The famous psychologist, Albert Bandura, did a study in 1967 with Bernard Perloff that set a “conceptual base for the analysis of self-control” for the individual. The purpose of their study was to “test the efficacy of self-monitored reinforcement and compare it to that of an externally imposed system of reinforcement.” What they measured were 80 students between the ages of seven and ten and their “capacity to maintain effortful behavior over time.” They constructed devices that provided external reinforcers such as lights, chimes, and tokens to reward the behavior that was productive and on-task. The key component of this study was that the students were to monitor themselves and that they were to reward themselves when they believed they were on-task and productive. The results of the study showed that “self-monitored reinforcement possesses considerable behavior maintenance value.”
In the 1970s there were multiple studies done to measure on-task behavior that employed self-monitoring. In 1973 and 1974, researchers used a “randomly presented auditory signal played on an audiotape recorder” (beeper tape) on young students at an Auckland, New Zealand elementary school over the course of a number of weeks. The results were remarkable. “The cueing procedures (beeper tape) combined with the self-control procedures produced a high and stable increase in on-task behavior in all subjects.” Previous studies had not included any subjects with learning disabilities until 1979.
In 1979, a study was done in a Virginia elementary school with a single subject. This subject had a learning disability and was only on task 57% of the time in class. Throughout the course of the study, it was clear that the results were positive. “The level of on-task behavior was nearly doubled for the Self-Monitoring with Tape (beeper tape) sessions.” The subjects’ on-task behavior rose to 91%. This was a staggering increase, especially since it involved just the use of the beeper tape, as well as a subject recording on paper which involved personal insight to on-task versus off-task behavior. The researchers noted, “The results strongly indicate that the Self-Monitoring with Tape procedure (beeper tape) was, indeed, highly effective and that the effect was maintained after conditions involving less external control, such as teacher attention, were instituted.”
According to Bandura and Perloff, the components to self-control and successfully staying on-task are the following: (In parenthesis is how the Original Beeper App™ meets this criterion)
(1) Self-assessment – The individual may examine their own behavior and decide whether or not they have performed a specific behavior. (Insight or feedback connected to staying on-task. A quick search online now reveals that there is an app for that – Original Beeper App™)
(2) Self-recording – The individual may objectively record the frequency of their performance of a given behavior. (Original Beeper App™ has a results screen to show how many times the user, when prompted, has pressed a button which records this behavior)
(3) Self-determination of reinforcement – The individual may determine from all available reinforcers the nature and amount of reinforcement they should receive contingent upon their performance of a given behavior. (Users can adjust the frequency of prompts according to how much they think they need. As their focus and attention improve, users may find they need fewer prompts)
(4) Self-administration of reinforcement – The individual dispenses their own reinforcement contingent upon their performance of a given behavior. (The user presses the button when it beeps and/or vibrates maintaining focus and attention which is the same action as recording beeps on paper in the studies. It’s important to understand that the physical act of pressing the button is the “self-reinforcement.” Using a voice command to press the button will not satisfy these criteria.)
The beeper tape has been researched extensively with elementary school children who struggle with attention and focus issues, as well as with students who have learning disabilities that fall within normal ranges and beyond. The results have been consistent in every study. The use of a beeper tape with random intermittent cues has proven to be extremely effective in enhancing on-task behavior and increasing self-control regardless of age. If it was successful in helping kids stay focused, imagine what it could do for those who are older.
According to Chris Hadfield, NASA Astronaut who spent a total of 166 days in space, “The Quindar tone was the audio chime that was used to turn remote transmitters on/off to communicate with the crew anywhere in orbit. This tone was used from the Mercury to Apollo space missions. It was needed for technical purposes, but a side effect was that whenever anyone in Mission Control heard that sound, they knew the crew was talking—so they’d stop talking. When Mission Control was digitally updated in the 1990s, the sound was no longer technically needed, but the flight controllers relied on it so much that NASA brought back an artificial version.” The highly technical process of communication in space travel produced a simple by-product. The random beeps engaged the attention and focus to highly trained NASA personnel. It was so powerful that NASA kept the process going even when their equipment didn’t require it, but the personnel did due to its effectiveness for their attention and focus on the crew in space.
The developer of the Original Beeper App™ used a beeper tape extensively when he was a teacher at a junior high school. He used it on many students with great success. These were students who had struggled immensely with attention and focus issues, learning disabilities and oppositional defiance disorder. He was able to witness the improvement firsthand many times. It turned into such an effective tool that it became a regular strategy employed to enhance academic growth in his students. Students that normally would have fallen behind due to their attentional issues were suddenly able to have a relevant voice in the classroom. Years later, while working in a mental health practice as a licensed clinician, he found there was no app for this effective tool, so he created it. Original Beeper App™ is for anyone at any age who struggles with attention and focus issues regardless of the reason why.
Read the Research
Looking for the scientific research behind the Original Beeper App? Download PDF copies of the original research papers that inspired our App.
- The Effects of Self-Monitoring on Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Who Are Receiving Pharmacological Interventions
- Classroom-Based Functional and Adjunctive Assessments: Proactive Approaches to Intervention Selection for Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Behavioral Self-Control of On-Task Behavior in an Elementary Classroom
- Effect of Cueing on Self-Control of Classroom Behavior
- Relative Efficacy of Self-Monitored and Externally Imposed Reinforcement Systems
- Self Monitoring of Attention as a Treatment for Learning Disabled Boy’s Off-Task Behavior