Association for Behavior Analysis International

Users and friends of Malott and Shanes Principles of Behavior, 7th Edition (PofB), join Dick Malott, Kelly Kohler, and many other users and friends of PofB for a discussion of issues related to the text, sharing of some teaching gems, activities used in teaching text material, test questions to share, and other materials you are willing to share, problems encountered in teaching the text PofB, and suggestions or just come to enjoy the friendship of people who share an interest in teaching principles of behavior. The forthcoming 8th edition of PofB will be a major topic. Be there to help plan.

The Military and Veterans SIG is devoted to the application of behavior analysis to US and UK military service members' and veterans’ issues. This is a group whose emphasis concerns US/UK/Canadian veterans of all wars. Governments have been concerned about the number of veterans suffering from brain or spinal injuries, post traumatic stress, suicidal issues, lack of access to social services, and addiction problems related to their active duty service. In each of these areas behavior analysis has developed effective treatments. This SIG promotes awareness of these issues and facilitates the research and practice of ABA with this population.

A business meeting will be held to provide a forum for networking, to outline the Association for Science and Autism Treatment (ASAT)s current goals and objectives, and to discuss collaboration opportunities between ASAT and ABAI members. All interested individuals are encouraged to attend this meeting. As there is not a shared commitment to empirical validation, research, and data-based decision making amongst provider, ASAT strives to be an important resource for individuals with autism, family members, professionals, and paraprofessionals interested in reliable, science-based and accurate information about autism and its treatments. Founded in 1998, the mission of the ASAT is to promote safe, effective, science-based treatments for individuals with autism by disseminating accurate, timely, and scientifically-sound information; advocating for the use of scientific methods to guide treatment; and, combating unsubstantiated, inaccurate and false information about autism and its treatment. For more information please visit ASAT's website at www.asatonline.org. To receive Science in Autism Treatment, ASAT's free quarterly newsletter, subscribe at www.asatonline.org/signup

The purpose of the HoBA SIG Business Meeting is to review the SIGs vision (i.e., to advance and expand behavior analysis through its history and historiography) and mission (i.e. to cultivate and nurture, enrich and improve, and communicate and disseminate the fields history), but primarily to develop strategic initiatives. At this years meeting, we will discuss our initiatives in the areas of (a) teaching HoBA (e.g., developing a repository of course syllabi for HoBA instructors); (b) archiving the HoBA (e.g., the status of HoBA archives at the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology in Akron, OH; creating a list of HoBA archives); (c) appointing historians (e.g., in ABAI SIG and affiliate chapters); (d) preparing bibliographies of published materials (e.g., articles) and electronic resources (e.g., videos); (e) expanding the SIG's website (historyofbehavioranalysis.org) (e.g., as a repository for materials and links to other websites); and (f) enhancing the SIG's ABA Expo Poster (e.g., posting pictures of unidentified behavior analysts). ABAI members interested in the SIG's vision and mission and working on the foregoing initiatives and planning new ones are invited to attend.

This is a business meeting for the Direct Instruction SIG.

Skinner’s 1945 treatise, “An Operational Analysis of Psychological Terms,” established a defining and fundamental characteristic of radical behaviorism by emphasizing the necessity of understanding scientific verbal behavior in terms of the same principles applied to the understanding of any behavior – that is, in terms of its antecedents and consequences. Further, his call for a functional analysis of any psychological concept was predicated on the position that only such an analysis would lead to more effective action with respect to the subject matter at issue. To the extent that “service” contributes to the survival of our discipline and world view, it follows that an examination of the conditions under which we speak of “service” may prove useful in our efforts to target and increase such activities. Thus, this talk will review some of the varied forms of professional activity that occasion service descriptions, with an eye toward creating and identifying opportunities, facilitating the professional actions needed, and consequating service efforts effectively.

Vincent Strully, Jr., CEO and Founder of The New England Center for Children (NECC®), is proud to accept the 2017 SABA Award for International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis on behalf of NECC. Despite the growing acceptance and demand for behavior analytic services, there are considerable challenges to developing sustainable models of service delivery internationally, including language barriers, differences in cultural practices, and funding considerations. Over the past 40 years, we have identified several components that are essential for the development of sustainable models of service delivery worldwide. Government funding and support are critical for success, as are training programs that provide local staff access to graduate-level instruction in behavior analysis. Also, NECC’s development of the Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia (ACE®), an application providing an interactive interface containing assessment tools, lesson plans, teaching materials, and student performance reports for over 1,900 skills, has provided an effective and efficient curriculum necessary for delivering sustainable services.

Behavior analysis has been foundational for a broad range of treatment and prevention interventions. However, there are reasons to believe that behavior analysts are not contributing to the improvement of societal wellbeing to the extent that B. F. Skinner envisioned in his seminal writings. In the past 2 years, I have spoken with hundreds of behavior analysts, many of whom expressed this kind of concern. I will summarize these concerns and suggest principles that might help behavior analysis as a field fulfill its promise to bring about unprecedented advances in human wellbeing. Specifically, I will suggest changing the criteria regarding what a behavior analysts should know from one that restricts our focus to practices and methods that are explicitly labeled as “behavior analytic” to one that encourages behavior analysts to embrace any empirical evidence or methods that contribute to human wellbeing, initiating much more empirical research on strategies for influencing climate change, and forging alliances with other areas of behavioral science.

Behavior Analysis has been a significant focus of the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington since 1976. The department’s contributions to the field can be measured in research, teaching, and service. The faculty have published hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters spanning the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and translational research. Faculty and students closely collaborate on research, including: basic learning principles, choice, teaching, behavioral pharmacology, behavioral economics, stimulus control, memory span, contingency management, functional analysis, preference assessment, health behavior, animal behavior, and pediatric feeding. In addition to training countless undergraduate students in behavior analysis, the program has graduated 96 master’s students who have completed a thesis with a behavior analytic focus, and will begin training Ph.D. students in behavior analysis in 2017. Faculty have served in leadership roles within ABAI and Div. 25 of APA, and various other national, state and regional organizations. They have served as editors or editorial board members for key journals such as The Behavior Analyst, JEAB and JABA. The presentation will include a brief history of the department’s contributions, as well as a description of its vision for the training of behavior analysts.

Board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at a greater risk for feeding problems relative to their typically developing peers. A substantial percentage (46-89%) of children with ASD display feeding problems, including food selectivity, food refusal, and other mealtime behavior problems such as elopement from the table or crying. Parents of children with autism report that they struggle to manage their childrens feeding problems and worry about the potential negative effects on health and development. Researchers have identified a need for additional replications of promising focused behavioral interventions with positive effects on feeding and mealtime challenging behavior in children with autism and food selectivity. The current studies assess the generality of such feeding interventions (i.e., differential reinforcement, shaping, and a high-probability instructional sequence), by evaluating the effects of these treatments in children with ASD who display food selectivity. Whereas the use of shaping and differential reinforcement resulted in a decrease in food selectivity, the use of the high probability instructional sequence did not show the same effects. All participants were provided with individualized treatment evaluations until they demonstrated improvements in feeding.

Researchers have identified a need for additional replications of promising focused behavioral interventions with positive effects on feeding and mealtime challenging behavior in children with autism and food selectivity (FS). Therefore, the current study assessed the generality of one such promising intervention, the high-probability instructional sequence (HPS), by attempting a replication in children with autism and FS. High inter-observer agreement and treatment fidelity justify strong confidence in the results. We failed to replicate previously reported effects of the HPS on low-probability feeding responses for three consecutive children enrolled in the study. Subsequently, all three children were provided with individualized treatment evaluations until they demonstrated improvements in feeding and mealtime challenging behavior. Pending further research, the current results suggest practitioners should consider ruling out more empirically supported focused behavioral interventions such as escape extinction and differential reinforcement by relying on treatment individualization through rigorous progress monitoring, before applying the HPS to treat FS in children with autism. Implications of the current study for future research and practice are discussed in the context of publishing failures to replicate in applied behavior analysis and other disciplines.

The present study evaluated the effects of Teaching with Acoustical Guidance (TAG) to increase the number of appropriate steps and decrease toe-walking exhibited by a five-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder in a hospital setting. This participant was selected due to severity of toe-walking, which left untreated would have required surgery on each ankle within the calendar year. After a pre-treatment screening analysis suggested that toe walking was maintained by automatic reinforcement, we evaluated acoustical guidance to decrease toe walking. TAG was effective in increasing the rate of appropriate steps taken and decreasing the rate of inappropriate steps taken. We also faded the use of the procedure and the decrease in toe walking maintained. Finally, we assessed the generalization of treatment effects at home; the effects maintained there as well. Results are discussed in terms of the severity of the behavior and the effort involved in implementing the acoustical guidance procedure.

Bruxism, the gnashing or grinding of ones teeth, is a significant dental concern that can lead to severe damage of the tooth and gum structures and occurs in higher rates with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Little research has been conducted in this area and studies have not utilized function based treatments nor conducted functional analyses. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a matched stimulation intervention on bruxism with two adolescent boys diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Functional analyses were conducted for both participants and revealed that bruxism was exhibited across all conditions and occurred highest in the alone condition, suggesting that the behavior was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Based on these findings, a function based matched stimulation treatment was developed to examine the effects of auditory and tactile stimuli on bruxism relative to conditions in which no stimuli were available. Results indicated that the matched stimulation intervention produced substantial decreases in bruxism for both participants. A post matched stimulation evaluation further supported these findings, showing the occurrence of bruxism remained at low levels following the removal of the stimulus, suggesting the application of the matched stimulus acted as an abolishing operation.

One of the many barriers to treatment in ABA is the perception that lay people and other professionals have regarding our treatment. Not all professionals who are in a position to refer clients for services understand the benefits of ABA, commitment needed by the families, range of clinical populations that can benefit from ABA services, and how to navigate the system to get clients into treatment in a reasonable time frame. Clients and their families report difficulties with access to treatment, a misunderstanding of other professionals of ABA and how it can help them, and poor coordination of care among the professionals they are working with. As Behavior Analysts, we must develop relationships with others in the field who are most likely to refer clients to our services in order to help them better understand the rationale and science behind our treatment. Focusing on the education of those training in these fields may be a way to dispel some of the myths of ABA and ultimately get people into services faster. This presentation will describe the process of the development of a unique training program offered at a center-based ABA treatment facility in combination with the School of Medicine at Wayne State University to be used in training programs for medical residents and students from a variety of other training programs within the university. The Inter-Professional Education (IPE) training model targeting early screening, diagnosis, and ABA referrals for autism will also be discussed. There will be a focus on how behavior analysis has a role in collaborating with other disciplines when training students and professionals in this concept. Further discussion will focus on sustainability of the program and outcome data on the perceptions of interdisciplinary practices of the residents and students following a 5 hour training. This presentation will also include proposed changes to the training model to focus on ways to evaluate changes in practice behavior and the use of Behavior Skills Training within future training models. By using our outcome data and building on what we have learned we may further improve the likelihood that residents and students will make the changes in practice behavior that will get clients identified and into the right services faster.

