The present study evaluates the effects of incompatible verbal behavior when engaging in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The WCST is a complex task that requires participants to match stimulus cards based on self-generated rules. After a varying number of trials, the rule changes and the participant will have to self-generate a new rule. Verbal behavior, specifically joint control, is likely involved in rule-following. Seven participants took part in this study. Participants engaged in the WCST either silently or while performing a putatively incompatible behavior, counting backward from 100 to 0. Results suggest joint control might be involved as when participants engaged in the incompatible behavior their performance was affected in terms of lower accuracy and longer reaction times compared to the silent baseline.

One goal of this study was to evaluate the emergence of mands and intraverbals following tact acquisition for individuals with aphasia due to acquired brain injury. A second goal was to evaluate the transfer of shortened latencies as a function of tact training across untrained operants. In Study 1, the dependent measure was accuracy of responding and in Study 2, the dependent measures were rate and latency of responding. Participants for Study 1 were two uninjured adults (pilot) and two adults with brain injury (ABI). Both sets of participants were directly taught to tact up to 6 stimuli. Once tacts were acquired, the response forms were assessed under mand and intraverbal conditions. All pilot participants and one ABI participant showed mand transfer for all stimuli. Tact to intraverbal transfer varied across participants. One adult with brain injury served as a participant for Study 2. Fluency training was used to teach tacts for 15 stimuli. Response latencies were gathered for all operants before and after training. The participant met the designated aim (rate of responding) and showed a decrease in latencies for tacts and untrained intraverbals. Changes in mand latencies varied. Fluency gains showed partial retention. Results from Study 1 provide …

Approximately 50% of individuals who undergo total knee arthroplasty (TKA) fail to achieve a full functional recovery. Current physical therapy practices commonly utilize neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to passively activate quadriceps muscles. This passive approach does not directly reteach the lost response, but can strengthen the atrophied muscle. Study 1 compared surface electromyography with biofeedback (sEMGBF) with a changing criterion design to NMES alone. Study 2 compared static sEMGBF to NMES with feedback. Study 3 compared surface electromyography (sEMG) with instructions only to NMES. All other methods were constant across the three studies, where I compared the passive and active approach within-subject, across knees, and across groups while controlling for condition order and leg dominance. Each participant receives both NMES and the shaping procedure. Each condition lasts five minutes and consists of 30 muscle contractions. Each contraction lasts 5 seconds and was followed by a 5 second rest. I compared pre and post adapted maximal voluntary isometric contraction (A-MVIC) tests to determine the effectiveness of each condition. Results of the three studies demonstrated that actively teaching voluntary vastus medialis oblique (VMO) engagement using sEMG is more effective than NMES at increasing maximum voluntary isometric contractions of the VMO.

Storytelling is a practice that is used to pass down important information about culture, environment, and history. From a behavior analytic perspective, the process of storytelling involves contingencies and can be viewed within the framework of the Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. For each listener, based on their history of learning and experiences, stories enable a unique type of learning about reinforcers, punishers and cultural context. In African American oral tradition, storytelling was and still is important in preserving the identity, safety, and wellbeing of African Americans. The purpose of this project was to inductively explore story telling between youth and elders in an African American community. A training workshop was developed that included an overview of the importance and role of storytelling in the black community and ways for youth to respectfully listen and learn from elders. The participants included two children and one elder. The independent variable was the training package, the dependent measures included the levels of synchronous engagement, the listener behaviors of the youth and the participant voices, that is, the descriptions and reflections of children and elders about the process and outcomes of this project. A multiple probes design across skills with in-vivo generalization check …

This research aimed to determine the effects of an online training program on the accurate articulation of the concepts and elements needed to conduct a matrix analysis, the accuracy with which participants embedded these elements in a matrix analysis diagram, and the qualitative value of those elements. The development of the online training program was completed through a series of recursive steps. First, four literature searches regarding the matrix analysis, its foundational concepts, and underlying theoretical frameworks; systems analysis; culturo-behavior science; behavior analytic approaches to education; wicked and super wicked problems; and behavioral community psychology were conducted. Second, a tentative list of definitions for each element that collectively forms a matrix analysis was formed used to complete a component-composite analysis for each of the elements, and to determine the component skills individuals would need to develop to complete a matrix analysis and corresponding diagram. The component-composite analysis served as the basis for the general outline of the training program and the structure for the development of the training program presentations, activities, and assessments using Google Classroom. The online training program was piloted with 17 individuals enrolled in a graduate level course on behavioral systems analysis. Following the pilot of the …

