Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder to mand for information using "which?".

We examined a procedure consisting of a preference assessment, prompting, contrived conditioned establishing operations, and consequences for correct and incorrect responses for teaching children with autism to mand "which?" We used a modified multiple baseline design across 3 participants. All the children learned to mand "which?" Generalization occurred to the natural environment, to a novel activity, and to a novel container; the results were maintained over time.

On the relation between reinforcer efficacy and preference.

Most research on stimulus preference and reinforcer assessment involves a preference assessment that is followed by a reinforcer assessment. Typically, the most and least preferred stimuli are tested as reinforcers. In the current study, we first quantified the reinforcing efficacies of six food items and then assessed relative preference for each item. Relative preference ranking and reinforcer efficacies showed almost perfect concordance for 1 participant and partial concordance for the other. Discordance tended to occur with the weakest reinforcers.

Evaluation of a self-instructional manual for conducting discrete-trials teaching with children with autism.

Discrete-trials teaching (DTT) is commonly used to implement applied behavior analysis treatment for children with autism. The authors investigated a revised self-instructional manual for teaching university students to implement a 21-component DTT procedure to teach three tasks to confederates role-playing children with autism. Also, as a motivational contingency, for each DTT session in which a student scored at or above 90% accuracy, they received US$10. After an average of 4.5 hr to master the training manual, students' average DTT performance improved from 52% in baseline to 88% while teaching a confederate. Students averaged 77% DTT performance during subsequent generalization sessions with a child with autism.

Teaching Object-Picture Matching to Improve Concordance between Object and Picture Preferences for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: Pilot Study.

We evaluated teaching object-picture matching to improve concordance between preference assessments using objects and pictures of the same objects. Three participants with developmental disabilities who showed high and low preferences during assessments with objects but not with pictures were taught object-picture matching tasks unrelated to the items used during preference assessments. Training was evaluated in a modified multiple-baseline design and preference assessments with objects and pictures were repeated after training each object-picture matching task. Two participants showed improved concordance after mastering two and three training tasks, respectively. The third participant did not show concordance between object and picture preference assessments after mastering two tasks and after additional training. Our findings suggested that object-picture matching might be a prerequisite for picture preference assessments.

The assessment of basic learning abilities test for predicting learning of persons with intellectual disabilities: a review.

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) Test uses standard prompting and reinforcement procedures to assess the ease or difficulty with which a testee is able to learn a simple imitation and five two-choice discriminations. The authors review studies that have examined performance of participants with developmental disabilities (DD) on the ABLA test to predict (a) performance on a variety of simple imitations and two-choice discriminations, (b) performance on three-choice and four-choice discriminations, (c) the relative efficacy of three presentation modes (objects vs. photographs vs. verbal descriptions) for assessing preferences, (d) compliance of adults with DD and children with and without DD, and (e) participants' ability to learn to respond to the spoken names of pictures of common objects. Across all five types of studies, the predictive validity of the ABLA test has been very high.

Discrimination Skills Predict Effective Preference Assessment Methods for Adults with Developmental Disabilities.

We examined the relationship between three discrimination skills (visual, visual matching-to-sample, and auditory-visual) and four stimulus modalities (object, picture, spoken, and video) in assessing preferences of leisure activities for 7 adults with developmental disabilities. Three discrimination skills were measured using the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities Test. Three participants mastered a visual discrimination task, but not visual matching-to-sample and auditory-visual discriminations; two participants mastered visual and visual matching-to-sample discriminations, but not auditory-visual discrimination, and two participants showed all three discriminations. The most and least preferred activities, identified through paired-stimulus preference assessment using objects, were presented to each participant in each of the four modalities using a reversal design. The results showed that (1) participants with visual discrimination alone showed a preference for their preferred activities in the object modality only; (2) those with visual and visual matching-to-sample discriminations, but not auditory-visual discrimination, showed a preference for their preferred activities in the object but not in the spoken modality, and mixed results in the pictorial and video modalities; and (3) those with all three discriminations showed a preference for their preferred activities in all four modalities. These results provide partial replications of previous findings on the relationship between discriminations and object, pictorial, and spoken modalities, and extend previous research to include video stimuli.

Predicting learning ability of people with intellectual disabilities: assessment of basic learning abilities test versus caregivers' predictions.

