Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

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45th Annual Convention; Chicago, IL; 2019

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Poster Session #287
VRB Sunday Poster Session
Sunday, May 26, 2019
1:00 PM–3:00 PM
Hyatt Regency East, Exhibit Level, Riverside Exhibit Hall
Chair: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
107. Comparing the Prevalence of Relational Fram Theory and Equivalence Research With Children and Adults Within Applied Behavior Analysis, 1990-2017
Area: VBC; Domain: Applied Research
TAYLOR LAUER (Missouri State University), Jordan Belisle (Missouri State University), Dana Paliliunas (Missouri State University), Breanna Lee (Missouri State University), Annalise Giamanco (Missouri State University), Elana Sickman (Missouri State University)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract:

Prior citation analyses of research on Relational Frame Theory (RFT) have shown considerable research allocation with adults, with a major emphasis on college student participants. This work has been necessary to establish the theoretical, basic, and translational models that are the foundation of RFT. We extended upon this research by specifically evaluating publication trends within journals that operate primarily within an Applied Behavior Analytic framework, emphasizing the application of behavior principles within socially valid contexts. We compared empirical research published in major behavior analytic journals from 1990-2017 that included child and adult participants. In general, our results show that rates of publication are increasing at a considerable rate with both populations. However, unlike in prior citation analyses, our results indicate that research with child participants is becoming increasingly more prevalent in research published in applied behavior analytic journals. The greatest differentiation is observed in The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, where over 70% of empirical studies have been conducted with child participants. The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis appeared to nearly equally publish research with child and adult participants and the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science appeared more likely to publish research with adult participants. The results have implications for understanding current trends in applied behavior analytic research on RFT and equivalence and can provide information to researchers within the field.

 
108. The Complexity of Relational Training Within Empirical Behavior Analytic Studies of Relational Frame Theory and Stimulus Equivalence With Children, 1990-2017
Area: VBC; Domain: Applied Research
TAYLOR LAUER (Missouri State University), Breanna Lee (Missouri State University), Annalise Giamanco (Missouri State University), Elana Sickman (Missouri State University), Jordan Belisle (Missouri State University), Dana Paliliunas (Missouri State University)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract:

Relational Frame Theory and Stimulus Equivalence training technologies are being increasingly applied with children with- and without- intellectual or developmental disabilities. These contemporary accounts of human language emphasize the generativity and emergence of new verbal behavior in the absence of direct reinforcement. We evaluated empirical research published within major behavior analytic journals from 1990 through 2017 to determine the complexity of relational frames and equivalence classes targeted in training. We report the age and mean number of participants in single-subject experimental design research. We also report whether participants have intellectual or developmental disabilities, the types of relations targeted in training (coordination, hierarchical, perspective taking, comparison, distinction, opposition, causality), the level of entailment (mutual entailment, combinatorial entailment), and whether researchers typically probe for transfers or transformations of stimulus function resultant from emergent frames or classes. Our results also compare the use of culturally relevant / socially valid class members against the use of arbitrary stimuli to control for history effects. Taken together, the results have implications for understanding the current state of RFT research with children within a behavior analytic model and may be used to extend research in this area for a more complete account for human language development.

 
109. Effect of a Values-Related Arbitrary Visual Stimulus as a Motivative Augmental for Academic Performance of Undergraduate College Students
Area: VBC; Domain: Applied Research
NATHAN BURGSTAHLER (Missouri State University), Dana Paliliunas (Missouri State University), Mark R. Dixon (Southern Illinois University)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract: Values-based interventions have been the subject of increasing conceptual and empirical attention in behavior analytic literature. Relational Frame Theory (RFT), an account of human language and cognition, may provide an empirically-valid account of the formation of values and the mechanisms though which it effects behavior. From this perspective, the language processes involved in values-driven behavior include hierarchical, or categorical, relational responding and rule-governed behavior. The present study sought to measure the effect of an arbitrary symbol related to a values-focused hierarchy as a motivative augmental for academic performance with a sample of undergraduate university students in a classroom setting. The results suggest the presence of a values-related augmental stimulus in the classroom improved on-task behavior, quiz performance, task completion, and self-rating of performance compared to a neutral stimulus in a two-treatment, repeated measures crossover design. The results do not suggest the treatment was effective on changes participants’ self-reported valuing behavior. Overall, the results support a behavioral conceptualization of values-driven behavior and provide an avenue for future research on values-based intervention in the classroom.
 
