behavior science is a natural science
2020
Theoretical extensions of Skinner’s verbal behavior that emphasize derived relational responding (stimulus equivalence, relational frame theory, and bidirectional naming) can improve the complexity and scope of applied behavior-analytic training models with children. We evaluated the prevalence and content of empirical research on derived relational responding in children within 8 major applied behavior-analytic journals. We identified 123 empirical articles that met all inclusion criteria (i.e., they demonstrated derived relational responding in children). Whereas prior citation analyses have shown higher rates of research with adult participants, considerable research within these journals has involved child participants. In addition, 55% of the research targeted socially relevant or culturally established verbal relations, rather than culturally arbitrary relations (e.g., unknown symbols, consonant-vowel-consonant combinations) that are unlikely to affect real-world behavior. Generalization and transformation tests were also present in 47% of articles. We also conducted a content analysis of all articles that contained culturally relevant relations and demonstrated generalization or transformation of stimulus function (21% of all articles, N = 26); we argue that studies that meet these criteria are likely to be the most immediately impactful for learners. Results suggest that future research is needed to evaluate relational frames other than coordination (e.g., distinction, opposition), as well as to extend considerably the complexity of target relational classes and transformations of stimulus function with children.
2020
This study evaluated the efficacy of a set of procedures in evoking responding under multiple stimulus control (identifying emotions when provided a person and context) in a match-to-sample arrangement. Three participants with autism achieved a mastery criterion following direct training of the target relations, and two of the participants additionally demonstrated derived relations without direct training (identifying people when provided an emotion and context). Corrective procedures were effective in promoting the emergence of derived relations for the third participant. These data suggest that incorporating derived stimulus relation training and testing procedures may have utility for clinical interventions in children with autism.
2020
We evaluated the efficacy of a most-to-least intrusive error-correction/prompting procedure for teaching 3 children with autism to tact the private events of others through publicly accompanying stimuli. Participants did not reliably demonstrate correct tact responses to publicly observable stimuli that accompany common emotions reported by others (e.g., bandage = hurt) in baseline. Procedures were taken from the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System: Direct Training Module(PEAK-DT) to aid in clinical replication, and training was introduced in a multiple-baseline design. Results showed that the procedures were efficacious in teaching this skill to each of the participants, and fast rates of acquisition were observed.
2020
We conducted an initial exploration of several model assumptions in Relational Density Theory (Belisle & Dixon, in press) across two experiments with 18 college student participants. The first experiment showed that relational density (response accuracy/response time) may be influenced by relative rates of reinforcement or training exposure, and that denser classes were more resistant to counterconditioning (i.e., relational resistance). In the second experiment, two classes were established that differed in size, and for most initial participants, greater density was obtained for the smaller class. When a third class was established, and a class member from the third class was presented as a sample along with competing comparison stimuli from the initial two classes, most participants matched the new class member with the denser class (i.e., relational gravity). Additional participants were added, and a familiar stimulus was substituted into the larger class. For all additional participants, greater density was observed for the larger class containing the familiar stimulus, and participants matched the new class member with the larger-denser class. Results support several model assumptions, but several model inconsistent findings are presented as avenues for future research.
2019
Much support exists for relational frame theory as a behavior‐analytic conceptualization for complex language and cognition. The purpose of this entry is to survey research on relational frame theory as it pertains to the development of flexible, bidirectional repertoires in children and adolescents. The entry focuses on basic simple framing repertoires involved in early language acquisition as well as more sophisticated repertoires involved in complex cognitive abilities such as hierarchical responding and perspective taking. Suggestions for future research are provided.
2019
Witts' (2018) review of the peer‐reviewed research on the PEAK‐Direct Training Module (Dixon, 2014) yielded a divergent conclusion from that of previous reviews (Reed & Luiselli, 2016; Dixon, Belisle, McKeel et al., 2017). Witts advocates for skepticism of this research due to methodological shortcomings, hyperclaiming of results, and inappropriate statistical testing procedures. We identified 30 criticisms in Witts' review, respond to each, and argue that all but 2 (7%) contain untrue assumptions (7, 23%), are not novel (5, 17%), are logically invalid (7, 23%), or are more appropriately framed as criticisms of applied behavior analytic research more generally (9, 30%). The two criticisms that support Witts' purpose in writing his review are minor and not fatal. We discuss all of Witts' criticisms both specifically and broadly to illustrate that most of his suggestions about applied behavior analytic research may actually serve to hinder progress in a discipline moving toward larger‐scale research.
