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ED 401 001 PS 024 715

AUTHOR McNamee-McGrory, Virginia; Cipani, EnnioTITLE Reduction of Inappropriate "Clinging" Behaviors in a

Preschooler through Social Skills Training andUtilization of the "Premack" Principle.

PUB DATE 95

NOTE 19p.

PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Adjustment (to Environment); Affection; Affective

Behavior; *Attachment Behavior; Attention; BehaviorChange; Behavior Modification; *Behavior Problems;Child Behavior; *Dependency (Personality); EmotionalAdjustment; Interpersonal Competence; *Intervention;*Preschool Children; School Readiness; SeparationAnxiety; Teacher Response; Teacher StudentRelationship

IDENTIFIERS Physical Contact; Premack Principle; Social SkillsTraining; Touching

ABSTRACTIn making the transition to preschool, some children

exhibit behaviors that demonstrate an inability to functionindependently during parts of the school day. One such behavior isclinging, or the need for unusually frequent physical contact withthe teacher. This study evaluated the efficacy of a social skillspackage and Premack contingency (reinforcement of intervals ofnon-clinging and appropriate attention-requesting behaviors) toreduce inappropriate behaviors in one female, 4-year-old child. Thesocial skills package was used to teach the child (along with theclass as a whole) to engage in appropriate attention-seekingbehaviors, while the Premack contingency was implemented tosystematically increase the non-occurrence of inappropriate behavior.Compared to the baseline condition, in which the teacher routinelypleaded with the child to desist the behavior, implementation of theinterventions dramatically decreased the occurrence of inappropriateclinging and attention-seeking. The frequency of appropriateattention-requesting behaviors increased for the individual child andfor the class as a whole. (Contains eight references.) (EV)

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REDUCTION OF INAPPROPRIATE "CLINGING" BEHAVIORS IN A

PRESCHOOLER THROUGH SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING AND UTILIZATION

OF THE "PREMACK" PRINCIPLE

VIRGINIA JOAN MC NAMEE-MCGRORY & ENNIO CIPANI

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY - FRESNO

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RUNNING HEAD: Clinging

2

BEST COPY AWAKE

ABSTRACT

This research study evaluated the efficacy of a social

skills package and a Premack contingency to reduce

inappropriate clinging and attention-seeking behaviors in a

preschool child. The social skills package was used to

teach the child to engage in appropriate attention-seeking

behaviors. The "Premack Contingency" was implemented to

systematically increase the non-occurrence of inappropriate

clinging and attention seeking behaviors. Inappropriate

clinging and attention-seeking behaviors decreased

dramatically following the treatment condition, and the

frequency of appropriate attention-requesting behaviors

increased.

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Clinging

2

Reduction of Inappropriate "Clinging Behaviors in a

Preschooler Through Social Skills Training and Utilization

of the "Premack" Principle

Each year, many young children enter preschool.

Although the adjustment to the preschool setting may be

difficult, most children seem to adjust well. However, some

children do not adjust well and demonstrate behaviors that

can be either inappropriate or unacceptable in a school

setting.

While the literature has extensively studied

problematic disruptive behaviors (Greenwood, Walker, Todd, &

Hops, 1979; Lewis & Sugai, 1993; Pray, Hall, & Markley,

1992), some children exhibit behaviors that demonstrate an

inability to function independently during parts of the

school day. Many young children hug their teacher and such

a behavior is not considered inappropriate. However, it is

deemed problematic when it occurs at an unusually frequent

level. This constant need for physical contact with the

teacher involves constant clinging to the teacher's body.

This constant clinging behavior presents a problem to the

teacher in that it restricts her ability to manage and/or

interact with other children and is therefore deemed

inappropriate.

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Clinging

3

Social skills training packages have received

considerable empirical support (Ammerman & Hersen, 1986;

Kern, Miller, & Eggers, 1983; Odom, Hoyson, Jamieson, &

Strain, 1985; Torgrud & Holborn, 1992). However, the

application of social skills training to a behavior

involving a child's dependence on the teacher (physically

and emotionally) has not been studied. Similarly,

contingency management techniques have received empirical

support for treating many classroom behaviors of young

children ( Fee, Matson, & Manikam, 1990; Lewis & Sugai,

1993), but not with this type of preschool problem.

