02

2.5
Within-subjects design Small N
 Small N Designs
 ABA Designs
 Multiple Baseline Design
 Statistics and Variability in Small N Designs
 Changing Criterion Designs
 Discrete Trials Designs
 When to Use Large N and Small N Designs

Diana Q. Cillo
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R Objectives
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Understand the
Learn the ABA Learn other
rationale for
family of methods used
conducting
reversal in small N
small N
designs research
experiments

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R Small N Designs
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• test only one or very few subjects
• ex: children’s attention span to cartoons with/without violence
• large sample of children may vary too much to tell if there is an effect (more
fearful kids may not watch the screen as long during violent scenes and a
large N design isn't sensitive enough to detect this error)
• behavior is studied much more intensely in a small n design experiment
• behavior is measured many times
• used in labs and in field studies; human and animal behavior
• used for practical reasons
• ex: if researchers want to study animal brains or tissue, the animal has to be
sacrificed
•  makes more sense to use as few subjects as possible in cases like this
• most often used in experimentation with operant conditioning
• B.F. Skinner studied positive and negative reinforcement --> “the experimental
analysis of behavior” states it is better to use careful, continuous
measurements rather than statistical tests
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Small N Design
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R A Small N Design: Talking to Plants
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 Baseline
 measure of behavior as it normally occurs without the experimental
manipulation
 Ex. compare the growth of a plant when you do/do not talk to it
 for a time you do not talk to the plant and after measuring it every Monday
for three months you establish a baseline
 in the second part of the experiment you introduce talking and measure it
every Monday for three months--if the plant grew talking had an effect
 it if did not grow talking has no effect

*to make sure maturation is not a confounding threat, small n designs

remove the IV and return to the original control condition after
completing the experimentation manipulation (goes back to measuring
the plant every Monday for three months without talking to it)

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Small N Design
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R A Small N Design: Talking to Plants
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Small N Design
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R Variations of the ABA Format
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 ABA Designs
 refers to the order of the conditions of the experiment
 A (baseline condition) followed by B (experimental condition) returns back to A
 may be used only if the treatment conditions are reversible
 also called reversal designs
 can be used for large N designs too

 Variations of ABA
 you can do it more than once
 ex: the ABABA design with the husband and wife leaving clothes in the living room)
 you can also extend the conditions in a small N experiment (ex: ABACADA where B, C, and D represent 3 different
treatment conditions)
 researchers often try to change behaviors by implementing punishments or rewards; ex: the little boy scared of
crickets and it effected his math scores--> they didn't return to the baseline immediately because the effects were
so small so they did an A-B-BC-A-B-BC design where A was the baseline, B was the increase in cricket exposure,
and C was the reward for doing math problems right
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Small N Design ABA Design

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R Variations of the ABA Format
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Small N Design ABA Design

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R Multiple Baseline Design
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 a series of baselines and treatments are compared within
the same person, but once a treatment is established, it is
not withdrawn
 used when it is not desirable to reverse treatment
conditions, when the researcher wants to test a treatment
across multiple settings, or when the researcher wants to
assess the effects of a treatment on several behaviors
 EX: a boy watches cartoons before and after school
 parents reward him with toys whenever he does
something before and after school besides
watching TV
 once giving him toys has changed his TV viewing
in the morning, the parents can do the same thing
for after school and prove it was successful
treatment

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Small N Design ABA Design Multiple Baseline

Design
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R Statistics And Variability In Small N Designs
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 Statistics are not usually used in small n designs

 you can look at the data to see changes in the IV
rather than running statistical tests
 the role statistics do play is to infer things about
the population from sample data because making
generalizations based on one subject isn’t
reasonable

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Small N Design ABA Design Statistics And

Multiple Baseline
Variability In Small N
Design
Designs
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R Changing Criterion Designs
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 behavior will be modified in increments and the

criterion for success (reinforcement) will intentionally
be changed as the behavior is modified; used when
the behavior being modified cannot be changed all
at once;
 DV would be your criterion; reward changes with
criterion; behavior cannot be modified all at once so
you use this type of design

 ex: weight lifting program; lift light weights and get

support from the trainer first and as the weights get
heavier you still get the same amount of support
from the trainer
 useful when the eventual, desired behavior must be
shaped
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Small N Design ABA Design Statistics And Changing Criterion

Multiple Baseline
Variability In Small N Designs
Design
Designs
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R Discrete Trials Designs
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 does not rely on baselines
 instead it relies on presenting and
averaging across many applications of
different treatment conditions and
comparing performance on the DV across
the treatment conditions
 Several behavior measures are averaged
to provide a gauge of behavior over
different treatment conditions
 repeated presentation over many trials can
show reliable effects of the IV
 sensory systems among people are similar
so it is reliable to generalize for the whole
population
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Small N Design ABA Design Statistics And Changing Criterion

Multiple Baseline Discrete Trials
Variability In Small N Designs
Design Designs
Designs
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R When To Use Large N And Small N Designs
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 When to use/advantages of small N designs
 when you are studying a particular subject (ex: a disturbed child)
 when very few subjects are available
 you get a more accurate picture of results or effects (because you measure
the effects multiple times and observe it closer)
 low in external validity; it may be hard to generalize for the entire
population based on the results of a few subjects
 EX: reactions may be different for individuals in different situations
(ex: we all get startled at a loud gunshot noise, but some people may
laugh with relief that it was the researcher that shot the gun or be angry
about it
 history threats are a problem with small N designs so it is important to
replicate findings before generalizing them; ex: someone nice could come
give the plant fertilizer right as researchers begin talking to it
 When to use large N designs
 when population cannot be generalized from one or few subjects

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Small N Design ABA Design Statistics And Changing Criterion When To Use Large
Multiple Baseline Discrete Trials
Variability In Small N Designs N And Small N
Design Designs
Designs Designs