Association for Behavior Analysis International

The present study investigated the potential effects of visual simple discrimination training with two-components specific consequences on auditory comprehension in children with cochlear implants (CI) based on derived conditional relations and the formation of equivalence relations. The stimuli were dictated and written pseudo-sentences, and abstract and representative pictures. Visual simple discriminations involving written pseudo-sentences (C) and abstract figures (D) were taught. Correct selections (S+) were followed by specific consequences with two components: dictated pseudo-sentences (A) and representative pictures (B), presented simultaneously. Probes of arbitrary matching to sample assessed derived auditory-visual (AB, AC, and AD) and visual-visual (BC, CB, BD, DB, CD, and DC) conditional relations. All three participants learned simple discriminations, and two showed derived conditional relations and formation of ABCD classes, demonstrating auditory comprehension to pseudo-sentences. The present study replicates and extends previous results on sentence learning in children with CI, and suggests that simple discrimination training with two-components specific consequences may be a way to promote auditory-visual and symbolic relations.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reinforcing effect of a pair of stimuli related with two components of a multiple schedule of negative reinforcement based on a shock frequency reduction procedure (Hernnstein & Hineline, 1975). Previous attempts to evaluate the reinforcing effects of discriminative stimuli correlated with avoidance contingences have included the Sidman avoidance procedure and have shown that only stimuli related with free-shock periods (security signals) are effective as conditioned reinforcers. In the present study the discriminative and delta function of two stimuli were trained during a multiple schedule of negative reinforcement composed by avoidance and extinction schedules. The avoidance schedule delivered shocks with a probability of 0.35 each 2 s. Avoidance responses reduce the probability of shock delivering to 0.10 each 2 s. Responses during extinction schedule were not effective to reduce the shock probability. Responses to a second lever produced the respective discriminative or delta stimuli depending on the experimental phase. Discriminative and delta stimulus were tested as conditioned reinforcers during different phases of two experiments. There was not evidence in regard the reinforcing effect of the delta stimulus. Results were consistent with the conditioned reinforcing account of the observing behavior.

Delay discounting has been studied extensively using animal models with psychophysical adjustment procedures. Many procedures have been developed to assess delay discounting in humans and many of these procedures use hypothetical rewards and delays. The Experiential Discounting Task (EDT)was developed to assess human delay discounting using real rewards and delays. In the present study we examined the test–retest reliability of the EDT using different rewards. Construct validity was evaluated by comparing the EDT giving a reward with videogame time with an EDT with food reward and a standard delay discounting task. We stablished a base line on 3 evaluations keeping the same delays, then we increased the delays in 25% on 2 sessions and we returned to the baseline. Both EDT had poor test–retest reliability and discounting rates obtained with those task were uncorrelated with those obtained in the standard delay discounting task. R square was negatively correlated with scores on stress measured by biological markers. This correlation may suggest that a higher stress modify the stability of the decisions. These findings suggest the EDT measures a different construct than that measured by traditional delay discounting tasks and the EDT measures the same construct with different rewards

Addressing the needs of preschoolers with challenging behavior is important, as these issues often have long-term impacts on the outcomes of students (Fox et al., 2002). Self-monitoring strategies and techniques have the potential to improve the outcomes of this population of children. Although preschoolers are capable of self-monitoring (Otero & Haut, 2015), it is not widely used in early childhood education settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-monitoring on appropriate, teacher preferred behavior in preschool-age children who had elevated scores on a social-emotional development questionnaire that indicated that additional follow up and assessment might be needed to intervene on challenging behaviors. Participants were two preschool lead teachers, two paraprofessionals (i.e., classroom aides) and 4 preschoolers ages 4 and 5. The research used a single case multiple baseline across participants research design. Preschoolers, during the intervention phase, were taught how to self-monitor and momentary time sampling was used across 3-minute intervals for 15 minutes daily to record their targeted behaviors and their procedural fidelity of self-monitoring. The results will show that preschoolers are able to self-monitor with a high level of procedural fidelity; however, there were limitations on the effectiveness of self-monitoring on their targeted behavior.

