A further investigation regarding the efficacy of and preference for positive and corrective feedback.

Although feedback is a widely used intervention for improving performance, it is unclear what characteristics individuals prefer and what is necessary for it to be effective. The purpose of this study was to systematically extend Simonian and Brand (2022) by addressing the limitations of the study and adding a best-treatment phase. During an acquisition phase, participants received either positive, corrective, or no feedback upon task completion. Nine of 10 participants mastered the task that was associated with corrective feedback, and one participant mastered the task with no feedback. Eight participants completed a preference phase in which they were provided a choice of either positive or corrective feedback when learning to play a novel game. Half of the eight participants showed a preference for corrective feedback, and the remaining participants had mixed preferences. Overall, corrective feedback was more efficacious and more preferred than positive feedback.

A Treatment Evaluation of Successive and Simultaneous Visual Stimulus Presentation During Tact Training with Children with Autism.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether variations in visual stimulus presentation during tact training would affect efficacy, efficiency, and the emergence of listener responses. Participants included two preschool-aged children diagnosed with autism. We implemented two teaching conditions using an adapted alternating treatment design with intrasubject replications. During successive tact training, the experimenter presented one picture per trial. During simultaneous training, the experimenter pointed to the target picture in a stimulus array. For one participant, both procedures were similarly effective and efficient. For another participant, successive tact training generated fewer errors and better efficiency results. Moreover, both formats resulted in accurate listener responding. Our results suggest that both procedures are effective, and that the simultaneous format may be a viable alternative for teaching tacts.

Procedural parameters in equivalence-based instruction with individuals diagnosed with autism: A call for systematic research.

Equivalence-based instruction (EBI) is an efficient and efficacious methodology to establish equivalence classes that has been used to teach various academic skills to neurotypical adults. Although previous reviews confirmed the utility of EBI with participants with developmental disabilities, it is unclear whether certain procedural parameters are associated with positive equivalence outcomes. We extended previous reviews by categorizing studies that used EBI with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and assessed whether any procedural parameters were associated with better equivalence responding. Due to the wide variability of procedural parameters in EBI research, the best procedural permutations to form equivalence classes with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are still unknown. Thus, this paper serves as a call to action for applied researchers. Specifically, we encourage and invite researchers to systematically investigate the necessary variables or combination of variables that may lead to successful equivalence class formation.

A parametric analysis of procedural fidelity errors following mastery of a task: A translational study.

Procedural fidelity is defined as the extent to which the independent variable is implemented as prescribed. Research using computerized tasks has shown that fidelity errors involving consequences for behavior can hinder skill acquisition. However, studies examining the effects of these errors once skills have been mastered are lacking. Thus, this translational study investigated the effects of varying levels of fidelity following mastery of a computerized arbitrary matching-to-sample task. A group design (consisting of five groups) was used in which college students initially completed 250 trials during which no programmed errors (i.e., perfect fidelity) were arranged, followed by an additional 250 trials with consequences delivered across various levels of fidelity (i.e., 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% of trials administered without errors). The results showed that participants assigned to higher fidelity conditions performed better (on average). These results extended the findings of previous studies by demonstrating how errors involving consequences affect behavior across various stages of learning.

The effects of note taking as a visual mediation strategy on the formation of equivalence classes.

A graphic organizer (GO) is a note-taking device with concepts and fill-in spaces that may enhance equivalence yields under suboptimal training and testing parameters (e.g., linear training, simultaneous testing, five-member all-abstract classes). We used a nonconcurrent multiple-probe design across eight adult participants to evaluate the effects of a treatment package consisting of abstract matching-to-sample baseline relations training (MTS-BRT) and GO-construction training. GOs were faded until participants drew or wrote the trained relations from a blank page, which was available in the pre- and posttests. There was a 75% yield (six of eight participants) on the first posttest and a 100% yield following remedial training with Set 1. With Set 2, MTS-BRT alone resulted in voluntary GO construction and a 75% yield (three of four participants) on the first posttest and a 100% yield following remedial training. These results suggest that teaching participants to draw relations among stimuli may strengthen the effects of MTS-BRT training on equivalence yields.