This study explored the effects of cultural consequences identified through a ranking task on the selection of interlocking behavioral contingencies and aggregate products constituting ethically self-controlled responses when participants had pre-existing relationships. Two experiments were conducted to explore these effects. Experiment 1 had two triads of three participants each recruited from a university-based autism center. Experiment 2 had three triads of three participants each; participants in Triads 3 and 4 were recruited from a university-based rock-climbing club while participants in Triad 5 were recruited from the same university-based autism center as in Experiment 1. All participants were exposed to a task that involved choosing odd or even rows from a matrix displayed throughout the experimental session. Individual contingencies were programmed in all conditions while metacontingencies were programmed in some conditions. Participants selected the topography of the cultural consequence through a pre-experimental ranking task prior to the onset of the experimental session. A change was made to the experimenter's verbal behavior in all operant and metacontingency conditions for Experiment 2. The results of both experiments indicate that identification of the cultural consequence through a ranking task with participants having pre-existing relationships did have an effect on the continued selection of the …

An important predictor of the success of a peer-mentoring program is the quality of the relationship between the peer mentor and the mentee. A previous study identified target outcomes, operationally defined target behaviors, and developed a computer-based instruction (CBI) training module to teach peer mentors relationship skills. The previous study suggested that the CBI training module increased target behaviors in pre-and post-tests that were typed. The current study replicated and extended the previous study with additional participants and analyzed responding during a video-chat generalization assessment. We observed an increase in target behaviors during the CBI post-test for 7 out of 8 modules across two participants and an increase in target behaviors for 5 out of 12 target behaviors across three participants for the generalization assessment. Results suggest that the CBI training modules may be an effective way to teach behaviors that contribute to a high-quality relationship when participants engage in typed responses. However, the extent to which these behaviors generalize to a video-chat generalization assessment may need further research.

Most horse owners administer oral deworming medication to their horses on a set schedule, often six times per year. The deworming process involves using a plastic syringe to inject a thick paste into the horse's mouth. Most horse owners do not specifically train their horses to accept this procedure. Consequently, many horses resist the procedure and some horses engage in behaviors, such as head shaking, pulling away, or even rearing, that may be dangerous to humans or to themselves. This study used a negative reinforcement shaping procedure to train six horses to accept dewormer medication. The procedure consisted of a food sampling phase followed by three shaping phases that simulated the deworming task, first using only the experimenter's hand, then a small syringe, and finally a large syringe. Once the horse was acclimated to the syringe, the horse's preferred liquid food was delivered through the syringe at the end of each trial. By the end of the study, all participants successfully completed the procedure and were able to stand still with no or minimal head movements while being dewormed.

When autism interventionists within behavioral intervention programs continually assess the child's behavior and context and adjust their teaching behaviors accordingly, the child can quickly progress towards their goals. While evaluations of flexible behavior-change techniques implemented by experienced clinicians are present in the literature, systematic evaluations of staff training procedures to train interventionists in responsive decision making are lacking. In the current study, flexible training procedures were utilized to not only teach direct-line staff to make decisions based on the learner's behavior, but also to understand and articulate the variables they were responding to. During in vivo training sessions, trainers tailored their use of instructions, modeling, practice, feedback, narration modeling and shaping, and decision-making guidance to the dynamic needs of the staff and child. The effects of the treatment package, which consisted of an in-service training and in vivo training sessions, were measured by observing staff teach vocal manding, which was chosen based on the importance of the skill for the child and because it afforded many opportunities for the staff to learn to make decisions about how to occasion and shape responses. The three children with autism who participated in the study made progress in terms of increasing their frequency …

Evidence-based practice in ABA is a complex decision-making process involving frequent adjustments in goals and procedures as informed by science, client need, and clinical wisdom. Consistent with the science's foundations, incredible gains are possible for children with autism when practitioners are systematically trained to understand, produce, and be responsive to shifting conditions for change. However, minimal standards for training promote inflexibility and rule following, at the expense of frequent and responsive adjustments. Although research has demonstrated that well-trained staff can effectively implement flexible procedures using in-the-moment assessment and clinical judgment, minimal research has targeted and evaluated the development of these repertoires. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a staff training package, including an in-service training and in vivo training sessions, on staffs' ability to make responsive, goal-directed, and rationale-based decisions directed towards accelerating progress with vocal manding for children with autism. The evaluation was the second part of the larger Change AGENT Project. Results suggested the training was effective at producing socially validated progress across staff and child measures. In essence, the trainer, staff, and child acted as change agents for one another's behavior within the flexible paradigm. Implications, limitations, and future directions are …

