Association for Behavior Analysis International

Modern behavior analysis must be consilient to prosper as a discipline. E. O. Wilson wrote, "The love of complexity without reductionism makes art; the love of complexity with reductionism makes science." Necessarily our science will profit from integrating reductionistic and artistic elements in the service of answering significant questions about behavior and addressing behavioral and other psychological challenges facing humanity. Over his career Dr. Thompson has been fortunate to use such strategies for basic theoretical matters concerning the integration of behavior, as well as applied problems in pharmacology, architecture, development of children with autism, and making the lives of people with disabilities better.

What started in the late 1920s at Harvard University as a small research project of a young graduate student involving several rats, some Rube Goldberg-like apparatus, and a handful of home-made food pellets is quite different today. Behavior analysis has grown in numbers, knowledge, and impact, and we have changed in composition. We have become, and continue to become even more of an international movement. This presentation comprises a brief historical analysis of some of the variables that have contributed to this internationalization of behavior analysis. They include seminal individuals crossing the oceans in all directions to bring and take behavior analysis to the four corners of the earth; scientific, conceptual, and application developments within the discipline; broader cultural events and technological developments; and personal contacts and exchanges of ideas among behavior analysts from different countries. The breeching of obstacles such as economic and resource limitations, perceived cultural incompatibilities with a behavior-analytic world view, language barriers, entrenched competing world views, and physical distance has required persistence, dedication, commitment, and ingenuity, but our internationalization has great momentum. Indeed this internationalization is essential to our future well-being.

Dr. Poling’s first publication appeared in 1976 and since that time he has conducted basic, translational, and applied research in several areas, resulting in publications in more than 50 different journals. This presentation will overview what he has learned regarding how to succeed as a researcher. Topics to be considered include selecting topics to study, being steadfastly pragmatic, persisting in the face of apparent failure, working successfully with other people, securing funds to support projects, writing well, publishing articles, and evaluating one’s own work.

We begin with a video example of children with autism in the 1960s, chained to their beds, receiving electric shocks, etc.; and then move on to a video example from modern times showing a child receiving a motivational pivotal response treatment. The emphasis here is on the power of programmatic research, with successive scientific findings building on each other to accomplish extremely dramatic results for improving the symptoms of autism. We will also discuss areas that still are in desperate need of research and intervention, such as parent stress, co-morbid disabilities, sex education, and employment.

Almost every major challenge in the world today can be seen as a failure to appropriately shape behavior, including chronic disease, economic inequality, violence and climate change. Why, then, isn't the proven science and practice of benignly shaping behavior widely embraced by the public and all our institutions? The problem is that the public clings to emotional appeal, and ABA bristles with data, evidence and rationalism. Therein lies a communications challenge on which rest not only the prospects for the field, but those for the human race.

Licensed psychologists, BCBAs, graduate students.

Alcanzando is a not for profit organization that provides educational services based on the principles of applied behavior analysis to children with autism around the Spanish speaking world. This Symposium is meant to share the data from their services over the last 7 years.

This presentation will discuss the Ethical and Cultural considerations that should be in place when providing early intervention behavioral services to children with autism in various Spanish speaking countries.

Play and Social Skills are key necessary components to lead successful adult lives. This presentation will provide information regarding strategies that were found to be successful in teaching these skills to young children diagnosed in the Autism Spectrum in Peru.

In the age of the internet, organizations and business rely on a web presence for advertising. Companies post information on their websites including the type of services provided, the credentials of their owner and employees, and their contact information. Behavior analytic organizations are no different than any other business utilizing websites and social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs), in an effort to boost referrals. There is no harm in behavior analytic organizations and business in maintaining websites for advertising purposes unless the rights of consumers are violated with regards to confidentiality, disclosures, and a misrepresentation of practice. The Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB), the American Psychological Association (APA), and HIPPA all have codes of conduct and/or regulations for professional behavior; however, many behavior analytic websites are in violation of these codes. Crucial changes in social media content are required in order for the consumers of behavior analysis to be protected. This symposium reviews the regulation from the BACB, APA, & HIPPA related to confidentiality and social media. A review of behavior analytic websites is discussed with regards to ethical violations based on the BACBs Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysis, followed by recommendations for avoiding future violations on behavior analytic websites.

It is essential for behavior analyst to understand the regulations that guide our profession and ethical practices with regards to social media including organizational and business websites, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and blogs. Many businesses and organizations use social media as a means to increase advertising for client referrals through the use of testimonials. A major concern with the use of testimonials is the lack of confidentiality related to testimonials. The Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB), the American Psychological Association (APA), and HIPPA all have codes of conduct and/or regulations for professional behavior. While many of the regulations are comparable, subtle variations across each exist. This presentation compares and contrasts the regulations of BACB, APA, and HIPPA regarding professional behavior and the use of social media, as well as examines our obligation to follow such codes of conduct. A review of confidentiality standards is included, particularly around the use of written and video testimonials on websites.

