An evaluation of the effects of experimenter control of objects on individuals' engagement in object stereotypy.

In two experiments, the authors evaluated the extent to which (a) individuals preferred engaging in object stereotypy versus observing an experimenter while the experimenter engaged in object stereotypy and (b) an experimenter's engagement in object stereotypy decreased the participants' engagement in object stereotypy. Results of Experiment 1 indicated that behaver-controlled (BC) object stereotypy was preferred over experimenter-controlled (EC) object stereotypy by three of four participants. Results of Experiment 2 indicated that EC object stereotypy decreased object stereotypy for only one of three participants. Implications of these findings for determining the relative importance of control over stimulation generated by stereotypy are briefly discussed.