Acta Comportamentalia

The Effect of Stimulus Control During Pairing on the Emergence of Bidirectional Naming

José Alberto Monseco-Gómez — 2024-02-26

The aim of this research was to analyze the effect exerted by the stimulus control in a pairing observation procedure on the responses that emerged in tact and selection probes as components of bidirectional naming, depending on the coherence of stimulus control between pairing and probes. In Experiment 1, eight adults were exposed to a figure-spoken word pairing phase and subsequently to tact and selection probes. In the pairing and tact probe, the number of stimuli presented in each trial was manipulated (one by one -successive- or four by four -simultaneous-) in four experimental conditions (with coherence: successive-successive and simultaneous-simultaneous; without coherence: successive-simultaneous and simultaneous-successive). Four randomized sets per condition were used with each participant, consisting of 16 figures and 16 words grouped into four pairs per set. Tact and selection emerged in all participants, regardless of stimulus control. The median of correct selection responses was higher in the conditions without coherence (23.5; Wilcoxon test) and in the conditions with simultaneous pairing. In Experiment 2, the procedure was identical to Experiment 1, except those eight different adults participated and animal sounds-spoken words were paired. The tact and selection response emerged with all eight participants and better tact results were obtained in the conditions with simultaneous pairing.

Investigating the Prediction of a Version of the Good Behavior Game in a Home Environment

Rodrigo Cavalcanti de Oliveira Pinto — 2024-02-26

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) has been a behavioral strategy highly tested in school settings to foster academic and prosocial behaviors among pupils. In addition, evidence has shown the game implementation is correlated with outcomes regarding the prevention of serious emotional and behavioral problems later in life. Some studies have evaluated and compared the effects of delivering points contingently to expected behaviors rather than unexpected ones or even rule violations. However, data has shown no marked differences on outcomes regarding those different ways the game can be implemented, except that focusing on “good” behaviors may increase its acceptability. This study aimed to test a GBG version based on delivering points contingently to “good” behaviors and strategies to facilitate the generalization of its effects. In addition, it was carried out in two home settings targeting relationships between mothers and their children. Due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, GBG implementation was done by the mothers with remote assistance provided by the first researcher. Thus, and overall, this study can be seen as a case for the feasibility of GBG implementation in home settings. To initiate GBG implementation, mothers from two families (namely, A and B) defined children´ behaviors and situations in the home routine they would like to change. For Family A, the behaviors defined were remaining seated and eating independently during lunches and dinners; for Family B, they were remaining seated, talking about one’s own task, and using one’s own task materials. In order to facilitate generalization effects, two strategies were implemented. First, a Say-Do-Report procedure (SDR) was employed before and after each session of game playing; second, some components of the game were gradually removed over GBG conditions. The SDR, when used consistently, can establish a discrimination between what was said and what was done by a person, and changes the likelihood of occurrence of nonverbal behavior by means of reinforcement of related verbal behavior, which, in turn, can facilitate the generalization of intervention effects when it is removed. In addition, the gradual removal of certain components of an intervention – since the intervention relies upon stimuli occurring both within it and other contexts – supposedly would facilitate generalization as well. The experimental design consisted of one baseline and three intervention phases. In the first intervention phase, all GBG components were implemented and then faded throughout subsequent two fading phases, so that only low-cost consequences (e.g., praises, family plays, and desserts) and SDR were maintained. Overall, results showed two main effects on direct measures: (1) the frequency of targeted behaviors gradually increased for all participants – except for remaining seated, for which two participants exhibited increasing tendency already at baseline – (2) and the variability in fluctuations of targeted behaviors decreased throughout intervention phases. In addition, responses to social validation questionnaires indicated high acceptability scores. Although systematic measures on generalization were not gathered, anecdotal data showed the occurrence of targeted behaviors in other places and game implementation in other contexts.

Effects of Self and Peer Video Modeling on Textual Responses in Children with ASD

Maria Vivianne Pereira dos Santos — 2024-02-26

Video modeling—an empirically supported intervention—consists of exhibiting videos portraying a behavior to install or modify the respective behavior of the viewer, who, after watching the video, is asked to imitate it. The present study compared self video modeling and peer video modeling in teaching textual responses under the control of consonants of the Portuguese alphabet to three children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A mixed between-participant multiple baseline and alternating treatment design was employed. Two boys and one girl, between four and seven years old, were exposed to: a preference assessment to determine potentially reinforcing items, a textual response baseline phase with differential reinforcement but no prompts or video modeling, a post-video elaboration probe, a video preference assessment, and a video modeling phase (with self and peer video conditions). Experimental control was improved in relation to previous studies: consequences for the emission of correct and incorrect responses in all phases were identical; the peers were physically similar to the participants; and the participant’s preference for videos was evaluated. The results indicated similar effects of both video modeling conditions on correct textual responses for two of the three participants. The third participant reached the performance criterion in the self video modeling condition after more sessions than the other participants, and stabilized his correct responses in 60% in the peer video modeling. Overall, both self and peer video modeling appear effective in teaching textual responses. The slightly better results in the self video modeling condition can be attributed to the emission of echoic responses related to the consonants employed in that condition during the elaboration of the videos. All participants preferred the peer video, what may be related to the use of peers who were physically similar to the participants. Evidence suggests positive effects arising from the type of intervention evaluated and the need for future research to evaluate the teaching of other skills.