Gambling disorder is more common in military veterans than in the general population, but little is known about how military experiences affect gambling behavior. The present study investigated relationships among military service factors, problem gambling, and functions of gambling behavior in veterans. Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (n=738) completed the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory which measured environmental factors and experiences pre-, peri-, and post-deployment, and other clinical assessments. A subset (N=156) completed the Gambling Functional Assessment (GFA). Approximately 4.2% of veterans indicated at-risk or probable pathological gambling (ARPG) and showed greater probabilities of escape-related conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, substance dependence, panic disorder, and depression. For service experiences, those with ARPG reported higher general harassment during deployment, and lower social support and more stressful life events post-deployment. The GFA most frequently identified attention and tangible functions for gambling, and the rate of escape-maintained gambling mirrored the rate of ARPG. The study suggests problem gambling is a significant concern among veterans is related to several aspects of veteran experiences. How behavior analysis can contribute to treatment in this population via functional analyses and function-based interventions will be discussed.

To date there have been 327,299 diagnoses of traumatic brain injury (TBI) since the wars began in 2001 (Congressional Research Report, 2015). Current methods of assessing TBI include neuropsychological assessment batteries which adequately reveal areas of deficit in language functioning. Yet these methods are not closely tied to the therapies used during rehabilitation, which include: speech and language pathology services; rest, relaxation, and avoidance of stress and substances. By contrast, verbal behavior assessments have been used to measure the functioning of operant learning channels in other populations and yield more specific information about possible interventions for rehabilitation. Given the absence of verbal behavior assessment and intervention tools for typically developing individuals, the authors present data on the first phase of development of the Verbal Operant Channel Assessment of Learning for Military and Veterans (VOCAL-MilVet). The authors connect current neuropsychological diagnostic terms with verbal behavior terminology. Next, the authors explain the results of administering the pilot instrument to a sample of veterans with and without TBI, while presenting specific items which characterize the various channels assessed by the instrument. Finally, implications for future instrument development and intervention for TBI are discussed.

Police force occurs in less than 1.5% of police-citizen contacts (Miller, 2015). Yet, high profile deadly force incidents such as the Michael Brown and Freddie Gray shootings have sparked national debates and public outcry. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) includes the human behaviors of media consumption and opinion formation, which bear social relevance on other behaviors such as voting, political activism, and other social behavior (Cooper, Heron and Heward, 2007). This study examines the recent trends in media coverage of lethal use of force and the known patterns of police lethal use of force using the standard celeration chart. The authors contend that media reports of lethal conflict between law enforcement and suspects are discrepant from the raw data of these trends. These same relationships are observed on celeration charts as many media reports erroneously portray these lethal encounters as unlawful. The authors discuss the negative impact that these media reports bear on the social exchanges and overall perception between the police and the public (Bolgiano, Banks, and Patterson, 2015). The authors suggest several behavior analytic solutions to improve perceptions, encourage objective assessment of media coverage, and improve relations between police and the community at large.

Steeply discounting the value of delayed outcomes is robustly correlated with addictions and poor health decision-making. Longitudinal studies suggest that this form of impulsivity precedes and predicts acquisition of substance use, and animal studies reveal a similar pattern. Despite the evidence that delay discounting is a trait, this tutorial will review studies that have discovered methods for decreasing impulsive choice. We will discuss procedures that produce acute, context-dependent effects (e.g., framing effects), and when these may prove useful in positively influencing human decision making. We will also discuss learning-based procedures that have proven effective in humans (e.g., delay fading and working memory training) and nonhumans (e.g., interval-timing or delay-exposure training) in reducing impulsive choice. Finally, we will discuss practicality issues that will need to be addressed if learning-based approaches are going to impact human behavior. We will not discuss effects of drugs or neurological manipulations on impulsive choice.

Licensed psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

Previous research has suggested the efficacy of various classroom behavior management procedures for decreasing disruptive behavior and increasing appropriate behavior in classroom environments. In this symposium, three research studies will be presented that extend research on some of these common classroom procedures including the Good Behavior Game, descriptive praise, and token economies. Christopher Rubow will present research on procedural variations of the Good Behavior Game to increase intervention efficacy, treatment integrity, student engagement, and acceptability of the intervention. Bertilde Kamana will present research comparing the efficacy of and preference for descriptive and general praise for teaching new skills to young children. Erica Jowett Hirst will present research evaluating the influence of net token opportunity within the context of differential reinforcement versus response cost token economy procedures.