Neuroscientific tools allow researchers to measure brain responses, and some brain responses have been shown to be sensitive to antecedents and consequences. Uncovering behavior that had been below the threshold of observability has both basic and applied implications. Some of the basic implications may involve a better moment-to-moment understanding of what has been described as memory, together with other learning phenomena described in the Equivalence and Relational Frame Theory literature. Some of the applied implications involve developing training tools to help patients who are paralyzed and patients in comatose, vegetative, minimally conscious and locked in states to interact with the environment by gaining operant control of their brain responses. These patients are in some cases unable to interact with the environment because most of their muscular topographies may be unavailable, but some brain topographies may be preserved, potentially allowing researchers the implementation of shaping procedures to facilitate re-learning. Overall, a radical behaviorist perspective based on the assumption of uniformity across covert and overt behavior allows behaviorists to tie together basic and applied research questions within a relatively parsimonious conceptual framework.

The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) was created to measure derived relational responding (i.e., response bias) especially toward socially-charged stimuli. The IRAP measures latency between a) various stimulus pairing onsets and b) responses to those pairings via rules given to participants. IRAP response allocations are particularly interesting when they do not match self-report verbal descriptions of preference; such differences may indicate inconsistencies between implicit and explicit biases. Drake et al. (2015) examined response-time biases for the 2012 presidential election and found IRAP scores correlated with self-reports. However, unbalanced representation of political affiliation was a limitation regarding the results. The studies presented herein pursued a more balanced representation of political affiliation, while examining three different stimulus pairings that were potentially relevant to the 2016 election: presidential candidate names (Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton), socioeconomic status (rich people and poor people), and gender (man and woman). These stimuli were paired with a good or bad evaluative word during each trial. Correlations between IRAP and self-report data were examined. Implications for basic research with the IRAP, as well as the social significance of the findings, will be discussed.

The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) is a latency-based behavioral measure of “natural verbal relations” (Barnes-Holmes, Hayden, & Barnes-Holmes, 2008). These natural verbal relations include what some call implicit biases – quick responses which are influenced by one’s conditioning history and yet may differ from one’s own explicit report. The IRAP bears an advantage over other implicit measures in that it may assess more specific relations among stimulus combinations than other measures. For example, the IRAP has been used to demonstrate that negative evaluations of candidates and not just positive evaluations factor into voting intentions (Drake et al., 2015). The 2016 presidential election is noteworthy due to substantially negative views of each candidate, even among voters from their respective political parties. Furthermore, past studies of political attitudes with implicit measures have shown a high degree of convergence with self-report. The current study utilized data provided by college undergraduates from two universities in the mid-western and southern United States. Although self-reports revealed negative and/or neutral sentiment toward both candidates, the IRAP generally revealed positive and/or neutral effects and little evidence of convergence with self-report. These data will be discussed in light of methodological considerations as well as future directions in IRAP research.

Delay discounting refers to a preference for smaller, sooner over larger, delayed outcome. Domain effects refer to a tendency for some outcomes to be more strongly discounted than others. We will review research that reports domain effects across a variety of special populations, but focus on an outcome that is one of the most steeply discounted food. Our laboratory, which examines delay discounting with obese rats and humans has uncovered a consistent pattern of domain-specific discounting effects with food as the outcome. In other words, the largest differences in obese and healthy-weight subjects tend to be with food or food-related outcomes. This domain-specific finding also has been shown in response to the treatment of mindful eating. Implications for using multiple relevant outcomes in discounting studies will be discussed. This presentation will also serve as an introduction to a panel discussion on the application of behavioral economics to obesity.

Certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.

The decision to implement new technology platforms in schools requires a financial investment, commitment to change, and time to learn and implement a new program. Stakeholders have priorities of student growth outcomes but also must be concerned with teacher engagement and fidelity of program use in which they have invested. Finding the time, financial and staff resources, and ongoing support continues to be a challenge in educational settings across the country and beyond. Research shows that using a train the trainer approach is an efficient and effective model in developing the professional repertoire of large groups of staff working in schools. The session will look at strategies to develop a train the trainer protocol, discuss the implementation process within school support frameworks, and address outcomes from current models used with a specific platform within the United States. The session will use both quantitative and qualitative data to share successes and continued needs in developing this training method to engage staff and increase the use of applied behavior analytic practices effectively and with success in school settings.

Although it's one of the biggest economies worldwide, in Germany Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), the application of behavior analysis to behavior in the workplace, is virtually nonexistent. The reasons for this situation are manifold; the nearly complete lack of research and teaching in behavior analysis being the most significant. The background for this situation is a total ignorance of radical behaviorism, the philosophy of the science of behavior. On the other hand, effective OBM applications like Behavior Based Safety (BBS) are attractive to German companies. Consultants without any background in behavior analysis try to bridge this market gap with half-baked or "cognitive" versions of these applications, ignoring their foundations in radical behaviorism. But one cannot have the success of OBM applications without consideration of radical behaviorism and basic behavioral principles. Christoph Bordlein describes his efforts to promote the scientific basis for Behavior Based Safety in an environment that lacks institutions and structures for behavior analysis.

The panelists will discuss recent developments at the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). The most current data on the BACBs credentialing programs will be provided: Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst, and Registered Behavior Technician. In addition, a number of recent and impending developments at the BACB will be described, including changes to standards, new initiatives, and various international development activities.

Starting a business in any field can be a scary proposition and often times evokes overwhelming questions like: Am I ready for this? Can I afford this? What if I fail? These questions can be amplified in emerging industries like Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) where the field itself is already on shaky and unstable ground. Moreover, starting a business in a booming field like ABA can be very tempting, especially since demand for services exceeds supply. It is easy to see why so many people want to start an ABA business. However, being prepared for successfully building an enduring and ethical enterprise is a critical set of skills for those brave ABA souls who endeavor to realize their most passionate ambitions. This panel will answer some of the most important questions about starting a business in ABA from ethics to finance to marketing and even OBM as it relates to starting and running a business in ABA.

In light of the great benefits to conducting interdisciplinary work, it is not uncommon for practitioners to harbor misconceptions without a rich understanding of each contributing discipline. A panel discussion of the impact and perceptions of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Positive Behavior Support (PBS) will be conducted by 4 Board Certified Behavior Analysts that work in the domain of PBS. Foundations of ABA and PBS will be discussed from the early history of ABA influencing the application of PBS. Arguments over the past few decades will be presented from both sides of the debate. ABA and PBS in practice will be reviewed including common PBS practices and terminology, highlighting how the practices are rooted to behavior analytic principles. Finally, common misconceptions of PBS will be presented and addressed (i.e., PBS is fluffy, PBS only does antecedent intervention, PBS is not ABA). By debunking these fallacies, the goal is to disseminate proper understanding of PBS and facilitate a more thorough appreciation for the principles of behavior analysis as instrumental in the application of PBS.

It has been widely accepted that demonstrating the effectiveness of behavior analysis with respect to real-world problems is one key to dissemination of our science. Additionally, the effectiveness must be presented in a way that is obviously relevant and communicated in a way that is easily understood by the general population. One emerging movement that has been successful to this end is within the domain of applied animal behavior. Leaders of this movement will not only discuss the barriers they have faced along the way to successfully disseminating behavior analysis while highlighting their efforts within zoos and towards pet owners, but provide recommendations for addressing potential challenges likely to present during dissemination efforts. Suggestions for extending our reach to new populations, and discussion of techniques for doing so, will be provided. While presented in the context of applied animal behavior, invaluable information will be provided for anyone interested in sharing the science of behavior.

The application of behavior analysis and basic training for animals in the zoo has largely been misunderstood and under-utilized. However, in the last 20 years the focus on applied behavior analysis in the modern zoo has grown quickly. Much of the early resistance to this trend was based on a misunderstanding and lack of recognition of the benefits that a behavior program can bring to the animals living in the zoological environment. The modern zoo has come to recognize that behavior management is a key component to good animal care and in fact is a primary method of increasing welfare for animals in human care. This presentation will demonstrate how behavior management programs aid in providing exercise, mental stimulation, and increasing animal participation in their own care. Examples of both husbandry programs in the zoo and conservation programs in the wild will illustrate various examples of these benefits in action.

The long-standing issue of communication between behavior analysts and those not necessarily familiar with our technical language will be discussed in relation to a new population: pet owners. Communication has many facets, verbal and otherwise, and these are manifest at all stages of the treatment program. The initial communication comes through the intake interview, which offers not only the opportunity to collect verbal reports of the issues, but also the opportunity to observe how the owner and pet interact with one another. The latter is an especially rich source of communication about different facets of the problem. Developing and implementing treatment programs also offer new opportunities to communicate with owners, both about their techniques in implementing programs, but also about more general behavioral principles and how they might be used with both presenting problem and other behavior also in need of adjustment. Follow-up visits after treatment is terminated can be especially useful to owners with respect to communicating about methods for maintaining treatment gains and developing new programs for other behavior. Two themes that are common to each phase of the treatment process are those of communicating at the appropriate level of precision by being neither condescending by oversimplification or obfuscation by being overly technical and staying true to a behavior-analytic world view. The talk will conclude with a discussion of these themes.

Practitioners and researchers have effectively used a range of instructional techniques from applied behavior analysis to teach critical social, language, and academic skills to children with autism spectrum disorders. The collection of studies in this symposium will explore how different variations in instructional procedures can influence the acquisition and generalization of skills for children with autism. First, Sophie Knutson will present a study comparing varying task interspersal ratios on the efficacy and efficiency of discrete-trial teaching. Second, Natalie Jones will present a study comparing the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching procedures with secondary targets embedded into a demand and play context. Third, Shaji Haq will present a study assessing the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of skills taught using prompting and reinforcement or instructive feedback procedures. Fourth, Bethany Hansen will present a study evaluating the effects of single-exemplar and multiple-exemplar training on the acquisition and generalization of third person pronouns. Finally, Bridget Taylor will discuss interesting components of each study, and describe future areas of research on skill acquisition.

Instructive feedback has been shown to vastly improve the efficiency of structured teaching procedures. Instructive feedback involves presenting secondary targets (i.e., extra non-target skills) in an instructional trial. Learners are not required to respond to these additional skills; however, previous studies show that learners may acquire secondary targets in the absence of direct teaching. In the current study we evaluated the conditions under which three children with autism acquired secondary targets in the absence of direct teaching. We used an adapted-alternating-treatments design to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of four teaching procedures with and without secondary targets embedded into demand and play contexts. The results showed that two participants acquired secondary targets presented across all conditions; however, learning was more efficient when secondary targets were presented within a demand context. Findings from this study suggest that instructive feedback may increase the number of skills that children with autism can learn without increasing instructional time, and that the demand context may mediate some of these effects.