A translational evaluation of component skills for the establishment of multiply controlled intraverbals.

Intraverbal behavior is a type of verbal behavior in which the response form has no point-to-point correspondence with its verbal stimulus. However, the form and occurrence of most intraverbals is under the control of multiple variables. Establishing this form of multiple control may depend on a variety of preestablished skills. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to evaluate these potential prerequisites with adult participants using a multiple probe design. The results suggest that training was not required for each putative prerequisite. In Experiment 2, probes for all skills were conducted following convergent intraverbal probes. The results showed that convergent intraverbals only emerged when proficiency of each skill was demonstrated. Finally, Experiment 3 evaluated alternating training of multiple tact and intraverbal categorization. The results showed that this procedure was effective for half of the participants.

The Use of the Go/No-Go Successive Matching-to-Sample Procedure with Nonverbal Auditory Stimuli to Establish Equivalence Classes and Speaker Behavior.

The purpose of the current study was to extend the findings on the use of the go/no-go successive matching-to-sample (S-MTS) procedure to establish auditory equivalence classes. Eight college students learned to conditionally relate nonverbal auditory stimuli into three, 3-member classes. Following training, all participants met the emergence criterion for symmetry, and six out of eight participants met the emergence criterion for transitivity/equivalence. Furthermore, all participants responded with either an experimenter-defined or a unique tact, and five participants related these names intraverbally. Although these results replicate previous findings, albeit with stimuli that cannot be echoed, possible verbal mediation via tact and intraverbal behavior seems to have occurred.

Establishing derived reinforcers via stimulus equivalence.

If one of several stimuli in an equivalence class acquires a function, it transfers to all members of the respective class. Even though research has demonstrated this transfer across a variety of stimulus functions (e.g., discriminative), few studies have focused on the transfer of the reinforcing function. The current study extended previous literature by establishing derived reinforcers using conditional discrimination training with six neurotypical adults. We established three 4-member equivalence classes and then created a discriminative stimulus in one member by correlating it with reinforcement. We also expanded classes by adding a stimulus to each class and testing its function. During the transfer of function tests, five out of six participants chose the derived reinforcers more than the other stimuli. Three participants required remedial training or testing prior to demonstrating transfer of function. Results show that stimulus equivalence training is an effective and efficient paradigm to establish derived reinforcers.

Teaching a small foreign language vocabulary to children using tact and listener instruction with a prompt delay.

This study consisted of a systematic replication of previous research examining the effects of tact and listener instruction on the emergence of native-to-foreign (NF) and foreign-to-native (FN) intraverbals in children who had experienced difficulties learning to read and write. We assigned different sets of stimuli to tact and listener conditions, and taught 4 children to tact or respond as listeners in a foreign language using a progressive prompt delay with differential reinforcement. All participants mastered tacts and listener responses in the foreign language. For all participants, tact instruction yielded greater emergence of intraverbals compared to listener instruction. Tact instruction also produced all possible bidirectional (NF and FN) intraverbals relations for 3 of 4 participants, but listener instruction never resulted in the emergence of all possible relations. These results replicate previous findings suggesting that tact instruction is a more efficient way to teach a foreign language and extend them to progressive prompt-delay procedures.

Audience Control over Children's Honest Reports.

We evaluated audience control over children's honest reports using a reversal (ABA or ABAB) design. Four typically developing children performed a computer game in which they had to shoot a target and then report on their performance during and at the end of each session. Baseline assessed the accuracy of their reports in the absence of an experimenter. During the audience condition, an adult was present in the room and observed the child during the task. Participants accurately reported their errors when an adult was present, whereas they lied about their performance by systematically reporting errors as correct responses when an adult was absent. Honest reports about their total score at the end of the session also increased in the presence of the audience member. These results suggest that the presence of an adult exerted control over children's honest/accurate reports. We discussed the reasons why the presence of an adult may have served as a discriminative stimulus for honest reports.

