Equivalence Class Formation in Individuals With Autism: Predictions From ABLA-R Levels.

Children who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often fail to show equivalence class formation. This may be related to their difficulty in learning the programmed baseline conditional discriminations. The present study investigated equivalence class formation after training visual identity-matching performance with auditory class-specific consequences in 6 individuals who were diagnosed with ASD and who achieved different levels (Levels 4, 5, and 6) on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities-Revised (ABLA-R). The potentially emergent relations were all arbitrary (relations between completely dissimilar stimuli): visual-visual (AB and BA) and auditory-visual (SA and SB). None of the participants who achieved ABLA-R Level 4 or 5 responded in accord with equivalence class formation. They did not present any emergent arbitrary conditional relations (either visual-visual relations or auditory-visual relations). Only participants who achieved ABLA-R Level 6 demonstrated equivalence class formation. These findings are consistent with the predictive ability of the ABLA-R with regard to the acquisition of discriminations and to the emergence of the same type of conditional relations and the same hierarchy of complexity.

Evaluating the use of programmed reinforcement in a correction procedure with children diagnosed with autism.

BACKGROUND: Procedures that reduce errors while learning a repertoire play an important role in Applied Behavior Analysis for people with autism due to the detrimental effects that excessive exposure to error may have on learning. Previous studies have investigated the effects of correction procedures that require active student response after a trial with error. Some intervention manuals recommend against reinforcing responses after correction to prevent the establishment of prompt dependence. This study directly investigated the effect of reinforcement after an active-response correction procedure during tact training in four children with autism. An echoic-to-tact training procedure was used to train tacts. A "no reinforcement after correction" (NRC) condition was compared to a "reinforcement after correction" (RC) condition, using an adapted alternated treatments design. RESULTS: All participants needed less correction trials in RC than in NRC, and considering all 26 sessions in which both training procedures were implemented, participants' performance was higher with RC than without in 17 sessions and was the same in 3 sessions. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss the effectiveness of reinforcing correct responding after an active-response correction procedure, the absence of prompt dependence, and the implications of better correction procedures for applied settings.

Functional class formation in the context of a foraging task in capuchin monkeys.

Functional class formation via repeated reversals of simple discriminations was investigated in a foraging task in captive capuchin monkeys (Cebus cf. apella). Two capuchin monkeys were given simultaneous simple discrimination training and reversals with two (Phase 1), four (Phase 2), and six (Phase 3) visual stimuli (wooden boxes) in the context of searching for food in an apparatus. One different kind of food for each potential stimulus class was used as a reinforcer. After repeated functional reversals of two stimulus sets, multiple tests for functional class formation were performed (Phase 4). Evidence of class formation was found in all of the tests. Next, the same monkeys were given simultaneous simple discrimination training with variations of the stimulus locations between sessions (Phase 5). The class-specific reinforcement procedure was suspended. Tests for functional class formation were again performed. Evidence of class formation was found in all tests. The data suggest that some of the procedural difficulties in documenting class formation in nonhumans can be overcome with procedures that take advantage of the natural skills of the subjects.

Relational discrimination by pigeons in a go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli: a methodological note.

A go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli typically establishes emergent behavior that parallels in structure and typical outcome that of conventional tests for symmetric, transitive, and equivalence relations in normally capable adults. The present study employed a go/no-go compound stimulus procedure with pigeons. During training, pecks to two-component compounds A1B1, A2B2, B1C1, and B2C2 were followed by food. Pecks to compounds A1B2, A2B1, B1C2, and B2C1 re-started the 30-s stimulus presentation interval. The absence of pecking to those compounds for 30 s ended the trial. Subsequent tests presented these components in new spatial arrangements and/or in recombinative compounds that together corresponded to conventional tests of symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence: B1A1, B2A2, C1B1, C2B2, A1C1, A2C2, C1A1, C2A2 vs. B1A2, B2A1, C1B2, C2B1, A1C2, A2C1, C1A2, C2A1 (positive vs. negative instances of symmetric, transitive, and equivalence relations). On tests for symmetric relations, all pigeons behaved in a manner consistent with training on both positive instances (i.e., by responding) and on negative instances (i.e., by not responding). By contrast, the pigeons' behavior on tests for transitivity and equivalence was inconsistent with baseline training, thus failing to show the recombinative discrimination performance that is typical of normally capable humans when trained and tested using the go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli.

Celos: un ejercicio de interpretación desde la perspectiva del análisis de la conducta / Jealousy / An exercise of interpretation from the perspective of the behavior analysis

Los celos están presentes en la cotidianidad de las personas, en diferentes contextos relacionales, tales como la familia, la escuela y el trabajo. A pesar de que los celos más comunes y frecuentemente estudiados se observan en las relaciones amorosas, los cuales pueden caracterizarse como celos sexuales o celos románticos, la comprensión de este fenómeno es todavía limitada. En Brasil, la producción científica sobre los celos se basa principalmente en datos clínicos. En contraposición, la producción científica norteamericana sobre este asunto es más amplia y se basa a menudo en datos empíricos. A lo anterior se suma la escasez de estudios referentes al Análisis de la Conducta. El presente artículo se propone perfeccionar un análisis conductual preliminar de los celos propuesto por la primera autora de este artículo en 2005. Para eso, se incorporarán argumentaciones del propio Skinner y de analistas de la conducta contemporáneos, como Tourinho (estudioso brasileño) y Donahoe y Palmer (estudiosos norteamericanos).

Jealousy is something present in everyday life and in different relational contexts (such as family, school, and work). It is more common and frequently studied in the context of love affairs, being categorized as sexual jealousy or romantic jealousy. In spite of that, our understanding of this phenomenon is still limited. In Brazil, the scientific production on jealousy is limited and essentially based on clinical dada. By contrast, the American scientific production on this subject is more extensive and frequently based on empirical data. Additionally, it is also correct to say that studies on jealousy are rare in context of behavior analysis. Considering that, the purpose of the present paper is to improve a preliminary behavior analytic approach of jealousy presented elsewhere by the first author of this paper in 2005, incorporating Skinner's argumentation on the topic as well as ideas of contemporary behavior analysts such as Tourinho (a Brazilian researcher) and Donahoe and Palmer (North American researchers).