Association for Behavior Analysis International

Being part of a committed and satisfying relationship is frequently cited as one of the most deeply held values of both men and women in?the United States and other westernized countries. Moreover, relationship infidelity is cited as a?frequent cause of?dissatisfaction and the termination of committed relationships. A contextual behavioral model suggests that choices around?infidelity?are contextually bound, where antecedent strategies like avoiding arousing events with strangers and behavior relational strategies such as practicing mindfulness could?abate arousal functions and reduce the probability of infidelity. In the present study, we?evaluated these contextual factors in a randomized control trial design.?Participants completed a probability discounting task under the hypothetical situation of being in a relationship?at either 75% or 25%?relationship?satisfaction?and?reported?how likely they were to?engage in infidelity?as?an inverse function of?likelihood of getting caught. Half of the participants then completed the same task a second time after watching a 5-minute?arousing scene from a movie identified for each participant in a preference assessment. The other participants completed the second task after completing 5-minutes of mindfulness. Results showed that the overall?probability?of infidelity was higher with lower relationship satisfaction?and the arousing scene produced even greater discounting rates. Mindfulness may have served as a protective behavior the reduced probability discounting.?Results have implications for a contextual view of?infidelity.?

Individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities often face stigma related to sexuality, sexual expression, and reproductive health. Common misconceptions include beliefs that people with disabilities cannot maintain healthy sexual or romantic relationships, are unfit to bear children, do not have sexual desires, and do not need to learn about sex because they will not understand the content. As a result, many neurodiverse individuals do not receive sexuality education which may cause more significant psychological distress and inflexibility. To promote psychological flexibility related to sexuality among neurodiverse individuals and address sexual stigma among caregivers, the current study compared Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to psychoeducational approaches using a randomized control trial design. In study one, individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities attended a three-day ACT and sexuality group workshop focused on sexual and gender identity, consent and boundaries, and reproductive health. After attending the workshop, participants reported increases in sexual empowerment and interpersonal psychological flexibility compared to those who received the educational curriculum. In study two, parents and caregivers of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities attended a two-hour ACT group workshop to reduce negative attitudes related to individuals with developmental disabilities and sexuality. The findings of both studies suggest ACT is an effective intervention for increasing psychological flexibility related to sexuality in neurodiverse individuals and their caregivers. The implications of utilizing psychological flexibility approaches in conjunction with sexuality education for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities will be discussed.

Climate Change and Human Health. What can Behavior Analysts do? Lincoln Kamau Carbon Purple and Autism Resources & Therapy Center of Massachusetts Abstract: Climate Change is the greatest single threat to human health on the planet today. Air pollution alone is estimated to cause 7 million deaths a year. That is at least double the number of people who died globally from COVID-19 in 2020 (WHO, 2020). B.F. Skinner was concerned with the application of behavioral science to solve important human problems, such as overpopulation, nuclear war, pollution, opportunities for minorities and more (e.g., Skinner, 1987, 1971/2002). He maintained that the solution to these problems required the modification of behavior and, therefore, a technology of behavior. Given the threat climate change presents to humanity, but also cognizant of the effective technologies’ behavior analysts have in their tool kit, this presentation will challenge behavior professionals to embrace a range of micro and macro-level interventions such as targeted feedback, environmental arrangements, group contingencies, renewable energy use, food production, waste recycling and reduction etc. to increase and improve sustainable practices. Behavior analysts will also be challenged to collaborate with other experts and policy makers to improve sustainable practices in a variety of areas including environmental conservation and preservation, renewable energy, emission control and transportation. The Environmentalist Behavior Analyst: Identifying Opportunities and Feasibility of Behavior Analytic Careers in Sustainability Julia H. Fiebig (Ball State University; AGI), Jessica Ghai (Boston University), Holly Seniuk (Behavior Analyst Certification Board) Abstract: The effects of climate change are primarily issues of social and environmental justice. They are symptomatic of a lack of sustainable and regenerative systems that could offer a stable social foundation for the entire population, without exceeding the ecological ceiling of the earth’s resources (Raworth, 2017). While most behavior analysts work within the fields of education and human services, a growing number of practitioners and researchers recognize the urgency to expand work into other sectors. Environmental sustainability is one area that continues to grow as a legitimate professional opportunity for behavior analysts. Given the complexity and urgency of this Super Wicked Problem, there exist a vast number of issues that behavior analysts can meaningfully impact. This paper presents the array of environmental sustainability issues behavior analysis can help solve as well as a systematic framework for those behavior analysts thinking of focusing their behavior analytic work on sustainability. An overview of an iterative process is offered, inclusive of values clarification, evaluation of situational needs and assets, and creation of an action plan. This process creates opportunity for the behavior analyst to consider how they may augment, or shift, their work to critical issues of environmental sustainability and justice. Meg Martineau (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability) The Ripple Effects of Committing to Sustainable Action at your Place of Work Abstract: One of the largest challenges facing our society is the climate crises, yet there are very few BCBA certificates where this is their area of focus. The primary area of focus for BCBAs continues to be in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (Behavior Analysis Certification Board, 2021). As the climate crisis unfolds, the demand for behavioral based climate solutions will continue to grow. Behavior analysts have the opportunity to make a significant impact on climate change initiatives at their place of work, home, or community. This talk will describe the implementation of a behaviorally based climate solution based on a community-based social marketing framework (Mackenzie-Mohr, 2017). This presentation will describe the implementation of a school wide composting program, discuss how behavior analysts already possess leadership skills in sustainability efforts, and describe the larger ripple effects created through targeted actions.