Although instructive feedback is an effective and efficient approach for skill acquisition, there is limited research on generalization and maintenance of skills that are trained using this procedure (Nottingham, Vladescu, & Kodak, 2015). In this study, we taught intraverbal fill-ins using prompting and reinforcement (i.e., primary targets) or instructive feedback (i.e., secondary targets), and we assessed generalization of skills to novel therapists or to corresponding wh- questions. In addition, we assessed maintenance of a) primary targets, b) secondary targets, and c) generalization targets during two and four-week probes. Results indicated that all three participants acquired, generalized, and maintained skills in all conditions. Implications for research and clinical practice will be discussed.

Studies have found pronoun difficulties as a noted deficit for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Wilkinson, 1998). Stokes and Baer (1977) discuss the importance of programming sufficient exemplars to promote generalization when teaching a potentially generalizable skill, such as pronoun use. The purpose of this study is to assess the need for multiple exemplar training in facilitating generalization of correct pronoun use. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of single exemplar training on the acquisition of third person pronouns, followed by multiple exemplar training if generalization did not occur. Baseline data were collected for three sets, each consisting of nine targets that included three third person pronouns (i.e., he, she, and they) engaging in three different verbs (e.g., sleeping). Three targets in set one were initially targeted for intervention (e.g., each pronoun engaging in a different verb). Probes were conducted once mastery criteria were met. Untrained targets within and/or across sets were trained until generalization was observed. Results showed that one participant demonstrated generalization within and across sets following single exemplar training of one set, one participant demonstrated generalization within and across sets following multiple exemplar training of one set, and one participant demonstrated generalization following multiple exemplar training of multiple sets. These findings support the need for assessing the number of exemplars that require training to promote untrained, novel responses for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Quantitative models have been used primarily by basic researchers to understand basic behavioral processes. However, with the increasing interest in translational research, quantitative analyses seem to have an increased relevance for applied behavior analysts. The question is under what conditions do quantitative analyses have utility for the work of applied behavior analysts? The symposium will feature presentations by four researchers followed by comments by a discussant. First, Brian Martens will present on the dynamics of choice in preschoolers' behavior in a natural setting. Next, Brian Greer's presentation will focus on the use of behavioral momentum theory to mitigate treatment relapse following functional communication treatment of challenging behavior of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The third presenter, Christopher Podlesnik, will discuss how quantitative models can aid in predicting how environmental events will interact with behavioral processes to produce behavioral outputs. The final presenter, Derek Reed, will present on behavioral economics, with particular focus on analysis of reinforcer demand in natural settings and its implications for work in educational settings. David Wacker will serve as discussant.

Functional communication training (FCT) has strong empirical support for its use when treating socially reinforced problem behavior. However, treatment effects often deteriorate when FCT procedures are challenged, leading to the recurrence of problem behavior, decreased use of the functional communication response (FCR), or both (Mace et al., 2010; Volkert, Lerman, Call, & Trosclair-Lasserre, 2009; Wacker et al., 2011). Researchers have accordingly described a number of strategies to improve the efficacy of differential-reinforcement procedures (e.g., FCT) when challenged. For example, Wacker et al. (2011) assessed the maintenance of FCT-treatment effects by periodically exposing the FCR to periods of extinction and found that additional exposure to FCT helped guard against the disruptive impact of later periods of extinction. Basic researchers have described this and similar modifications to FCT procedures based on behavioral momentum theory (BMT) that should also help mitigate treatment relapse. Our research team has recently begun investigating these BMT-inspired modifications to FCT. In this presentation, I will share the results of three preliminary studies and describe our ongoing work in this area.

Quantitative frameworks provide precise predictions about factors influencing phenomena. Behavioral models specify how environmental events interact with behavioral and biological processes to produce behavioral outputs. Behavioral momentum theory specifies that persistence and likelihood of relapse of operant behavior is positively related to reinforcement rates in a stimulus context and negatively related to the force of disruption conditions. Studies from several laboratories examining these assumptions provide important insights into variables influencing persistence and relapse but also reveal some of these assumptions to be incorrect. This talk will examine efforts and challenges to explaining the behavioral processes underlying persistence and relapse with behavioral momentum theory.

Functional communication training (FCT) is an efficacious treatment that often results in an immediate reduction of problem behavior (Tiger, Hanley, & Bruzek, 2008). However, the specific prompting strategies used during initial phases of FCT are either not described or are inconsistent across studies (e.g., Gibson, Pennington, Stenhoff, & Hopper, 2010; Lalli, Casey, & Kates, 1995). In particular, the specific methods by which functional communication responses (FCRs) should be prompted prior to and following problem behavior are unclear. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of immediate and delayed prompts to emit the FCR following problem behavior when combined with prompts to emit the FCR prior to problem behavior that were presented using either a fixed 3-s delay or a progressive 0- to 3-s delay. For our participant, a young child with autism, we found that significant reductions in problem behavior and optimal rates of FCRs were only achieved when immediate prompts following problem behavior were combined with a progressive 0- to 3-s prompt delay. Results suggest that the manner in which prompts are delivered prior to problem behavior may be more important than the manner in which they are delivered following problem behavior. Interobserver agreement was assessed for more than 20% of sessions with a minimum agreement of 80%.

The current study integrates the treatment package for socially mediated problem behavior reported by Hanley et al. (2014) with the chained schedule treatment for automatically maintained non-injurious stereotypy reported by Slaton and Hanley (2016). A 10-year-old boy with autism who engaged in high frequency stereotypy was taught to mand for access to stereotypy, wait for the mand to be granted before engaging in stereotypy, give an appropriate response when the mand was occasionally denied, and complete a short series of academic demands before earning access to stereotypy. Stimuli were correlated with periods during which stereotypy was allowed (S+) and periods during which it was blocked (S-). During the S- component, stereotypy was reduced from an average of 71% of component duration to near-zero levels, accuracy with simple academic tasks increased from an average of 29% to an average of 80%, an independent mand for stereotypy was established and then shaped to include a mand frame, and an independent tolerance response for the denial of this mand was also established. A shift in response allocation for (untargeted) vocal stereotypy was observed as well. The importance of contingent access when treating stereotypy will be discussed.

This symposium comprises four papers about the establishment and evaluation of conditioned reinforcers with individuals with developmental disabilities. The first paper provides a history of the research on establishing conditioned reinforcers in humans, reviews terms used in this literature, and provides a quantitative review of studies that evaluated procedures for establishing conditioned reinforcers with individuals with developmental disabilities. The second paper assessed the behavioral effects of praise in children diagnosed with ASD and found that it maintained responses but did not result in acquisition of new responses. In the third paper, the reinforcing value of tokens was tested in a multielement design with three individuals with autism. Results indicated that delay to the exchange period decreased response rate. The last paper used progressive-ratio schedules to directly compare the reinforcing efficacy of tokens to high- and low-preference edibles that were also used as backup reinforcers. For both participants, they found primary reinforcers to maintain a higher response frequency than did tokens. Recommendations for future research and applications to practice will be provided. Following these papers, Anthony Defulio will provide a discussion.

The establishment of stimuli as conditioned reinforcers is important in behavioral interventions for people with developmental disabilities. Empirically-derived procedures for establishing conditioned reinforcers could guide clinicians in developing a wider range of reinforcers and bringing behavior under control of natural contingencies of reinforcement, specifically social consequences. The current paper provides a history of the research on establishing conditioned reinforcers in humans, a review of the terms used in this literature, and a quantitative review of studies that evaluated procedures for establishing conditioned reinforcers with individuals with developmental disabilities. Finally, suggestions for future research in this area are provided.

Stimuli predicting the availability of established reinforcers can acquire the capacity to control behavior. Although traditionally discussed as strengthening of behavior by conditioned reinforcement, it is possible such stimuli might influence behavior only by signaling the availability of other reinforcers. Individuals diagnosed with ASD often have difficulty discriminating and being sensitive to social cues and consequences, such as praise. The purpose of the current study is to assess the behavioral effects of praise, often considered a generalized conditioned reinforcer, in children diagnosed with ASD. In the present study, we tested for traditional conditioned-reinforcement effects. During baseline, mastered responses were reinforced with food or food + praise. Praise maintained behavior when food was removed for both responses and subsequent contingency reversals reversed performance accordingly. These findings reveal praise can maintain and re-establish previously learned responses. Next, praise was used to train the acquisition of new responses, as a test for the reinforcing function of praise. Participants were unable to acquire new responses under this arrangement. Thus far, praise does not appear to function as a conditioned reinforcer; instead, it likely serves a discriminative function.

Token economies are one of the most commonly used behavior analytic interventions. Despite literature supporting the use of tokens as tools for behavior change, little is known about the reinforcing value of tokens compared to that of the items for which they are exchanged. Results of previous research comparing the reinforcing efficacy of tokens and primary reinforcers have shown that both produce similar effects on responding. However, this research is limited because token reinforcement conditions also included the delivery of primary reinforcers. The purpose of the current study was to compare the reinforcing efficacy of tokens to high- and low-preference items for which they were exchangeable. Two adolescent males, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, who attended a school for children with developmental disabilities participated in the study. Initially, we established novel tokens as reinforcers. We then conducted a conditioned reinforcer assessment using a tandem control to ensure that the tokens functioned as reinforcers. Following this, progressive-ratio schedules were used to directly compare the reinforcing efficacy of the tokens to high- and low-preference edibles that were also used as backup reinforcers. For both participants, we found primary reinforcers to maintain a higher response frequency than did tokens. These data suggest the use of primary reinforcement in situations where greater reinforcement effects are necessary.

Behavioral analyses of the stimulus control for the phenomena characterized as bi-directional address critical issues in verbal behavioral development, verbal behavior, and relational responding. Laboratories have investigated naming as (a) derived relations, (b) its effects on other derived relations, (c) as well as the identification of experiences that contribute to the onset of naming as a behavioral developmental cusp. We present the perspectives of four laboratories on bi-directional naming.

The target audience consists of all behavior analysts with a theoretical and/or practical interest in the emergence, "generativity," or "explosion" of verbal skills in young children, and in how the basic behavioral principles can be utilized in teaching children with language delays more effectively.

Naming types have been identified as verbal behavior developmental cusps that result from a history of experiences. Different types of naming have been identified according to the stimuli controlling stimuli including: (a) naming involving actions, (b) additional auditory stimuli, (c) exclusion conditions, (d) familiar and unfamiliar stimuli, and (e) additional auditory stimuli. Some children who do not demonstrate naming can do so after several interventions and their educational prognosis improves as a result.

Humans often solve problems by engaging in a variety of strategies, some of which involve talking to themselves. This requires that they speak with understanding. Bidirectional Naming (BiN) is the term used (in behavior analysis) to refer to the ability to react as a listener to one's own speaker behavior. In this talk, I will describe basic, translational, and applied studies supporting the role of BiN in the development of complex skills such as categorization and analogical reasoning. Evidence for the role of BiN as a problem solving strategy comes from positive performances on complex matching-to-sample tasks after the use of verbal behavior training alone, and also from spontaneous vocalizations on the specific verbal strategies utilized by participants during or after task completion.