The Political Construction of the “Self” in Radical Behaviorism: Oppression, Submission, and Subversion

Carlos Eduardo Lopes — 2024-02-26

Even though it is not a philosophy centered on the self, Radical Behaviorism can discuss this notion. From a behaviorist perspective, the self can be understood as a complex verbal repertoire composed of self-knowledge, self-control, and ethical self-government (in some cases, countercontrol). As it is a verbal repertoire, the self has a social genesis. This thesis allows a political analysis, recognizing that power relations permeate the social contingencies responsible for the constitution of the self. However, a radically social conception of the self, such as that proposed by Skinnerian behaviorism, raises a political problem: if the social environment entirely determines the self, where would the eventual “will” to break with this system come from, such as that displayed by “selves” engaged in political change? At first glance, the possibility of transformative political action seems to require maintaining a decontextualized notion of self, i.e., an initiating self. This conclusion seems to question the possibility of Radical Behaviorism accounting for a politically active self. Considering that difficulty, this paper proposes a political interpretation of the self in Radical Behaviorism, keeping the possibility of a transformative political action on the horizon. For that, we examine how oppressed “selves” are made submissive and how certain contingencies allow the emergence of subversive “selves,” which oppose the system of domination. The constitution of this disobedient self depends on contingencies different from those formally organized by powerful controlling agencies, such as government, religion, and, mainly, the economy. A subversive self also requires a “broader” repertoire of self-knowledge, including discrimination of the control these powerful agencies promote. Finally, the subversive self also exhibits a well-established repertoire of self-control, since acting against institutional control is very likely to produce immediate aversive consequences. We conclude that the analysis of the contingencies responsible for the constitution of a subversive self allows us to speak of a politically active self in Radical Behaviorism.

Critical Observations on the Notion of Competence in the Theory of Behavior

Carlos Ibáñez Bernal — 2024-02-26

The purpose of this paper is to delve into the concept of competence proposed in the Theory of Behavior and the Theory of Psychology based on the conclusions reached in a first review that covered 30 years, from 1981 to 2011 (cf. Ibáñez & De la Sancha, 2013). The critical observations are due to an attempt to reorder the concept of competence and other related concepts in accordance with common sense practices, to avoid counterintuitive conclusions. Four relevant aspects of the notion of competence are mainly discussed: 1) skill as a fundamental component of competence; 2) skill is not sufficient to identify or define a competency; 3) the concept of competence becomes relevant in performance evaluation situations; 4) implications of the observations on the concept of “intelligent” behavior. It is concluded that specifying the concepts of skill and competence allows us to linguistically abstract the characteristics of interest from the phenomena that are observed, identifying those that are necessary and sufficient to conceive them epistemologically as such. Doing this is key for empirical research, as it is the fundamental guide for the theoretical interpretation of its results, and even for the planning of strategies aimed at solving social problems.

An Approximation Between Theory of Fundamental Rights and Behavior Analysis

Cassiana Sterza Versoza-Carvalhal — 2024-02-26

The Theory of Fundamental Rights and the Skinnerian Ethical System have quite different historical and theoretical origins, on the other hand, they have objectives that are similar: to plan deliberate interventions, guided by a set of values, with the purpose of producing certain consequences in society. The objective of this work is to demonstrate that these two fields of knowledge have a contextualist approach to values and that this contextualist view would be a starting point for the dialogue between them. This dialogue could enhance the discussions and scope of both areas and produce advances toward your goals. Fundamental rights had their origin in a natural law doctrine, in which there is the idea that natural rights exist, even if they are not expressed in legal norms. However, legal positivism doctrines of fundamental rights prevail today, which assume that only the norms that appear in the legal system are a right. It is the legal positivism doctrine that allows a contextualist analysis of fundamental rights because it conceives them as results of a dynamic and complex process of collective struggles and achievements that come to be endorsed by the social and state order. In the Skinnerian Ethical System, values are understood as reinforcing consequences selected throughout the history of the species, individual and culture, and usually are different between individuals and societies, depending on the history of each one. Just like all behavioral phenomenon values arise from the interaction between organism and environment so that for Radical Behaviorism there are no absolute values in relation to what is ethical or unethical, since these criteria arise from contingencies. The Theory of Fundamental Rights and the Skinnerian Ethical System defend different set of values, even though there may be similarities. However, in both cases, the values are understood as the result of social relations and historical events from a specific time. It means that the defense of certain values by a social group is always a result of concrete relationships based on a specific social context. The historical dimension of values leads to the flexible and open character of the set of values defended in either case, so, in both cases, their contents can suffer additions and alterations and are subject to social transformations. These points in common open up possibilities for dialogue between these fields of knowledge that can be very fruitful for achieving the objectives they propose. Futhermore, highlight the delicate problem of understanding values as historically determined and still taking them as guides for cultural planning, in the Skinnerian Ethical System, and public policies, in the Theory of Fundamental Rights.