Two sets of predictions were compared concerning the ability of 20 adults with profound, severe, or moderate intellectual disabilities to learn 15 everyday tasks. Predictions were made by caregivers who had worked with the participants for a minimum of 24 months and consideration of participant performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) test. Standardized training procedures were used to attempt to teach each task to each participant until a pass or fail criterion was met. Ninety-four percent of predictions based on ABLA performance were confirmed, and the ABLA was significantly more accurate for predicting client performance than were the caregivers. The utility of these results is discussed.

Does ABLA Test Performance on the ABLA Test Predict Picture Receptive Name Recognition with Persons with Severe Developmental Disabilities.

Research has shown that performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) test correlates with language assessments for persons with developmental disabilities. This study investigated whether performance on ABLA Level 6, an auditory-visual discrimination, predicts performance on a receptive language task with persons with severe developmental disabilities. Five participants who passed ABLA Level 6, and five who failed ABLA Level 6, were each tested on five 2-choice discriminations that required them to point to pictures of common objects after hearing their names. Four of the five participants who had failed ABLA Level 6 failed all of the receptive name recognition tasks. All five participants who had passed ABLA Level 6 passed all of the name recognition tasks. The practical implications of these results are discussed.

Predicting Optimal Preference Assessment Methods for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.

The single-stimulus (SS) preference assessment procedure has been described as more appropriate than the paired stimulus (PS) procedure for "lower functioning" individuals, but this guideline's vagueness limits its usefulness. We administered the SS and PS preference assessment procedures with food items to seven individuals with severe or profound developmental disabilities who scored at level 2 of the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) and seven who scored at ABLA level 3. Thirteen of the 14 participants also received these assessments (PS and SS), with non-food items. The two procedures were about equally effective for both groups, and with both types of stimuli, although the PS procedure produced more refined preference hierarchies. Most participants showed moderate to high correlations in preference scores between the two procedures for both food and non-food items. These results suggest that, for individuals who score at either ABLA level 2 or ABLA level 3, the SS and the PS procedures are equally likely to identify preferred stimuli.

On Choice, Preference, and Preference for Choice.

In this paper, we examine several common everyday meanings of choice, propose behavioral definitions of choice, choosing, and preference, and recommend ways for behavioral researchers to talk consistently about these concepts. We also examine the kinds of performance in the contexts of various procedures that might be appropriately described as a preference for choice. In our view, the most appropriate procedure for demonstrating preference for choice as a consequence is a concurrent chains method, in which choice is a reinforcer for an approach response. The single-stimulus procedure, however, is more appropriate for demonstrating preference for choice as an antecedent.

SENSITIVITY OF PASSIVE APPROACH DURING PREFERENCE AND REINFORCER ASSESSMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH SEVERE AND PROFOUND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND MINIMAL MOVEMENT.

We evaluated the use of passive approach to assess preferences of two children, with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Both children had physical challenges and exhibited minimal physical movement. We also compared the relative reinforcing effects of the identified high and low preference stimuli for a switch pressing response, and for a more passive looking response. High and low preference stimuli were identified for both children. Moreover, the high preference stimulus maintained higher rates of responding than the low preference stimulus for both children for the passive looking response, but not for switch pressing. The study extended the use of passive approach to assess preferences and identified the choice of target response as a potential limiting factor during reinforcer tests for these children.

Experimental studies of psychological interventions with athletes in competitions: why so few?

During the past three decades, behavioral practitioners have been applying techniques to improve the performance of athletes. To what extent are interventions, designed to improve the directly and reliably measured performance of athletes in competitions, based on experimental demonstrations of efficacy? That is the question addressed by this review. All issues of three behavioral journals and seven sport psychology journals, from 1972 through 2002, were examined for articles that addressed the above question. Fifteen articles were found that met the inclusion criteria, yielding an average of only one published study every 2 years. This article reviews those articles, discusses reasons for the dearth of research in this area, and makes recommendations for much needed future research.

Predicting the relative efficacy of verbal, pictorial, and tangible stimuli for assessing preferences of leisure activities.

