University of Iowa
Melanie Bachmeyer’s primary research and clinical interests involve the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders, especially the role of positive reinforcement in the treatment of feeding problems. Specifically, she has wanted to evaluate under what conditions and for which topographies of feeding problems positive reinforcement procedures would compete with negative reinforcement maintaining food refusal. She conducted a study evaluating the use of a positive reinforcement procedure in the treatment of one child’s food selectivity and another child’s inadequate food intake. Manipulating the quality of the positive reinforcer resulted in an increase in food acceptance in the absence of escape extinction. In addition, she conducted a study evaluating the effects of positive reinforcement on the production of responses exceeding required demands within a hierarchy of feeding demands. Melanie also conducted research on alternative methods to treat total food refusal as well as the interaction between biological and environmental variables in the treatment of feeding problems.
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