Effects of Communication Training in College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Nerúcia Andreza Resende Ferreira — 2024-02-26

Communication and social interaction difficulties are among the criteria for the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The measures of ASD incidence worldwide have been increasing over the last decades. A great amount of effort has been done to advance basic and applied knowledge to face such socially relevant issues. Much of the research effort has been focused on early interventions in the development of verbal repertoire in children diagnosed with ASD. Nevertheless, there is a considerable population of teenagers and autistic adults requiring qualified attention to integrate themselves in higher education and job opportunities. Considering that verbal and social limitations greatly contribute to academic deficits in people diagnosed with ASD, more research concerning the development of such repertoire in applied context, such as college classrooms, is needed. This study evaluated, in two autistic university students, the effectiveness of a social stimuli discrimination training and communication skills training to promote the occurrence of verbal responses in the following categories: preference communication, opinion statement, asking questions, starting a conversation, and intraverbal turns. A multiple baseline design among participants was implemented with measures of the training effect on each of several behavioral categories. The training procedure comprised role-play with positive and corrective feedback and the presentation of textual and visual cues. The results showed an increase in the frequency of most categories of trained responses, with an eightfold increase in intraverbal turns for one of the participants. The data also show the need to implement procedures to enhance performance maintenance. This intervention contrasts with the trend of research in the area where neurotypical pairs are also trained to establish interactions. The conclusions point to a viable alternative to promote autonomy in students with ASD in real situations in the teaching institutional environment, based on the discrimination of the ongoing reinforcement contingencies and acquisition of verbal responses that may be more likely to be positively reinforced. The simplicity of the procedure implemented and the behavioral gains observed encourage the continuity of the research line such towards the promotion of formal programs featuring evidence-based procedures to assist college students diagnosed with ASD in Brazil.

Therapeutic Interaction in Dropout and Adhesion Cases in an Intervention with Mothers

Fabiane Ferraz Silveira Fogaça — 2024-02-26

Therapeutic interaction analysis encompasses the mutual influence between therapist’ behavior and client’ behavior during sessions, according observations, systematic records, categorizations, and description of patterns of behaviors. The present study aims to describe the interactions between therapist and one client that dropped-out and one client that concluded an intervention in group with mothers. Participants were a mother that dropout the intervention (client A), a mother that conclude the intervention (client S), and a therapist. Two hours of the third session were categorized (last session accomplished by client A), using the software Observer XT and the Multidimensional Behavioral Coding System. The following data were analyzed: a) frequencies of therapist´s behaviors presented to client A and client S by the session’s phase; b) frequencies of clients’ behaviors (clients A and S) by the session’s phase; c) sequential analysis results. Main results: a) therapist’s categories presented to client A that stood out: Information request, Approval, Recommendation, and Interpretation (INT), the last two classified as directive behavior; b) the category Agreement was not presented by client A, which in turn presented Opposition; c) Client S emitted the category Agreement in high frequency and not presented Opposition; d) sequential analysis revealed that Recommendation and Interpretation presented do client S were preceded or succeeded by Empathy and Approval. In general, this study considered that contextual elements (e.g. session’s phase and sequential analysis) are relevant. Overall, this study brings light to some conditions related to adhesion in an intervention in group with mothers: the alternation between directive (Recommendation and Interpretation) and non-directive therapist´s behavior (Empathy and Approval), high frequency of Agreement e low occurrence of Opposition presented by client.

Methodological Proposal for the Analysis of Coupling and Alteration Contacts

Jairo Tamayo — 2024-02-26

The present work describes a proposal for the study of coupling and alteration contacts. Using a procedure like those employed in the tracking and catching literature, a task was designed and adapted in which participants were presented with two situations in which they had to adjust to a moving object by scrolling on a computer screen. In the first situation, the occurrence conditions of the moving object (speed or trajectory) were constant and were not modified by the response pattern displayed by the participants; in the second situation, the response pattern altered the occurrence conditions of the object (its speed). The first situation was considered equivalent to a coupling condition; the second, to an alteration condition. Exemplars of the molar measurements that can be obtained from the recordings are shown in the results. It is considered that the procedure may be useful for the evaluation of coupling and alteration contacts.