Association for Behavior Analysis International

Shaping procedures are widely used in the experimental analysis of behavior. However, these procedures include a variety of ways in their implementation, which could have an effect on the strength of the operant (frequency and / or response rate). The present study aims to evaluate different conditions of shaping and their effect on performance in temporal schedules. Twelve rats served as subjects, divided into 3 groups at random. Group 1 was exposed to three experimental phases. In the first phase, the rats were exposed to a schedule of non-contingent delivery FT 60s. Later, during phase 2, rats were exposed to a concurrent schedule crf-FT 60 s. Finally, during Phase 3, subjects were exposed to a temporal schedule, the T cycles lasted 60 s. Group 2 was exposed to the same conditions as Group 1, except for the FT 60 s schedule. Subjects in group 3 were exposed only to the temporal schedule. The results showed that Group 1 presented a response distribution closer to the T cycle length rather than the other two groups.

The present study investigated the effect of the training of strike units and strike sequences over the performance in a simulated Karate-do fight and offers a new methodology to study learning in martial arts, based on the Operant Recombination paradigm. Four university students from 18 to 30 years old, with no previous experience in martial arts, were divided into two groups: Group Element (P1 and P2) where the participants started learning single strikes, and Group Sequence (P3 and P4) were the participants started learning strike sequences. The participants performed two experimental conditions. In Element Condition, 6 strike units of punches and kicks were taught and, in Sequence Condition, 4 sequences built with three strike units were trained. Each condition was composed of three stages of training (acquisition, standing focus and moving focus). During acquisition Karate-do strike units or strike sequences were taught by instruction, shaping and modeling. In standing focus stage the participant practiced the previously learned strikes on a stationary target. In moving focus stage the participant repeated the previously learned strikes on a moving target. All participants learned quickly and with fewer errors all the strikes and sequences. Before and after each condition a test with a real adversary was held. In the tests the adversary punched and kicked slowly and repeatedly. The training increased the movement rates of strikes in subsequent tests. The Element Condition increased the rates of strike units and the Sequence Condition increased the rates in strike sequences. Each experimental condition ended with generalization test, just like a Karate-do fight. In these tests the movements of defense were more frequent and attacks decreased compared to the previous test, but there was no systematic effect of the experimental conditions. During the fights the participants used the strikes and sequences previously taught, but also sequences that were not taught with strike combination. The results were discussed based on studies of recombinative learning and methodological refinements were suggested.

Within psychology Interbehavioral has begun analysis of fear, based on the theoretical elucidations performed was marked the same as: a) A particular type of behavior, b) An interaction that requires a conventional reagent system (language), because the person makes linguistic constructions regarding an event, object or organism, this constructions are made according with the individual's referential and/or situational history; and c) Fear behavior is configured as a behavioral tendency. In order to empirically test the fear behavior characterization, a study was conducted, the aim was: evaluate the effects of the referential history on the behavior of fear in children and adults. Participate 10 children (between 10 and 12 years of age) and 10 adults (between 20 and 25 years of age), they were assigned to one of three groups: 1) Control Group, 2) Confirmed Referential History Group, and 3) Denied Referential History Group. The results were discussed around to the Interbehavioral notion of fear, mainly emphasizing in linguistic constructions made by the participants.