This study investigates the effects of a multifaceted

intervention plan to decrease inappropriate clinging and

attention seeking behaviors in a preschool child.

METHOD

Subject and setting

One female four-year-old preschool child served as the

subject in this study. The child met the criterion for

inclusion in the study, which was a score of 80 or better on

the Teacher Screening Measure, as well as parental consent

to participate in the study. The child's preschool teacher

completed the Teacher Screening Measure Questionnaire. This

questionnaire consisted of 16 behavior descriptive items

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Clinging

that assessed the extent of the child's inappropriate

clinging and attention seeking behaviors. 1

4

The Teacher Screening Measure Questionnaire was modeled

after the Teacher Social Rating Scale developed by

Greenwood, Walker, Todd & Hops (1979). Each behavior-

descriptive item was marked on a 7-point bipolar rating

differential. The subject scored 98 out of 112 possible

points, indicating that clinging and attention-seeking

behaviors were at problematic levels.

The study took place in the child's preschool classroom

and outside areas. The clasSroom was equipped with standard

children's desks and materials. There were 25 children

enrolled in the class during the study. The teacher was

trained by the first author to collect data through viewing

of child-teacher interaction on videotape and in-vivo

practice in the classroom. When agreement between the first

author and teacher reached 80% agreement or better in both

types of training, data collection for the study was

initiated.

The teacher served as primary observer in this study.

She was a California credentialed preschool educator,

specializing in preschool and kindergarten-aged children.

The teacher's aide was utilized in supervising the classroom

during periods of data collection by the teacher.

1. available from first author upon request.

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Clinging

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The social skills curriculum utilized for the subject

was also provided to all the child's classmates during

training sessions. However, data were not collected on any

other children. Allowing all children to participate in the

social skills group decreased the likelihood of the subject

being singled out and allowed all the children to benefit

from the social skills discussion.

Data collection

Inappropriate clinging and attention seeking

constituted the two primary dependent measures. Any of the

three following components of clinging were considered to

comprise an occurrence of clinging behavior: (a) hugging,

(b) hand holding, and (c) following. Hugging was defined as

the child hugging the teacher with one or two arms and not

releasing upon request by the teacher or hugging again

immediately following a request to release the hug. Holding

hands was considered pulling on an adult's arms or swinging

an adult's arms as well as holding an adult's hand.

Following was defined as walking alongside or behind an

adult when asked not to do so and when it was inappropriate

to do so (i.e., during class time). The occurrence of one

or more of these observable components constituted an

occurrence of clinging behavior.

Attention seeking was scored separately and was defined

as asking several questions at once and/or repeatedly asking

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Clinging

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for help. Examples of attention seeking included repeatedly

(a) seeking out the teacher, (b) coming to the teacher's

desk, and (c) asking for help. In this study, the first

2 hours of the child's school day were selected as

observation and data recording periods. Based on informal

conversations with the teacher, those periods were selected

as the teacher identified the problem behaviors to be more

likely to occur during the first 2 hours.

Interobserver reliability

Reliability checks were taken during 20* of the data

collection segments across all conditions in this study.

During reliability checks, the teacher and reliability

observer (first author) simultaneously recorded target

behaviors of the child during a designated period.

Reliability was assessed in the following manner. A timer

set for 10-minute intervals alerted the reliability observer

and teacher to begin each data collection segment.

Agreement of observers was scored when both observers

marked the occurrence of clinging behaviors on the target

child in the same 10-minute reliability check time interval.

A disagreement was scored if one observer found an occurance

of an attention-seeking behavior and the other observer did

not record the occurrence of this same behavior in the same

time interval. The percentage of observer agreement was

calculated by dividing the number of observer agreements of

Clinging

7

occurrence only, by the number of observer agreements plus

disagreements of occurrence and multiplying by 100%.

