Use of the Mystery Motivator for a High School Class

Abstract

This study examined the effect of one interdependent group contingency intervention, the mystery motivator, as it affected three students identified as exhibiting problem behaviors, as well as the effects on nonidentified students in a ninth-grade high school biology class. An A/B/A/B single-case design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention. Results indicated a decrease in problem behaviors for the three identified students, as well as a general decrease in problem behaviors for randomly selected, nonreferred students in the class. Implications, limitations, and further directions are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• secondary schools
• behavioral intervention
• mystery motivator
• high school
• interdependent group contingencies

The authors thank Elizabeth Fontenelle and Tenir Gumbs for their assistance in data collection with this project. These data were collected while the first author was a doctoral student at The University of Southern Mississippi.