Increasing positive social interactions by handicapped individuals during a recreational activity using a multicomponent treatment package

A multicomponent treatment package increased the rate of positive statements among handicapped youth during a social/leisure activity at a work training setting. The package of role playing, graphic feedback, contingent reinforcement, and self-monitoring was directly replicated across three experiments in producing normative rates of positive verbal statements. There was no evidence of generalization to other stimulus activities. There was limited response generalization to a class of negative verbal statements. The study further examined the critical components of the maintenance package through a withdrawal design. It was found that contingent reinforcement and self-monitoring could maintain substantial rates of positive behaviors. In the third experiment it was further demonstrated that self-monitoring alone could maintain positive statements in three of the four students in the group.