Sport Psychology The Modification of the Quality and Quantity of Behavior Categories in a Swimming Coach

Experimental procedures were implemented in a competitive swimming training situation in order to change the repertoire, quality, and quantity of several behavior categories in a coach. A multiple baseline design was used for scientific verification. Self-recording techniques were instituted for rewarding, providing feedback, and providing feedback after first having rewarded a swimmer. The repertoire of behaviors in these categories was increased through the provision of discriminative stimuli on self-recording sheets. Fading schedules were successfully used to reduce the subject's reliance on the prompt sheets. Rates of occurrence of the target behaviors served as a reinforcing procedure for increasing the emission frequencies. A leaning of reinforcement produced a persistent change in the scope and quantity of the behaviors. Pre- and postexperimental behavior analyses using the Coach Observation Schedule indicated that the affected changes also produced concomitant changes in other behavioral categories.