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 Recent Developments in Verbal Behavior Research: Updates from the Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group |
| Sunday, May 30, 2021 |
| 4:00 PM–5:50 PM |
| Online |
| Area: VBC/AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Lauren Schnell (Hunter College, City of New York) |
| Discussant: David C. Palmer (Smith College) |
| CE Instructor: David C. Palmer, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: This symposium includes four studies related to verbal behavior in individuals with varying repertoires. The first study investigated the effects of a speaker immersion protocol on the number of speaker responses (tacts and mands) emitted by 3 preschool students under naturalistic, not directly targeted, conditions. The second study investigated a method of teaching individuals to report the intensity of the non-painful tactile sensations rough and tight. The third study investigated the effects of female and male audiences on gender-biased verbal behavior using an online chat environment analog. The fourth study investigated the use of verbal behavior in the formation of comparative relations. Collectively, these studies will share the most up to date research on expanding the verbal behavior of those individuals with and without disabilities. Following the presentations, David Palmer will provide discussant comments. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Keyword(s): Autism, Verbal Behavior |
| Target Audience: Audience members should have a basic understanding of verbal behavior. |
| Learning Objectives: 1. At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to arrange interventions to teach individuals with autism to tact sensations. 2. At the conclusion of the presentation, the participants will be able to use a speaker immersion protocol to increase speaker responses in preschool children. 3. At the conclusion of the presentation, the participants will be able to use a MET plus problem-solving procedure to establish comparative relations and pass emergent relations tests in college learners. |
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| Generalized Verbal Behavior Increases Following a Speaker Immersion Intervention |
| APARNA NARESH (Teachers College, Columbia University), Mary Kathleen Short (Teachers College, Columbia University), Daniel Mark Fienup (Teachers College, Columbia University) |
| Abstract: A goal of behavior analytic interventions is to produce behavior that is maintained under naturalistic conditions. In this experiment, we studied the effects of a speaker immersion protocol (SIP) on the number of speaker responses (tacts and mands) emitted by 3 preschool students under naturalistic, not directly targeted, conditions. During the SIP, the researchers provided 100 daily opportunities for the participants to emit mands using the target mand form by contriving establishing operations throughout the school day. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple probe design and by measuring target mands during establishing operations (EO) probe sessions and the number of mands and tacts emitted during noninstructional settings (NIS) probe sessions. The researchers found that the SIP produced increases in both targeted and generalized verbal behavior. |
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| Teaching Individuals to Tact Intensity of Sensations Based on Public Accompaniments |
| SANDHYA RAJAGOPAL (Florida Institute of Technology), Katie Nicholson (Florida Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: Individuals with autism often have difficulty learning to report sensations. Healthcare professionals frequently ask individuals to use numerical rating scales to rate their pain intensity; therefore, reporting the intensity of uniquely experienced sensations is an important skill. The present study used a multiple baseline design across stimulus sets to investigate a method of teaching individuals to report the intensity of the non-painful tactile sensations rough and tight. The first participant was a typically developing adult. The stimuli were hidden from the participant’s view throughout the study. In the teaching phase, during prompt sessions, the experimenter stated the intensity level during each trial; during probe sessions, the experimenter asked the participant to tact each intensity and provided feedback. The participant mastered the taught intensity tacts and generalized the tacts to a novel body part for both sensations, but he did not demonstrate consistent generalization to novel intensities and novel stimuli. This study will include 2 additional adults, 3 typically developing children, and 1 child with autism. Findings will be discussed in terms of teaching children with autism to tact private events. |
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| An Experimental Analysis of Gender-Biased Verbal Behavior and Self-Editing Using an Online Analog |
| FERNANDA SUEMI ODA (The University of Kansas), Sarah A. Lechago (University of Houston-Clear Lake), Bruno Eneas da Silva (KMM Engenharia de Software), Justin Hunt (Endeavor Behavioral) |
| Abstract: Intolerance, discrimination, and violence are examples of gender-related problems women experience worldwide. One common form of gender-biased behavior is verbal behavior (e.g., interrupting, sexual harassment, sexist jokes). Despite its ubiquity, however, the effects of audience gender on gender-biased verbal behavior have not been experimentally investigated within the field of behavior analysis. The current study employed a multi-element design to investigate the effects of female and male audiences on gender-biased verbal behavior using an online chat environment analog. The chat analog allowed access to self-editing behaviors, which are frequently covert, thus providing additional information about verbal episodes. Participants were 28 typically developing adults. Both overt and covert responses were recorded for the following behaviors: self-editing, disagreeing, interrupting, and pressuring. Differentiated responding across genders for disagreeing, interrupting, and pressuring was observed. Covert disagreeing occurred more frequently in the presence of male confederates, and covert pressuring occurred more frequently in the presence of female confederates. |
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| Investigating the Effects of Verbal Behavior on Emergent Comparative Relations |
| SHANNON LUOMA (California State University, Sacramento), Caio F. Miguel (California State University, Sacramento), Vanessa N Lee (California State University, Sacramento) |
| Abstract: This study investigated the use of verbal behavior in the formation of comparative relations. We used a talk-aloud procedure to assess emission of tacts and/or intraverbals during matching-to-sample tasks using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design. During multiple exemplar training (MET), participants learned to select the smallest or biggest comparison in the presence of abstract samples. Next, participants learned to select arbitrary comparisons in the presence of both contextual cues, to establish a size ranking among comparisons. To assess participants’ verbal behavior during the mutual and combinatorial entailment tests, they were instructed to talk out loud. Results replicate our previous data suggesting that MET alone does not seem sufficient to establish comparative relations, and that college students may need to engage in problem solving strategies to pass emergent relations tests. Additional participants will be exposed to the procedure to assess for the generality of these findings. |
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