In the paper that gave rise to the study of stimulus equivalence, Sidman (1971) used the terms name/naming to generically designate responses under the discriminative control of pictures and printed words. In Skinnerian terms, he was referring to tact and textual relations. In Sidman's study, these discriminated operants emerged as a by-product of learning stimulus-stimulus relations. Although the response in a tact (or textual behavior) occurs under the control of a specific stimulus, if that stimulus is a member of an equivalence class, this implies that the response comes under the control of the class as a whole. The class, in turn, involves at least the primary item or environmental aspect, the spoken word/s, which was/were conventionally related to this item by the learner's verbal community [in the tact], and the corresponding printed word/s [in textual behavior]. Consequently, the learning history established listening and speaking behaviors in the same individual. This presentation will illustrate the formation of equivalence classes and the development of listening comprehension, tact, and textual behaviors in a sample of deaf children with cochlear implants.

Speech is a natural event that comes down to sounds that affect the behavior of conspecifics. Skinner (1957) proposed to analyze verbal commerce by the same means as other behavior. A supposition of momentary stimuli, discrete behavior and contiguous consequences forms the base for his categorization of “mands”, “tacts”, “echoics” and other verbal operants. How can an analysis of verbal behavior go beyond this ontologically and epistemologically questionable abstraction of continuous speech into momentary events? A molar, selectionist approach to verbal behavior treats larger verbal episodes as wholes, induced by a context and correlating with consequences. First, the talk debates theoretical reasons to place verbal behavior in an evolutionary framework by viewing it as shaped by its consequences, through a person’s lifetime and through interactions with the environment across many generations of natural selection. Second, the talk exemplifies two experimental procedures treating verbal behavior as allocation of time. Specifically, the experiments investigate effects of the “listener’s” responses on more extended verbal episodes and matching in conversations.

One method of growing the practice of applied behavior analysis is to train practitioners who are responsible for assessing and treating individuals engaging in challenging behavior. Practitioners from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., psychology, social work, education) are expected to assess and treat individuals engaging in challenging behavior, but they may not have the skills to conduct an experimental analysis, the gold standard in behavior assessment. Training these practitioners to use experimental analyses is necessary if there isnt someone else (e.g., BCBA) with the expertise readily available. Presenters in this symposium have chosen to expand ABA practice by training school-based and community-based practitioners to conduct behavior assessments. Three talks (Staubitz et al., Rios et al., Graber et al.) will discuss training models they employed to successfully teach practitioners preference assessments and/or experimental analyses. All three groups utilized telehealth technology in various ways to support their training. Carrion et al. studied the impact of training school-based behavior teams to conduct assessments that were traditionally reserved for a clinical setting has on clinical practices. Together, the four talks, serve as an example for the understanding the main benefit of sharing ABA with other disciplines: Creating ABA availability for those in need.

Even when practitioners understand the importance of function-based interventions for challenging behaviors, their skill and confidence deficits may prevent them from incorporating valid data within the Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) they are required to develop and implement. The Tennessee Department of Education contracted with board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) from Vanderbilts Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD) to pilot a program training 8 school-based consultants (e.g. school psychology, special education) to improve the quality of their FBAs for students. TRIAD BCBAs conducted behavioral skills training using a combination of live and telepresence support to teach trainees how to plan, conduct, and analyze preference assessments and descriptive assessments, and to synthesize assessment results into a valid and complete FBA. This presentation will include data reflecting consistent, marked improvements in trainee knowledge and self-assessment of their skills over the course of the project, along with rising procedural fidelity, inter-observer agreement, and accuracy for assessments and reports generated. These findings suggest that these training procedures are likely to result in improved FBAs conducted by school-based consultants, and include several practical implications.

The Iowa Department of Education contracted behavior analysts from the Center for Disabilities and Development to provide hands-on training to behavior specialists working with students who display challenging behavior in schools. Training focused on preference assessments, concurrent operants assessments, antecedent analyses, and functional analyses. To date, this Challenging Behavior Service (CBS) has trained 33 individuals to an independent level in these skills. During training sessions, CBS trainers and trainees worked directly with students referred for challenging behavior. Based on operationalized levels of independence, trainees progressed through two phases of training: skill-building and maintenance. In skill-building, trainers modeled skills and gradually faded support as trainees showed increasing independence. In maintenance, trainees demonstrated their continued independence with the target skills. Over the course of the project, several challenges emerged, including student reactivity and high costs of travel for training. This presentation will describe how we utilized telehealth to overcome these challenges, including a case example from each phase of training. In skill-building, telehealth was used during a school-based assessment to reduce student reactivity, by allowing observers to take data from another classroom. In maintenance, telehealth was used to reduce costs associated with travel and to increase the validity of assessing trainee independence.

Due to the critical role of supervision and training of service intermediaries in applied behavior analysis (ABA), effective and efficient models of training and supervision are critical. There is a clear role for technology in enhancing training practices. This presentation provides an overview of the characteristics and limitations of common training arrangements for personnel frequently enlisted in ABA training programs (e.g., teachers, parents, residential staff, paraprofessionals). Issues with current practice include: an emphasis on factual knowledge rather than evidence-based adult learning models with opportunities to practice skill development, expert resource availability, and creating the potential for harm to clients in training contexts. The potential for current and forthcoming technological developments to improve existing practices are described, specifically simulated clients, online activities and immersive virtual reality. Ethical and practical issues of application will also be discussed. Effective practices in training and supervision and technological application will be provided. Examples of virtual training will be given. Content provided has the potential to improve training and inspire greater integration of technology into practice.

As the number of clients with Autism Spectrum Disorders increase, and more states accept legislature for Behavior Analysis service coverage, the need for BCBA's, RBT's and BCaBA's also increases. Presently, passing an exam and completion of field experience hours are the only standardized measures for competency at each of these levels. As a supervisor for BCBA and BCaBA practicum students as well as RBT candidates, it is imperative to identify and define the skills that need to be taught at each of these levels and the spectrum of knowledge that is expected for each of these roles. In addition, as a practicum supervisor, competency-based skills assessments should be developed and implemented to determine mastery of such skills. Behavior Analysis Certification Board ethical guidelines define obligations to appropriate, competency-based supervision. Putting guidelines into practice through education and interactive activities will be the primary focus of this presentation. Behavior Analysis Certification Board ethical guidelines do not include criteria for determining when a Board Certified Behavior Analyst has met criteria for providing adequate supervision. Therefore, discussion will entail supervisors "readiness" to be a practicum supervisor including competency-based assessment criteria for potential supervisors and ongoing evaluation of student performance as criteria for supervisor assessment.

This symposium includes four studies that attempted to assess the effectiveness of different instructional methods to generate novel behavior and/or novel stimulus control. The first study assessed the effectiveness of matrix training to teach college students to play notes and rhythms on a piano. The second study also utilized matrix training to overcome faulty stimulus control when teaching children with autism to answer questions containing compound stimuli (multiple control). The third study compared instructive and general feedback when teaching visual-visual matching on the emergence of novel speaker and listener skills in children with autism. Finally, the fourth study compared different types of multiple exemplar instruction and instructive feedback on the acquisition of tacts in children with autism. All procedures were shown to be effective and efficient in teaching the targeted skills.

As part of early intensive behavioral intervention, children with autism are taught to answer personal information questions that might prove useful in conversation (e.g., What is your favorite food? and What is your favorite color?). In these questions, multiple auditory stimuli are presented as part of the compound discriminative stimulus (i.e., what favorite color/food) and each of those stimuli must control responding for the child to give a viable answer. Often children with autism who master one of these targets (e.g., favorite food) consistently fail to acquire subsequent targets (e.g., favorite color) because the previously learned common component of the auditory stimulus (i.e. favorite) controls responding to the exclusion of the unique component (i.e., what is your favorite color?). Although this clinical concern is common, to date no studies have directly examined strategies for overcoming this faulty auditory stimulus control. This study used an adapted alternating treatments design to compare the use of training sets with programmed overlap of component auditory stimuli (i.e., matrix training) to training sets with no overlap of question components (i.e., non-matrix training). The effects of these two arrangements were evaluated on trials to criterion and percentage accuracy. Preliminary results suggest all participants reached mastery faster with at least one target set in non-matrix training compared to the set in matrix training. The effects of training will be evaluated on a third set of stimuli for generalization.

Researchers have recently evaluated instructive feedback as a method to increase the efficiency of language acquisition procedures for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Practitioners implement instructive feedback by including additional stimuli, or secondary targets, within a teaching trial with the goal that clients will acquire the secondary targets with little to no direct teaching required. The current study aimed to evaluate whether the use of instructive feedback over general praise during training of a matching task resulted in faster skill acquisition for three children with autism. Additionally, we tested if listener responding, tacts, and intraverbals emerged as a function of differences in praise statements. The results indicated that instructive feedback was no more efficient than general praise in teaching matching skills. However, participants were more likely to engage in novel verbal operants following instructive feedback suggesting some benefit of the procedure. Clinical implications and future research directions will be discussed.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often emit new skills in a limited range of contexts, and these responses do not readily generalize without proper planning. The purpose of the current study was to directly compare serial to concurrent multiple exemplar training using total training time per exemplar, mean total training time, and exposures to mastery measures of efficiency across three children diagnosed with ASD. Additionally, we assessed the efficiency of presenting secondary targets in the antecedent and consequence portions of learning trials and evaluated generalization to tacts not associated with direct teaching. Results suggested that all training conditions produced acquisition and generalization for trained and untrained exemplars, respectively. However, the serial multiple exemplar training condition was most efficient for two participants, whereas the instructive feedback condition was the most efficient for the third. Findings are discussed in light of previous studies and areas for future research.

The two studies used functional communication training on separate individuals with autism spectrum disorder. One of the studies described a synthesized analysis and treatment, where the analysis was based on an open-ended interview and the treatment was functional communication- and delay-tolerance training, on a child with severe problem behavior (Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014). The second study described a traditional functional analysis(Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1994) including a precursor analysis as basis for FCT, on an adult with severe problem behavior . The first study was conducted in an early intensive behavior intervention program EIBI in the USA, and the second study was conducted in a residential facility for adults in Norway. Both studies resulted in a considerable reduction in problem behaviors and an increase in appropriate requests. The findings suggest that functional communication training can be used over age range and settings, and lead to meaningful improvements in problem behavior.

We compared a resetting to a non-resetting differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedure to reduce stereotypy exhibited by young boy with autism. During the resetting DRO, a reinforcer was delivered contingent upon the absence of stereotypy during the DRO interval. If stereotypy occurred, the DRO interval was immediately reset. The non-resetting DRO procedure was identical, except that contingent upon stereotypy, the DRO interval continued until it expired; a new DRO interval then began. Results indicate that the DRO procedures were equally effective to reduce stereotypy, but the participant preferred the resetting DRO procedure.