110. Disrupting Delayed Matching-to-Sample Performance With Verbal and Non-Verbal Tasks
Area: VBC; Domain: Basic Research
MIKAYLA CAMACHO (Berry College), Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract:

Stimulus control is straightforward when the stimulus is present, but when the behavior occurs after it is no longer present, an explanation is less forthcoming. One interpretation is that mediational responses bridge the gap between stimuli and responses. Some research on covert mediational responses has focused on establishing distractor tasks to block putative rehearsal and look for decrements in performance. When choosing a comparison stimulus in a delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) task, past studies have suggested that verbal mediation may not be necessary to emit an accurate response after a delay. The current study examined mediational responses in preschool-aged children during a DMTS task. After training participants to tact and select picture cards, experimenters presented three variations of a 60-second distractor task before participants were able to select a specified card from an array of eight. Distractor tasks included (1) a visual card distractor, (2) a vocal interview distractor, and (3) a tangram activity distractor. The results of this study found that accurate performance was highest with the verbal interview distractor, then followed by the tangram distractor, and finally lowest with the visual card distractor. These findings suggest that private verbal mediating responses may not be necessary for accurate responding, but covert imagining may be.

 
111. Contribution of Self-Stimulation on the Recall of Elementary Verbal Operants
Area: VBC; Domain: Basic Research
Jamiika Thomas (University of Nevada, Reno), MELANIE S STITES (University of Nevada, Reno), Linda J. Parrott Hayes (University of Nevada, Reno)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract: Skinner (1957) identified five classes of verbal operants in which the controlling variables consist of different sorts of prior verbal stimulation (e.g., visual or auditory). These verbal operants include copying text, taking dictation, echoic, textual, and intraverbal operants. However, each of these elementary verbal operants also involve conditions of self-stimulation (e.g., hearing one’s own voice while engaging in an echoic). The purpose of this study was to examine the conditions under which participants better performed on a recall task following a delay when they could see and/or hear their own responses during training trials in comparison to conditions when they were not able to see and/or hear their own responses. Participants consisted of undergraduate students and were randomly assigned to one of four groups: copying text, taking dictation, echoic, or textual group. Sessions were conducted on a computer and consisted of 25 control and 25 experimental conditions which included a distractor task and an intraverbal recall test of seven-digit sequences. Current results suggest that participants who could see and/or hear their own response products during trials performed better on the recall task compared to participants who could not see and/or hear their own response products during training trials.
 
112. The Effects of Verbal Reprimands on Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors in Preschool Children
Area: VBC; Domain: Basic Research
Isabella Brassolatti (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos), Anne Cossta Carneiro (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos), Ana Eduarda Vasconcelos de Sousa (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos), Angélica Giannini (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos), Tabata Mazetto (Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso), MARIÉLE CORTEZ (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract: This study investigated how verbal reprimands contingent on children’s self-report about specific nonverbal behaviors may affect the accuracy of such report and the frequency of the nonverbal behaviors. Six children were exposed to a do-say correspondence procedure. “Doing” consisted of playing with some toys (nonverbal behavior) and “saying” consisted of reporting on which toys the child played or did not play with (verbal behavior). Baseline evaluated the children’s self-report accuracy and the frequency of playing behavior (with no programmed consequences for verbal or nonverbal behaviors). Following baseline, children were exposed to Verbal Reprimand sessions, in which affirmative reports of playing with the target (preferred) toys were followed by a verbal reprimand. A multiple baseline across subjects design was employed. Results indicated that the verbal reprimand affected the nonverbal behavior of four participants (i.e., they stopped playing with the target toys). For one participant, the verbal reprimand affected only the verbal behavior (i.e., he started distorting the reports but continued to play with the target toys) and for the last participant, no effect on verbal or nonverbal behaviors was observed. Results suggest that verbal reprimands may have a stronger punitive effect on nonverbal than on verbal behavior in preschool children
 
113. Using a Delayed Prompt Procedure in Tact and Listener Training to Teach Vocabulary in a Foreign Language
Area: VBC; Domain: Applied Research
MARIÉLE CORTEZ (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos), Leticia da Silva (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos), Caio F. Miguel (California State University, Sacramento)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract: The present study aimed to verify: (a) the effects of tact and listener training in the emergence of bidirectional intraverbal responses (Portuguese-English and English-Portuguese), using a delayed prompt procedure and, (b) the effects of both types of training over time. Four typically developing Brazilian children participated. In tact training, the experimenter presented a visual stimulus and asked for its name in English. In listener training, participants were asked to select the visual stimuli in the presence of foreign-language words. For both types of training, a delayed prompt procedure was used (0s, 2s, 4s), with echoic and gestural prompts in tact and listener training, respectively. Three of four participants met criterion sooner in listener training than in tact training. However, tact training produced greater emergence of bidirectional intraverbal responses than listener training for all participants. Follow-up probes were conducted about 14 and 40 days after the post training test and their results demonstrated that the performances in intraverbal test were maintained for three out of four participants, with increased maintenance for the stimuli sets exposed to tact training. Results confirmed previous studies, showing that tact training produced higher levels of emergent intraverbal responding compared to the listener training condition.
 