Treatment integrity is integral to valid research and ethical practice in behavior analysis. The application of procedures in practice should be based on scientific knowledge. Thus, ensuring correct implementation of independent variables in research plays a cogent part in evidence-based practice. Researchers have evaluated treatment integrity in the literature (Peterson et al., 1982; Gresham et al., 1993; McIntyre et al., 2007). We extended these previous reviews by analyzing if treatment integrity was assessed and independent variables were operationally defined and coded for error type. Results indicated an increase in the number of articles reporting the assessment of treatment integrity (5% to 68%). However, independent variables were inconsistently defined, and few specified the type of errors (e.g., omission or commission) assessed. The value of analyzing treatment integrity in research will be discussed as well as suggestions for future research and best practice.

In the present study, participated an 86-year-old man with Alzheimer´s disease and an MMSE score at 18. The participant was presented for identity matching with colors in three phases. It was alternated between (A) delayed matching-to-sample 0s (DMTS 0s) and (B) simultaneous matching-to-sample (SMTS). The conditions were arranged as an ABABAB-design. In the first phase, training and testing employed yellow, blue, and red. In the second phase, the participant was presented for the same conditions with another set of color stimuli (green, orange, purple). The third phase was the same as Phase 1. The results showed that the participant met the criterion for mastery in the two first phases (see Table 1). However, in the last phase the participant did not reach the criterion for mastery. When a new MMSE was assessed after Phase 3, the results showed that the MMSE was reduced to 14. Also, the care personnel did report behavioral changes related to the progression of the disease after the experiment was conducted, which may suggest that this type of training and testing is sensitive to detect progression of the disease. Keywords: Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, simultaneously matching-to-sample, delayed matching-to-sample, identity matching.

Renewal is a type of behavioral relapse that is dependent on changes in contextual stimuli in the environment. We investigated ABA renewal of responding previously reduced by a differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedure. The conditions in an ABA renewal procedure may be analogous to the phases of behavioral treatment of challenging behavior; Context A is present during baseline (e.g., target response is reinforced in the home environment), Context B is present during treatment (e.g., an intervention is applied in a clinic), and the post-treatment context returns to Context A (i.e., renewal test). In the present study, undergraduate college students participated in a Zoom video call during which they responded by clicking on a rectangle in a computer program created in Visual Basic©. The session consisted of 15-min baseline, DRO, and renewal test phases. In baseline, the target response was reinforced according to a fixed-interval 10-s schedule. In the second phase, omission training was implemented according to a DRO 10-s schedule. The same DRO contingency was in effect during the renewal test. Contextual changes were changes in the color of the screen background (i.e., yellow during baseline and renewal test; blue during the DRO omission training phase) across phases.

Individuals with neurocognitive disorders (NCD) may forget the names of their loved ones. The purpose of the presented studies was to explore the effect of two variables on participants responding during face-recognition training in an older adult diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. The conditional discrimination procedure was used for the presentation of three stimulus classes, each with three members: (1) picture, (2) name, and (3) family relation of the participants significant others. Experiment 1 explored the effect of the (1) length of the inter-trial interval (ITI) (either 2,000ms or 5,000ms) while using either (2) simple-to-complex (STC) or the simultaneous training protocol. The results showed that the participant responded in accordance with stimulus equivalence when using the 5,000 ITI with the STC protocol. A 5-week followup showed maintenance of the trained relations. Experiment 2 replicated partially Experiment 1 with the same participant 7 months later but using only the 5,000 ITI with the two protocols. The results showed that the participant responded in accordance with stimulus equivalence when using the STC protocol with 5,000ms ITI. However, the participant suffered a mini-stroke before a repeated exposure to the conditions. Following the stroke, the participants made more incorrect responses and he did not respond in accordance with stimulus equivalence.

This poster describes research investigating the light-startle response (LSR) of orange head cockroaches (Eublaberus posticus). In the first experiment, we explored habituation of the LSR in response to both lights being turn on and lights being turned off, while also investigating the acclimation duration and lighting. Habituation occurred regardless of stimulus type but the response were greater in trials when a light was turned off than when it was turned on. Acclimation duration had little effect, but responses were greater when the acclimation light was off. The remainder of the experiments used lights turning on as stimuli for practical reasons. The second experiment explored the effect of light duration across two days of habituation procedures. Stimulus duration had no effect. Habituation occurred on each day of the procedure, with spontaneous recovery occurring between days. The third experiment investigated how presence of food alters habituation. We found that food inhibits habituation and appears to cause sensitization to the light stimulus. The fourth experiment explored how intertrial interval affected rate of LSR habituation. We found the rate of habituation decreased as intertrial interval increased. We hope our findings help establish the cockroaches as practical subjects for behavior analysis and comparative psychology.