Intermediate: Individuals who are interested in learning more about how behavior analysts can become more involved with sustainability efforts. The talk will focus on immediate actions that can be taken to make a positive change and will also, look at long-term efforts of each author for improving sustainability practices.

Climate Change is the greatest single threat to human health on the planet today. Air pollution alone is estimated to cause 7 million deaths a year. That is at least double the number of people who died globally from COVID-19 in 2020 (WHO, 2020). B.F. Skinner was concerned with the application of behavioral science to solve important human problems, such as overpopulation, nuclear war, pollution, opportunities for minorities and more (e.g., Skinner, 1987, 1971/2002). He maintained that the solution to these problems required the modification of behavior and, therefore, a technology of behavior. Given the threat climate change presents to humanity, but also cognizant of the effective technologies’ behavior analysts have in their tool kit, this presentation will challenge behavior professionals to embrace a range of micro and macro-level interventions such as targeted feedback, environmental arrangements, group contingencies, renewable energy use, food production, waste recycling and reduction etc. to increase and improve sustainable practices. Behavior analysts will also be challenged to collaborate with other experts and policy makers to improve sustainable practices in a variety of areas including environmental conservation and preservation, renewable energy, emission control and transportation.

One of the biggest obstacles that we currently face in slowing down global warming is increased human consumption. Human consumption behaviors have increased greenhouse gas emissions faster than technology has been able to reduce emissions (Arto & Dietzenbacher, 2014). Popular opinion holds that humans will find a solution to greenhouse gas emissions, as innovation given environmental strain has historically been true (Harari, 2015). It is estimated that in 20 years the temperature of the earth will rise by 1.5?, which will result in increased heat waves, longer warm seasons, shorter cold seasons, and natural disasters (IPCC, 2021). One area of consumption that has drastically increased recently is food waste (Hall et al., 2009). Food waste is one of the largest producers of methane emissions, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (Miller et al., 2013). An intervention was piloted that looked at decreasing food waste by practicing contemplative practices aimed at increasing a sense of community with humanity and engage in less I/me/my behavior and increase behaviors towards humanity.