114. A Literature Review of Self-Management, Self-Monitoring, and Self-Control Research in Behavior Analytic Journals, 1998-2018
Area: VBC; Domain: Applied Research
CELESTE UNNERSTALL (Missouri State University), Dana Paliliunas (Missouri State University)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract:

Skinner described self-management or self-control as behavior that manipulates aspects of an environment to allow and individual to change or maintain other behaviors. This account differs markedly from traditional psychological accounts that emphasize internal processes as causal variables that can directly influence overt behavior. The purpose of the present citation analysis was to determine application of self-management or self-control strategies within major behavior analytic journals to treat behavioral challenges. Our results suggest that a number of studies have been published evaluating self-management strategies, with the greatest prevalence found in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. The most common term found was “self-control.” We did not, however, see an increasing trend from 1998 to 2018 in research published using the search terms. We discuss the implications of these findings along with an analysis of challenges addressed with the various self-management strategies, along with suggestions for future research in this area of applied behavior analysis.

 
115. A Parametric Analysis of Intensive Tact Instruction on Bidirectional Naming
Area: VBC; Domain: Applied Research
MICHAELA ANN DUNHAM (Teachers College at Columbia University), Rebecca Hotchkiss (Teacher's College at Columbia University), Alexandria M Lanter (Teachers College at Columbia University ), Daniel Mark Fienup (Columbia University)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract: Bidirectional Naming (BiN) is a fundamental verbal cusp that is also a capability, which is a strong predictor of school success. A parametric analysis was conducted on the strength of Intensive Tact Instruction (ITI) on inducing BiN for two participants with Autism ages 8 and 9. The first participant received an additional 100 tact learn units daily while the other participant received an additional 50 learn units daily. Pre and post-intervention probes were conducted to determine if Bidirectional Naming (BiN) was established for both participants following the intervention. The study is still ongoing for both participants, as neither of the participants have met criteria for BiN. The purpose of the study is to determine the number of learn units of ITI needed to induce BiN. Overall, the results thus far, suggest that the accelerated version of 50 tact learn units for ITI is just as effective in inducing BiN , as BiN has increased for both participants but not to criteria, but the study needs to be continued before any conclusions can be made.
 
116. Emoji as Compound Discriminative Stimuli for Text Messaging Behavior
Area: VBC; Domain: Basic Research
VANESSA THOMAS (Allegheny College), Rodney D. Clark (Allegheny College)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract: In the present study, an investigation of the presence of a facial emoji in a text message as a potential compound discriminative stimulus (SD) in text messaging behavior was undertaken. Prior research has indicated such characters as powerful modulators of perceived affective content in text messaging (Lo, 2008; Riordan, 2017a; Riordan, 2017b; Walther & D'Addario, 2001); however, minimal research has been conducted on emoji within a behavior analytic framework. Using an electronic survey which invited participants, college students, to assess a series of text messages containing different emoji, the functional role of the facial emoji in the interpretation of a text message and the reader’s subsequent confidence in that interpretation were assessed to determine the emoji’s salience as an SD. Both the presence or absence of a facial emoji and the emoji’s morphology were shown to significantly (p < .001) alter the interpretation of the text messages, suggesting that the emoji does function as a discriminative stimulus for the response behavior. The findings of this study can be applied to better understand the role of emoji in digital communication using a behavior analytic framework.
 
117. Reflections on “Stroke Diary:" Verbal Behavior Perturbations and Recovery Strategies in a Single Case of Aphasia
Area: VBC; Domain: Theory
APRIL M. BECKER (University of North Texas and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center), Daniele Ortu (University of North Texas)
Discussant: Thom Ratkos (Berry College)
Abstract:

On September 6, 2011 Dr. Thomas Broussard suffered a stroke and was left with a severe case of aphasia. Dr. Broussard was not, however, the typical patient. As was his particular habit, he recorded every aspect of his experience in writing, even though his capacity for clear written communication was gone. As he slowly regained his verbal abilities, he went back to his old notes, pictures, and other records to piece together the events during and immediately after his stroke, his rehabilitative experiences throughout his recovery, and his personal and family approaches to augmenting that rehabilitation. This rich record is placed squarely in the context of his diary, consisting of voice records, written records, and rehabilitative exercises. The diary provides an opportunity to analyze his verbal behavior at various stages and to study the unique approach of a patient who spent most of his waking hours augmenting the therapy that he received from professionals. He eventually achieved a truly dramatic recovery. His success makes the details of his approach valuable, both from the perspective of understanding verbal behavior and advancing rehabilitation. This review will highlight particular verbal patterns and recovery strategies that may be interesting to a behavior analytic audience.

 
 

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