2019
Relational Frame Theory posits that complex language develops through arbitrarily applicable relational networks, with potential implications for individuals with autism. Responding relationally based on comparison occurs when participants respond to any number of comparative properties, such as “bigger” or “faster.” Experiment 1 established two 3‐member comparative networks, in which a stimulus A was conditioned as “bigger” or “faster” than a stimulus B, and the stimulus B was conditioned as “bigger” or “faster” than a stimulus C in 2 children with autism. Both participants met the mastery criterion for the trained relations and demonstrated the emergence of the untrained combinatorially entailed A–C and C–A relations. The participants could also match the arbitrary A stimuli with larger or faster objects and the C stimuli with smaller or slower objects. The results were replicated in Experiment 2 with the same participants, where a 5‐member relational network was established for the bigger/smaller relation.
2019
Thirty‐six participants were given three social discounting surveys, and each survey was preceded by one of three contrived hypothetical scenarios. In each scenario, the participant was asked to consider situations in which either the participant (SELF), a hypothetical other (OTHER), or both the participant and the hypothetical other (BOTH) were experiencing economic hardship (i.e., needed money to avoid a negative outcome). Results replicate previous research suggesting that the probability of participants foregoing the money decreased across social distance in the BOTH and OTHER conditions; however, no discounting was observed for median responses in the SELF condition. In addition, the highest area under the curve and lowest s values were associated with the OTHER condition, and the inverse results were observed for the SELF condition. Taken together, these results suggest that relative economic hardship may act as a motivating operation affecting social discounting with the potential for further translational utility.
2019
The present study evaluated the efficacy of a set of procedures for bringing tact extensions of abstract tactile properties under stimulus control. Two participants with disabilities who communicated via a picture‐based communication system received reinforcement for tacts of tactile properties of four wet/dry and four hard/soft stimuli. Test trials were conducted to evaluate the extent to which the participants' correct responding generalized to novel stimuli with the same tactile properties. The results suggest that the procedures were effective in bringing tact extensions of abstract tactile properties under stimulus control. Both participants' correct responding generalized to a set of novel stimuli. Mastery level responding to training and test targets maintained for 2 weeks following training. The results provide further evidence supporting the use of DTT to teach stimulus abstraction to nonvocal verbal individuals who use augmentative forms of communication.
2019
The present study demonstrates the utility of relational training for teaching Then-Later and Here-There deictic relations for two children with autism. Mutually entailed single-reversal relations, transfers of stimulus function, and transformations of stimulus function were also evaluated for each participant. The methods were adapted from the PEAK-T curriculum. Results for both participants support the utility of relational training for teaching children with autism basic perspective-taking skills. Both participants were able to generalize the perspective-taking skills to novel sets of stimuli, and demonstrate mutually entailed responding during single-reversal tasks. Both participants were also able to demonstrate transformations of stimulus function for both Then-Later and Here-There deictic relations.
2019
The present study evaluated the efficacy of a discrete-trial-training procedure to bring extended verbal behavior under the convergent control of audience and contextual variables during a show-and-tell activity. Three children with autism were exposed initially to a baseline condition in which they were presented with a preferred item and asked to tell the class about it. Following low rates of responding, a differential reinforcement procedure was implemented that reinforced extending the verbal utterance word length beyond baseline levels allowing for an appropriate display of “show-and-tell” behavior. The results show that the procedures were efficacious in application with three children with autism, providing a method that can be conducted in classroom settings to teach a complex form of verbal operant behavior.
2019
Twenty‐one recreational gamblers were randomly assigned to two groups; one group was exposed to a conditional discrimination relational training task to bias choice allocation to a black machine presented concurrently with a red machine, and the other group underwent the same relational training task immediately followed by a defusion procedure, designed to expand upon the relations developed in the initial relational task. Both groups completed a simulated slot‐machine task before and after the relational training task, with or without the defusion procedure. Results showed that 9 of 11 participants in the relational training only group showed an increased bias toward the black machine, compared to only 4 of 10 in the relational training plus defusion group; this latter group also showed greater matched responding. Results suggest that expanding verbal–relational networks may reduce the influence of any single verbal relation on gambling choice behavior.