The purpose of this study is to determine challenging behavior's patterns for school and preschool aged children with disabilities by age in the Korean residential facilities. Participants were 13 residential facilities for disabilities in South Korea. The number of records were 1,151 for 10 years. The Data was analyzed by frequency analysis and percentage. Type of challenging behavior were aggressive, depression/anxiety, self injury behavior, anti-social behavior, stereotype, sexual abuse, somatic, eating, elimination, sleep problems, attention deficit by criteria of DSM-IV, Lee(2004). On-line behavior analysis system, Homi.Info was used for collecting data of challenging behaviors. The data's rate of agreement for accuracy was 89%. The results of this study are as follows, This table shows the frequency of challenging behaviors by age. The frequency of preschool aged is 241, school aged 8 to 13 years is 460, and the from 14 to 18 is 450. The total frequency is 1151. In preschoolers, the most frequent challenging behavior types are somatic, and SIB. Number of somatic is 82, and SIB is 75. Depression and anxiety are the next most frequent. These behaviors are correlated with medical problems. In school aged 8 to 13 years, there are 4 outstanding behaviors for this group. Number of somatic and SIB is still quite high in frequency. In addition, Elimination and Aggressive behavior are remarkably common in this age group. The most frequent behavior in this age group is Urinate in other inappropriate place as elimination type, with a frequency of 61. Frequency of teasing peers and biting peers as aggressive type are 23, 15, respectively. In the period of school aged, 14 to 18 children, behaviors are different from other age groups, Frequency of somatic and SIB are still presented but there are not high. Frequency of stereotype, depressive/anxiety, and attention deficit are higher than others. The patterns in this age group are various and wide. Therefore, children with disabilities in facility have different behavior patterns by age. Preschooler have noticeable somatic behaviors and SIB. School aged children(8 to 13) also have Somatic and SIB, and even elimination and aggressive. Elimination problem is not serious for preschooler, however, it's problem for school aged children by teacher's perception. School aged children(14 to 18) display more various challenging behavior-Stereotype, depressive/anxiety and Attention deficit behaviors-than other group.

Our goal in this poster is to discuss the origin and development of the concept of metacontingency and of its auxiliary concepts (e.g., interlocking contingencies, aggregate product, macrocontingency, and receiving system) by analyzing the variables that controlled the textual verbal behavior related to its proposals. Three papers will be analyzed: (a) Glenns paper Metacontingencies in Walden Two, for being the first in which the term metacontingency appeared; (b) Glenns 1988 paper Contingencies and metacontingencies: toward a synthesis of behavior analysis and cultural materialism, since its one of the first in which Glenn added new terms and refined its definitions; and (c) Glenns and Malott 2004 paper Complexity and selection: implications for organizational change, for being one of the latest containing significant reviews and the proposal of a new concept. We will argue that the verbal behavior related to the origin and development of the metacontingency explanatory model was not based on empirical data, but mainly on (a) Skinners interpretations (as opposed to explanations) of social behavior (especially his book Science and Human Behavior, and paper Selection by Consequences); (b) Skinners utopian novel Walden Two, which is not an empirical source; and (c) analogies between the selection processes occurring at three different levels natural selection, operant selection and cultural selection which is not consensually well received by behavior analysts and by non-behavior analyst scientists and philosophers that work on the fields of evolutionary biology, sociology and anthropology. In this context, we intend to discuss some of the dangers of establishing a conceptual model of explanation which origin and development were not necessarily driven by data. The main problem is the verbal distance between the events studied by the scientist and his verbal behavior of proposing explanations, meaning that scientists verbal behavior is controlled by variables other than the phenomenon that he is trying to explain. This distance, by its turn, increases the probability of faulty inferences, surplus meaning, undesired speculations, and eventual lack of parsimony. We will argue that these problems should be viewed as a word of caution in the field of social behavior and metacontingency.

The formal education in Mexico has a structure that understands the gradual and progressive students performance. Apparently this approach promotes satisfactory results for the students, however, in the same conditions to which they are exposed students is possible to analyze the factors favoring sufficient or insufficient performance, in terms of problem solving. Hence in the present study the interest was focused on preparing different training conditions for elementary school students, the aim was evaluate the effects of implement conditions organized in sequence vs conditions organized in random order. Under the conditions organized in sequence, students had to move from the development of a skill to another, considering an increase in the level of complexity. Meanwhile, conditions organized in random order, students transiting from skill development to another, participating in varying levels of complexity. The results were discussed in terms of the potential benefits offered by the implementation of conditions organized in sequence and conditions organized in random order to formal education in Mexico.

This study examined the effects of intensive tact training on two elementary school student's pure tacts and mands in non-instructional settings. Participant one was a seven-year-old male diagnosed with autism. He had beginning speaker and listener levels of verbal behavior. Participant two was an eight-year-old male diagnosed with autism. He also had beginning speaker and listener levels of verbal behavior. This study was a delayed multiple probe design across participants. Both participants attend a private not-for-profit school that practices Applied Behavior Analysis methods and services children with Autism and other developmental delays. The school is located outside of the metropolitan area. The purpose of this research was to show the effects of the intensive tact protocol across two participants with Autism. The intensive tact protocol instructed the teachers to increase the number of tacts taught to the students daily, while maintaining other instruction at the same level. The results showed that there is a functional relationship between intensive tact training and the increase of pure mands and tacts in non-instructional settings.