Despite the growing recognition of the importance of compassionate, collaborative, and culturally responsive care in behavior analysis, the training programs to develop relevant skills are meager. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Skilled Dialogue training for behavior analysts in improving the use of six strategies–welcoming, allowing, sense-making, appreciating, joining, harmonizing–when engaging in conversations with clients, colleagues and other professionals. While one participant's verbal responses in all six strategies during the role plays improved after the training, the other participant showed mixed results. High variability in both participants' data suggests that the effectiveness of the training can be better evaluated with tighter control of the components of the training and the measurement system. The potential ways to improve the experimental control in future studies are discussed.

Naming refers to encountering a new word and subsequently being able to use it both expressively and receptively. Sometimes, this can happen in as little as a single experience. Several recent studies have explored factors that influence the acquisition of naming in adults. However, these studies used familiar stimuli for which the participants already had names. In these studies, preexisting stimulus-response relations with the stimuli could have impeded the acquisition of new names for some participants. In contrast, the present study used unfamiliar ("arbitrary") stimuli. In addition, an equivalence test was used to validate the findings because some theorists have claimed that naming is required for equivalence. The results revealed some advantages to teaching naming with arbitrary stimuli. Interestingly, a subset of participants had high scores on equivalence tests without having high scores on expressive tests. This indicates that, contrary to naming theory, naming may not be necessary for equivalence and match-to-sample tests may not be the best test of equivalence. These findings support the independence of the expressive and receptive repertoires both in the development of naming and equivalence.

Percentile reinforcement schedules have been used to systematically alter inter-response times, behavioral variability, breath carbon monoxide levels, duration of social behaviors, and various other properties of behavior. However, none of the previous studies have examined the effectiveness of percentile schedules in relation to the magnitude of muscular contractions. This control over magnitude of muscular responding has important implications relating to the strengthening of muscles and correct movements for patients receiving physical rehabilitation. There would be great utility in percentile schedules that can be implemented in rehabilitation situations by physical therapists and patients themselves to improve treatment outcomes – all of which could be possible without any behavioral training if the procedure is implemented via body sensors and smartphone applications. Using healthy adults and the aforementioned technology, this thesis focused on the design and testing of three percentile reinforcement schedule procedures to increase the strength of the vastus medialis muscle. Results indicate that the magnitude of muscular responses can be shaped using body sensors and contingent feedback, and the percentile schedule procedures have promising applications in the domain of physical therapy.

Extensive speech on preferred conversation topics may limit conversations with others. For individuals with ASD, extensive speech on a topic may be a form of restricted or repetitive behavior that may be addressed through skill building. However, previous research suggests that skill building may not be necessary if the behavior is sensitive to differential reinforcement contingencies. To evaluate the effects of differential reinforcement in the form of attention on conversation topics, we replicated the results of Stocco et al. by assessing sensitivity to conversational attention with participant-only topic initiations. Additionally, we extended the procedures by evaluating the effects of topic initiations from the participant and the experimenter (shared initiations). Similar to previous research, our results yielded that speech was sensitive to conversational attention across all participants. That is, differential reinforcement contingencies altered levels of speech on topics of conversation, indicating that differential reinforcement procedures may be sufficient in addressing performance deficits. Lastly, we assessed participant preference for participant-only initiation or shared initiation conversations.

The study of choice and allocation has often focused on certain parameters of reinforcement, but rarely on historical variables. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential effects of gradual vs. abrupt teaching methods on future response allocation. A secondary goal was to see if the results of teaching-method manipulations might be correlated with the parameters that the teaching method produced, specifically unit costs, rate of reinforcement, or error rates. Results indicate that these teaching procedures can produce transient shifts in allocation, but not in a consistent direction. Neither unit cost nor rate or reinforcement alone can account for observed response allocation shifts after training. Researchers saw that subjects reliably shifted towards a manipulanda that produced higher rates of errors, therefore investigating the influence that error rate (or types of errors) may have on response allocation may aid in general teaching method preferences. Future research could focus on the combination of historical procedural variables and current variables that could determine response allocation.

Interobserver agreement (IOA) was calculated across three participant dyads for a generalized treatment integrity tool. No dyads achieved 80% agreement during baseline. Task clarification was piloted as an intervention for two of the three dyads. Form agreement produced stabilization in both dyads and improvement in one dyad. Time agreement did not improve but demonstrated marked trends in one dyad.