2019
The present study aimed to evaluate the utility of representational drawing as an alternative to selection-based responses for evaluating the emergence of the transformation of stimulus function. Two children with autism were initially taught relations among pictures, arbitrary symbols, and arbitrary words. Nonreinforced tests were also conducted to evaluate the possibility of a transformation of stimulus function across stimuli when presented with a generative drawing task. The results suggested that both participants responded at high accuracy following initial training and also were able to transform the functions of these training stimuli such that novel drawings that were never reinforced actually emerged under extinction conditions. These data add to the body of literature supporting the utility of exposing children with autism to applied behavior-analytic interventions that incorporate derived relational responding as a target operant, and this generalized operant also is capable of a transformation of stimulus function.
2019
Rules / verbal behavior governing applied behavior scientists since Skinner have achieved great success resolving challenges experienced by individuals with severe developmental and intellectual disabilities. We extend prior work by Dixon, Belisle, Rehfeldt, and Root (2018, “Why We Are Still Not Acting to Save the World: The Upward Challenge of a Post-Skinnerian Behavior Science,” Perspectives on Behavior Science, 41, 241–267) by suggesting that many of these rules, applied inflexibly, are unlikely to resolve significant problems experienced by humans without these same intellectual challenges (i.e., most humans). Particularly, methodological models of human behavior that ignore both private events and advances in relational frame theory and that favor a bottom-up inductive theorizing have not, and we argue cannot, address uniquely human challenges. Instead, we propose alternative rules developed in part within contextual behavior science that are more consistent with Skinner’s radical behaviorism than are current approaches and that may expand the scope of applied behavior science. Only by adapting our own public and private verbal behavior as applied scientists can we move toward solving the wide range of challenges within the human condition.
2019
Delay discounting describes the tendency to select smaller-sooner rewards over larger-later rewards, which has been proposed as a behavior analytic model of impulsivity. Framed in this way, impulsivity is problematic because it results in the sub-optimization of rewards and is related to several addictive behaviors. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a brief, 5-min mindfulness exercise on participants’ momentary state impulsivity using a monetary delay discounting questionnaire. Twenty-three participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n = 11) or control group (n = 12). Both groups completed delay discounting surveys before and after their respective interventions, where the experimental group watched a brief mindful breathing video and the control group watched a contemporary music video of approximately the same duration. Decreases in impulsive responding were seen in the experimental group and no significant changes were observed in the randomized control group. These results have implications for applying brief mindfulness-based strategies that can reduce the probability of impulsive choice behavior.
2018
Dixon, Belisle, and Stanley, (2018) demonstrated a strong, significant relationship between derived relational responding and intelligence in individuals with autism. We extended these results by evaluating the degree to which participant results on the PEAK Equivalence Pre-assessment (PEAK-E-PA, a direct assessment of derived relational responding) mediated the relationship between the PEAK Direct Training Assessment (PEAK-DT-A, a Skinnerian-based assessment of verbal development) and intelligence. Results support strong, positive correlations between both assessments (PEAK-DT-A and PEAK-E-PA) and IQ; however, the relationship between PEAK-DT-A and IQ could be explained in terms of participant results on the PEAK-E-PA alone. This finding corresponds with Relational Frame Theory, suggesting that derived responding can provide a behavioral interpretation of intelligent behavior, as well as Skinner’s elementary operants.
2018
The present study evaluated the relationship between derived relational responding demonstrated by 64 individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities (90.63% of which had an autism diagnosis) and their corresponding performance on standardized IQ assessments. Participants’ relational abilities were assessed using the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Equivalence Pre-Assessment (PEAK-E-PA), and IQ was assessed using either the WISC-IV Short Form assessment or the WPPSI-III Short Form assessment. The data indicated a strong, significant correlation between participant scores on the PEAK-E-PA and IQ both in terms of raw IQ (r = .843, p < .01), as well as full scale IQ (r = .804, p < .01), which is further analyzed in terms of each of the four subtests of the PEAK-E-PA (reflexivity, symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence). The obtained results have implications for a behavior analytic understanding of factors that relate to the development of intelligent behavior in individuals with disabilities.