The development of play skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is an ever present need in educational and treatment programs. In the first paper, the authors will present the use of matrix training to teach play skills to three preschool student with Autism Spectrum Disorder using same-age peer trainers. The results will be discussed in terms using matrix training as a generative instructional method for play and the potential benefit for using peers as trainers. The authors of the second paper evaluated a multi-component treatment package including blocking stereotypy, differential reinforcement, and backward chaining, to increase functional leisure engagement (FLE) in three school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. These results will be discussed in terms of their effect on increased FLE as well as decreases in stereotypy. Both procedures will be discussed in terms of their generalization to novel peers and toys respectively and the potential benefit as interventions to be utilized within school settings.

Matrix training is a generative instructional approach where stimulus pairings are taught with the goal of emergent responses occurring without direct instruction. The matrix in this study was comprised of four character-action pairs aligned on a vertical and horizontal axis respectively. The researcher trained peers without identified disabilities to provide instructions and feedback to three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for four character-action pairings. For all participants, untrained responses for the remaining character-action pairings emerged in 73% to 100% of opportunities. In addition, responses for all participants generalized to novel peers. For two of the three participants, responses also generalized to independent play. Results of this study suggest that matrix training mediated by a peer can be an effective and efficient method for teaching sociodramatic play skills.

Research with individuals with disabilities has demonstrated the utility of intervention approaches to address toy play, also referred to as functional leisure engagement (FLE). Examples include prompting FLE, blocking stereotypy, and differentially reinforcing appropriate FLE with social or automatic (i.e., access to stereotypy) reinforcers. Backward chaining has yet to be evaluated, but may be useful for establishing more complex FLE. The current study employed a treatment package consisting of these components with three school-aged children with autism in a therapeutic classroom. Effects were evaluated during pretest and posttest sessions, which consisted of free access to toys in a novel setting. The percentage of session with FLE and stereotypy (two participants only) was evaluated using a multiple probe design across participants. Results showed all participants demonstrated an increase in FLE and two participants showed decreased stereotypy. Feasibility for classroom implementation is discussed.

Clinical behavior analysis is the application of behavior analysis to understanding and intervening psychological disorders. Analogue research aims to gain understanding about the processes by which and conditions under which interventions are effective. The role of analogue research in the continued development of clinical behavior analysis remains unclear. This symposium will focus on the applications of analogue studies in clinical behavioral analysis. The symposium will begin with a conceptual discussion of the use of analogue design studies in clinical behavioral analysis, followed by the presentation of two analogue studies. The first presentation will review a series of studies examining the relative effects of brief psychological flexibility interventions on behavioral manifestations of body image inflexibility. The second presentation will review the results of a study considering the impacts of an exercise activity on emotions and emotion regulation. Both presentations will include a discussion of the implications of this research, and analogue research in general, for the development of clinical behavior analytic interventions.

Social and communication deficits for children with autism may lead to an increased risk of becoming lost in public spaces, yet few studies have investigated methods for explicitly teaching help-seeking skills. This study was based on the work of Bergstrom et al (2012) and used discrimination training and forward chaining to systematically teach a hierarchy of help-seeking responses to an 18-year-old male diagnosed with autism, Down Syndrome, and ADHD. We first taught the participant to discriminate lost in a clinical setting. Then, we taught him a four-step sequence of conditional responses to recruit help in a public space: call out, approach desk, recruit attention, and exchange identification card. Because any of these responses could effectively produce reinforcement, we taught the sequence using a forward chaining procedure. We established experimental control of treatment effects using a concurrent multiple probe design across contexts and tracked independent responding during baseline, training, and maintenance as our primary dependent variable. Results indicate that the intervention was effective and treatment effects maintained across all settings.

Relationships among stimuli are regarded as implicit behaviors when are measured with respect to faster response latencies and more accurate responses, or brief and immediate relational responding (BIRRs). This paper will address the predictive utility of a modified IRAP to increase cooperation in a simulated work task. Various classes of cooperative, individual, and conformity stimuli were assessed to determine if they had an augmenting function on cooperative responding. The coherence between implicit responding, as demonstrated in the modified IRAP, and explicit responding, as demonstrated in the simulated work task will be discussed.

In May 2014, the Association for Behavior Analysis International called on behavior analysts to address the topic, Leadership, and Culture. The exhortation is essential because an organizations culture governs how its members behave when nobody is watching them as they perform their administrative duties. An African adage says the fish starts rotting from its head. The leader is the embodiment par excellence of the organizational culture. If a manager sends ambiguous signals on the ethical rules for appropriate behavior in the organization, the subordinates may behave unethically. This paper addresses the role of leaders in corrupt organizational cultures, by undertaking a metacontingency analysis of three public sector corruption cases in Ghana. It concludes that members of an organization will engage corrupt practices if their leaders participate in the interlocking behavioral contingencies that produce frauds. To combat corruption, we need to emphasize ethical leadership and the leaders role as an anti-corruption agent.

This paper discusses the issue of leadership succession and the need of maintaining effective leadership while large scale organizational change is in progress. Organizational change discussions often presume that the internal selecting environment created by top organizational leadership will remain constant. However, in fact, leadership change is common and with this change comes contingency changes in the system. The context of our discussion is a case study of interventions aimed at both immediate results and systems building at a large public metropolitan research university (enrollment: 56,000) that were designed to transform the administration of the undergraduate curriculum in order to reorient it toward significantly improving undergraduate student success. The complex set of university-wide interventions were branded the Graduation Success Initiative (GSI) and were able to improve the on-time graduation rate by 16 points in its four years of operation (2011-2015) and win a national award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (Most Visible Progress Award, 2013). The GSI targeted for change both macrobehaviors (behavioral patterns shared by a large proportion of individuals who occupy various roles in the university) and metacontingencies (recurring patterns of interlocking behavior contingencies that occur in nested hierarchies and exist at the cultural level). In 2014, leadership changed at the university, and in 2015, the new leadership initiated rolling reorganizations. The contingency fields for the universitys existing change projects were de-stabilized, and reinforcement systems became unclear. The universitys production on performance based funding metrics were affected within a year, and it dropped from the top three among the states 11 public universities to fifth, facing the real possibility the next year of falling to the bottom three and losing $26 million in performance based funding. We will discuss dynamics that make this kind of outcome to leadership succession commonplace and ways to avoid or minimize dysfunctional disruption in the process of an intentional systemic change.

In order to deliver services to clients and the serve the community at large, it is imperative for behavior analysts to develop collaborative partnerships with various entities such as school districts, community mental health agencies, departments in higher education, and private clinics or programs. Moreover, collaborating and creating practicum sites with those agencies can serve as valuable placements for training opportunities for individuals receiving learning applied training in behavior analysis. However, developing these partnerships and collaborations is not always easy, and there can be many obstacles to address along the way. This panel discussion will discuss and present strategies for effective partnership and practicum development on behalf of several different practicums through their various stages of their existence, as well as share experiences resolving various obstacles and hurdles faced during creation and maintaining of the partnerships. Audience members will also have an opportunity to pose questions to the panelists regarding any presentation material or issues they are facing themselves.

Conclusions derived from current functional assessment practices heavily rely on indirect methods for gathering data (e.g. FAST, MAS). When a function is experimentally tested, current practices pose ethical, practical and theoretical concerns. Both approaches are problematic in that indirect data produces inaccurate and imprecise data, and experimental methods are typically not driven by a hypothesis, directly reinforce problematic behaviors, and do not involve simultaneous establishment of appropriate alternative behaviors. The first presentation will focus on a comparison between two indirect and one direct data collection method to generate hypothesis regarding function that is more accurate and efficient. The second will propose alternative experimental methods to test a subset of hypothesized functions and involve teaching alternative responses and do not reinforce problematic behaviors. The symposium will conclude with an argument to support (1) direct observation of consequences be used in place of indirect data to develop hypothesis and (2) use of use of alternative experimental methods such a free-operant and trial-based functional analysis procedures. The proposed methodology provides a more ethical, conceptually systematic, and practical assessment of function.

Indirect data obtained through interviews such as the Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST) and Motivational Assessment Scale (MAS) are commonly used to develop hypothesis regarding function of problematic behavior despite the known inaccuracies produced by indirect data. While researchers use the FAST and MAS as a simple way to raise hypothesis, such use can be problematic if (1) the instrument fails to include the actual function as part of the hypothesis (miss) and (2) does not filter enough possibilities (false alarms). Those outcomes may mislead or waste assessors’ and clients’ time and efforts. The current research aimed to compare the FAST and MAS to a direct observation of consequences that follow problematic behaviors (Beacon Consequence Analysis Form - BCAF). Data from twelve children whose function of problematic behaviors were confirmed by a trial-based or free-operant functional analysis were used in this study. A comparison of the instruments hypothesis and confirmed function was conducted and rates of hits, correct rejection, misses, and false alarms calculated. The results supported the use of the BCAF which had the highest rates of hits (100%) and correct rejections (93.3%) and lowest rates of misses (0%) and false alarms (6.7%) to raise hypothesis regarding potential function.

Skinner defined functional analysis as the identification contingencies of reinforcement responsible for the acquisition of maintenance of responses. Iwata et al (1994) introduced a procedure that involved direct manipulations of the antecedent and consequences in order to experimentally determine the function of the problem behavior. While its approach was and has been now widely accepted some ethical, practical and theoretical concerns may be raised. For example, the appropriateness of its wide use may be questionable in some situations due to its directly reinforcing specific topographies of problematic behavior, and it assumes an invariable relationship between antecedent conditions and the consequences maintaining problematic behavior (e.g., problematic behaviors occurring under demand conditions are always reinforced by escape) which is not always the case. For example, a demand condition may function as a discriminative stimulus that attention (follow through with the demand) will be delivered. The present study attempts to identify a trial-based and free-operant alternative to conducting a functional analysis that involves teaching functional communication responses rather than reinforcing problematic behaviors. This method will be described and examples concerning functional analysis of multiple topographies such as prompt dependency, aggressions, and tantrums will be reviewed.

Children with pediatric feeding disorders are unable or refuse to consume a sufficient volume or variety of food to meet their nutritional needs. In some cases, children with feeding disorders are selective by variety or texture. In others, they refuse food entirely and may be gastrostomy-tube or liquid dependent. There is a great deal of empirical support for the behavior analytic treatment of pediatric feeding disorders, and the demand for these types of services is quite high. Thus, there is a need for incoming behavior analysts to become involved in this growing field. Panelists will discuss their current positions in the field of pediatric feeding disorders as well as past positions they have held and their pathways to getting to where they are now. Additionally, panelists may discuss previous or current research projects with which they have been involved related to the topic of the behavior analytic treatment of feeding disorders. Following this, opportunities to ask questions and further discuss career options within the field of pediatric feeding disorders will be provided.