Utilizing behavioral interventions to functionally influence socially relevant topics such as discrimination and bias is what behavior analysis was always intended to do. By integrating elements of Relational Frame Theory (RFT), Relational Density Theory (RDT), and Acceptance and Commitment Theory (ACT) the field can begin to predict and influence barriers that people endure based on immutable characteristics such as gender or race. The current series of presentations will address issues of prejudice and discrimination from a behavioral lens. Implicit biases and related clusters of gender and racial discrimination will be discussed, as well as a model to describe arbitrary features associated with the biases held in gender stereotyping. Next, we will discuss biases associated with sexual orientation through a RDT procedure, as well as the potential for using ACT to improve the experience of LGBTQIA+ college students with relevant resources and supports. Lastly, we discuss the binary and nonbinary genders and how we can defuse associated biases through an ACT intervention. Results provide implications that may better guide research, clinical practitioners, and policy to understand the detrimental behaviors people engage in, as well as inspire the field to produce change lead by intention, science, and advocacy.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

Utilizing Relational Frame Theory (RFT)?models?to?analyze implicit?bias?and discrimination against disadvantaged communities?has been a growing area of interest for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis.?Implicit bias has been successful modelled using procedures like the?Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP)?and,?Implicit Association Test?(IAT). Relational Density Theory provides another approach that may successfully?model the interrelatedness of relations that produce bias and prejudice against people. First, we will discuss our research on gender stereotyping showing that relational frames organize into binary gendered clusters that can influence how people respond to others when variables other than gender are held constant. Second, we combined stimuli from multiple IRAP and IAT studies to reveal?complex interrelations that may participate in racial prejudice. Finally, in order to?develop a model of how these relations arrive, we implemented a relational training procedure to?create biased and prejudiced relations among arbitrary features of invented aliens (arbitrAliens) to?demonstrate how prejudice may emerge around relatively arbitrary characteristics of gender and race that can disadvantage members of these communities. Prejudice was measured in a recall?test?and through participant responses across repeated scenarios. Results correspond with our density analysis and mirror results from?the prior?studies.??

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many behavior analysts who serve individuals with developmental disabilities had to transform their practice swiftly using telehealth in order to continue supporting their clients. In this international symposium, we invited practitioners from across the world who adapted their services to telehealth to share their experiences. Smita Awasthi will present a study that reports how Behavior Momentum India shifted their in-clinic services across their 10 clinics in India to in-home telehealth during the pandemic using smartphones. Guido D’Angelo will present a study conducted in Italy through their agency, Dalla Luna, in which telehealth supervision was provided to two therapists in conducting functional analysis and functional communication training. Kristín Guðmundsdóttir, from University of Akureyri, will present a study in which the authors developed and implemented a telehealth parent training protocol with 5 families in rural Iceland before the pandemic despite challenges such as low-speed internet access. Iris Heidsha Pons from Starbright Academy in Puerto Rico will share her experiences shifting to telehealth during the pandemic for a school and clinic that serves over 200 individuals. Presenters will share cultural variables they considered, barriers they faced, and will present recommendations for other professionals implementing behavior analysis through telehealth.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Telehealth services have been applied in the treatment of a variety of problems across geographies (Tsami et al., 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic provided such an opportunity to scale up the impact of behavior analysis for children with autism when in-clinic services stopped abruptly worldwide. This qualitative and quantitative case study details how Behavior Momentum India (BMI), an organisation with 10 clinics across India transitioned services from in clinic to telehealth using the ubiquitous smartphone. A cohort of 92 students diagnosed with autism participated in this study under a team of 51 therapists, 9 behavior supervisors, and a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Smartphones were used by 78% students and 82% therapists for direct 1:1 and parent-mediated sessions with 82 students. With 10 students, behavior supervisors provided parent training to continue interventions during lockdown. The critical transition decisions, logistics, and ethical challenges were identified using qualitative methods. All students continued to acquire targeted skills, while 52% of the students acquired more skills in telehealth compared to in clinic as per curriculum modification. A social validity survey provided high ratings on our organization’s initiative, and 72% parents reported that their familiarity and confidence with the science of applied behavior analysis had increased.