2018
We evaluated the feasibility of analyzing data from speeches of United States presidents from a contextual behavioral perspective. Relational frames present in inaugural addresses given by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump from 1993 to 2017 were compared. The greatest between subject variance was observed in their use of coordinative and distinctive relations, with Donald Trump using the largest number of frames of distinction and Barack Obama using the largest number of frames of coordination. Within subject analyses show that the use each type of relation was not equivalent, and the relations most commonly used by each president varied. These data suggest that behavioral scientists can generate meaningful, reliable analyses from publicly available text, and results generated in the present study are discussed in a larger sociopolitical context.
2018
Graduate students experience high levels of demand in their degree programs, which often results in difficulty maintaining their academic performance and managing their distress. The present study examined the effectiveness of a 6-week values clarification and committed action training program derived from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to increase academic performance and psychological flexibility of graduate students in a behavior analysis and therapy program by comparing a Values intervention group to a Study Tips active treatment control group on measures of academic performance, psychological flexibility, values-driven behavior, and stress. The results suggest that the Values group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in academic performance (t (32) = 1.902, p < 0.05), psychological flexibility (t (32) = 1.895, p < .05), and ratings of the importance of education-related values (t (32) = 2.013, p < .05) compared to the control group, and nonsignificant improvements in reports of consistency with education-related values (t (32) = 0.7204, p > .05) and perceived stress (t (32) = 1.521, p > .05). The Values group also demonstrated a higher score for social validity than the control group following the intervention (t (32) = 2.449, p < .05).
2018
We evaluated a procedure for teaching two children, one typically developing and one with autism, a higher‐order generalized operant response class of unscrambling sight words. The procedures were efficacious in teaching the participants to unscramble words appearing in isolation and in the context of a sentence, with 98% of the presented discriminative stimuli novel to the participants.
2018
Basic research on derived stimulus relations reveals many effects that may be useful in understanding and resolving significant and complex societal problems. Applied research on derived stimulus relations has done little to fulfill this promise, focusing instead mainly on simple demonstrations of well-known phenomena. We trace the research tradition of derived stimulus relations from laboratory to wide-scale implementation, and put forward several suggestions for how to progress effective and impactful research on derived relational responding to issues of immense social importance. To advance a science of behavior from relative social obscurity to the developing world-saving technologies, we must evaluate our own behavior as scientists in the grander social context.
2018
The Gambling Functional Assessment (GFA) hypothesized four possible maintaining functions of gambling behavior, including social attention, escape from aversive events, access to tangible items, and sensory stimulation. In the years following the GFA’s release, research teams have argued for a revised model of the GFA to account for just two possible functions maintaining gambling behavior (positive and negative reinforcement). In the current study, we examined the extent to which a four-factor gambling functional assessment was possible, sustaining a conceptual and theoretical orientation consistent with a functional behavioral account of gambling. Three hundred and sixty-five recreational and disordered gamblers completed a demographic survey, the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), and the GFA. An exploratory factor analysis was first conducted to determine GFA functional items that loaded onto a common factor, and a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine if a four-factor model, consistent with the functional categories of the GFA, provided a good fit for the obtained data. Outcomes supported the model, suggesting that a four-factor functional account of gambling behavior can be obtained. Differing results obtained by separate research teams, however, suggest that more precise research may be needed in the development and analysis of functional instruments for use with gamblers.
2018
The present study examined temporal monetary discounting rates among exotic dancers, waitresses who are required to wear revealing uniforms, and waitresses at a local restaurant where revealing clothes are not part of work attire. Current findings indicate that exotic dancers and waitresses who are required to wear revealing clothing discounted significantly more than waitresses at restaurants where provocative dress is not required. These results suggest that the type of job held may predict impulsivity, with nude or risqué occupations indicating steeper patterns of overall discounting.