The field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is once again gaining recognition as a preferred treatment for behavioral improvement. In January 2017, Florida Medicaid expands coverage for ABA services to all children under the age of 21. This highlights the reach and impact of our science beyond autism. Much of the education our practitioners are receiving is focused on autism and related disabilities. Many internships, practicums, and experience hours are spent working with individuals with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum. We need more tracks at our Universities and Colleges that expand the scope of reach of our science. ABA does not equal autism therapy. ABA is a science with a limitless reach. We hope to shed light on the recognition of our science in practice beyond one population. We look toward the future as our science becomes a standard in the solution to diverse issues that we face as a society. This panel will discuss how behavior practitioners, program administrators, and academia should prepare to expand the science and practice of ABA to any and all problems of human action, and interaction, with the environment.

The prevalence of obesity continues to climb in all age groups, and around the world. The standard paradigm assumes that we “eat too much and exercise too little, that obesity is due to two aberrant “behaviors”. However, are these behaviors cause or effect? Our research on children with brain tumors who develop hypothalamic damage and become obese after surgery or radiation, termed “hypothalamic obesity”, demonstrates that they have anatomic “leptin resistance”. In these subjects, excessive insulin release blocks leptin signaling to drive weight gain and hunger, while pharmacologic insulin suppression results in reduced food intake, increases spontaneous activity, and promotes weight loss. Why should insulin block leptin signaling? Leptin is a necessary signal to the VMH for the initiation of high-energy processes, such as puberty and pregnancy. If leptin always worked, then nobody could gain weight, and our reproductive capacity would be shot. Most obese people are hyperinsulinemic. But is that cause or effect? It is assumed that as you gain weight, cytokines are released from adipose tissue, which drive insulin resistance. However, our research demonstrates that dietary sugar is metabolized to fat in the liver, and it is this liver fat that drives insulin resistance unrelated to peripheral fat. Why should sugar drive insulin resistance? Naturally occurring sugar in fruit is what makes fruit palatable. But for our ancestors, fruit was readily available for one month per year, called “harvest time”. Then came four months of winter, and no food at all. We needed to stock up, to increase our adiposity in preparation for four months of famine. In other words, seasonal insulin resistance was evolutionarily adaptive; but year-round insulin resistance due to ubiquitous sugar availability has become maladaptive. It is assumed that people consume sugar because of its palatability. However, there is now evidence that sugar may be addictive in humans. Obese subjects will use sugar to treat psychological symptoms. Overweight women who were self-reported carbohydrate cravers reported greater relief from dysphoria in response to a carbohydrate-containing beverage as compared to a protein drink. Why are we drawn to sweet? Evolutionarily, sweetness was the signal to our ancestors that a given food was safe to eat because there are no sweet foods that are acutely poisonous (even Jamaican vomiting sickness only occurs after consumption of unripe ackee fruit, which is not sweet). Unfortunately, the food industry knows this and adds excess sugar to processed food to make us buy more. Thus, the behaviors associated with obesity are secondary to our biochemistry, and our biochemistry is secondary to our environment. Understanding these evolutionary precepts explain our obesity epidemic, and also point to environmental and policy solutions.

Practitioners working in behavioral medicine settings or environments where dietary issues impact behavioral responses.

This session is coupled with, and immediately follows, a SQAB tutorial on Behavioral Economics and Obesity presented by Dr. Erin Rasmussen. Panelists will be asked to speak briefly about their research program and to bring questions designed to foster discussion with audience members. The goal is to generate ideas and collaborative efforts among basic, translational, and applied scientists. The tutorial and panel discussion has arisen because the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior (SQAB), an organization that emphasizes fundamental sciences related to behavior analysis, meets immediately before ABAI. The tandem meetings of these two organizations present opportunities for attendees to hear about core sciences related to behavior analysis. The SQAB tutorials have provided an excellent spur for such discussions but we SQAB and ABAIs Science Board wish to take this a step further. This panel discussion, which represents a partnership between SQAB and ABAI, will create a setting in which basic and applied scientists, as well as practitioners, can meet to discuss applications of the topics raised in a SQAB tutorial.

individuals interested in applying the fundamental principles of behavioral economics to reducing caloric intake of increasing caloric expenditure.

In this paper, equations that best describe discounting and risk are presented. Equation 1 addresses the total value of a long sequence of reinforcers. It posits that the total value (molar) of this long sequence of reinforcers is equal to the sum of the values of the individual events in the sequence. This is represented as: A = SAm. The next two difference equations produced simpler equations than differential equations. Equation 2 is a simple difference equation of overall value, A, with respect to time relates overall value. It yields the hyperbolic discounting model of Commons with the sensitivity parameter k1, Woodford and Ducheny (1982), Commons, Woodford and Trudeau (1991), and Mazur (1987). ?V = ?Ai /?ti = ?Ai/(1 + k1di). The second difference Equation 3 is the quantification of Vaughan?s (1976; 1981; Herrnstein & Vaughan, 1980) melioration concept and is also risk (see also, Herrnstein & Prelec, 1991) It is obtained. by taking the difference of Equation 2 and is hyperbolic also, ?(?V)/?di = ?(?Ai /(1 + k2di))/?di. The parameter k2 is an organism?s sensitivity to risk. It is important to note that Equation 3 is also a hyperbolic equation.

Stimulus equivalence is an approach to the study of symbolic behavior from a behavior-analytic approach. In equivalence training, only a small number of relations are trained, after which, numerous relations emerge without specific training (Sidman & Tailby, 1982). Research on conditioned reinforcement has addressed the processes necessary to create conditioned reinforcers (Gollub, 1977). The present study evaluated stimulus equivalence as an operation for producing conditioned reinforcers. Participants were six children, ages 7-10. They were first taught A and B simple discriminations using class-specific consequences, after which, all participants demonstrated three three-member equivalence classes. CD conditional discriminations were then taught using the same class-specific reinforcers, after which, some children showed the emergence of three five-member equivalence classes. The C stimuli were then used as class-specific consequences in E simple discrimination training to test whether, based on class membership with the reinforcing stimuli, the C stimuli would now function as conditioned reinforcers. Thus far, three subjects have shown these emergent relations, expanding the equivalence classes to six members. Two generalization tests were conducted and the reinforcing function of the C stimuli generalized to a novel testing procedure. Results provide evidence for an approach to creating and demonstrating conditioned reinforcers through MTS training and testing procedures. APPROVED

The current study was a systematic continuation of Williams (2016), designed to incorporate an experimental strategy from Sidman et al. (1989). Subjects had mastered simple discrimination training with AB and CD compounds with class-specific reinforcer compounds (CSRC). However, the emergent conditional relations in that study did not meet the formal definitions of the equivalence properties, because the trained baseline relations consisted of simple discriminations only. The current study established relations between an existing member of the classes established in Williams (2016) and a new stimulus; specifically, conditional discriminations DE and DF were trained through differential reinforcement with the same CSRC from Williams (2016). It was of interest to see if training new conditional discriminations provided formal evidence of equivalence, as originally defined. The final phase consisted of simple discrimination probe trials with novel compounds testing for emergent discriminative control in the three-term contingency arrangement. These probes evaluated whether the E and F stimuli functioned similarly to the other members of the class in the originally trained simple discrimination task, even though the stimuli were never presented in simple discrimination training or as part of a training compound. Results spoke to the possibility that functional and equivalence classes are overlapping phenomena.

The interest in stimulus equivalence research has been substantial since Sidmans (1971) documentation of emergent relations. Past experiments have found that, the inclusion of at least one meaningful stimulus in a class of abstract stimuli influences the probability of equivalence class formation. Experiments so far have tested the effect of meaningful stimuli on equivalence class formation by training and testing emergent relations with the inclusion of meaningful stimuli. This study therefore seeks to find out the effect of the inclusion of meaningful stimuli in training but without it in emergent relations testing on equivalence class formation. The study has three experimental conditions: Abstract Group, Picture Group, and No-Picture-in-Test Group. The findings so far show that, one of seven participants formed classes in the Abstract Group, six of seven participants formed classes in the Picture Group, and five of seven participants formed classes in the No-Picture-in-Test Group (See Figure 3). Also, the findings show a significant difference in equivalence class formation between the Abstract Group and the Picture Group, as well as between the Abstract Group and the No-Picture-in Test Group. Furthermore, the findings show no significant difference between the Picture Group, and No-Picture-in Test Group.

Previous studies have shown that behavioral variability can be controlled by environmental contingencies (Page & Neuringer, 1985). Furthermore, some animal studies compared how behavioral variability and stereotyped behavior are resistant to change when using extinction or non-contingent schedule (Arantes et al., 2012). We propose a study to compare resistance to change in behavioral variability and stereotyped behavior in humans. The experiment was divided into training and a perturbation phase. In the first phase, participants are trained to emit either variable or stereotyped letters sequences on a computer. Behavioral variability was operationalized through a lag contingency in which, to be reinforced, the last sequence had to be different from a previous n sequences. Once the criterion of stability was reached, the second phase starts. Perturbation was operationalized using an extinction phase and a non-contingent reinforcement schedule. First results show that behavioral variability is more resistant to change than variable behaviors in extinction phase. There are no significant differences in the non-contingent schedule

Behavioral Observation Team volunteers (BOTs; i.e., citizen scientists) are often used to provide information on animal welfare at zoological institutions. BOTs are asked to observe focal animals and provide data on the following behavioral dimensions: frequency, rate, duration, and intensity of various behaviors. The recent adoption of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (JZG) Animal Wellness Initiative aims to expand the role of BOTs and use their collected data for dissemination to the larger scientific community. The present study surveyed volunteer training and follow-up evaluation practices used in BOT/ citizen science volunteer programs in zoos across the US. Thirty-four separate institutions responded to the survey. Our findings determined that 71% of institutions surveyed frequently (40%) or occasionally (31%) use citizen scientist volunteers to conduct animal behavior observations, yet only 26% of institutions reported training volunteers on the subject of Inter-observer agreement (IOA). In addition, 52% of institutions reported never collecting IOA data. Lastly, 80% of responding institutions reported modifying animal husbandry practices based on the data collected by citizen science volunteers. Implications for modifying husbandry practices without collecting IOA data and suggestions for incorporating IOA into BOT training will be discussed.

