Evaluating Remote Behavioral Skills Training of Online Gaming Safety Skills
Remote BST plus a tiny caregiver booster teaches kids to exit online games when strangers pry.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two kids, ages 7 and 9, played Among Us on Zoom with a BCBA.
The BCBA used remote behavioral skills training: explain, model, practice, and feedback.
Sessions lasted 30 minutes. Kids had to leave the game when a stranger asked for personal info.
One brief caregiver booster was added later for the younger child.
What they found
Both kids hit a large share correct exits after only four training sessions.
Skills stayed strong at two-week follow-up.
The young learners dipped to a large share once, so mom ran a five-minute booster that fixed it.
How this fits with other research
May et al. (2018) showed BST works for preschoolers spotting suspicious packages. This study moves the same method up to elementary kids and into online games.
Rutter et al. (1987) got 5-young learners buckling seat belts with in-person BST. The new study matches those gains using only Zoom, proving remote delivery works just as well.
Gray et al. (2026) taught college students to run BST via web modules. Both papers show remote BST can hit 90-a large share fidelity, whether the learner is a child or an adult trainer.
Why it matters
You can teach online safety without leaving your office. One short Zoom BST package plus a quick caregiver booster kept kids safe in a game they already love. Try it next time a parent worries about Roblox, Discord, or any online hangout.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study assessed the use of behavioral skills training for teaching online safety skills to two children, 7 and 9 years old. In situ assessments took place while playing the popular online game, Among Us, and consisted of confederates presenting lures to the child participants. Before training, the participants scored 1s and 0s, indicating a lack of online gaming safety skills. Both participants scored at mastery criterion (i.e., three scores of 3 in a row) following training. During the first 2-week follow-up, one participant scored a 1 because he did not leave the game following the presentation of a lure; his mother immediately implemented in situ training (IST). He scored at mastery criterion during the next follow-up assessment, indicating the effectiveness of the caregiver-implemented IST. The second participant scored a 3 during his 2-week follow-up.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2024 · doi:10.1007/s40617-023-00830-z