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Open research questions in Behavioral and Psychological Studies

252 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 6,220 Behavioral and Psychological Studies papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Future research could consider stronger research designs (e. There are several limitations of the current study that must be considered within the context of the findings. How- ever, additional research is needed on this course design and whether the intervention should provide content less than three times a week. Additional research is needed to determine if these skills should be maintained or removed from the course sequence.

    Preliminary Evaluation of a Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Based Skills Training Class for High School Students · 2026 · DOI

  • Future studies should examine how effective BST is when addressing consequence strategies, how effective BST is in small group settings, evaluate maintenance of the identified skills after the training or coaching has concluded, and/or using BST with other educational staff such as paraprofessionals or substitute teachers.

    Effect of Behavioral Skills Training on Middle School General Educator Implementation of Visual Schedules · 2026 · DOI

  • The first limitation of this study was the scheduling of observations and coaching sessions. A second limitation of this study would be the poten- tial reactivity of staff during observations. A third limitation of this study was the lack of consequence strategies that responded directly to the problem behavior. Although it is a strength of the study that the intervention occurred in the natural context, a fourth limitation of this study was the inability to collect 2- and 4-week Journal of Behavioral Education (2026) 35:1178–11951 3 1193 maintenance probes for all three participants.

    Effect of Behavioral Skills Training on Middle School General Educator Implementation of Visual Schedules · 2026 · DOI

  • A third important contribution of the present study is the finding that merely completing a course in ABA is insufficient to prepare pre-SETs to accurately define behaviors and select appropriate recording techniques.

    Assessing Pre-service Special Education Teachers’ Skills in Defining and Recording Target Behaviors · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could examine whether response accuracy differs in timed, real-time classroom conditions. Future research should investigate how individual differences, such as academic achievement, prior experience, and motivation, influence behavior definition and recording techniques. The fourth limitation of the present study concerns the use of brief video segments depicting short latency intervals and condensed behavioral sequences. A final limitation of this study is its cross-sectional design, which captured pre- service SETs’ performance at a single point in time. The study included 106 volunteer pre-service SETs who are junior and senior students, but it did not account for partici- pants’ success in the ABA course or overall academic performance.

    Assessing Pre-service Special Education Teachers’ Skills in Defining and Recording Target Behaviors · 2026 · DOI

  • They perceive ABA and NTA-based practices as competing approaches, define ABA mainly as instruction conducted in structured settings and NTA as instruction implemented in natural environments and demonstrate limited knowledge about the scientific foundations of the practices they use.

    Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practice: A Multidisciplinary Perspective on Applied Behavior Analysis and Naturalistic Teaching Approaches · 2026 · DOI

  • Originality/value The present study fills a gap in the literature by using elements of precision teaching in training staff to recognise assent and assent withdrawal.

    Using behavioural skills training to teach behaviour technicians to identify assent and assent-withdrawal from learners · 2026 · DOI

  • While ML is not a traditional strategy for examining intervention outcomes, it offers a novel approach to identifying non-response predictors. Importantly, ML results cannot be interpreted causally or like traditional regression coefficients. Rather than reflecting mean outcome changes per unit increase in a predictor, ML results reflect how the algorithm uses variables to generate predictions. Additionally, ML cannot yet account for nested data structures—an important limitation in educational contexts where students are nested within classrooms, schools, and districts. The inclusion of HLM addressed this limitation, providing estimates of mean predictor impacts and relative strength of statistical associations. However, our HLM analysis was limited in that we only nested students in their baseline school; we did not account for the multiple schools attended over time or the schools in which the students experienced the 6th through 12th grade outcomes. The analysis presented here also has strengths, including the computing power of ML and the ability to compare multiple models. ML allowed us to include a large number of variables (Obermeyer & Emanuel, 2016). We also evaluated multiple models, including those capturing non-linear and higher-order associations (Leist et al., 2022). Practically, this approach allowed us to begin with outcomes of interest and work backwards to identify strong predictors for those outcomes. Due to the school-level design and systems focus of the MTSS-B preventive intervention, we were only able to track availability of those programs at the school level and did not have data on which specific students received the Tier 2 interventions.

    Using Machine Learning Methodology to Identify Predictors of Non-Response to MTSS-B: a Focus on Discipline Problems and Juvenile Justice Involvement · 2026 · DOI

  • The main limitation of this exploratory study is the sample size that limits the generalizability of the findings. Nevertheless, this approach is particularly useful in behavioral research, as it allows functional relationships to be established between environmental conditions and the behaviors under investigation (124). The baseline data collection phase allowed us to establish existing levels/ patterns of the behaviors of interest, enabling us to appreciate changes during the intervention phase and, overall, provided preliminary objective data on the feasibility of the planned intervention, which was necessary to propose its application to a larger number of students in a public school. The study has other methodological limitations that must be considered when interpreting the results. First, data collection was carried out mainly by teachers, with the potential risk of observational bias. A further limitation concerns the absence of direct feedback from children regarding their enjoyment of using the MSE: assessments were based exclusively on indirect behavioral indicators, such as the presence/absence of signs of frustration or avoidance behaviors during their stay in the room.