TAG (Teaching with Acoustical Guidance) has many implications for athletic skill acquisition, as demonstrated through empirical research. For this study, a multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to examine the effects of TAG methods on the acquisition of novel dance movements. The participants in the study were three typically developing children and one child with multiple diagnoses, aged 5-12 years old, who regularly participated in a dance studio program. The results depicted more rapid and generalized learning across skill sets for different topographies of targeted dance movements: a turn, kick, and leap selected for the participants based on skill level and developmental age. This study was a replication from the study conducted by Quinn, Miltenberger, and Fogel (2015) on dance movement skill acquisition with the use of TAG instructional methods.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an online and in-person self-advocacy skills training program. The training programs targeted four community college students with disabilities ability to negotiate American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) classroom accommodations. The online tutorial included knowledge and skills components. The knowledge component provided students with information about their rights and responsibilities as a consumer in need of classroom accommodations. The skills tutorial presented students with a task analysis of the accommodations negotiations skill set as well as video examples showing students engaged in the negotiation skills. The students knowledge was assessed using two multiple-choice assessments, while their skills were assessed using four, disability-specific role-play scenarios. The knowledge assessment results showed that the online knowledge tutorial increased the students understanding of their rights and responsibilities as a student with a disability in need of accommodations. The skills assessment findings suggested the skills tutorial was only marginally effective at increasing the students negotiation skills. The students unmastered skills were then trained during an in-person training session. The in-person training replicated White and Vo's (2006) direct instruction methodology, by: operationally defining and task analyzing each negotiation skill component, using role-play scenarios to practice and assess the students negotiation skills, and providing descriptive feedback. Results showed that the in-person training allowed each student to acquire the remaining, unmastered negotiation skills. Furthermore, students knowledge about their rights and responsibilities maintained at the levels observed after they completed the online tutorial. Generalization and maintenance was assessed one and three weeks after the in-person training using student created role-play scenarios based upon their own experiences. The generalization and maintenance assessments showed the students negotiation skills generalized to scenarios based upon their experiences and were maintained at levels slightly below the post-in-person training skills assessment. This evaluation showed that although the online training effectively increased the students knowledge and skills, a more targeted, in-person approach may be needed to help students master the negotiation skills and encourage skill generalization and maintenance.

Tactical Urbanism involves low-cost, often temporary, modifications to the built environment that attempt to improve common spaces. These strategies have received growing media attention in recent years; however, data are rarely systematically collected to help examine the effects of the modifications. A group of cyclists, pedestrians and people interested in sustainability in small college town sought to improve the walkability and bikeability of a quarter mile segment of a primary road between the town center and the university. After seeking approval of the town council and the university administration, the group undertook data collection, fund raising, and construction of a temporary lane reduction project. The project turned a 4-lane road into two travel lanes, a turn lane, and 2 bike lanes. Additionally, a mid-block crosswalk was constructed in a location that students often crossed without protection. The project was evaluated with an ABA design examining vehicle speed and percent of users engaging in active transportation. While the temporary construction was in place, there was a decrease in the 85th percentile speeds and an increase in the percent of active transportation users. Following the demonstration project, the town installed two raised crosswalks to increase the safety of pedestrians.

An evaluation of increased response effort to dispose of items was conducted to improve recycling at a university. Signs prompting individuals to recycle and notifying them of the location of trash and recycling receptacles were posted in each phase. During the intervention, trashcans were removed from the classrooms, and one large trashcan was available in the hallway next to the recycling receptacles. Results showed that correct recycling increased, and trash left in classrooms increased initially during the second intervention phase before returning to baseline levels.

Safety is important for protecting children from harm of many sorts. Parents frequently give verbal safety rules for children' behaviour rather than intervene directly with consequences. In this research we collected many empirical examples of such safety rules and categorized these into functional groups, presented in Tables. The paper explores different social consequences of these rules beyond just treating the children as the targets. Some rules for children, for example, are functional for other parents, law makers, or other family members, rather than the children to whom they are told. In theirs ways they can function as part of a parental narrative or story used in various functional social situations. The broader functional roles of rules in terms of societal structures are also discussed, and how giving rules to children via computer based media would engage different social consequences which could be useful for the children to recognize safety contexts and respond more appropriately.

Interrogative suggestibility is characterized by factors present during interrogations that make people more likely to accept inaccurate information and change their responses accordingly. Research on interrogative suggestibility has been vital in changing the way interrogations are conducted in court trials and police interrogations, yet many different factors involved in interrogative suggestibility, that are present during interrogations, have not been investigated. Recent research has emphasized the importance of verbal feedback and the interviewers behavior, yet no research has analyzed the possible effects if any, of building such momentum during interrogations by manipulating the order of questions (suggestible vs. non-suggestible). High-probability and low-probability sequences are one way to increase the likelihood of previously low-probability responses. This procedure is commonly used to increase appropriate behaviors and reduce problem behavior during instructional tasks, by presenting tasks that are more likely to be completed first, then presenting tasks that are less likely to be completed. The purpose of the current study was to examine the application of high-probability/low-probability sequences on a measure of interrogative suggestibility, and the effects, if any, on suggestibility scores. Understanding the effects of high-probability and low-probability sequences during interrogations may highlight the need for procedures to eliminate or reduce the likelihood of suggestibility, and potentially increase the accuracy of responses.

Token economies utilize the contingent delivery of tangible items that are later exchanged for backup reinforcers to either maintain, increase, or decrease behavior (Ayllon & Azrin, 1965; Hackenberg, 2009; Matson & Boisjoli, 2009). Token economies modalities offer a wide-range of both aesthetic and practical options for caregivers and teachers (i.e., sticker chart, poker chips). With the advancement of portable technology and applications, there are even more variations of token delivery. Previous studies suggested that differences token appearance positively impact behavioral change in children with autism (Charlop-Christy & Haymes, 1998; Carnett et al., 2014). However, no study has been published investigating the effect of application-based token delivery and with typically developing children. The purpose of the current experiment is to identify if application-based token economy systems have a greater positive effect on skill acquisition compared to nonapplication-based token economies (i.e., sticker chart). Six native-English-speaking children who could count were recruited from a private school consortium for students with challenging, oppositional, and aggressive behaviors. The children were taught to count to 10 in three languages (Portuguese, French, and German). An alternating-treatments design was implemented to identify the effects of the application-based token economy on skill acquisition compared to the nonapplication-based token economy. Training procedures were based on similar procedures found in Wu & Miller (2012) but modified. Training sessions consisted of 3 trials per number (30 total trials per day). The children were reinforced on a VR 3 schedule during training (May et al., 2016) and an FR 1 schedule for each number uttered in the correct sequence during probes. Acquisition probes were conducted before each training session. Interobserver agreement and procedural integrity were collected during training. Interobserver agreement was also conducted on acquisition probes by native-born speakers.

Researchers suggest individuals preference for others similar to themselves is innate, not learned. Mahajan and Wynn (2012) asked infants seated in their parents lap (N = 32) to choose between two foods, watch a show in which one puppet liked one food but not the other and the second puppet expressed the opposite preferences, and then choose one of the puppets; more infants (84%) chose the similar puppet, the one with the same food preference as the infant. These data are cited as evidence for our innate preference for similar others. We replicated and extended their methodology by including a parent bias manipulation and within-subject repeated measures. Infants (N = 24) were randomly assigned to make their first puppet choice before (Group 1) or after (Group 2) the parent bias manipulation. Few group differences were noted. On the first trial, a total of 37.5% of infants chose the similar puppet. Across at least 80% of trials, 12.5% of infants chose the similar puppet; 75% chose a puppet on the same side. Moreover, 16 (67%) parents reported their infants had little history with the two study foods. Results suggest factors other than innate preference account for infants puppet selections.

Applied research has shown that behavior analysis has assisted individuals with autism spectrum disorder to increase their verbal behavior. The study conducted was to advance an individuals tacting repertoire by having the individual respond by combining the verb and noun when asked what is happening? The study was conducted at a private day school for individuals with autism and other developmental delays with a ratio of 1:1. The individual was a 17-year-old male with autism spectrum disorder and had been attending the day school for over 5 years. The individuals main form of communication is through sign language. Teaching took place at the individuals classroom using discrete trials to teach the nouns and verbs separate. Once the individual learned all nouns and verbs separate, data was then taken to see if combining the known nouns and verbs occurred. Data showed that each combination of noun and verb had to be taught and no generalization occurred. There was a decrease in the amount of trials needed before reaching the criteria of four out of five trials for two consecutive blocks was reached.

Studies have shown that the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment is an effective assessment format for identifying preferred items; however, it is possible that other variables, besides preference alone, might influence the selections by some individuals. MSWO results were evaluated with children and individuals with disabilities by comparing the items selected during the highest and lowest percentage of opportunities during the MSWO assessment in a paired-stimulus (PS) format. Results showed that the MSWO format did not predict the most highly preferred item for 20% of the participants.

Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS; functionally equivalent to PBIS - Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) are designed to create systems that provide a continuum of interventions to increase functional skills, reduce problem behavior, and enhance quality of life across all individuals. This poster will review the practices and tools designed to measure and monitor the quality of life of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities served within a large applied behavior analytic organization implementing MTSS/PBIS. The hallmark of any effective multi-tiered system of support using behavior analytical/evidenced based practices is timely data based decision making by representative data teams at each tier. At the universal tier, teams make decisions on all individuals outcomes related to problem behavior, skill acquisition, and quality of life domains, namely wellness, communication, engagement in meaningful activities, and happiness. This poster will introduce the tools and analytic process teams and behavior analysts can implement to measure these domains to inform design universal, targeted, and individualized interventions within and across groups of individuals. Data will be presented on the analysis of data, reductions in problem behavior, and changes in quality of life domains during implementation of multi-tiered systems of support.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of anxiety and anxiety disorders (Steensel, Bogels, & Perrin, 2011). Evidence also suggests that around 30% of individuals with ASD also receive a diagnosis of clinical phobia (Steensel et al, 2011). A number of studies have demonstrated that there is an increase in heart rate in the presences of a feared stimulus (Heimberg, Hope, Dodge, & Becker, 1990, Marks & Huson, 1973; McNeil, Vrana, Melamed, Cuthbert, & Lang, 1993; Nesse et al., 1985; Priganto & Johnson, 1974; Teghtsoonian & Frost, 1982). The present study demonstrates the treatment of dog phobia in a child diagnosed with ASD, intellectual disability, and bipolar disorder. A changing criterion design was employed to determine the effects of desensitization with differential reinforcement. A heart rate monitor was used as a secondary measure at baseline and at the target step. Distance from the dog and frequency of avoidance behavior were also measured. Results indicate a decrease in avoidance behavior while criterion increased. Also, there was an increase in heart rate in the presence of the dog and while engaging in avoidance behavior.

Enhancing personal safety skills in individuals with autism is critical to increasing community membership and independence in adulthood. While there is emerging literature in this area, to date there is limited research on teaching socially mediated safety skills in a community setting. The current study examined the effects of a differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior procedure to decrease inappropriate vocal behavior with strangers in an adolescent with autism as he learned to independently ride a New York City public bus. Over the course of treatment, the adolescent gained access to greater degrees of independence when riding the public bus as lower rates of inappropriate vocal behavior were demonstrated. Results indicate that this intervention package successfully decreased inappropriate vocal behavior with others in the community. Furthermore, this change in behavior was maintained for six months during which the adolescent regularly traveled independently on the public bus. This suggests that the functional nature of the reinforcer may have played an important role in the success of the differential reinforcement procedure.

Of the approximately 3.9 million dogs that enter US animal shelters each year, many exhibit behaviors related to fear, which can affect their likelihood of adoption. Current dog training procedures to treat fear include counterconditioning and desensitization, which can often take months or years to show any behavior change and do not teach specific behaviors aimed to increase the dog's chance of being adopted. The current study used a negative reinforcement shaping procedure to teach fearful dogs to approach and and interact with people. The results showed that constructional fear treatment increased the amount of time the dog spent at the front of the kennel, and increased sniffing, tail wagging, and accepting petting for all 3 participants.