Experimental design and conditions

The experimental design utilized was a single subject

AB design. The baseline condition was followed by the

treatment condition, involving a social skills training

package, and a "Premack reinforcement contingency".

Baseline condition. During baseline, the teacher was

instructed to record the frequency of clinging and

attention-seeking behaviors in blocks of 10-minute

intervals. The teacher and aide engaged in their normal

everyday activities and schedules. The teacher responded to

the child in the manner identified by her as common and

appropriate. In the past, the teacher would often plead

with the subject to not engage in the clinging or attention

seeking behaviors when they occurred. In order to

systematically study the efficacy of pleading to reduce

clinging and attention seeking, the teacher was trained to

respond to the child's clinging and/or attention-seeking

behaviors by immediately pleading with the child to desist

the behavior every time. The teacber responded with

pleading requests such as "Please sit down; we can't hug

now," "No, we can't hold hands now," or "You can walk with

me at recess, but not in the classroom," Several variations

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Clinging

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of these pleading responses were identified by the teacher

and researcher prior to use during the baseline condition

for use in this condition.

To ensure that pleading occurred systematically,the

teacher was given feedback as to the rate of pleading. The

percentage of clinging and attention-seeking behaviors

responded to in a pleading manner was provided to the

teacher after each session in baseline.

Treatment conditions. The treatment condition involved an

intervention package that consisted of two components: (a)

social skills training and (b) reinforcement of intervals of

nonclinging and appropriate attention-requesting behaviors.

The teacher served as the social skills trainer to the

entire classroom of children. The teacher was taught by the

examiner to deliver a social skills package consisting of

instruction and modeling to the children.

Presented in a package program, the social skills

training included instruction on appropriate hugging, hand

holding, etc. The focus of the classroom instruction was to

teach the importance of appropriate displays of affection at

appropriate times, with a child verbal request preceding the

behavior. The instruction was interactive with the teacher

modeling the appropriate behavior and then allowing the

children to demonstrate appropriate affection-seeking

behaviors during the instruction.

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Clinging

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In order to teach this skill, a behavioral rehearsal

format was used. The children were required to ask

permission for hugs, hand holding, following, and seeking

out behaviors. If the teacher responded to the request with

a "yes," then the child received the requested behavior.

This included hugging, hand holding, or being allowed to

walk with the teacher. However, if the teacher responded

with a "no" to the request, then the child had to accept the

"no" by moving away from the teacher and could not ask again

at that time. The children practiced each of these

behaviors, to "yes" and "no" teacher responses, several

times during the training. For further delineation of the

training procedures the reader is referred to McNamee

(unpublished dissertation, 1995).

The second component of the treatment condition was the

implementation of a Premack contingency, i.e., utilization

of high probability behavior to reinforce a low probability

behavior. The target child was allowed to win points for

demonstrating attention-requesting behaviors during

designated appropriate times and restraining for periods of

time from clinging to the teacher during class time. For

each 10-minute period that the child did not cling, the

subject received points toward hugs from the teacher to be

redeemed at the end of each hour.

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Clinging

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If the child did cling during this period, she did not

earn points and the interval was re-set to the full 10

minutes. The child also earned points if she appropriately

hugged and made verbal requests for hugs or hand holding

during redemption time (appropriate time). To redeem

points, the child had to ask for the hug or attention at the

appropriate exchanging time. However, if the child failed

to do so, the teacher prompted the child and reminded her of

the correct manner to request attention, if necessary. The

teacher was trained by the first author on the correct

implementation of this program.

RESULTS

The mean percentage of observer agreement for clinging

behaviors was 951, with a range from 80 to 100%. The mean

percentage of observer agreement for attention-seeking

behavior was 905, with a range of agreement from 87.5 to

100%.

Results of the study indicated a decrease in both

clinging and attention-seeking behaviors in the experimental

condition when contrasted with the baseline condition (see

Panel 1, Figure 1). During the baseline the child

demonstrated a moderate frequency of clinging behaviors (4

or 5 occurrences). The frequency of attention seeking was

much higher during baseline (7 and 8 occurrences).

