Association for Behavior Analysis International

People discount the value of delayed or uncertain outcomes, and the same hyperboloid mathematical function describes both delay and probability discounting. Partly for this reason, discounting of delayed outcomes and probabilistic outcomes often is assumed to reflect similar decision-making processes. However, we will show that several manipulations differentially affect how steeply people discount delayed and probabilistic outcomes, as well as the parameters of the discounting function. In addition, we will show that with respect to discounting, losses are not simply the opposite of gains. Finally, we will present data from individuals with medial temporal lobe damage to argue that mental time travel is not required for discounting delayed and probabilistic outcomes. In summary, this tutorial will highlight the similarities and differences between the discounting of delayed and probabilistic gains and losses, as well as the implications of our recent neuropsychological findings for understanding the mechanisms involved (and not involved) in discounting.

General ABAI attendees, both applied and basic researchers and graduate students

1. Participants will be able to describe and provide examples of the discounting of delayed and of probabilistic rewards, and state a similarity and a difference in their discounting.
2. Participants will be able to describe the discounting of gains and losses, and state a similarity and a difference in their discounting.
3. Participants will be able to discuss the relation of discounting to issues of impulsivity and self-control.

Some have suggested that the definition of verbal behavior offered by B. F. Skinner (1957) fails to capture the essence of language insofar as it is too broad and not functional. In this tutorial, Dr. Matthew Normand will explain how the ambiguities of Skinner's definition are not an indictment of it, and show that suggestions to the contrary are problematic because they suffer a critical error of scientific reasoning. Specifically, he will explain that (a) no clear definition of verbal behavior is possible because there is no natural distinction between verbal and nonverbal behavior; (b) attempts at an immutable definition are essentialistic; and (c) Skinner's functional taxonomy of language is in no way affected by the particulars of any definition of verbal behavior. Moreover, Dr. Normand will explain how categorical definitions, and the vagaries that sometimes arise from them, are not unique to Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior.

BCBAs, BCaBAs

1. State the two primary arguments used to question the validity of Skinner’s definition of verbal behavior.
2. State the two ways that the term “function” is used by behavior analysts and describe how Skinner’s taxonomy of verbal operants addresses both uses.
3. Describe the shortcomings of the argument that Skinner’s definition of verbal behavior is not functional. Use the concept of essentialism in your answer.

While each entrepreneur's experience differs from the next, there are some broad strokes that can be used to paint a successful venture. Just as withclinical endeavors, data are king. This tutorial will provide the audience with an example of how behavior analytic principles (OBM) were used to found and grow Lodestone Academy, a private school in Florida that serves consumers who exhibit severe behavioral issues. In addition to an examination of organizational data, a discussion of the trials and tribulations of Lodestone will provide "life lessons" to audience members with suggestions to facilitate a smooth entrepreneurial journey. In addition to the example of Lodestone Academy, Dr. Pritchard will describe some other entrepreneurial ventures and the lessons learned from each. This tutorial will conclude with a few recommended directions that a new entrepreneur could explore which would allow for both personal success and a broadened impact of behavior analysis on society.

Three-term contingencies are relations among stimuli, responses, and consequences as they interact in the context of motivational operations. The stimulus is therefore an integral part of behavior analysis. Experimental psychology courses once routinely included learning and behavior along with sensory psychology and psychophysics as substantive components, but they gradually evolved into methodology courses devoid of specific content. Behavior analysis and sensory psychology then diverged despite their commonalities, not least of which were single-subject research designs. Sensory psychology remains crucially relevant to many things we do. This tutorial explores how it has made and can continue to make significant contributions to both basic research and applications. The examples to be considered include, among others, problem behavior that is sometimes a byproduct of the sensory deficits that often accompany developmental disabilities, the auditory phenomenon of recruitment as it can occur in geriatric populations, and signal-detection analyses of the costs and benefits of false alarms and misses in discrimination tasks such as breast self-examination. Behavior is a biological system, so it should be no surprise that it shares properties with sensory processes, as when contrast effects in behavior are paralleled by similar effects in vision, hearing, and other senses.

BCBAs, BCaBAs

1. Engaged participants should be able to briefly describe the basic signal-detection payoff matrix and say why it is relevant to behavior analysis.
2. Engaged participants should be able to describe the basics of sensory psychology, including the role of inhibitory processes in edge detection, color-blindness and other visual deficits, and recruitment effects in hearing, and say why such phenomena are relevant to behavior analysts.
3. Engaged participants should be able to describe the individual-organism methodologies of both sensory psychophysics and behavior analysis, and to identify the common features of these two areas that make them potential partners in a biologically based science of behavior.

In this tutorial, the basic requirements and ideal conditions for successfully training, evaluating, and deploying animals for scent-detection tasks will be outlined. Fundamental chemical and environmental factors that influence scent detection will be described, as will some factors to consider when selecting species and strains for this work. Because operational scent detection often involves detection of a variety of odor combinations, training requirements are similar to those for concept formation, which has important implications for selection of training samples. These and other considerations related to sample presentation will be discussed. Common training methods for both "discrete-trial" and "free-operant" scent-discrimination tasks will be presented and critical components of training highlighted. Evaluation of the scent-detection accuracy of animal detectors is a critical step prior to and during operational deployment. Some key features of precise estimation of performance will be discussed followed by a description of some operational deployment scenarios and features that are more and less conducive to success. Finally, common challenges associated with scent-detection work and some methods of overcoming the challenges will be presented for discussion.

BCBAs, BCaBAs

1. Describe three factors that influence scent availability.
2. Design a basic scent-detection training protocol.
3. Conduct an evaluation of a scent-detection animal.
4. Describe three challenges associated with scent detection.

Providing consultation from a distance is becoming increasingly more popular, because it allows for expert consultation even if those needing consultation live far from the consultant. This applies to individuals living in rural areas as well as in urban centers, where traffic congestion can make travel to the consultation site just as problematic as driving to rural areas. Teleconsultation is a method of providing consultation using distance technology. In states where behavior analysts are in short supply but demand for their services is great, teleconsultation can be one solution to the problem. In this tutorial, the ins and outs of setting up a consultation model will be provided. Dr. Peterson will share some of the things she has learned (the good, the bad, and the ugly) during the past year and a half of starting up a new teleconsultation service in Michigan, with a goal of helping participants be prepared for the hurdles that will be encountered.

BCBAs; BCaBAs

This talk identifies aspects of Epicurean philosophy that are related to the ideas promoted by B. F. Skinner. A Greek philosopher who lived at the time of Plato and Aristotle, Epicurus was an empiricist who maintained that lawful interactions among atoms were the bases for all things, including physical, biological, and behavioral. He also posited that atoms swerved randomly, this providing for voluntary actions and the creation of novel things. Epicurus argued against soul (in contemporary terms, mind or cognitions) being independent of body, and against superstitious beliefs, including life-after-death and godly influences on humankind. Animals shared, according to Epicurus, many of the same attributes as humans, and he posited that life existed on many worlds other than our own. Epicurus created and lived in a utopian community, the Garden, that was similar in many ways to Walden II--in its emphasis on work and simple rewards, in avoiding aversives and emphasizing positives, and in its inclusion of all members of society, rich and poor, women and men. This talk will compare Skinner and Epicurus and explore why their common views may be helpful to us as individuals, to our culture, and to our world.