About

Daniel Fienup is a Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as the Director of Applied Behavior Analysis. His primary area of expertise is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), with a keen interest in education and educational performance. His work involves the design and evaluation of instructional variables that lead to positive educational outcomes, focusing on effective instructional strategies that require fewer resources such as time and effort. Fienup's research spans populations with typical development as well as individuals with developmental delays, covering age groups from young children to adults. His scholarly interests include concept learning, complex behavior chains, the arrangement of learning opportunities, reinforcer magnitude, and mastery learning. Through his research, he aims to improve educational practices and outcomes by identifying and implementing efficient instructional methods.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Medicine
• Psychology
• Computer Science
• Social psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Psychotherapist
• Developmental psychology
• Pedagogy
• Psychiatry
• Medical education
• Mathematics education
• Multimedia

Selected publications

• Teaching Coin Concepts to Second Graders in a General Education Classroom Using Equivalence‐Based Instruction in Pairs

  Behavioral Interventions · 2026-02-01

  articleSenior author

  ABSTRACT Equivalence‐based instruction (EBI) is a pedagogy that utilizes principles of stimulus equivalence and derived relations to promote generative learning outcomes. Much of the research has been conducted using computer‐based programs with college students. The present study investigated the effect of EBI in teaching coin concepts to four second‐grade students in a general education setting, who were taught in pairs. Participants learned content that included American coins and corresponding names and values. The researcher directly taught two selection‐based relations and measured the participants' performance across 16 relations that involve both production responses. The researcher employed a simple‐to‐complex protocol to implement EBI and utilized Pear Deck to teach two relations directly in a small‐group setting with 2 participants simultaneously. The results demonstrated that EBI successfully established coin equivalence classes across all four participants, demonstrating novel instructional arrangements that can be incorporated into naturalistic educational settings to address common educational standards.

  PublisherDOI

• Turning the page: Increasing young children's preference for looking at and engaging with books

  Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis · 2026-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Although many studies have focused on teaching components of reading (blending, fluency), fewer studies have evaluated how children become interested in looking at and engaging with books. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a continuous reinforcement procedure on children's preference for engaging with books using a concurrent multiple-probe-across-participants design. The procedure involved providing rich social interactions and reinforcers when children engaged with books. Across two experiments and six preschool participants with disabilities, we observed children who rarely engaged with books before the intervention shift their preference to book engagement following the intervention. These outcomes were observed both in the intervention and naturalistic play settings, including during maintenance probes. Additionally, in Experiment 2, children's performance task behavior increased when books were presented as a consequence during a performance task. The outcomes are discussed in terms of promoting preference for book stimuli in the context of typical and instructional contexts.

  PublisherDOI

• A ”HAPPY HOUR” EFFECT IN TRANSLATIONAL ! STIMULUS RELATIONS RESEARCH

  Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin · 2026-04-25

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This study examined the teaching of stimulus equivalence relations in college students and identified an unexpected “happy hour” effect: participants tested on Fridays showed markedly poorer performance, especially under the emergent relations condition. The findings suggest that extra-experimental factors, such as motivation or anticipation of the weekend, can systematically influence performance, highlighting the impact of contextual variables outside the laboratory.

  PublisherDOI

• A Systematic Review of and Recommendations for Behavior Analytic Decision-Making Models for Practitioners Working with Children

  Behavior Analysis in Practice · 2026-04-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Interventions for Transition-Related Challenging Behavior in Individuals with Disabilities: A Targeted Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis of Studies Published in Behavior Analytic Journals

  Behavior Modification · 2026-03-04

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Transition-related challenging behavior is common among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, particularly during changes between activities. Two hypothesized controlling variables-unpredictability and negative incentive shifts-may contribute to the occurrence of these behaviors. This targeted research synthesis and meta-analysis identified studies published in behavior-analytic journals examining interventions developed to decrease transition-related challenging behavior. Nineteen experiments across sixteen peer-reviewed articles were included in the targeted research synthesis, with interventions categorized as those incorporating a signaling stimulus (e.g., advance notice, visual schedules) or other procedures (e.g., differential reinforcement, extinction). A multilevel meta-analysis was conducted to estimate overall intervention effects and examine whether the intervention type moderated its effectiveness. Results indicated that, although overall effects were not statistically significant, consequence-based interventions without signaling stimuli were associated with greater reductions in challenging behavior. Implications for practice, including the integration of signaling stimulus and consequence-based procedures, are discussed, along with directions for future research on intervention efficiency, generalization, and long-term maintenance.