A growing number of studies make claims about dog sociability in both applied and basic contexts. Yet, there is currently no standard for measuring sociability in dogs. The purpose of this three-part study was to determine whether a wide range of canine sociability tests would produce the same results as each other, over time, and between shelter and pet dogs. Experiment 1 established the appropriate methodology for detecting social behavior in a shelter setting using a mixed-subjects design to assess whether experimenter position (standing, sitting, or kneeling) and presence of affection (petting and praise or none) affect leashed dogs social behavior. In Experiment 2, three common sociability procedures were compared using shelter and pet dogs: 1) unleashed dogs latency to approach, time in proximity, and following patterns; 2) leashed dogs touching, gaze, and proximity; and 3) the relative reinforcer efficacy between food and human attention. Experiment 3 explored the relationship between sociability and social cognitive tasks including perspective taking, joint attention, and choices in a t-maze. The data have implications for the validity of temperament tests in both basic and applied research. Results can be applied to improve matches for adoption and better inform shelter staff about the dogs in their care.

Previous research demonstrates that response blocking and response interruption are effective treatments for behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement, such as stereotypy. These three studies further evaluated variations of the response interruption and redirection (RIRD) procedure described by Ahearn, Clark, MacDonald, and Chung (2007). Gauthier and Ahearn assessed different levels of procedural integrity of the RIRD procedure in the treatment of vocal stereotypy. RIRD with diminished integrity suppressed stereotypy for some participants, but generally, full integrity resulted in more immediate suppression. Shawler, Dianda, and Miguel replicated and extended Love, Miguel, Fernand, and LaBrie (2012) in a comparison of RIRD and response competition in the treatment of vocal stereotypy. Significant stereotypy suppression was observed with one of the two participants in the response competition condition, but RIRD resulted in greater suppression for both participants. Steinhauser and Ahearn further evaluated the RIRD procedure in a systematic replication of Ahrens, Lerman, Kodak, Worsdell, and Keegan (2011) by comparing motor RIRD and vocal RIRD without prompting in the treatment of stereotypy. Both RIRD procedures reduced stereotypy with all participants, but the most effective procedure was idiosyncratic across participants.

Stereotypy is defined as any repetitive vocal or motor behavior that does not have an apparent function. Two recent methods for treating stereotypy include response competition and response interruption and redirection (RIRD). The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend results of Love, Miguel, Fernand, and LaBrie (2012) by directly comparing the reductive effects of RIRD and response competition separately on vocal stereotypic behaviors using a multielement with reversal design. Reductive effects between auditory and nonauditory toys within the response competition condition were also compared. Participants were one male and one female child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Results for both participants indicate a greater suppression of vocal stereotypy during RIRD. However, for participant two, there were also significant reductions in vocal stereotypy when she engaged with competing items that provided auditory stimulation. Finally, for both participants, there were some increases in appropriate vocalizations during treatment conditions. These findings support the results of previous literature on RIRD and matched stimulation as an effective method to reduce vocal stereotypy.

Behavior analysts have shown increasing interest towards the study of cultural phenomena, ranging from basic and applied research to theoretical works. The present symposium is composed of three discussions of theoretical aspects regarding topics of interest in Behavioral Analysis of Culture. The first paper presents a discussion of different levels of complexity in the selection of cultures, with the authors proposing an expansion of cultural analysis within a behavior analytic approach by looking at selection of cultural settings (settings of contingencies) as a different phenomenon than selection of interlocking behavioral contingencies and aggregated products. The second paper discusses the possibilities of the conceptual development of the metacontingency for behavior analysts to analyze and synthesize cultural phenomena and, thus, make contributions to the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies. The third paper presents a literature review on the concepts of sustainability and sustainable behavior aiming to evaluate how authors use the terms and to identify measures and variables that can help basic and applied researchers who work on the topic to conduct research.

The use of tools from experimental analysis of behavior to deal with cultural problems makes us face the challenge of using two repertoires of the scientist: the ability to make analysis and synthesis. Behavioral principles result essentially from the analysis of our subject matter, the behavior. It allows us to go from simple to complex and, at each time (with no rush), achieve more and more complex phenomena that are socially important. If analysis has provided us with conceptual and methodological tools, we are ready to make synthesis Metacontingencies can be a useful tool to delineate and understand cultural changes. The notion offers a standing point to new possibilities in the field of culture and cultural selection. A behavioral synthesis involving the known effects of reinforcement and punishment in social relationships can help identify some additional and idiosyncratic effects of cultural change and reaffirm the need for a background in behavioral sciences to deal with the multidisciplinary field of culture and society.

Originally, behavior analysis emerged as a science of individual behavior (operant as unit of analysis). With the expansion of its conceptual framework and application of its methodology to subjects matters previously considered as part of other disciplines (e.g. psychopharmacology and anthropology), behavior analysts have reach new areas of study. Even though Skinner (1938, 1948) dealt with cultural issues since his earlier writings, his works often referred to the use of operant contingencies to explain cultural phenomena. Glenn (1986) presents the metacontingency concept as a way to describe selection at the third level (cultural) in its own right. It can be described as a functional relation between interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBCs), and their aggregate products (APs), with a selecting environment. Thus, metacontingency is a conceptual tool that enables analysis of cultural phenomena from a different perspective: Outside the conflict between individual vs. society (Todorov, 2006). We have recently proposed an expansion of cultural analysis within a behavior analytic approach by looking at selection of cultural settings (settings of contingencies) as a different phenomenon than selection of IBCs and APs (Couto & Sandaker, 2016). Here we attempt to refine the conceptual discussion and its implication for behavior analysts aiming at studying the selection of and the evolution of cultural practices.

Behavior analysts, mainly those involved in the study of cultural practices, have shown interest on topics related to sustainability and sustainable development. However, no clear definition of terms such as sustainability or sustainable behavior is found in behavioral analytic terminology, which can make it difficult for basic and applied researchers to clearly determine which behaviors to measure and what outcomes do expect from research in such field. Thus, the present paper reviews the uses of the terms sustainability and sustainable behavior in papers published in behavior-analytic journals. The database search found 41 papers on the topic. Although most authors mention the Brundtland Commission definition, with focus on three dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental and social sustainability), the papers found here almost exclusively focus on the environmental dimension (20), generaly using sustainable behavior as a synomym of ecological behavior, although not clearly specifying this. Most of the research found were theoritical or interpretive, but empirical research (4 applied, 3 quasi-experimental and 3 experimental) were also found. We conclude that behavior-analytic research on the topic could benefit from seeking more approximation form advances made in other fields and from investing more effort in empirical research in order to better produce intervention technologies.

Behavioral economic demand analyses quantify the degree to which organisms defend consumption of reinforcers. Emanating from the experimental analysis of behavior, demand analyses have rendered an abundance of success in modeling consumption and choice in highly controlled nonhuman studies. Translational applications in the 1980s demonstrated the potentiality of demand analyses in understanding substance use in human subject. Accordingly, contemporary research in addiction sciences has seen a marked proliferation in applying demand analyses in both translational and clinical settings. This SQAB Tutorial highlights translations of findings from basic studies on reinforcer demand to various issues of societal important. The presentation begins with a primer on demand assessment and analysis. Discussion of demand metrics with immediate translation to applied behavior analysis is provided. Particular examples from behavioral health domains are provided in the areas of alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, and indoor tanning demand. The presentation concludes with a discussion of other areas of translation in mainstream applied behavior analysis, such as validating preference assessments, determining token delivery and exchange schedules, and classroom based reinforcement contingencies for work completion.

Certified behavior analysts, psychologists, graduate students.

This presentation will highlight the four big ideas of effective instruction. These big ideas include (a) setting expectations, (b) increasing student engagement, (c) providing praise, and (d) correcting errors. Research supporting these four elements will be shared. Illustrative videos and participant practice using research validated programs will be included in the presentation. Expectations involve a focus on establishing expectation routines and teaching them explicitly. Increasing student engagement will focus on choral responding, use of white boards, and other response card requirements. Providing praise will emphasize the use of general and special praise statements. Finally, correcting errors will involve modeling and firming practices to ensure future success. Problem solving scenarios will also be shared.

This symposium presents three studies that examine aspects of delivering incentives as a behavior-change intervention. The components of incentive delivery evaluated and discussed in the presentations include: feedback, probability of delivery, magnitude of reward, and the interplay of social influences. Taken together, these presentations will provide practitioners and researchers with the latest information on what variables are likely to influence incentive systems.

In practice, the delivery of consequencesincluding incentivesdoes not always correspond with the ideal conditions for effective reinforcement). The present study was conducted as an extension to previous research focusing on the effects of uncertainty for incentive delivery. Using a simulated work task in an analogue setting, an incentive was arranged for meeting a performance criterion during each trial with varying degrees of probability applied to the criterion. Specifically, participants were told at the beginning of each trial that the probability of the incentive criterion being applied to their performance was either 5%, 10%, 25%, or 90%. If the criterion was not applied, no incentive was delivered regardless of performance during that trial. In a reversal design, two magnitudes of incentives ($0.75 and $1.50) were compared. During the small incentive condition, the probabilistic schedules of incentives failed to sustain responding on the work task for under at least the lower probabilities. For those three participants, increasing the magnitude of the incentive shifted responding with lower probabilities of earning an incentive were more effective maintaining responding than under the small incentive. This effect of magnitude may have implications for the implementation of incentive systems under less than ideal conditions.

Lotteries have proven to be an effective procedure in changing employee behavior. However, lotteries contain multiple components (e.g., drawing locations, odds of winning, delivery of tickets after performance). The degree to which the components influence the effectiveness of the intervention is largely unknown. Recent research has examined probabilities that a lottery will payout to entrants, but no research has yet to evaluate aspects of the lottery drawing. This investigation extends previous research by examining the social aspects of lotteries by comparing private versus public drawings of lottery winners. Participants were direct care employees in three separate classrooms in a school for children diagnosed with autism. The dependent variable was the number of FAST assessments completed by the employees. A multiple baseline with a multielement component was used to evaluate no lottery, lottery with a winner drawn and informed in private, and a lottery where the winner was drawn and announced in the classroom.

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) provides a useful technology and conceptual basis for changing the behavior of individuals in work settings. This symposium focuses on applications of OBM in human services agencies. The first presentation describe working in Early Intervention clinics for children with autism to improve their delivery of behavioral intervention. The second presentation describes and discusses the use of social validity measures in human services in the context of organizational and staff performance improvements.

In clinical settings, it is important to train behavior technicians to run programs correctly and maximize all teaching opportunities. In this study, the total number of teaching opportunities and the percentage of programs with at leave five learning opportunities was targeted for improvement. Results from the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services-2 assessment tool indicated staff fluency deficits. A Precision Teaching intervention was employed to increase fluency across skill acquisition programs. Results suggest that the intervention was effective in both increasing the number of total teaching trials per hour and increasing the number of programs with at least five teaching trials.