1. What is the hypothesis of this study?
2. Was the sample chosen for this study adequate? Why or why not?
3. What was the independent variable?
4. What was the dependent variable?
5. What kind of study design was used?

I need help with these questions for the attached article

JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 2014, 47, 192–197 NUMBER 1 (SPRING) THE EFFECTS OF PRESENTING DELAYS BEFORE AND AFTER TASK
COMPLETION ON SELF-CONTROL RESPONDING IN CHILDREN
WITH BEHAVIOR DISORDERS
DANA M. GADAIRE AND WAYNE W. FISHER UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER AND MARK STEEGE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE We examined relations between self-control responding and environmental variables with 3 children
with behavior disorders. Differential delays were presented before or after task completion in a
single-session reversal design. Delays presented before task completion produced more impulsive
responding than those presented after task completion for all participants.
Key words: choice, delayed reinforcement, impulsivity, self-control Many behavior problems (e.g., gambling,
disruption) involve deficits in self-control
(Nevin, 1991). In a typical procedure, selfcontrol is assessed using two equivalent response
options in the initial link of a concurrent-chains
schedule; one produces a smaller, immediate
reinforcer and the other produces a larger, delayed
reinforcer. In this arrangement, choice responding is primarily influenced by differences between
the terminal links (e.g., longer delays for the
larger reinforcer bias responding toward the
smaller, more immediate reinforcer; Fisher &
Mazur, 1997). However, delays between the
initial and terminal links can also bias responding
toward either the self-control or impulsive option
(Davison, 1988).
In a series of studies on self-control in children,
Mischel and colleagues found that variables
present during the initial choice presentation
biased responding toward or away from selfThis study was conducted in partial fulfillment of the first
author’s requirements for the PsyD degree at the University
of Southern Maine.
Address correspondence to Dana Gadaire, who is now at
the Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W. University Blvd,
Melbourne, Florida 32901 (email: dgadaire@fit.edu).
doi: 10.1002/jaba.104 control (e.g., Mischel, Ebbesen, & Raskoff Zeiss,
1972; Mischel & Gilligan, 1964). In what came
to be known as the “marshmallow experiment”
(Mischel et al., 1972), experimenters presented
children with a single piece of candy and told
them that if they did not eat it, they would receive
two pieces when the experimenter returned
(e.g., after 15 min). In this procedure, only the
impulsive response option was available for most
of the trial, and participants were required to
inhibit responding toward the smaller reinforcer
throughout the unsignaled delay interval. This
procedure differs from traditional behavioranalytic research on self-control, which (a)
focuses almost exclusively on delays that follow
a choice response (i.e., terminal link), and (b)
removes the option to engage in impulsive
responding pursuant to a self-control response.
In the current study, we evaluated whether
presentation of delays in the initial link of a selfcontrol procedure would bias responding toward
the impulsive option in children who had been
referred for the treatment of problem behavior.
This study is important because it directly
compares the effects of two self-control choice
procedures with delays presented in the initial
link (as Mischel and colleagues used) and in the 192 EFFECTS OF DELAY PRESENTATION ON SELF-CONTROL
terminal link (as evident in most behavioral
studies). It also extends the research on selfcontrol by incorporating choices between qualitatively, as opposed to quantitatively, distinct
stimuli and by including signaled delays.
METHOD
Participants and Setting
Participants included three boys who had been
reported by caregivers to engage in impulsive
behavior. Brian, 5 years old, had been diagnosed
with autism. Stewart, 4 years old, had been
diagnosed with a disruptive behavior disorder.
Chris, 4 years old, had been diagnosed with
adjustment disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sessions were conducted in
treatment rooms at an outpatient clinic.
Response Measurement and Treatment Integrity
Observers recorde

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