COMBINING SELF-MONITORING AND AN INTERDEPENDENT GROUP CONTINGENCY TO IMPROVE THE BEHAVIOR OF SIXTH GRADERS WITH EBD

A withdrawal design was used to examine the influence of a self-monitoring procedure on the overall effectiveness of an interdependent group contingency intervention implemented in a sixth-grade classroom in an alternative school serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Dependent variables included student on-task, off-task, and disruptive behaviors exhibited during language arts. Following baseline, the classroom teacher implemented an interdependent group contingency using randomized criteria for reinforcement and randomized reinforcers. Next, a self-monitoring intervention procedure was added to the existing interdependent group contingency intervention. The self-monitoring procedure was then withdrawn and reinstated. Results indicated that though there were improvements in behavior from baseline upon intervention implementation, the self-monitoring procedure did not increase the effectiveness of the interdependent group contingency intervention. Limitations and suggestions for future research investigating the influence of self-monitoring on group contingency interventions are discussed.