Date Approved

5-4-2004

Embargo Period

4-20-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in School Psychology

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Klanderman, John

Committee Member 1

Dihoff, Roberta

Subject(s)

Behavior disorders in children--Treatment; Children with mental disabilities--Behavior modification; Manic-depressive illness in children; Token economy (Psychology)

Disciplines

Educational Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test social and token reinforcements as an intervention to help eliminate behavior problems that are common in children with Bipolar Disorder. The subject was a six-year-old Caucasian boy diagnosed as bipolar. The experiment was performed during eight non-consecutive group therapy sessions. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in behavior from the baseline measures as compared to post-reinforcement measures. The hypothesis was proven wrong however, because results show the baseline and post-reinforcement measures were almost identical. It was concluded that although the results were not significant, the data shows there was a significant amount of positive change in behavior. Since the reinforcers were not implemented long enough to create any lasting effects, once the use of the reinforcements was ceased, behavior returned to the baseline level.

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