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| Behavioral Investigations into Issues from Mainstream Psychology |
| Sunday, May 30, 2004 |
| 10:30 AM–11:50 AM |
| Independence West |
| Area: VBC; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Denis P. O'Hora (University of Ulster) |
| Discussant: Michael J. Dougher (University of New Mexico) |
| Abstract: . |
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| The Concept of Intelligence and Derived Relational Responding |
| MARTHA PELAEZ (Florida International University), Denis P. O'Hora (University of Ulster) |
| Abstract: A recent study by O’Hora, Peláez, Barnes-Holmes and Amesty (2002) demonstrated that subjects that passed a test for derived relational responding performed better on certain scales of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III). This suggests that these different subscales may tap functionally distinct repertoires of behavior. That is, there may be different types of intelligent behavior that come under different sources of control. One taxonomy of intelligent behaviors is provided by the work of Sternberg (1985, 1986) who developed a Triarchic Theory of intelligence, in which there are three distinct types of intelligence: componential, experiential, and contextual. Componential intelligence emphasizes effectiveness in information processing. Experiential intelligence emphasizes insight and the ability to formulate new ideas. Contextual intelligence emphasizes intelligence in a practical sense. The current paper examines these types of intelligent behavior from the perspective of Relational Frame Theory and suggests an alternative behavioral description of these behaviors. |
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| Syntactic and Semantic Bootstrapping: A Relational Frame Approach |
| DENIS P. O'HORA (University of Ulster), Rick Dale (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: A number of behavioral researchers have examined the generative properties of sequential responding (e.g., Green, Stromer & Mackay, 1991; Lazar, 1977; Wulfert & Hayes, 1986). Such responding is crucial in understanding the productivity of early language development. In one such case, a novel word may be rapidly learned if it occurs in a previously established productive structure. For example, in the sentence “The man lifted the wug”, we know that a “wug” is likely to mean an object and not an action by virtue of its position in the sentence (Landau & Gleitman, 1995). Similarly, some authors have suggested that the reverse can aid the child in inferring syntax (Pinker, 1984). For example, knowing that “wug” refers to a thing rather than an action can help the child make inferences about its syntax. In cognitive psychology, these processes are dubbed syntactic and semantic bootstrapping, and are explained in terms of hypothetical mental entities and innate mapping rules. The current paper outlines an account of such responding based on Relational Frame Theory (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes & Roche, 2001) and presents a study demonstrating a behavior-analytic model of such learning. |
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| Before and After Relational Responding and the WAIS-III |
| DENIS P. O'HORA (University of Ulster), Martha Pelaez (Florida International University), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Karen Robinson (Florida International University), Tahir Chaudhary (Florida International University) |
| Abstract: O’Hora, Peláez, Barnes-Holmes and Amesty (2002) demonstrated that performance on a complex derived relational responding task predicted performance on two verbal subtests of the WAIS-III. In addition, they found a significant correlation between performance in training for Before and After relational responding and performance on the vocabulary subtest of the scale. The current experiment further investigated these findings. Eighty undergraduate students were exposed to training for Before and After relational responding and then to the entire WAIS-III battery of subtests. Significant correlations were observed between the percentage of correct responses in Before and After training and performance on a number of the WAIS-III subtests that contribute to the Verbal IQ score and Verbal Comprehension index. Further tests demonstrated that subjects that required fewer blocks to respond in accordance with Before and After relations scored significantly higher in verbal subtests. Both these measures also predicted performance on some subtests unrelated to the verbal scales. The implications of these results for Relational Frame Theory and for the behavioural understanding of the WAIS-III will be discussed. |
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