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| The Search for Order in Single Participant Patterns on the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) |
| Saturday, May 25, 2024 |
| 3:00 PM–4:50 PM |
| Convention Center, 200 Level, 201 C |
| Area: EAB; Domain: Basic Research |
| Chair: Alceu Regaço dos Santos (Universidade Federal de São Carlos) |
| Discussant: Siri Ming (Private Practice) |
| CE Instructor: Siri Ming, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: The implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) is a method used to assess natural verbal relations. Recent calls have been made to refine the tool into a better understood and more precise functional-analytic procedure. An important strategy involved in doing so will be to identify the functional properties of all of the stimulus elements contained within the IRAP and how they contribute towards specific response patterns, and in particular at the level of the individual participant. The current symposium presents four papers that contribute to this research agenda. Specifically, the four papers will consider (1) experimental analyses of the impact of levels of derivation on differential patterns of single-participant IRAP effects; (2) attempts to manipulate patterns of effects produced on the procedure, within participants; (3) experimental analyses of the impact of multiple exposures on the stability (or instability) of single-participant patterns of responding; and (4) the impact of a motivating variable on single participant IRAP responding. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Keyword(s): Behavioural dynamics, Cfunc dominance, IRAP, RFT |
| Target Audience: A basic background in behaviour analysis is assumed |
| Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) summarize how recent developments in RFT have informed advances in behavior-analytic work using the IRAP; (2) articulate ways in which recent work using the IRAP has sought to gain prediction-and-influence over single-participant patterns of responding produced on the procedure; (3) provide examples of how recent work using the IRAP has sought to refocus its use a functional-analytic tool.” |
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| Exploring the Impact of Derivation on Single-Participant Response Patterns on the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) |
| MARCELLO SILVESTRE (Universidade Federal de São Carlos), Colin Harte (Universidade Federal de São Carlos ), Alceu Regaço (Universidade Federal de São Carlos), Guilherme Sbrocco (Universidade Federal de São Carlos), WILLIAM Ferreira PEREZ (Instituto Par - Análise do Comportamento), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (Ulster University), Julio C. De Rose (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos) |
| Abstract: The implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) is purported to be a context for exploring natural verbal relations as defined within relational frame theory (RFT). Recent analyses have highlighted the relative behavior-controlling impact of the functional (Cfunc) versus relational (Crel) properties of stimuli on differential patterns of effects produced on the procedure. The current study first sought to replicate a robust group-level effect characteristic of Cfunc dominance, the happiness superiority effect, but at the single-participant level. This pattern was observed in the majority of participants (10/13). However, some counterintuitive patterns of effects were also observed. A follow-up study sought to explore the impact of levels of derivation on these effects by partially replicating Experiment 1 but extending the training and testing elements of the procedure across two days. In addition, this second experiment explored the impact of training procedure (matching-to-sample versus Training IRAP) on the effects produced. Implications for analyses of the behavioral dynamics involved in derived relational responding, and the learning histories involved in understanding the evolution of that responding are discussed. |
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| Predicting-and-Influencing Cfunc Dominance in the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure: A Within Participant Analysis |
| COLIN HARTE (Universidade Federal de São Carlos ), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (Ulster University), WILLIAM Ferreira PEREZ (Instituto Par - Análise do Comportamento), Julio C. De Rose (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos) |
| Abstract: The implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) provides a context for exploring the behavioral dynamics involved in arbitrarily applicable relational responding. Recent conceptual and empirical advances in relational frame theory (RFT) have highlighted the extent to which the functional (Cfunc) and relational (Crel) properties of stimuli differentially interact to impact upon patterns of effects produced on the IRAP. The current experiment aimed to produce and subsequently manipulate a robust pattern of responding often observed on the IRAP, known as single trial-type dominance. Specifically, participants were exposed to an IRAP composed of abstract symbols, and the foregoing effect was noted in all participants. Subsequently, novel familiar stimuli (happy faces) were inserted into the IRAP with the intention of attempting to reverse the dominance effect. This reversal was reliably observed in 16 out of 21 participants (p=.01). In addition, a follow-up control condition sought to assess whether it was indeed the impact of the happy face that served to reverse the effect or whether the introduction of any novel stimulus would do so. The findings are discussed in the context of developing an increasingly precise functional-analysis of the controlling variables brought to bear by the IRAP as a behavior-analytic tool. |
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The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a Measure of a Construct Versus a Context for Analysing the Behavioral Stream |
| DERMOT BARNES-HOLMES (Ulster University), Colin Harte (Universidade Federal de São Carlos ), Ramon Marin (Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brazil), WILLIAM Ferreira PEREZ (Instituto Par - Análise do Comportamento), Julio C. De Rose (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos) |
| Abstract: The implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP) emerged within the beahvior analytic tradition but very quickly it was used almost exclusively as a proxy for ill-defined psychological constructs. Recently, however, research has begun to use the IRAP as a context for analysing the dynamics of arbitrarily applicable relational responding. One of the main questions arising from this recent refocusing is the extent to which behavioral patterns observed on the IRAP remain stable across time. Insofar as the functions of stimuli presented within an IRAP may change through repeated presentations, it may be that similar IRAP patterns are not observed across repeated exposures. The current study involved two experiments that exposed participants to six consecutive IRAPs. Experiment 1 presented the two categories of stimuli (faces and furniture) across all IRAPs, with each category represented by a single word and a single picture. Experiment 2 was similar except each category was presented by four different words and four different pictures within each IRAP. Results of Experiment 1 indicate considerable variability across exposures within individual participants, with Experiment 2 currently underway. The findings highlight the dynamic nature of behavior produced across multiple exposures to the IRAP. |
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| The Impact of Motivation on Derived Relational Responding: An Extended Replication |
| GABRIEL HIDEKI SIMÕES OSHIRO (São Paulo State University ), Isabela Moura (Instituto Par - Análise do Comportamento), Joao Henrique de Almeida (São Paulo State University), Colin Harte (Universidade Federal de São Carlos ), Dermot Barnes-Holmes (Ulster University), WILLIAM Ferreira PEREZ (Instituto Par - Análise do Comportamento), Julio C. De Rose (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos) |
| Abstract: Recent research has highlighted the profound impact of motivation on derived relational responses. This research has shown that pepper intake could increase motivation for access to water, significantly impacting IRAP trial-types that targeted an arbitrary stimulus coordinated with water, producing larger positive-water scores. In the present investigation, we sought to establish two derived coordination networks employing different procedures: Matching-to-sample and Training IRAP. These networks were formed by abstract elements with one meaningful stimulus in: a depiction of a glass filled with water and a neutral image. After the relational training and testing, participants were exposed to an IRAP and semantic differential. Before each of these measurement procedures, participants consumed liquid pepper. In this replication, the participant's data will be considered individually (rather than group). Results thus far indicate broadly similar patterns as the previous study such that the motivational variable impacts the contextual properties of the responses on IRAP. The implications of these findings, including comparison with the original investigation and consideration of the impact of learning history on patterns of responding, will be discussed within the context of recent developments in RFT, aiming to produce further information on the elaborate interaction between motivation and symbolic control. |
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