food or water deprivation on stimulus generalization. These studies suggest that motivating operations influence stimulus control (a) by changing the evocative strength of not just an established discriminative stimulus, but also of stimuli that are physically similar to it; (b) by changing the range of stimuli that evoke the operant in question; and (c) by exerting these effects in a graded fashion. These findings are potentially of conceptual and applied significance, and it appears that further research examining how motivating operations alter stimulus control, including some studies suggested herein, is warranted. (Contains 4 figures, 1 table and 1 footnote.)

Engaging in regular physical activity has been shown to decrease the risk of health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Several studies have shown that physical activity is lower among individuals with neuro‐atypical developmental and intellectual disabilities as compared to neurotypical individuals. The current study evaluated the effects of the Step it UP! Game on the mean number of steps taken per minute with adults with disabilities. Participants were divided into 2 competing teams, and the team with the highest step count at the end of each session participated in a prize drawing. The Step it UP! Game was compared to baseline conditions using a multielement design. Mean step count increased from 24.35 steps per minute during baseline to 54.76 steps per minute during the intervention. All 10 participants took more steps during the Step it UP! Game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]