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| Health, Sport and Fitness SIG Grant Recipients: Exciting New Areas of Research |
| Saturday, May 28, 2022 |
| 5:00 PM–5:50 PM |
| Meeting Level 1; Room 156A |
| Area: CSS/TBA; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Rocky Perez (Western Michigan University PhD IOBM Candidate) |
| Discussant: Sharlet D. Rafacz (California State University, Fresno) |
| CE Instructor: Sharlet D. Rafacz, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: This symposium will include two recently completed projects by the 2021 Behavior Analysis in Health, Sport, and Fitness Special Interest Group (HSF SIG) research grant recipients. The purpose of the HSF SIG Small Research Grant is to support experimental research that demonstrates the application of behavior analysis to address human behavior in the areas of health, sport, or fitness. Additional goals of this program are to disseminate behavior analytic research and practice and to expand research opportunities for students of behavior analysis. The first presentation will describe a study that evaluated and compared technology-based interdependent, dependent, and independent group contingencies for increasing daily steps in adults using a percentile schedule of reinforcement. The second presentation will describe a study that evaluated the outcomes of a virtual training informed by the behavioral skills training framework on dance instructors’ implementation of a behaviour analytic coaching package. Discussion following the presentations will focus on the use of technology in health, sport, and fitness research, along with how this research informs those in both the basic and applied communities. Recipients of the 2022 HSF SIG Small Research Grant will be announced at the end of the session. |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| Keyword(s): behavioral coaching, dance, group contigencies, physical activity |
| Target Audience: Graduate students, researchers, and practitioners interested in applications of behavior analysis to health, sport, and fitness |
| Learning Objectives: (1) describe how group contingencies can be used to increase physical activity; (2) describe how the behavioral skills training framework can be applied to virtual training methods; (3) describe at least two implications of the findings of these students for future research and practice. |
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| Evaluating Group Contingencies for Increasing Daily Steps in Adults |
| CASEY IRWIN HELVEY (University of North Carolina Wilmington), Carole M. Van Camp (University of North Carolina Wilmington) |
| Abstract: Research has suggested that contingent rewards or added researcher intervention may be necessary to increase physical activity in adults, though this can be costly in terms of time and money. Arranging group contingencies for increasing physical activity may be one way to limit some of these costs and may have additional benefits of peer-arranged social consequences. Recent studies have shown that interdependent group contingencies, or a version called the Good Behavior Game (GBG), can be used to increase physical activity among children. No within-subject studies have compared all three types of group contingencies for increasing physical activity. Additionally, behavior-analytic studies evaluating group contingencies for increasing physical activity in adults are limited. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate and compare technology-based interdependent, dependent, and independent group contingencies for increasing daily steps in adults using a percentile schedule of reinforcement. Additionally, the current study will evaluate participants’ relative preference for the three group contingency interventions using a concurrent-chains paradigm. The results will be discussed within the context of implications for physical activity interventions and areas for future research. |
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Evaluation of a Virtual Training for Dance Instructors to Implement a Behavioral Coaching Package |
| SARAH DAVIS (Brock University), Kendra Thomson (Brock University ), Kimberley L. M. Zonneveld (Brock University), Melina Passalent (Brock University), Tricia Corinne Vause (Brock University), Brittney Mathura Sureshkumar (Brock University), Nicole Bajcar (Brock University) |
| Abstract: Most dance instructors are not provided with formal training to teach dance skills and it has been reported that they often employ an authoritarian teaching style with a focus on corrective feedback, which can adversely impact dancers’ experiences. A behavior analytic approach to dance education may provide dance instructors with positive strategies that increase the accuracy of dance movements and the satisfaction of dancers. Using a concurrent multiple-baseline design across five participants, we evaluated the outcomes of a virtual training informed by the behavioral skills training framework (i.e., instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback) on dance instructors’ implementation of a behaviour analytic coaching package consisting of four elements (i.e., task analyzing dance skills, emphasizing correct performance with focus points, assessing performance through data collection, and providing optimal feedback). The dance instructors’ performance was scored as a percentage of correctly implemented behavioural coaching elements. While data collection is on-going, the virtual training shows promising results. To date, three participants have met mastery criteria (i.e., implemented the elements of the behavioural coaching package with 100% accuracy, across two consecutive sessions). Dance instructors’ perceived acceptability of the virtual training and the utility of the behavioural coaching strategies will also be obtained through social validity questionnaires. |
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