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| Behavior Analysis in Higher Education: Analyzing and Utilizing Verbal Behavior to Improve Academic Achievement |
| Monday, May 26, 2025 |
| 5:00 PM–5:50 PM |
| Convention Center, Street Level, 147 A |
| Area: EDC; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Ryan C. Speelman (Eastern Kentucky University ) |
| Abstract: Verbal capabilities have both positive and negative effects in education. The first talk uses verbal relations to expedite learning, the second examines problematic aspects of verbal behavior in education e.g. “I am bad at math” and the relative role each play in higher education. Study one used coordinated frames to teach single subject research designs: identifying graphs, appropriate use in clinical settings, design mechanics, etc. Results suggest match to sample/coordinated framing was equally effective as traditional lecture, promoted stimulus generalization to similar topographical exemplars and required less student time. All procedures were automated via canvas, an online learning management platform, which can be exported for public use. Thus, any behavior analytic educators may consider using such a procedure as a cost effective, time saving, evidence-based teaching supplement to support student learning. Study two examined broadly the potential adverse effects of verbal behavior in educational achievement. Previous research has shown self-report scales such as the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II), are indicative of the relative dominance of private events on overt behaviors and predictive of a wide range of quality-of-life indicators such as career attainment, job performance, and escape-maintained work behavior. When polling college students, we found high scores on AAQ-II are predictive of lower academic achievement as well as other measures of inflexibility such as the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). Together these results show both the good – strong capabilities help group functional classes of stimuli and the bad – grouping or relating can result in classes that are inaccurate or self-fulfilling. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Keyword(s): ACT, higher education, relational frames |
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| Using Coordinated Framing to Teach Single-Subject Designs in Higher Education |
| RYAN C. SPEELMAN (Eastern Kentucky University) |
| Abstract: Interventions to promote verbal relations/relational framing have proven to be effective, efficient, and empirically validated. This study compared match-to-sample (MTS) to promote coordinated framing to traditional lecture to teach single subject design. Forty-five graduate students enrolled in an introductory behavior analysis course were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: MTS or traditional lecture. The MTS procedure used a one to many format establishing four – four-member functional classes of single subject designs: withdrawal, multiple baseline, alternating treatments, and changing criteria. Each class of stimuli included design names, definitions, graphical representations, and clinical vignettes. All experimental stimuli were delivered via canvas, an online learning platform commonly used in higher education. Traditional lecture included a one hour presentation and introductory overview of each design. A pretest – training – posttest sequence was used to compare groups. Both methods were effective, significantly increasing accuracy in selecting an accurate match given a sample, resulting in average scores of 90.53% (SD = 0.12) in the match to sample group and 88.59% (SD = 0.17) in the lecture group. Both groups accurately generalized to novel graphs and clinical vignettes. Together the results indicate an MTS was equally as effective as traditional lecture. Automated MTS procedures described here may aid in the teaching of core concepts or serve as a teaching supplement to either reinforce the effectiveness of traditional lecture or ensure students achieve a minimum competency prior to attending lecture so that topics may be explored in greater detail. |
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| Examining the Relationship Between Psychological Inflexibility and Academic Achievement |
| KRISTIN GRANT (Brock University), Ryan C. Speelman (Eastern Kentucky University) |
| Abstract: High scores on the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) are indicative of the relative dominance of private events on overt behaviors – troubling thoughts/emotions influence our actions and have been shown empirically to predictive of a variety of overt objective measures including career attainment, job satisfaction, and attendance. Given previous findings, we hypothesize that high scores on AAQ-II are predictive of lower academic achievement and correlated with measures of psychological inflexibility such as the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) which measures severity of troubling thoughts and their influence on behavior e.g. thoughts, beliefs, or self-labels (“I am bad at math”) are taken at face value and considered literally true. Using college students as a sample, we found significant positive correlations between AAQ-II and CFQ. Both were predictive of lower academic achievement supporting previous research indicating strict behavioral adherence to adverse private events predicts behavior repertoires dominated by negative reinforcement and less by pursuit of positive reinforcers such as academic or career achievement. These results provide preliminary data indicating interventions designed to improve psychological flexibility and moment to moment contact with values or why education is important to the individual may improve academic achievement outside of intervention that directly targets educational components such as teaching methods or student performance. |
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