Engaging in motor or vocal stereotypy often prohibits learning among children with autism. Recent literature suggests that allowing free access to stereotypy immediately prior to instructional periods may result in temporary satiation of sensory reinforcers associated with stereotypy. This results in greater engagement in teaching sessions relative to sessions preceded by periods in which stereotypy is restricted. This study replicated those procedures by comparing a childs responsiveness to a play intervention preceded by periods in which stereotypy was either permitted or restricted. Results indicate that allowing access to stereotypy may increase sensitivity to instructional programming.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often display inappropriate social behaviors including repetitive, non-contextual, or idiosyncratic speech. These behaviors can be disruptive, and can have a negative impact on an individuals ability to integrate in social and community settings (Koegel, Koegel & Frea, 1992). If the variables maintaining inappropriate social behaviors (e.g., non-contextual speech) can be identified, this information could help in the development of interventions to improve social outcomes. Previous research has demonstrated that functional analysis methodology has been successful in determining the maintaining variables of such speech patterns. (Rehfeldt & Chambers, 2003). This poster describes an analog functional analysis and subsequent intervention to address non-contextual and idiosyncratic speech for a nine-year-old boy with ASD. During the functional analysis, five conditions were alternated in a multielement design, after conducting an initial probe to determine relevant conditions. Treatment includes DRA + Extinction, and subsequently, the addition of differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior.

The Stimulus equivalence and DRM Paradigms were used to investigate the effect of emotions on false memories. On Phase 1, six college students were taught three four-stimuli equivalence classes - Classes 1, 2 and 3 - and three 12-stimuli equivalence classes - Classes 4, 5 and 6, all with one node. The nodes for Classes 1, 2 and 3 were familiar pictures. Three happy, three neutral and three angry faces were randomly used as the node in Class 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The other stimuli in all classes were nonsense words. On Phase 2 participants first saw three lists composed by nine of the 11 nonsense words from Classes 5, 4 and 6. Next, a distracter task were performed for three minutes and than three lists composed by all stimuli from previously list (Targets), the rest of the nonsense words form Classes 5, 4 and 6 (Critical Distractors) and the nonsense stimuli from Classes 1, 2 and 3 (Non-related distracters) were shown. Participants should indicate witch stimuli were presented on the first lists. Data showed more recognition of critical than non-related distracters on the list composed by stimuli from Neutral class, compared to Happy and Angry classes.

The word organism has remained an unarticulated backdrop to nearly all thinking about behavior. Skinner has reported that he moved away from the isolated preparations of reflexes to instrumental behavior because of his interest in the whole organism. Radical Behaviorist conceptualizations, however, raise interesting and important questions about where the boundary between organism and environment are to be drawn and about the conditions under which the word organism is used. This poster will explore how the term Organism has been used in various endeavors interested in understanding behavior (broadly defined). What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for appropriate use of the term? Does the exploration help to expand or constrain the scope of our science, the research therein, and the implications for its application to cure social ills? Can the conditions in which various systems use the word organism inform the efforts of other endeavors? These are some of the questions explored in this poster.

Braille illiteracy is a severe and serious issue concerning education for students with visual impairment. Time delay is a systematic response prompting procedure with a strong evidence base to teach functional and academic skills to students with a range of disabilities. Although time delay is considered an evidence-based strategy to teach literacy skills to children with severe disabilities, research on the efficacy of time delay to teach literacy skills to children with severe visual impairment has not been published to date. In this poster session, the presenter will share the results of two single subject studies using constant time delay procedures to teach braille learners. In one study, prompts included physical guidance, modeling, and pointing out salient features of braille words to teach highly motivating words to four students with multiple disabilities. In the second study, verbal prompts were used to teach braille or Nemeth code to three students transitioning from print to braille. The results of these two studies provide strong evidence of the promise of constant time delay as an effective and efficient intervention to teach students with the most severe visual impairments, with and without additional disabilities.

