Association for Behavior Analysis International

This session will showcase three presentations which highlight the behavioral change processes needed for durable, meaningful, and measurable changes in human behavior. The first paper will describe a series of findings between relational responding and intelligence in children with autism. The second paper will review the literature on multiple exemplar training on the development of relational response repertoires. The third paper illustrates that when staff are taught components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, clients' lives improve because staff change their own behavior. Together this series of papers reveal a wide range of cutting edge behavioral research and analyses of complex language processes.

The theoretical correspondence between the response families described in Relational Frame Theory and the types of behaviors measured in conventional tests of intelligence are well documented, and recent evidence has suggested that improving relational verbal responding can lead to corresponding increases in IQ. Two assessments developed by this research team provide a comprehensive analysis of individuals' abilities to derive non-arbitrary and arbitrary relations, allowing for a direct comparison of the relationship between participants' relational verbal repertoire and intelligence. The first assessment, PEAK-Equivalence pre-assessment (PEAK-E-PA) evaluates the development of multi-modal coordinated relations. The second assessment, PEAK-Transformation pre-assessment (PEAK-T-PA) evaluates the relational development across each of the relational frame families. Obtained results suggest that there exists a strong, significant relationship between these two assessments and conventional IQ tests, with implications for a behavioral analysis of intelligent behavior.

In the behavior analytic literature, two terms are often used interchangeably; namely multiple exemplar training (MET) and multiple exemplar instruction (MEI). The current paper attempted to define both terms, according to their procedural applications, as identified in a review of the existing body of empirical work. More specifically, studies on naming, stimulus equivalence, and relational frame theory were reviewed and analyzed. Procedures were categorized according to their similarities and differences, irrespective of theoretical orientation. Definitions of the terms are proposed, based upon the distinctions in their applications across these areas of study, as well as their outcomes. Additionally, a new term is proposed, with the intent of refining the precision of behavior analytic language pertaining to these procedures and terms. A discussion of the conceptual systems underlying both procedures is included in the hopes of providing a basis for further discussion and research, with the ultimate goal of generating clearer definitions and conceptual analyses.

This presentation will highlight component analyses of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in persons with developmental disorders, as well as front-line staff working with adults with severe developmental disabilities. The studies share in common the application of single components of the ACT in isolation while examining their impact on an objective, reliable measures of behavior change. For example, young adults with developmental disorders participated in cognitive defusion and mindfulness exercises, and a functional relationship was established with the interventions and their performance during a role-play interview task. In addition, frontline staff participated in values clarification workshops related to their jobs and work with clients with severe developmental disorders, and a functional relationship was observed between the values trainings and staff engagement with clients. Implications for the application of components of ACT in services for people with developmental disorders will be described.