This paper presents the development and experimental evaluation of telehealth methods in behavioral caregiver training in rural Iceland pre COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons learned from the study will be described and considerations for professional training and practice in behavioral telehealth for families of children with autism will be discussed. The study was conducted with Icelandic families of preschool-aged children with autism that did not have access to evidence-based services. The experimental design was a multiple baseline across parent and child skills, replicated across 5 families. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected for experimental and social validity purposes. Caregivers were taught to apply the TeachingDANCE (Ala‘i-Rosales, Cermak og Guðmundsdóttir, 2013) during play interaction with their children in order to teach their children social communication skills and enhance the quality of the relationship between the parent and child. The majority of the training was conducted through telecommunication methods. The results showed measurable progress for parents and children across all skill areas. Furthermore, the caregivers valued the increased access to evidence-based intervention and expertise, despite various challenges during the intervention. The results indicated that training via telecommunication is a viable approach for rural families with low-speed internet connection. Critical training components for higher and continuing education will be highlighted and recommendations for professional training and practice will be discussed in the context of the research as well as the lessons learned. These recommendations include considerations regarding technical skills, effective training procedures, ethical and cultural considerations, and challenges when conducting data-based behavioral consultation via telecommunication.

Kristín Guðmundsdóttir is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Akureyri, Iceland. Kristín holds a Doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Iceland and a Master of Science degree in behavior analysis from the University of North Texas. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2003. Kristín has served as the President of Icelandic ABA and has been an active participant in the shaping of behavior analysis in Iceland. Kristín has worked as a therapist and case manager in early behavior intervention for young children with autism and other developmental disabilities in Iceland and the US. She also has extensive experience teaching and consulting with children and caregivers in the Icelandic school system, specifically in rural parts of Iceland. Kristín’s current research focus includes behavior intervention for families of young children with autism and other developmental disabilities via telehealth. Specific emphasis is on caregiver training for rural families that have limited access to evidence-based services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the education, family, and social aspects of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Puerto Rico. Starbright Academy serves 116 individuals from the ages of 2-21 years in our school program and 101 individuals with ASD and other related disorders in our clinical program (MO Therapy). The pandemic challenged us to transfer our educational and clinical system from face-to-face to a virtual one. Within 5 weeks of the initial “shut down” in 2020, Starbright had converted all of our in-person services to telehealth. We conducted academic and clinical programs through telemedicine for 76 children for 10 months. In this discussion I will share the lessons learned during this transition. Specifically, I will discuss how telemedicine has had a positive impact in educating all family members in ABA techniques, the significant improvements we have seen in the well-being of the family threw the application of telehealth in these homes, the development of independence skills and the generalization of other skills learned at school into the home setting. I will also share the obstacles that we faced in Puerto Rico for receiving ABA services, other challenges encountered during this transition to telehealth and provide recommendations for future providers.

Potential anti-anxiety medications are commonly assessed by measuring their “anti-conflict” effects. While these procedures have good predictive validity, there are practical limitations that may be alleviated using a different procedure. Transitions from favorable to unfavorable schedules of positive reinforcement (rich-lean transitions) disrupt operant behavior, are putatively aversive, and disruptions in rich-lean transitions can be reduced following benzodiazepine administration. We evaluated the suitability of a rich-lean transition procedure as an assay for potential anti-anxiety medications. Adult rhesus monkeys’ lever presses were reinforced using a two-component multiple schedule with equivalent fixed-ratio (FR) requirements. Components were differentially signaled by different colored cue lights. Completing one component, the lean component, produced one food pellet. Completing the other component, the rich component, produced four food pellets. Sessions consisted of 41 components arranged irregularly to produce 10 iterations of four kinds of transitions: rich-lean, rich-rich, lean-lean, and lean-rich. Consistent with previous findings, extended pausing was observed in rich-lean transitions. Acute administration of benzodiazepines (midazolam and alprazolam) and a benzodiazepine-type compound (TPA023B) selectively and dose-dependently reduced pausing in rich-lean transitions. In control conditions, acute administration of morphine selectively increased rich-lean pausing and (+)amphetamine had unsystematic effects. The suitability of rich-lean procedures as assays for putative anti-anxiety medications appears promising.

