Single Subject designs

Studying people as they are vs. changing

something
 Two general types of research designs:
 People are studied and observed as they are
 Something is done, and the effects of that
something on people are measured
 Today: will talk about one specific type of
the second of these – single subject-
designs
Single-subject designs
 Just what they sound like: just one person
is a participant
 Why would this be done?
 Advantages?
 Disadvantages?
The something being done…
 Generally, goal = stop some sort of
problematic behavior, or encourage some
sort of positive behavior
 Basic ingredients:
 How much of the behavior was engaged in
initially (baseline – or referred to with letter A)
 How much of the behavior is engaged in after
some kind of intervention (referred to with letter
B)
 Why is the A part needed?
Adding a bit of a twist
 What if something else was going on in
the world, and *that* was responsible for
the change?
 In other words, how can we be sure the
intervention was responsible for the
change?
 Take it away…
 Referred to as ABA design
Thinking about the context of the study

 What if the behavior doesn’t go back to

baseline, when the intervention is taken
away?
 What if the behavior that’s been altered is
something that *shouldn’t* (ethically) go
back to baseline?
What else to do?
 Multiple baseline
 Insert intervention at different time-points, in
different situations (e.g., at home, at school)
What if you want to compare different
interventions?
 Can measure baseline, introduce one
intervention, go back to baseline, and then
introduce the other (assuming that the
behavior can, or should, go back to
baseline)
 A-B-A-C-A
What if you think two interventions might
work best when given at the same time?
 First, establish effect of one of the interventions
 A-B
 Then, add in the other intervention
 A-B-BC
 Then, take away the second intervention, to see if you can go back to the
baseline of the first
 A-B-BC-B
 Then, re-establish the baseline with both interventions, together
 A-B-BC-B-BC
 Then, add just the second intervention, for comparison
 A-B-BC-B-BC-C
 Then, see if the baseline of both interventions is reverted to
 A-B-BC-B-BC-C-BC
 Then, see if the same level, with just the second intervention, can be
achieved
 A-B-BC-B-BC-C-BC-C
 Finally, go back to the original baseline
 A-B-BC-B-BC-C-BC-C-A
Two interventions vs. one alone
 Interaction: effect of one intervention is
greater (or different) when coupled with a
second intervention
 E.g., maybe a monetary reward is more
effective if it’s coupled with the ability to buy
candy
Applying all of this
 What sorts of others’ behaviors could be
changed in this fashion?
 What sorts of interventions might be
effective
 Maybe it would depend on the person?
Examples
 Professor looking at one side of the room
 M&M’s and use of particular words
Swain & Jones article
 What was the goal of the study – which
behavior did they want to change, and
how did they want to change it?
 Which type of design was used?
 What was found?
For homework…
 Think of a behavior of a friend’s that you could
try to change
 Think of an intervention that you could use to
change that behavior
 Ask a friend if he or she would mind being a part
of a study
 Let that friend know what he or she can expect
(remember informed consent!)
 But don’t give away what it is that you’re testing –
why not?
 Institute one of the designs we’ve talked about
(at minimum ABA, but feel free to try multiple
baseline, or multiple intervention)
For homework, cont’d
 Explain to your friend what behavior you
were measuring, and what intervention
you used
 As your friend if he or she thinks that that
intervention would work, or did work
 Show your friend your results, and ask if
he or she is surprised
For homework, cont’d
 Write a short paper on the experience
 Be sure to address all of the questions on
the website for this assignment