The Good Behavior Game is an effective classroom behavior management procedure, and procedural variations may make it more feasible and effective. In five second- to sixth-grade classrooms in an alternative school for students with emotional/behavioral disorders, we investigated the effects of the standard Good Behavior Game (Barrish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969) and the Good Behavior Game with procedural variations that involved training staff to implement the Game using a free online/mobile classroom behavior management platform, ClassDojo. Additionally, we added a merits component to the Game to increase student engagement. Results indicated the Good Behavior Game reduced disruption, increased teacher praise, and reduced teacher reprimands, but had little impact on student engagement; however, engagement increased when we added merits to the Game. For teachers using the standard Good Behavior Game, implementing the Game via ClassDojo significantly improved treatment integrity and outcomes. Treatment effects maintained throughout the entire school year for both classrooms that participated from September through May. Social validity measures from both teachers and students indicated strong preferences for ClassDojo and merits over the standard Good Behavior Game. Data from all classrooms strongly suggested the Good Behavior Game plus merits, implemented via ClassDojo, was the most effective and preferred intervention.

Delivering praise for correct responding is common practice in behavioral instructional programs (e.g., Gable & Shores, 1980; Goetz & Bear, 1973). Descriptive praise refers to praise in which the individuals behavior is explicitly identified (Polick, Carr, & Hanney, 2012), whereas general praise refers to the mere affirmation of correctness in an individuals responding (Brophy, 1981). Descriptive praise is often recommended over general praise with teaching both typically developing children (National Association for Education of Young Children [NEAYC], 2009) and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; Sandall, Hemmeter, Smith, & McLean, 2005). Therefore, we extended research by isolating the type of praise delivered in the context of acquisition of novel tacts in preschool-age children and comparing the effects of these different types of praise. Results showed that descriptive praise was somewhat more effective for several participants; however, for the majority of participants, similar rates of acquisition occurred across the two types of praise. In these latter cases, results suggest that mere exposure to the correct response may have influenced acquisition. Finally, we assessed child preference for the different types of praise; preliminary results suggest no different preference for the two types of praise.

Results regarding the efficacy of and preference for differential reinforcement (DR) and response cost (RC) within token economies have been inconsistent (e.g., Brent & Routh, 1978; Donaldson et al., 2014; Tanol et al., 2010). Therefore, it is possible that certain variables may influence the efficacy of and preference for the two procedures. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate whether varying the opportunity for net tokens influences the effectiveness of or preference for these procedures. Results showed that when the opportunity for net tokens was equal, DRA and RC were similarly effective for increasing on-task behavior for the majority of preschool-age participants, and preference was idiosyncratic. When the opportunity for net tokens was unequal, all participants engaged in similar increases in on-task behavior. However, when DRA resulted in more opportunity for net tokens, all participants preferred DRA; whereas, when RC resulted in the opportunity for net tokens, preferences were idiosyncratic.

This symposium presents two studies that examine aspects of reinforcement in Organizational Behavior Management. The first study investigates the effects of different payout percentages in lottery systems. The second study examines the effects of delayed reinforcer delivery on responding. Issues related to applied reinforcement systems for employees will be discussed.

Lotteries are a commonly used intervention in Organizational Behavior Management. Although common, there are many permutations of lotteries used in the literature and they are often combined with other interventions. One key variable that may influence the effectiveness of lotteries are the odds that the lottery will pay out to those who earn entry. Experiment 1 in the current investigation extended literature concerning how thin the odds of winning could become while maintaining responding. Experiment 2 used the results from the analog setting of experiment 1 and applied the lowest effective percent chance of winning to an applied problem faced by a human service organization.

Starting with the Olmstead decision of 1999, and accelerated by the nationwide transition to Managed Care, mental health institutions across the country are shuttering. States are under increasing pressure to move individuals out of such institutions and into community-based settings. If an individual engages in severe challenging behavior, executing this transition can be prohibitively difficult and dangerous. In 2014, one New York City agency was awarded a federal grant to integrate advanced care coordination and ABA-based practices into adult residential services. The agency applied this grant to assist the state of New York in the closure of a large mental health institution. Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavioral Technicians were tapped to support the work of a newly-assigned interdisciplinary clinical team. In many cases, results were immediate; Challenging behaviors that had persisted for decades under the mental institution's previous auspices were drastically reduced in both frequency and intensity. Over the course of the next 15 months, the individuals in this facility were gradually moved to community-based housing. The discussants will reflect on the strengths and pitfalls of this approach to transition, as well as the overall potential for generalizing these results to other treatment settings.