Pigeons had experience pecking under a multiple FR FR schedule in which ratios ended in a large/rich or small/lean amount of grain. Each of the four transitions between rich and lean was signaled by a different key light color. Pigeons paused at least twice as long during the rich-to-lean transitions than during other transitions. We then established a baseline of responding on a dependent concurrent VI 20-s VI 20-s schedule. After stability was reached, we implemented punishment probes, during which one of the transition-specific stimuli was flashed contingent on responses on one of the keys according to a random-ratio schedule. We examined potential conditioned punishment (e.g., rich-to-lean and lean-to-lean stimuli) or reinforcement (e.g., lean-to-rich and rich-to-rich) effects. Results could inform clinical practice in that it may demonstrate how advance notice or prompts that remind individuals to do work may function aversively.

As the title reads, art may be conceptualized by the responses that produce it. Increased discussion of the contingencies maintaining art at multiple levels, from perspectives of the maker and the viewer, could improve understanding of art as behavior. The purpose of this symposium is to contribute to the ongoing discussion about art as a subject within behavior analysis, and ideally catalyze research by illuminating multiple areas of art as behavior ripe for study. The first presentation in this symposium will discuss art in terms of the cultural practices that sustain it by examining three different art movements across three unique domains. The second presentation will explore the environmental contingencies thought to promote artistic expression at various levels of analysis. The third presentation will discuss fluctuations in the demand for a major American portrait artist from a perspective a culturo-behavioral selection and complexity of the contexts where the artist lived. The fourth and final presentation will describe research aiming to prevent unwanted touching of art, providing one example of the use of single-case design to investigate audience behavior. The presentations will be discussed in the context of current art-related literature within behavior analysis and with consideration towards its expansion.

Behavior analysts

While it is commonly accepted that complex behaviors can be understood, when we talk about artists, mentalistic explanations are accepted. However, an artist's operant behavior can be explained, even if the controlling variables are not readily available to the observer. This conceptual paper aims to discuss, through artists’ talks and works, the variables that control those behaviors. Those variables include antecedent variables where artists learn to respond to parts of the world. They also learn responses, not only technically, but ways to behave relevant to an artistic community. In these communities, contingencies are presented in such a way also to reinforce some behaviors and its variations, in novel and original ways. Finally, we discuss the consequences of artistic behavior, pointing they are not only social and financial, but may include the automatic reinforcers present in producing art, where the creation process itself is the reinforcer, and that art may be controlled by negative reinforcers, as a socially accepted way to express emotions and ideas that otherwise wouldn’t be. The interplay of those elements, in unique and new ways, in an environment that selects for artistic expression, may help to understand the behavior of the artist.

John Singer Sargent (1856 –1925) was the most prolific and renowned American figure painter of the 19th century. Painting was his love: “To work is to pray” (“Laborare est orare,”in Latin) is the inscription of his tombstone. He painted over 900 portraits and today he is recognized internationally with unequaled distinction. Though, during his lifetime and even following his death, he reached both fame and disgrace with his figure painting several times over. At the height of his career, he was highly praised and was inundated with international demand for his portraits. At the bottom, he was subject to scandal, his commissions curtailed, and he felt forced to move out of Paris. He said, “Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend”; and by 1907 he resolved to stop portrait paintings all together, especially of the upper classes. He devoted himself to other branches of painting, producing over 1800 watercolors, large paintings, and murals. This presentation attempts to explain the fluctuations in the demand for Sargent’s portraiture from a perspective a culturo-behavioral selection and complexity of the contexts where he lived. The analysis is relevant to the site of the 2022 ABAI convention: He was prominent in Boston—a city that houses some of his most significant paintings.

Using statistics within behavior analysis is a topic that has been visited and revisited but has yet to become a regular part of practice in the applied setting. In some circles, it remains a topic of contention, especially when suggested that statistics be used in lieu of visual analysis to interpret behavioral data. We agree with others who have proposed that statistics and other quantitative judgement tools can be used in conjunction with visual analysis. Application of statistics might be of special interest when early detection of functional relations is critical. Such is the case when making decisions regarding results of functional analyses. Therefore, the purpose of the current investigation was to explore (1) to what extent PhD level behavior analysts agree with each other on visual analysis of FA graphs (2) and to determine the effect of teaching practicing and novice behavior analysts to apply statistical analysis to the evaluation of FA graphs. We then propose some directions for further investigation that may promote best practices in the future.

