Date of Award

Spring 5-9-2026

Thesis Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis and Clinical Science

Department

Health Professions

Committee Member(s)

Angie Van Arsdale, Ph.D, BCBA-D

Stephanie Trauschke, PsyD, BCBA-D

Alejandro León Maldonado, Ph.D

Abstract

Historically, behavior analysts have measured behavior through single discrete responses, likely due to the technology available in the late 20th century. This meant that spatiotemporal behavior, or movement over time, was often left understudied. León et al. (2021) used computer vision software to successfully measure spatiotemporal behavior in rats using various measurements such as distance traveled and maximum velocity. The current study aims to closely emulate León et al., 2021’s study with human subjects to see whether human spatiotemporal behavior can be measured. Two children were placed in a room and offered a preferred edible on a fixed-time 30-s (FT 30-s) schedule or delivered no edible (EXT). Computer vision software measured the participant’s distance traveled, maximum velocity, mean distance to the experimenter, and position in the room every 30 s. To identify differences in movement between conditions, a linear mixed-model analysis was run on the data in each condition. Results showed that both subject’s distance traveled, mean distance to the experimenter, and position every 30 s were statistically different in each condition, and the maximum velocity was statistically different between conditions in one participant. Potential applications of these findings in applied settings are discussed.

Rights Holder

Calvin Kocienda

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