  PublisherDOI

• The Effects of an Accelerated Auditory Matching Protocol on Echoic Clarity with Preschoolers with Disabilities

  Behavior Analysis in Practice · 2025-10-23

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• A comparison of parental attention and preferred items during tummy time: A consecutive controlled case series evaluation

  Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis · 2024-02-02 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Tummy time is an activity for infants to practice their early motor skills. Although most pediatricians recommend tummy time, parents may avoid the procedures due to indices of infant discomfort during this period. This consecutive controlled case series evaluation compared the effects of preferred items selected from a preference assessment with those of parental attention on head evaluation and negative vocalizations during tummy time. In addition, we directly evaluated parental choice by inviting parents to select which tummy time treatment they wanted to implement. We found that both preferred items and parental attention effectively increased head elevation and decreased negative vocalizations during tummy time; however, parents tended to prefer the treatment that included the preferred item.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Preliminary Analysis of Incidental Bidirectional Naming and Derived Listener and Speaker Relations for Literacy Responses

  Behavior and Social Issues · 2024-05-10 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract In the realm of behavioral research, significant contributions have greatly advanced reading studies, influencing educational practices. We explored the relationship between the degrees of incidental bidirectional naming (Inc-BiN) capabilities and children's derived relations for literacy responses. Inc-BiN is a repertoire whereby a child acquires listener and speaker responses from observation alone. Incidental unidirectional naming (Inc-UniN) occurs when observation of object-names produces listener, but not speaker behavior. Students who did not demonstrate listener and speaker components were classified as having No Incidental Naming (NiN). Across two studies, we evaluated how component skills involved in Inc-BiN are connected to emergent literacy responses in preschoolers with a disability. In Study 1, participants completed two conditions: (1) directly reinforcing speaker responses and testing for the emergence of listener responses, and (2) directly reinforcing listener responses and testing for the emergence of speaker responses. Results suggested that participants with Inc-BiN readily derived both speaker and listener responses, participants with Inc-UniN readily derived listener, but not speaker responses, and participants with NiN had difficulty acquiring directly reinforced responses and deriving responses. In Study 2, we established Inc-BiN with participants and readministered Study 1 tests. Our results suggest overlap between incidental bidirectional naming and derived responses and point to how one can incorporate derived relations instruction and differentiate instruction for children with varying repertoires.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Relating in the Wild: Toward an Analysis of Equivalence Relations Under More Naturalistic Conditions

  Perspectives on Behavior Science · 2024-08-17 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Effects of an online group‐based intervention on effort tolerance in general education

  Behavioral Interventions · 2024-09-03

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Effort tolerance refers to a repertoire of selecting a larger reinforcer requiring a higher‐effort response over a smaller reinforcer requiring a lower‐effort response. The current study investigated the effects of an online group‐based effort‐tolerance training on students' effort tolerance. The study adds to the literature because no studies have investigated the effects of a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement as an intervention that targets effort tolerance for a whole class in an online platform and in general education settings. During the intervention, researchers gradually increased the response requirements (i.e., number of math problems) to access a larger reinforcer and incorporated choice‐making opportunities to promote second‐grade students' selection of a higher‐effort/larger‐reinforcer response. The findings yielded mixed results – the intervention was relatively effective at increasing effort tolerance for students performing on and below grade level for math, but the same effects were not shown in students performing above grade level. Future applications in education and research are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Emily A. Jones

  Queens College, CUNY

  28 shared

• Mirela Cengher

  University of Maryland, Baltimore County

  20 shared

• Peter Sturmey

  Ball State University

  15 shared

• Kimberly Reyes‐Giordano

  Queens College, CUNY

  12 shared

• Samantha Dalfen

  McGill University

  11 shared

• Jennifer L. Stewart

  Hunter College

  10 shared

• Ji Young Kim

  Pennsylvania State University

  10 shared

• Gary M. Pace

  May Institute

  9 shared

Labs

• Teachers College, Columbia UniversityPI