Teaching Children with Autism to Mand for Information Using "Why?" as a Function of Denied Access.

The current study evaluated a procedure used to teach two children with autism to ask "why" questions maintained by causal information about an event. To increase the value of information as a reinforcer, the experimenter denied access to preferred items and did not provide a reason for the denial. Participants were taught to ask "why" questions and were provided with information that led them to access preferred items. To ensure that "why" questions only occurred when the information was valuable, we included a condition wherein access to preferred items was restricted but causal information was available. Both participants learned to ask "why" questions when causal information was not available and refrained from asking "why" questions when causal information was available.

The establishment of auditory equivalence classes with a go/no-go successive matching-to-sample procedure.

The go/no-go successive matching-to-sample (S-MTS) procedure involves the presentation of a sample followed by one comparison in the same location. Participants are required to either touch (go) or refrain from touching (no-go) related and unrelated comparisons, respectively. One advantage of S-MTS is that both sample and comparisons can be auditory. Thus, the purpose of Experiment 1 was to establish three 3-member auditory equivalence classes using familiar dictated words. After training AB and AC relations, 16 out of 16 participants met emergence criterion for symmetry (BA/CA), 12 out of 16 for transitivity/equivalence (BC/CB), and 9 out of 16 for intraverbals, for which testing involved vocalizing relations among auditory stimuli. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to assess the potential influence of stimulus topography on equivalence class formation and the emergence of intraverbal behavior. After training AB and AC relations with unfamiliar stimuli, 16 out of 16 participants met emergence criterion for symmetry (BA/CA), 13 out of 16 for transitivity/equivalence (BC/CB), and 8 out of 16 for intraverbals. Results suggest that the S-MTS procedure may serve as an alternative to simultaneous MTS in the development of auditory equivalence classes.

Establishing equivalence-equivalence analogical relations via tact and listener training.

We investigated the role of verbal behavior on the emergence of analogy-type responding as measured via equivalence-equivalence relations. In Experiment 1, 8 college students learned to label arbitrary stimuli as, "vek," "zog," and "paf", and in Experiment 2, 8 additional participants learned to select these stimuli when hearing their names in an auditory-visual matching-to-sample (MTS) task. Experimenters tested for the emergence of relational tacts (i.e., "same" and "different") and equivalence-equivalence relations (analogy tests) via visual-visual MTS. Half of the participants were exposed to a think-aloud procedure. Even though they all passed analogy tests while tacting stimuli relationally, only participants exposed to tact training (Experiment 1) did so without the need for remediation. The results of these experiments confirm that individual discriminative and relational control of stimuli established through verbal behavior training is sufficient to produce equivalence-equivalence analogical responding, advancing the analysis of complex cognitive (problem-solving) phenomena.

The influence of correlations between noncritical features and reinforcement on stimulus generalization.

One strategy to program for generalization is to vary noncritical features in teaching exemplars, thereby avoiding noncritical features from being highly correlated with reinforcement and thus gaining faulty stimulus control. In the current translational evaluation, 2 groups of adults of typical development were taught to respond to arbitrary stimuli with experimenter-defined critical and noncritical features in a matching-to-sample task. The teaching arrangement used for 1 group programmed for low correlation between noncritical features and reinforcement; the teaching arrangement used for the other group programmed for high correlation between noncritical features and reinforcement. Participants in the former group displayed (a) faster acquisition of matching, (b) less variability in correct responding, and (c) a decreased likelihood of faulty stimulus control developing during training. The results contribute towards advancing the study of stimulus control and developing an explicit technology of generalization to better serve consumers of the application of our science.

Jack and Me.

