The simultaneous replication design: The use of a multiple baseline to establish experimental control in single group social skills treatment studies

Behavior therapists, especially those in service-oriented applied settings, are often confronted with the need to conduct social skills or assertive training in groups. While single subject multiple baseline analyses have been widely used in the research literature, there are few well-controlled group treatment evaluation design choices feasible for the behavioral clinician without ready access to large numbers of control subjects. The present paper describes a group multiple baseline-simultaneous replications treatment design which establishes experimental control within a single ongoing training group by combining group treatment with behavioral assessment of each subject following each group session. This extension of multiple baseline analysis techniques to group social skills training can prove useful for more rigorously evaluating the effectiveness of social skills interventions in many applied settings.