Matching law predicts an organism, given two choices, will engage in behavior resulting in higher rates of reinforcement (Herrnstein, 1961; 1970). Matching law has been extended to academic assignment choice. The mathematics interspersing procedure provides students additional opportunities to respond to academic stimuli (i.e., math problems) within an assignment by programming additional brief problems among longer target problems. The more problems completed on assignments with interspersing, the more likely students are to choose such assignments relative to an assignment without interspersing (e.g., Cates & Dalenberg, 2005). The discrete task completion hypothesis poses that students learn a history of contacting reinforcement for completing assignments, and additional brief problems within assignments serve as conditioned reinforcement (Skinner, 2002). Some students (i.e., non-choosers), however, choose assignments without interspersing relative to assignments with interspersing, presumably due to insufficient opportunities to contact conditioned reinforcement. This investigation sought to determine whether manipulating schedules of interspersing within assignments could influence non-choosers assignment choice. One hundred fifty participants responded to three paired assignments, one with and one without interspersing, and chose between assignments. Results showed increasing conditioned reinforcement within assignments caused non-choosers choice to change. Participant choice for assignments with interspersing, overall, increased as relative problem completion rates increased.

A conceptualization of lying as a behavior has been developed within Interbehavioral Psychology. This position argues that lying involves the participation of three features: 1. the participation of at least two subjects, 2. the interaction between a concrete event and a substitute event that is not present or is not apparent in the interactive situation, that is referred by the liar, and 3. A reference to certain event functions that dont correspond with the properties of the event (Luna, 2013). Using these features as guidelines, an experimental task is developed where a situation is presented that sets the occasion for the subject to lie. The present research explore the effects of the manipulation of different dispositional factors, feedback and verbal interactions, as possible variables that may facilitate or hinder lying. Results are examined through an interbehavioral analysis of the situation.

Although many cultures have gone through significant changes during the globalization era, one can still argue that almost all cultures have a variety of unique features. Turkish culture where I have been a member for more than 50 years has its own unique features especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships. I recently authored a book in Turkish on analyzing a variety of events of daily life throughout various settings such as schools, homes, work places, community settings, etc. in the Turkish culture. Most of these analyses are mainly based on my own experiences. I propose to share some of these experiences as well as the behavioral analyses that I offer regarding these experiences during this poster presentation. Furthermore, I would like to share the behavioral conclusions and recommendations that I offer regarding each analysis. While offering these, I will also try to introduce the most relevant behavioral concepts and define these concepts as operational as possible. At the end, I will provide a list consisting of a dozen golden rules for pursuing more successful interpersonal relationships and less problematic daily lives.

A modified habit reversal procedure and token economy was used as a behavior intervention protocol for a sixth grade male student who attended a mainstream middle school. The student pulled his hair and rubbed at his scalp, forming bald spots. Partial interval recording was used to assess the percent of intervals the participant engaged in head rubbing and a habit reversal procedure consisting of self monitoring and social support, along with tokens towards obtaining an electronic gaming device, was utilized to decrease the percent of intervals the individual engaged in the target behavior. Data show that implementing self-monitoring alone decreased percent of intervals of head rubbing.

The effects of Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) were examined on the level of vocal stereotypy emitted by an adolescent boy diagnosed with autism. Sessions were conducted in a familiar school environment and a discriminative stimulus was used to program for generalization. Data were taken on immediate and subsequent levels of vocal stereotypy as well as the rate of appropriate vocalizations. Generalization probes were conducted across three community environments including a local grocery store, fitness center, and community job site. Results show decreases in vocal stereotypy but problems with generalization across environments in the absence of direct training.