We measured the relationships between choice stimulus modalities and three basic discriminations (visual, visual matching-to-sample, and auditory-visual) using the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test. Participants were 9 adults who had moderate to profound developmental disabilities. Their most and least preferred leisure activities, identified by prior preference assessments, were presented using choice stimuli in three modalities (tangibles, pictures, and verbal descriptions) in an alternating-treatments design. For 8 of the 9 participants, discrimination skills predicted the selections of choice stimuli associated with their preferred activities. The results suggest that choice stimulus modalities in preference assessment of leisure activities need to be matched to the discrimination skills of persons with developmental disabilities.

Visual-visual nonidentity matching assessment: a worthwhile addition to the assessment of basic learning abilities test.

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test (ABLA) is a useful tool for choosing appropriate training tasks for persons with developmental disabilities. This test assesses the ease or difficulty with which persons are able to learn six hierarchically positioned discrimination tasks. A visual-visual nonidentity matching prototype task was examined to assess its (a). relation to the ABLA hierarchy, (b). predictive validity, and (c). test-retest reliability. Results from 23 participants with developmental disabilities suggest that visual-visual nonidentity matching is a worthwhile addition to the ABLA test and is positioned in the ABLA hierarchy above Level 4 (visual-visual identity matching) and below Level 6 (auditory-visual discrimination). The prototype visual-visual nonidentity matching task also demonstrated high predictive validity and test-retest reliability.

Studies using single-subject designs in sport psychology: 30 years of research.

A prominent feature of behavior-analytic research has been the use of single-subject designs. We examined sport psychology journals and behavioral journals published during the past 30 years, and located 40 studies using single-subject designs to assess interventions for enhancing the performance of athletes and coaches. In this paper, we summarize that body of research, discuss its strengths and limitations, and identify areas for future research.

Effects of Choice of Work Tasks on On-Task, Aberrant, Happiness and Unhappiness Behaviours of Persons with Developmental Disabilities.

Effects of choice versus no choice of work tasks on work performance, inappropriate behaviours, happiness and unhappiness indices were examined in three studies. Study 1 examined the effects of a choice between a high and a low preference task, versus the assignment of the high preference task. Study 2 was similar to Study 1 except that the tasks in the choice condition were equally and moderately preferred. Study 3 was conducted by the participants' instructors in their natural work settings. A total of five participants were involved across the three studies. Very few differences were found under the choice and no-choice conditions. More research is needed to examine the role of reinforcement history in establishing stimulus control effects of choice.

Choice, Degree of Preference, and Happiness Indices with Persons with Intellectual Disabilities: A Surprising Finding.

Two persons with severe intellectual disabilities and two persons with profound intellectual disabilities were repeatedly presented with five different pairs of food items. The five pairs of items represented different degrees of preference, from highest to lowest. Happiness indices were monitored from the time that a pair of items was presented until a choice was made. Surprisingly, participants showed very few happiness indices throughout the study, and degree of preference had very little effect on frequency of happiness indices. Questions are raised regarding choice opportunities and indices of happiness as indicators of quality of life.

The hierarchical relationship between several visual and auditory discriminations and three verbal operants among individuals with developmental disabilities.

This study examined the relationship between performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test (ABLA), two auditory matching tasks, and a test of echoics, tacts, and mands with persons with developmental disabilities. It was found that discrimination skill (visual, auditory-visual, and auditory-auditory discriminations) was a better predictor of performance on verbal operant assessments than level of functioning based on diagnosis. The results showed high test-retest reliability for the test of verbal operants and no hierarchical relationship was found among the three verbal operants. The results suggest that the ABLA Level 6 might be a possible bridging task for teaching echoics, tacts, and mands. Further research is needed to ascertain the relation between the auditory matching tasks and the verbal operants.

Tangibles, Pictures, and Verbal Descriptions: Which Should Be Used in Choice Presentations?

Little research has examined how stimulus modalities influence choice responding. Should choice alternatives be presented using tangibles, pictures, or verbal descriptions? How should caregivers decide which modality to use? We have completed several studies to examine how discrimination skills, as measured by the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test, interact with choice stimulus modalities to influence responding. Our results suggest that for persons with developmental disabilities with limited or no communication skills, the ability to make simple visual, visual matching to sample, and auditory-visual discriminations should be the prime determinant of stimulus modalities in choice presentation and preference assessment.