An increasing number of preschool children exhibit challenging behavior in the classroom. Head Start children are particularly at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders due to numerous risk factors. Unfortunately, some preschool teachers are ill equipped to manage the challenging behaviors that preschool children exhibit. The current study investigated the effects of the group contingency, “Mystery Student,” on improving preschool classroom behaviors. The Mystery Student intervention is a novel, independent group contingency, with an added randomized component. An ABAB reversal design was employed to determine how effective the Mystery Student intervention was at decreasing the disruptive behaviors and increasing the appropriate behaviors in three Head Start classrooms. Results indicated that class-wide aggregate disruptive behavior was reduced and class-wide aggregate appropriate behavior increased during the intervention phases for all three classrooms. Furthermore, teachers rated the Mystery Study intervention as acceptable. Results of this study increase the limited research base on group contingencies in preschool settings, suggests independent group contingencies are developmentally appropriate for young children and may provide practitioners and teachers with an additional intervention strategy for preschool populations.
","abstract_html":"<p>An increasing number of preschool children exhibit challenging behavior in the classroom. Head Start children are particularly at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders due to numerous risk factors. Unfortunately, some preschool teachers are ill equipped to manage the challenging behaviors that preschool children exhibit. The current study investigated the effects of the group contingency, “Mystery Student,” on improving preschool classroom behaviors. The Mystery Student intervention is a novel, independent group contingency, with an added randomized component. An ABAB reversal design was employed to determine how effective the Mystery Student intervention was at decreasing the disruptive behaviors and increasing the appropriate behaviors in three Head Start classrooms. Results indicated that class-wide aggregate disruptive behavior was reduced and class-wide aggregate appropriate behavior increased during the intervention phases for all three classrooms. Furthermore, teachers rated the Mystery Study intervention as acceptable. Results of this study increase the limited research base on group contingencies in preschool settings, suggests independent group contingencies are developmentally appropriate for young children and may provide practitioners and teachers with an additional intervention strategy for preschool populations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Pasqua, Jamie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Brad A. Dufrene","Keith Radley","Evan H. Dart"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:41Z","subjects":["Preschool","group contingency","Positive behavior intervention","Applied Behavior Analysis","Child Psychology","School Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/270","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Brad A. Dufrene","Keith Radley","Evan H. Dart"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Pasqua, Jamie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-11-18T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Preschool","group contingency","Positive behavior intervention","Applied Behavior Analysis","Child Psychology","School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/270"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["An increasing number of preschool children exhibit challenging behavior in the classroom. Head Start children are particularly at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders due to numerous risk factors. Unfortunately, some preschool teachers are ill equipped to manage the challenging behaviors that preschool children exhibit. The current study investigated the effects of the group contingency, “Mystery Student,” on improving preschool classroom behaviors. The Mystery Student intervention is a novel, independent group contingency, with an added randomized component. An ABAB reversal design was employed to determine how effective the Mystery Student intervention was at decreasing the disruptive behaviors and increasing the appropriate behaviors in three Head Start classrooms. Results indicated that class-wide aggregate disruptive behavior was reduced and class-wide aggregate appropriate behavior increased during the intervention phases for all three classrooms. Furthermore, teachers rated the Mystery Study intervention as acceptable. Results of this study increase the limited research base on group contingencies in preschool settings, suggests independent group contingencies are developmentally appropriate for young children and may provide practitioners and teachers with an additional intervention strategy for preschool populations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Evaluating the Independent Group Contingency: “Mystery Student” on Improving Behaviors in Head Start Classrooms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Brad A. Dufrene","Keith Radley","Evan H. Dart"],"dc:creator":["Pasqua, Jamie"],"dc:date.available":["2016-11-18T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["An increasing number of preschool children exhibit challenging behavior in the classroom. Head Start children are particularly at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders due to numerous risk factors. Unfortunately, some preschool teachers are ill equipped to manage the challenging behaviors that preschool children exhibit. The current study investigated the effects of the group contingency, “Mystery Student,” on improving preschool classroom behaviors. The Mystery Student intervention is a novel, independent group contingency, with an added randomized component. An ABAB reversal design was employed to determine how effective the Mystery Student intervention was at decreasing the disruptive behaviors and increasing the appropriate behaviors in three Head Start classrooms. Results indicated that class-wide aggregate disruptive behavior was reduced and class-wide aggregate appropriate behavior increased during the intervention phases for all three classrooms. Furthermore, teachers rated the Mystery Study intervention as acceptable. Results of this study increase the limited research base on group contingencies in preschool settings, suggests independent group contingencies are developmentally appropriate for young children and may provide practitioners and teachers with an additional intervention strategy for preschool populations.
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