    Enhancing adaptation and learning in educational environments (SENSE project): a case series study · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited research exists regarding the effectiveness and potential efficiency of brief training methods that incorporate some of the components of the BST package to train paraeducators in the classroom.

    Comparing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Behavioral Skills Training and a Brief Performance Feedback Intervention During the Training of Paraeducators Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder · 2025 · DOI

  • The positive effects of evidence-based classroom management methods, like Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), have been demonstrated in a variety of settings; however, research on the efficacy of CW-FIT in special education classrooms is scarce.

    Managing Student Behavior in Middle School Special Education Classrooms: A Single-Subject Study of CW-FIT · 2024 · DOI

  • The literature on staff management procedures has demonstrated that performance feedback and self-monitoring are effective procedures for increasing treatment integrity of behavior plans in the presence of the observer, however, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of these procedures when the observer is absent.

    An Evaluation of Staff Reactivity Following Performance Feedback and Self-Monitoring Procedures in a Group Home Setting · 2024 · DOI

  • Consequently, future research should examine whether encouraging youths to share their feelings produces symptom improvements, and whether a single-session, self-guided CR DMHI produces beneficial effects relative to more inert control conditions.

    Is There a Place for Cognitive Restructuring in Brief, Self-Guided Interventions? Randomized Controlled Trial of a Single-Session, Digital Program for Adolescents · 2024 · DOI

  • Abstract Advances in classroom behavior management mobile applications (CBM apps) have led some teachers to use them to supplement their existing student management strategies, although little is known about their effectiveness in facilitating behavior change.

    Behavior Change Potential of Classroom Behavior Management Mobile Applications: A Systematic Review · 2024 · DOI

  • Past research has shown the effectiveness of contingent acoustic feedback (CAF) in various human performance settings, but its impact on staff performance in clinical settings remains unclear.

    Using Instructions and Acoustic Feedback to Improve Staff Delivery of Behavior-Specific Praise in a Clinical Setting · 2024 · DOI

  • Increasingly, mixed methods research (MMR) is used in special education, although the extent to which MMR is used in intervention research in the field of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) remains unknown.

    Use of Mixed Methods in Emotional/Behavioral Disorders Intervention Research · 2023 · DOI

  • The Classroom Performance Survey (CPS) is a brief behavior rating scale that has shown promise for use in elementary school settings, but no studies have investigated the psychometric properties of this measure in middle level schools.

    Behavior Monitoring in the Middle Grades: Evaluation of the Classroom Performance Survey · 2022 · DOI

  • Because there is limited evidence of validity and unfair practices for students of color, we question identifying individual students using subjectively determined ODR categories.

    Reexamining the Evidence of Validity for Office Discipline Referrals · 2022 · DOI

  • Abstract Tourette syndrome (TS) is a challenging and poorly understood condition that can have a considerable negative effect on an individual’s ability to learn, despite there being little to no impact on their intelligence.

    Tic of the Iceberg: Strategies to Support Students With Tourette Syndrome in Higher Education · 2021 · DOI

  • However, secondary teachers’ may have limited knowledge of EBPs and adequate training in the implementation of EBPs in general education classroom settings (Kutash, Duchnowski, & Lynn, 2009; Stormont, Reinke, & Herman, 2011).

    Implementing Evidence-Based Practices within Multi-tiered Systems of Support to Promote Inclusive Secondary Classroom Settings · 2020 · DOI

  • More tailored efforts to explore the social validity and effectiveness of the Zones® within MTSS school structures is warranted given the widespread use of the curriculum by school social workers and other specialized instructional support personnel.

    Evaluating the Zones of Regulation® intervention to improve the self-control of elementary students · 2020 · DOI

  • A variety of procedures may be utilized by researchers and practitioners to collect such data; however, little is known of the accuracy of estimates of behavior produced by such procedures relative to continuous behavior recording for the target student, peers sampled as a representation of the class, and the class as a whole.

    The Accuracy of Peer Comparison Observations: A Simulated Analysis · 2020 · DOI

  • Despite over 50 years of research and discussion concerning school-based interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), a discernible consensus regarding the core elements of intervention for this student population remains elusive.

    Essential components of school-based intervention for students with emotional and behavioral disorders: An integration of research and practice · 2019 · DOI

  • Identified studies (<i>n</i> = 18) provided limited information regarding the characteristics of participants and generally assessed the effect of driver- or researcher-implemented reinforcement, punishment, and other management activities on the behavior of all passengers.

    Behavior Management Interventions for School Buses: A Systematic Review · 2019 · DOI

  • Literacy-based behavioral interventions (LBBIs) that combine print, pictures, and behavioral rehearsal are effective for promoting acquisition and maintenance of numerous skills, but have not been investigated as a job coaching intervention for individuals with ASD.

    Peer-Mediated Literacy-Based Behavioral Interventions: A Job Coaching Strategy for Secondary Students With ASD · 2018 · DOI

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252 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 6,220 Behavioral and Psychological Studies papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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