Basic and applied researchers, practitioners

In an increasingly diverse world, it is imperative that practitioners of applied behavior analysis reflect on what it means to be culturally responsive, identify best practices for serving diverse and, particularly, marginalized clients and families, and evaluate methods for training staff to be culturally responsive in their interactions with clients. Across the papers within this symposium, the importance of recognizing client demographics as a meaningful variable in behavior analytic practice and research will be highlighted. In addition, a competency checklist for identifying practitioners’ strengths and areas of need with regard to culturally responsive services for individuals on the autism spectrum will be introduced. Finally, a study evaluating the use of behavioral skills training to teach cultural competence will show that components of the complex skill set of cultural responsiveness can be operationalized and successfully trained. Behavior analysis has been effectively applied across many populations, this symposium will emphasize the work that continues to be needed in ensuring that behavior analytic technology can be effectively applied across diverse and marginalized populations in a respectful and responsive manner.

Basic

Early research on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) provides evidence of service disruption and worsening behavioral outcomes. The current study evaluates change in hours of ABA therapy before and through the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption differed based on the race/ethnicity and socio-economic status of the child. Retrospective clinical data on client therapy utilization was collected from 5 ABA clinics in California (N=203). Using repeated measures ANOVA, we evaluated change in therapy hours through time and the moderating effects of child’s race/ethnicity and child’s primary therapy funder. We found that there was a significant effect of time on hours of ABA therapy so that there was a reduction in hours between pre COVID-19 and the beginning of COVID-19 with no significant changes in hours of ABA therapy between the beginning of COVID-19 and 6 months into the pandemic. Analysis of moderators revealed no significant effect of race or race x payer on the relationship between time and hours of ABA therapy. Children who receive funding from school districts had a more severe drop in ABA therapy hours during the pandemic compared to others. These findings indicate that ABA therapy hours may have been disrupted for longer periods than anticipated and implications for access to ABA for children during historical moments of healthcare disruption are discussed.

Research supports behavioral approaches to parent training but applied behavior analytic (ABA) research, and the social sciences in general, have neglected to include diverse populations in research. One population that has received little or no ABA research is undocumented immigrants. Parents who are undocumented often face multiple layers of adversity, especially regarding accessibility of resources for their children. Barriers often include limited host-language knowledge and fear of contacting authority figures to access services. Parenting can be stressful for all parents and this stress may be exacerbated by the additional stressors that undocumented parents face. Acceptance and commitment training (ACT) is an empirically validated behavior analytic approach to empowering socially meaningful overt behavior change in typically developing adults, but very little research has evaluated ACT training for diverse families, let alone parents without legal immigration status. This multiple baseline study evaluated bilingual, culturally adapted ACT training, delivered over Zoom, for immigrant parents. Target behaviors were self-selected by participants, based on their chosen values. Data collection for one participant is complete and is ongoing for two more. Initial data suggest the program is effective and social validity data suggest a good cultural fit.

Clients of applied behavior analysis (ABA), specifically Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) receiving treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), regularly experience the effects of systemic racism via biases (implicit and explicit) in the healthcare system. Examples include delayed diagnosis, missed diagnosis, delayed access to services, culturally inappropriate programming, etc. ABA as a science and practice offers the necessary tools to support immediate, concrete actions toward social justice, including the work of improving timeliness of diagnosis, access to services, and appropriate programming. This paper offers a brief conceptual discussion of cultural responsiveness and humility within autism services. A framework for cultural responsiveness will be offered as a tool to measure a behavior analyst’s skill set across domains of practice and across multiple areas of professional development, with a focus on driving more responsive ABA-based autism services to marginalized communities. While the professional development competency checklist was designed to be applied across settings (e.g., education, community engagement, within a provider organization), this talk will focus especially on applications within an agency/provider organization.