Insert Figure 1

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Clinging

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During the experimental condition, the frequency of

clinging behaviors in the experimental condition dropped to

two occurrences on the first day and no occurrences for the

rest of the condition. Attention-seeking behaviors dropped

to two occurrences for all but the last day (one occurrence

on the last day).

The frequency of reinforcement for the child's

appropriate attention-seeking behaviors under the Premack

contingency was high. The child earned attention and

appropriate hugs from the teacher (as a result of non-

clinging behavior) between 4-8 times, thus demonstrating the

effectiveness of the program.

DISCUSSION

This research study investigated the efficacy of

utilizing a social skills training package and a Premack

contingency to reduce clinging behaviors in a preschool

child. Following the implementation of the social skills

package and the Premack contingency, the child's

inappropriate clinging and attention-seeking behaviors

decreased.

According to the teacher's anecdotal report, the

child's attention seeking behaviors became more socially

acceptable and limited to relevant situations (e.g. when

preceding help for a task). A follow-up interview with the

teacher revealed the child maintained appropriate attention-

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seeking behaviors and demonstrated no clinging behaviors a

month after the study.

An ancillary anecdotal finding was noted by the teacher

in addition to the results specific to the targeted child.

A change in the class' behavior was recognized by the

teacher for the majority of the children who participated in

the social skills training. The teacher reported that the

class as a whole not only decreased attention seeking, but

also maintained appropriate behaviors throughout the month

following the study. During the study, the children of the

class often demonstrated appropriate social skills, (e.g.

requesting attention) without teacher prompt or

intervention. The teacher reported a significant positive

change in the overall behavior of the children in the class

which enabled her to more effectively teach lessons. Upon

the 1-month follow-up, the teacher expressed overall

satisfaction in teaching the class due to the decrease in

attention-seeking behaviors of the class as a whole.

The package of social skills training and reinforcement

for the non-occurrence of inappropriate clinging and

attention-seeking reduction produced significant changes in

the target child's behavior. Further, anecdotal reports

from the teacher indicated that social skills training was

effective in teaching appropriate behavior to many children

in the class. Further research should address the efficacy

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Clinging

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of skills training packages for additional social skills

needed by young children in preschool classrooms.

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REFERENCES

Ammerman, R. T., & Hersen, M. (1986). Effects of scenemanipulation on role-play test behavior.. Journal ofPsychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 11, 55-67.

Fee, V. E., Matson, J., & Manikam, R. (1990). A controlgroup outcome study of a nonexclusionary time-out packageto improve social skills of preschoolers.Exceptionality, 1, 107-121.

Greenwood, C. R., Walker, H. M., Todd, N., & Hops, H.(1979). Selecting a cost effective screening measure forthe assessment of preschool social withdrawal. Journalof Applied Behavior Analysis, 12(4), 639-652.

Kern, J. M., Miller, C., & Eggers, J. (1983). Enhancingthe validity of roleplay tests: A comparison of threeroleplay methodologies. Behavior Therapy, 14, 482-492.

Lewis, T. J., & Sugai, G. (1993). Teaching communicativealternatives to socially withdrawn behaviors: Aninvestigation in maintaining treatment effects. Journalof Behavioral Education, 1(1), 61-75.

Odom, S. L., Hoyson, M., Jamieson, B., & Strain, P. (1985).Increasing handicapped preschoolers' peer socialinteractions: Cross-setting and component analysis.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 3-16.

Pray, B., Jr., Hall, C. W., & Markley, P. (1992). Socialskills training: An analysis for individualizededucation programs. Remedial and Special Education,13(5),--43-49.

Torgrud, L. J., & Holborn, S. W. (1992). Developingexternally valid role-play for the assessment of socialskills: A behavioral analytic perspective. BehavioralAssessment, 14, 245-277.

16

Figure 1 Rates of targeted behaviors for baseline andexperimental conditions

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Figure 1

Frequency of Two Target Behaviors

Across Baseline and Treatment

Baseline Treatment Package

Sessions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

44"

Clinging 4 5 4 2 0 0 0

InappropriateAttention Getting 8 8 7 2 2 2 1

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