Tootling: Increasing Prosocial Behaviors in Elementary Settings
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
21-4-2014 2:00 PM
End Date
21-4-2014 3:30 PM
Student's Major
Psychology
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Kevin Filter
Mentor's Email Address
kevin.filter@mnsu.edu
Mentor's Department
Psychology
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Second Mentor's Name
Natasha Olson
Second Mentor's Department
Psychology
Second Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
Classroom rules and school-wide disciplinary procedures are typically used to decrease the frequency and severity of problem behaviors. These approaches attempt to reduce the occurrence of future behaviors, but can also teach students to continue their problematic behavior as long as they avoid being caught. Peers who observe problem behaviors are then relied upon to report incidents, or engage in tattling. Tootling is a term that was created from the word tattling. Tootling is similar such that students report their peers’ behaviors but report appropriate behaviors rather than problem behaviors. Tootling aims to increase positive behavior by encouraging students to behave appropriately in order for their classmates to report their behavior, or “toot their horn.” The current study aimed to replicate and extend previous research by evaluating tootling with and without a group contingency on rates of positive and disruptive behavior. One second grade and one third grade classroom in a Midwest public school participated in this study. An A-B-C-A-C-B-A-C experimental design was used alternating tootling alone and tootling with a group contingency. Contrary to previous research, results did not show consistent improvements in positive and disruptive behavior during tootling with and without a group contingency in comparison to the initial baseline phase. Although the frequency of disruptive behavior decreased over the course of the study, it is unclear if these effects were a result of the intervention. Future research should investigate the relationship between the number of positive and disruptive behaviors and the total number of tootles reported across conditions.
Tootling: Increasing Prosocial Behaviors in Elementary Settings
CSU Ballroom
Classroom rules and school-wide disciplinary procedures are typically used to decrease the frequency and severity of problem behaviors. These approaches attempt to reduce the occurrence of future behaviors, but can also teach students to continue their problematic behavior as long as they avoid being caught. Peers who observe problem behaviors are then relied upon to report incidents, or engage in tattling. Tootling is a term that was created from the word tattling. Tootling is similar such that students report their peers’ behaviors but report appropriate behaviors rather than problem behaviors. Tootling aims to increase positive behavior by encouraging students to behave appropriately in order for their classmates to report their behavior, or “toot their horn.” The current study aimed to replicate and extend previous research by evaluating tootling with and without a group contingency on rates of positive and disruptive behavior. One second grade and one third grade classroom in a Midwest public school participated in this study. An A-B-C-A-C-B-A-C experimental design was used alternating tootling alone and tootling with a group contingency. Contrary to previous research, results did not show consistent improvements in positive and disruptive behavior during tootling with and without a group contingency in comparison to the initial baseline phase. Although the frequency of disruptive behavior decreased over the course of the study, it is unclear if these effects were a result of the intervention. Future research should investigate the relationship between the number of positive and disruptive behaviors and the total number of tootles reported across conditions.
Recommended Citation
Fischbach, Paula. "Tootling: Increasing Prosocial Behaviors in Elementary Settings." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 21, 2014.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2014/poster_session_B/35