Resurgence, or the return of previously extinguished problem behavior when intervention is challenged, represents an important clinical problem for researchers and implementers to address. Understanding the conditions that bring about and mitigate resurgence can lead to improved long-term implementation of DRA-based intervention such as functional communication training (FCT). We evaluated response and consequence variables as part of a large research project related to response persistence in the context of FCT. Our research approach allowed for us to evaluate how these variables impacted resurgence of problem behavior for a subset of participants. For one subset of individuals, we evaluated the relation between communication modality included in FCT and subsequent resurgence. Results indicated that resurgence was greater during the disruption component associated with a low preferred FCT modality, relative to resurgence in a disruption component associated with a high preferred FCT modality. For another subset of individuals, we evaluated the relation between reinforcement history and subsequent resurgence. Results were more equivocal with this group. One individual displayed greater resurgence in the context associated with dense reinforcement, one individual displayed less resurgence in the context associated with dense reinforcement, and one individual displayed no resurgence. The results of the current study suggested that the level of resurgence observed might differ as a function of response-related variables, such as preference for communication modality. Results related to the impact of reinforcement history on resurgence were less consistent.

The mitigation of the resurgence effect has implications both theoretical and practical. In doing so, we add to the comprehension of variables that control resurgence as well as generate ideas that can potentially be applied to clinical situations. In the resurgence procedure, a target response (TR) is established during an initial phase, then extinguished in a second phase, while an alternative response (AR) is reinforced. Finally, during a test phase, both responses are extinguished. The TR usually resurges during the test. A cue associated with the extinction of the TR during alternative reinforcement can mitigate the resurgence effect. This study assessed the effects of varying the presentation of a cue during the alternative reinforcement phase on resurgence. Human participants were exposed to a resurgence procedure varying the presentation of the cue during alternative reinforcement in a continuous, contingent, or a random manner. Results indicated that resurgence can be reduced by presenting a cue associated with alternative reinforcement, although the continuous presentation seems to be the most effective to mitigate relapse.

Successful people engage in behaviors they were previously taught under a vastly wider variety of contexts than those presented in during initial instruction. After instruction, some learners need only a few models to successfully apply the skills that they have been taught. However, even if they performed well during instruction, many learners require explicit instruction in knowing both how and when to apply their instructed skills. At Morningside Academy we have developed a Generative Instruction model for teaching learners to engage in application as well as novel behavior. First, Kent Johnson will describe that Generative Instruction model, and urge behavioral educators to broaden their focus beyond knowledge and skill acquisition to meet the demands of our current technology and information society. Second, Andrew Kieta will define and illustrate how orient instruction toward application by using Cognitive Strategy Instruction (CSI) with teacher think-alouds, and using think-alouds during opportunities for application. Third, Bailee Scheuffele will provide data to illustrate how application of initially taught vocabulary words can be increased with CSI and think-alouds. Finally, Leah Herzog will provide data to illustrate how to use think-alouds and delayed prompting procedures to promote application of initially taught sentence writing skills to many novel contexts.

Teachers, school psychologists, behavioral educators

Effective people engage in behaviors they were previously taught under a vastly wider variety of contexts than those presented in classrooms. We call applying the same behavior we were taught in a new context or circumstance simple generative responding. To promote simple generative responding, most teachers provide suggestions or wisdom to students about applying the behaviors elsewhere. However, a fully functional analysis must include more than hope for application. How do we promote simple generative responding? For example, how do we guarantee that students will apply newly learned decoding skills to read a magazine or newspaper article? Apply column addition & subtraction skills while grocery shopping? Apply persuasive writing skills to write a letter to a newspaper editor? Watch videos, and read articles and books related to the social studies and science that we teach? Questions like these pertain to the sustainability of behavior. Many students require direct instruction in both knowing how and knowing when to apply what they have learned. We have designed two procedures to facilitate application: Cognitive Strategy Instruction with teacher think-alouds to broaden the context in which a skill is initially taught, and delayed prompting to guide application of the skill in new contexts.