Although Jack Michael has greatly influenced the field of behavior analysis, very few have had the opportunity to be directly supervised by him. In this article, I share my personal history as one of Jack's last graduate students to illustrate his teaching and mentorship approach. Jack was a caring advisor who has had a long-lasting impact on both my personal life and my professional career.

The establishment of auditory-visual equivalence classes with a go/no-go successive matching-to-sample procedure.

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of a go/no-go successive matching-to-sample procedure (S-MTS) to establish auditory-visual equivalence classes with college students. A sample and a comparison were presented, one at a time, in the same location. During training, after an auditory stimulus was presented, a green box appeared in the center of the screen for participants to touch to produce the comparison. Touching the visual comparison that was related to the auditory sample (e.g., A1B1) produced points, while touching or refraining from touching an unrelated comparison (e.g., A1B2) produced no consequences. Following AB/AC training, participants were tested on untrained relations (i.e., BA/CA and BC/CB), as well as tacting and sorting. During BA/CA relations tests, after touching the visual sample, the auditory stimulus was presented along with a white box for participants to respond. During BC/CB relations tests, after touching the visual sample, a visual comparison appeared. Across 2 experiments, all participants met emergence criterion for untrained relations and for sorting. Additionally, 14 out of 24 participants tacted all visual stimuli correctly. Results suggest the auditory-visual S-MTS procedure is an effective alternative to simultaneous MTS for establishing conditional relations and auditory-visual equivalence classes.

Using multiple-tact training to produce emergent visual categorization in children with autism.

Previous research has shown that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can categorize visual stimuli without direct training when they can also tact these stimuli using a common name and behave as listeners in relation to this name. However, children usually learn to assign objects specific names prior to learning the category to which they belong. The current study replicated previous research and evaluated whether multiple-tact training would establish visual categorization (measured by a picture sorting test) and listener behavior. We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across 2 children with autism spectrum disorder. After multiple-tact training, we assessed whether participants would visually categorize stimuli based on their common category name. Both participants categorized and engaged in the corresponding listener behavior.

The role of verbal behavior in the establishment of comparative relations.

Twelve college students received conditional discrimination training with nonarbitrary and arbitrary stimuli, and derived comparative and transformation of function tests with a think-aloud condition across 2 experiments. Participants who failed these tests received remedial verbal operant training. Four control participants received verbal operant training alone. Across both experiments, only 1 participant passed the derived comparative test after conditional discrimination training. However, all participants passed derived comparative tests and 11 out of 12 participants passed transformation of function tests following verbal operant training, including the 4 control participants. Participants who passed derived comparative tests engaged in a high percentage of correct vocalizations during the think-aloud condition, while participants who failed did not. These results suggest that mediating verbal behavior could have played a crucial role in participants' responses during derived stimulus relations tests.

An evaluation of matrix training to teach college students piano notes and rhythms.

Twelve college students learned to tact the names of notes and rhythms and play them when presented with compound stimuli (visuals of notes and rhythms on a musical staff). In Experiment 1, we assessed generalization by presenting novel notes, rhythms, and compound stimuli not previously paired together. In the second experiment, we added a metronome that played at 60 beats per minute in all conditions for 3 out of 6 participants to ensure consistent tempo. Across both experiments, participants passed almost all posttests with the exception of tacting and playing in the presence of sound clips. Our data suggest that matrix training is an effective procedure to teach music skills to college students.

A comparison of response interruption and redirection and competing items on vocal stereotypy and appropriate vocalizations.

The current study compared the reductive effects of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) and competing items (including sound-producing and nonsound-producing toys) on the vocal stereotypy exhibited by two children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Sound-producing toys reduced vocal stereotypy relative to nonsound-producing toys and RIRD reduced stereotypy and increased rates of appropriate vocalizations to a greater extent than providing competing items. These findings replicate and extend previous literature suggesting that RIRD and sound-producing competing items are effective methods to treat vocal stereotypy.