2018
The current investigation sought to extend prior research evaluating the use of the PEAK Relational Training System as a comprehensive treatment model in improving language skills demonstrated by individuals with autism. Baseline PEAK‐Direct Training and Verbal Behavior Milestone Assessment and Placement Program (VB‐MAPP) assessments were conducted across 3 adult male participants, and scores on the PEAK‐Direct Training assessment were used to select targets for intervention. Language instruction guided by the PEAK‐Direct Training module was implemented for 45 to 69 days across participants. Results suggest that participants mastered target skills throughout the training phase, and VB‐MAPP test probes showed an increasing trend. Follow‐up probes suggested that scores on the VB‐MAPP maintained when training was discontinued. In addition, participants demonstrated an increase in assessment scores on the PEAK‐Direct Training assessment in the follow‐up phase, including the mastery of untargeted verbal skills.
2018
This study evaluated the efficacy of three equivalence‐based instruction procedures on the acquisition of novel academic skills by 3 adolescents diagnosed with autism in a school setting. The skills targeted for instruction were related to topics in history, science, and mathematics, and were taught using different training structures from the PEAK‐E curriculum. All participants demonstrated mastery of the trained relations and the tested derived relations following all variants of equivalence‐based instruction.
2018
Systems‐level interventions built by behavior analysts often rely on others to implement, and this may be especially true in public education settings where behavior analysts are scarce. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Direct Training (PEAK‐DT) curriculum when implemented by school teachers and direct care staff. Thirty‐nine children with autism took part in the study (19 PEAK, 15 control), where the experimental group received applied behavior analytic instruction through the PEAK‐DT curriculum, and the quasi‐randomized control group received training as usual. The PEAK‐DT assessment was first administered to the participants at the onset of the study and again following 1 year. Participants who received PEAK training gained more skills on the PEAK‐DT assessment compared to the control group (PEAK: M = 16.0, SD = 17.8; control: M = 6.1, SD = 14.4, F(1,33) = 10.66, p < .05), suggesting that systems level implementation of behavior analytic procedures can be effective in teaching language skills as prescribed in a packaged curriculum designed by behavior analysts.
2018
A Theory of Relational Density
Relational Density Theory describes quantifiable higher-order properties governing relational framing of verbal organisms. Consistent with Newtonian classical mechanics, the theory posits that relational networks, and relating itself, will demonstrate the higher-order emergent properties of density, volume, and mass. Thus, networks that contain more relations (volume) that are stronger (density) will be more resistant to change (i.e., contain greater mass; mass = volume * density). Consistent with Newton’s law of gravity, networks that contain greater mass will also demonstrate force, accelerating the acquisition of new relations beyond that accounted for by direct acting contingencies, therefore demonstrating emergent self- organization that is highly susceptible to small changes at initial conditions. The current set of experiments provides initial proof of concept data for foundational principles introduced in the theory. Experiment 1 (N = 6) models the volumetric mass density formula, predicting that networks with greater volume and density will be more resistant to change (i.e., contain greater mass) when counterconditioning is applied to a subset of derived relations contained within experimentally established networks. Results were consistent with theoretical predictions based on density on 10 of 12 occasions, and resistance appeared greater for relations operating at greater volume. Experiment 2 (N = 6) extended directly from Experiment 1, generating a density differential through exposure at initial training conditions, and utilizing response time as a measure of relational density. Results again demonstrated successful prediction of resistance corresponding with the emergent density differential on 10 of 12 occasions, along with overall greater resistance corresponding with and volumetric increases. Experiment 3 (N = 9) demonstrated that relational volume can detract from relational density when accurate responding is near 100%, and that network density is predictive of class mergers when no merged responding is ever reinforced, suggesting that network mass can exert force on relational responding in the absence of any experimental conditioning (i.e., gravity). Taken together, results have radical implications for understanding the self-emergent nature of complex human behavior, with applications in therapy and treatment, as well as in understanding the human condition more broadly.
2018
We evaluated the feasibility of analyzing data from speeches of United States presidents from a contextual behavioral perspective. Relational frames present in inaugural addresses given by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump from 1993 to 2017 were compared. The greatest between subject variance was observed in their use of coordinative and distinctive relations, with Donald Trump using the largest number of frames of distinction and Barack Obama using the largest number of frames of coordination. Within subject analyses show that the use each type of relation was not equivalent, and the relations most commonly used by each president varied. These data suggest that behavioral scientists can generate meaningful, reliable analyses from publicly available text, and results generated in the present study are discussed in a larger sociopolitical context.