Horses often graze certain areas of a pasture leaving some areas ungrazed. Changing grazing patterns without having to erect fencing would have benefits to prevent overgrazing. The objective of our study was to determine if the placement of automatic feeders could change the most frequently used grazing area of a three-horse herd. Prior to the intervention, the geldings were fed twice daily. Each horse’s location was monitored by direct observation and also a GPS sensor. The GPS sensors collected six data points per second and the data was used to create a heat map of the horse most frequently grazed locations. For direct observation, the three-acre field was divided into quadrants and observers recorded the quadrant location of each horse every minute. We then mounted three automatic feeders on the fence line in the least used quadrant of the field and trained the horses to eat off mats placed below the automatic feeder. The automatic feeders cycled at 8 am, 10 am, noon, 2 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm, and 8 pm. We continued to monitor the horses’ pasture usage through direct observation and GPS tracking. We also measured rate of inter-horse aggression before and after the feeders were introduced.

Humans have trained horses for centuries, and training techniques are constantly being refined. Positive reinforcement training, including “clicker training,” is growing in popularity in the equine world. The aim of the study was to determine the reinforcer efficacy of six commercially available grains that could be used in positive reinforcement training. The grains differed in texture, macronutrients, and calories. We trained four thoroughbred geldings to touch their nose to a target, after which we implemented a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, and delivered different grains as the consequence. We measured break points (highest schedule completed in each session) as a way to assess the relative reinforcer efficacy of each grain. We also converted break points to unit price (per kcal) to determine if caloric value of the grains impacted reinforcer efficacy. Our results showed overall little difference in reinforcer efficacy of the different grains, but found that all grains tested were reinforcing to the horses. Our results did not find support for the hypothesis that horses selectively choose feed based on caloric content.

As the goal of applied behavior analysis is socially significant outcomes, an intervention is incomplete without a consideration of social validity from the consumers themselves. When working with autistic individuals/individuals with autism and their families, it is insufficient to assume that meaningful outcomes automatically follow instruction. For minors, involvement of caregivers before the start of intervention, and throughout the process, is a critical component to ensure the intervention has a positive impact on the child and family as a whole. To provide an example of the application of family involvement at all stages of the planning and intervention processes, a study to teach the concept of privacy to three autistic children/children with autism will be shared. First, the importance of identifying caregiver priorities and setting a plan to meet those needs will be discussed, along with examples. Then, results of the study will be shared, along with explanation of the procedural modifications that were made and the involvement of caregivers in that process. Lastly, a description of social validity measures will be provided, along with examples as it relates to teaching the concept of privacy.

BCBAs, BCaBAs, and those working towards national certification

Autistic individuals/individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty discriminating which behaviors are appropriate in different contexts. Additionally, inhibiting actions in public locations that are only appropriate in a private context is a foundational and essential safety skill for children. The current study used discrete trial training (DTT) to teach discrimination of public and private locations and actions. Three participants, ages 8, 9, and 14, with a primary diagnosis of ASD were included in the study. The training targeted different skills, including discriminating whether an action or location is public or private, naming public and private actions and locations, identifying an appropriate location in which a specific public or private action may be performed, and identifying an appropriate action that may be performed in a specific public or private location. This study used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, with additional probes to assess for generalization. Modifications were made to accommodate each participant, with input from caregivers, with all participants demonstrating progress in their understanding of the concept of privacy. Results suggest that DTT is effective for teaching discrimination of public and private behaviors, with modifications, to autistic individuals/individuals with ASD.

The goal of the present study was to examine a role of social discounting in bystanders’ helping cyberbullying victims. College students completed a novel social-discounting task with a hypothetical scenario, in which they encountered cyberbullying instances as a bystander and rated their likelihood of helping cyberbullying victims versus taking no action. Across trials, the social distance to the victims was manipulated, ranging from the person who is emotionally closest to the participants to a mere acquaintance. In addition to this novel social-discounting task with a cyberbullying scenario, the participants also completed a social-discounting task with hypothetical money. The results from the novel social-discounting task showed that the likelihood of helping victims decreased as a hyperbolic function of the social distance to the victims, and the likelihood was significantly greater for participants who had an experience of helping victims. The results also showed that the rates of discounting in the novel social-discounting task were significantly correlated with those in the social-discounting task with hypothetical money. These findings support the importance of the social discounting process in bystanders’ decision to help victims. Implications for developing effective interventions strategies are discussed.