Food selectivity is when individuals will only eat certain types of foods based on various characteristics of those food. Having food selectivity can affect an individual's health and well being. Research has confirmed that food selectivity occurs in children with and without various developmental disabilities. Previous research has confirmed, that using reinforcement procedures in combination with escape extinction has been effective in increasing types of foods that are consumed by those individuals with food selectivity. In this research study, the researchers used shaping, and prompting in combination with escape extinction and reinforcement procedures to treat food selectivity in three participants aged two to eleven years old. The purpose of the study, was to determine if using a tangible reinforcer or sequential presentation (edible reinforcer) increased food consumption and decreased food refusal behaviors. Data was taken on the percentage of bites that participants accepted and consumed per meal, and on the frequency of refusal behaviors per meal. Two of the participants had higher rates of consumption behavior and lower rates of refusal behaviors when using sequential presentation. One participant made more progress when they were provided a play item after the new food. The results indicated, that for some individuals using sequential presentation is more effective, and for others, a tangible reinforcer is more effective at increasing acceptance and consumption of new foods for those with food selectivity.

Federal laws require schools to provide research-based practices to students within the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). It inevitably becomes the classroom teachers responsibility to ensure that students with ASD are provided with education derived from research-based interventions. When it comes to learning, all children have unique needs and different styles of learning. Children with ASD (particularly non-verbal students) present needs that may be particularly challenging for teachers to deal with, especially when they lack the skills and experience needed to overcome these challenges. As all students have the right to quality education, all teachers must be well equipped for the job of teaching these young minds. It is important that successful evidence-based techniques for teaching students, reach the teachers so that they may be able to implement these for a better working classroom. The poster presentation will be a literature review that will provide teachers with a list of techniques (technology, instruction methods, students self-management skills etc.) that have been used successfully for non-verbal students with ASD within an inclusion classroom, with minimal intrusion.

Professional development is the crux of training teachers and staff in evidence based interventions for teaching students with autism (SWA). Mand training is an effective procedure for increasing functional language and decreasing problematic behavior associated with autism. This dissertation examined the effectiveness of a video-based professional development program to teach mand training to early intervention teachers. Teacher-student dyads included two early intervention teachers and one speech pathologist who participated with SWA. Intervention phases included (1) OTV, (2) feedback, and (3) modeling/coaching sessions. Outcomes in terms of student achievement, specifically the frequency of student manding, were recorded during baseline. Baseline occurred prior to teachers' completion of online self directed training videos (OTV), and during each intervention phase. The teacher implementation of four-step manding procedure was also evaluated. Measuring both the student and the teacher behavior evaluated interventionists� competency improvement following and/or during different training components and concurrently measured student behavior change (manding) across each training component. Results indicated that student manding increased slightly when OTV alone was used for one participant, and with more significance when components of feedback and coaching/modeling were added. These results and data from social validity measures support the hypothesis that feedback and modeling and coaching are all essential for teachers to learn to use mand training to increase communication with their students with ASD. Keywords: autism, verbal behavior, online training, self directed learning program, teachers, teacher development, professional development.

Extensive research has shown that peer-mediated interventions for children with autism are highly effective (e.g. Sperry, Neitzel, & Englehardt-Wells, 2010). Far less, however, is known about how well children with autism perform when taught by a typically developing sibling. For years, researchers have incorporated typically developing siblings into interventions as models or instructors for the child with autism. However, there have been no reviews consolidating the evidence regarding siblings' teaching ability. Research in the field of Autism spectrum disorders focuses mainly on the individual diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and rarely on the capability of the interventionist. Therefore, it is not known how effective siblings are overall as interventionists for children with ASD, nor what type of interventions are best suited for sibling involvement. The purpose of this poster is to review the existing literature, to summarize the types of interventions in which researchers involve siblings, and to discuss whether typically developing siblings are adequate intervention practitioners for their family members with autism spectrum disorder.

Very few studies exist that examine social skills instruction for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) (Reichow & Volkmar, 2010). Studies examining the effectiveness of interventions implemented within the public school setting, where a majority of adolescents with ASD and ID receive instruction, are still needed. The current investigation evaluated the effects of a social skills training program designed for adolescents with ASD, video-based group instruction (VGI), on the acquisition of more complex social skills by five high school aged students with ASD or ID in the public school setting. VGI was implemented daily for 45 to 50 min by a classroom teacher. A multiple probe across behaviors design was used to examine the effectiveness of VGI to train and increase the targeted social skills. The data collected to date (see attached) suggest VGI leads to the acquisition and reliable performance of many targeted social skills.