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| A Tutorial on the Applications of Lowenkron’s Joint Control to Language Acquisition Programs |
| Saturday, May 24, 2025 |
| 3:00 PM–3:50 PM |
| Marriott Marquis, M2 Level, Marquis Salon 12-13 |
| Area: VBC/AUT; Domain: Service Delivery |
| Chair: Michael Miklos (Miklos Behavior Consulting and Training) |
| CE Instructor: Willow M Hozella, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Mediating one’s behavior through covert or overt verbal behavior is a phenomenon familiar to anyone who has had to remember a phone number with no way to write it down, follow a recipe without consulting the cookbook for each step, or solve a math equation without a calculator or pencil and paper. Jointly controlled responding is a type of multiply controlled responding that may provide a behavioral analysis of such mediating responses. Joint control, as we will discuss in detail, involves one or more verbal responses bringing other verbal or nonverbal responses to strength under appropriate controlling conditions. While published research utilizing Lowenkron's analysis of joint control has increased, practitioners have only recently been provided with a tutorial that offers guidance on the conceptual foundations and procedural considerations on the topic of joint control. This presentation will provide guidance for practitioners on how to apply evidence-based methods to teach jointly controlled responses, provide guidance for development of instructional programming, and suggest future applications for using the concept of joint control. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Target Audience: Familiarity with Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior and intermediate/advanced knowledge of basic behavioral principles. |
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will be able to review and describe empirical applications related to the concept of joint control.
2. Participants will be able to describe procedures for establishing jointly controlled responding in applied settings.
3. Participants will be able to describe the role of joint control in relation to complex verbal behavior. |
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| A Review of Current Literature Related to Applications of Lowenkron's Analysis of Joint Control |
| MIGUEL AMPUERO (Berry College) |
| Abstract: Skinner (1957) differentiated the roles of the speaker and the listener in a verbal
encounter. Although not extensively emphasized, Skinner suggested an individual often behaves verbally even when responding as a listener. Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often display the absence of important, and basic verbal repertoires that limit their ability to engage in a variety of social skills or problem solving skills. Joint control suggests that multiply controlled verbal responding involves functional control of two 2 or more stimuli or verbal operants. This literature review provides a summary of publications specifying the relation and implications of the analysis of joint control and joint control training in the acquisition of multiply controlled, non-speaker behaviors (e.g., selection-based behavior; , sequencing behavior). The synthesis suggests that joint control training presents as a promising analytic tool in guiding interventions to teach complex, multiply controlled verbal and non-verbal repertoires to children diagnosed with autism ASD and/or other developmental disabilities. Recommendations for future research in joint control, as well as the implementation of joint control training, are provided. |
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| Procedural Considerations for Instructional Programs Derived From Lowenkron's Analysis of Joint Control |
| MICHAEL MIKLOS (Miklos Behavior Consulting and Training) |
| Abstract: The applications of joint control involve a complex analysis of both stimulus conditions and response components. Procedures to teach basic and complex components are derived from well-established methods in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Both discrete-trial instruction and naturalistic teaching procedures have been used to establish tact and intraverbal repertoires (Greer & Ross, 2008; Sundberg & Michael, 2001). Echoic and imitation skills have generally been established through shaping and modeling processes (Carbone et al., 2010; Petursdottir & Carr, 2011). This session will identify basic prerequisite and component skills for teaching jointly controlled responding. Procedures used to teach jointly controlled responding will be iterated in relation to tasks involving following multiple-step directions, delayed match to sample tasks, and sequencing tasks. Programming considerations related to teaching verbally mediated responding that allow for generative responding will be addressed. A number of procedures to aide the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of skills related to jointly controlled responding will be reviewed. |
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| Joint Control in the Broader World |
| WILLOW M HOZELLA (May Institute) |
| Abstract: The phenomena of jointly controlled responding may be present in a plethora of everyday occurrences in which individuals with sophisticated verbal repertoires interact with their physical and social environments. A student learning to select multiple pictures from a messy array, the shopper retrieving items from the grocery store after forgetting the shopping list at home, the act of remembering a phone number, coming up with a name of someone familiar who has not been encountered recently, engaging in self-talk in which one reminisces about past activities, or the act of finding a lost item in your home, all represent potential occurrences of jointly controlled responding. A technology of training skills for jointly controlled responding may lead to applications relevant to a range of academic skills, including reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning such as algorithmic problem solving. Indeed, future applications may extend to job performances, leisure activities, memory related tasks, possible treatment for individuals whose verbal behavior decays or present the loss of verbal abilities (e.g., dementia, Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injury, aphasia). It may be quite likely that many of the verbally mediated covert responses that we apparently emit at high rates involve multiply controlled responses. |
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