Roger is a 14 year old who has begun to skip classes in high school. His parents are at their "wit's end" and everyone else on his educational team recognizes that suspending Roger is not a viable option. The team believes that if Roger is encouraged with a cash reward (kept in an account by his parents who must approve any withdrawal or expenditure); he might be more likely to attend class. His
parents are in favor of the program and will provide the money. The contingencies are explained to Roger & he agrees to try the program. Roger's class skipping behavior drops dramatically with 3 weeks to a zero level. The team wishes to establish that the money is the key variable affecting Roger's change in his behavior. The parents are asked about the possibility of holding back Roger's cash award for a few days and then reinstating the reward to establish the functional relationship between zero rates of skipping class and the cash reward for attending class. The parents don't want to risk any possibility of Roger "backsliding" into his old ways and refuse to withhold the reward.
What was the independent variable? Who would be the most important participant(s) in the study in "controlling" the independent variable?
The independent variable was the cash reward for attending class (i.e., not skipping class). The parents clearly had the most responsibility in controlling the delivery of the reinforcer.
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