Functional (e.g., Skinnerian) and cognitive approaches in psychology are often seen as competing and mutually exclusive. We argue that although both types of approaches have fundamentally different aims, they are situated at different levels of explanation and can therefore be mutually supportive. More specifically, whereas functional research on the environmental determinants of behavior can help constrain cognitive theories about the mental processes that mediate environment-behavior relations, cognitive research can highlight new empirical phenomena that could help functional researchers to refine behavioral principles and their conceptual or theoretical analyses. We then highlight two implications of our framework for psychotherapy and research on human cognition. First, the framework clarifies the relation between behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. Second, it sheds new light on the study of rule-governed behavior.

Licensed psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

There are multiple prompting methods with which a teacher can use to teach children diagnosed with autism to correctly label pictures. These can include, but are not limited to, full physical, partial physical, gestural, and reduction of the field prompts. Teachers can also utilize positional prompts to promote correct responding by placing the correct target closer to the learner. Positional prompts have been described by professionals in curriculum books and explored within various clinical studies. Despite the widespread use of positional prompts several professionals have recommended against their use citing the possibility of establishing faulty stimulus control. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of positional prompts to teach six children diagnosed with autism receptive labels (i.e., nine cartoon or comic book characters). The results of a multiple baseline across behaviors indicated that positional prompts were effective for some participants and ineffective for others. The potential variables responsible for the outcomes will be discussed when analyzing the data collected for each participant. Both practical implications and future areas of research will be described.

This symposium includes four papers on the assesssment and treatment of problem behavior in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder without the use of extinction. The first presentation by Clelia Deltour describes the assessment and treatment of problem behavior during activity transitions using differential reinforcement of appropriate behavior without extinction. The second presentation by Zoe Newman will describe a comparison of positive and negative reinforcement of approrpiate requests in the treatment of problem behavior maintained by escape from social situations, without extinction. The third presentation by Rebecca Schulman will describe an evaluation of the effects of within activity choices on escape-maintained problem behavior, without the use of extinction. The fourth paper by Chelsea Fleck will describe the treatment of meal refusal by manipulation of meal preference and modified protective equipment. Dr. SungWoo Kahng will serve as discussant.

Children with autism often present with difficulties during transitions (Davis, 1987). It is therefore important to develop procedures for assessing and treating problem behavior during transitions. The purpose of the present study was to replicate McCord, Thomson, and Iwata (2001) by developing and conducting an assessment and intervention for the transition-related problem behavior of two participants with disabilities. Following some pre-assessment analyses, we conducted a functional analysis of problem behavior during transitions between activities. The results suggested that problem behavior occurred in transitions involving a worsening in activity preference, for example terminating a preferred or neutral activity and initiating a non-preferred activity. Finally, we examined the effectiveness of an intervention consisting of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction on the problem behavior occurring during the transitions identified as problematic. The results suggested that differential reinforcement of alternative behavior without extinction effectively decreased problem behavior in all targeted activity transitions. Future directions will be discussed. Interobserver Agreement (IOA) was collected for at least 30% of all trials and averaged over 90% for all scored responses.

Some individuals diagnosed with autism and related disabilities engage in dangerous behavior when presented with social demands. We compared the efficacy and social validity of differential positive and negative reinforcement in the treatment of problem behavior maintained by escape from social interactions. We conducted latency functional analyses of aggression in a 16-year-old male individual diagnosed with autism and Landau-Kleffner syndrome. The results of the initial analogue analysis were inconclusive, therefore we conducted a modified analysis that included a control and test for verbal attention and physical proximity. After determining aggression was maintained by social avoidance in the form of physical proximity, we compared the use of positive reinforcement (requests for food) and negative reinforcement (requests to be alone) using a reversal design. Results indicate both procedures were equally effective in reducing rates of problem behavior to zero without the use of extinction. Social validity was assessed through surveys of caregivers and the participant's preference, and caregivers were satisfied with the procedures and the results. Generalization of treatment effects was assessed by extending the procedures to caregivers using a multiple-baseline design, and effectiveness of treatment was replicated across all caregivers. Overall, subject was able to engage in appropriate social interactions in order to access functional and arbitrary reinforcers as an alternative to aggression.

A typically developing 2 year old would be saying sentences with 2 to 4 words. A 4 year old would have a vocabulary of over 1000 words and be able to put together sentences of 4 or 5 words (Mannheim, 2015) . Significant proportions of children with autism do not acquire functional speech and remain non vocal even until age 9 or later. The studies in this symposium demosntrate effectiveness of specific behavioral technologies, namely sign mand training with prompts with and without delays and intraverbal training in inducing first instances of speech and in increasing vocal responding in children with autism. An additional study assessed tact-mand transfer in 7 early learners with autism, established this abstract relation in participants for whom it was initially absent, and concluded that functional independence (absence of tact-mand transfer) may often be a temporary aspect of an early learner's repertoire.

The current study spanning 5 years examines the effectiveness of sign mand training with vocal prompts and intraverbal training in inducing first instances of speech in non-vocal children on the autism spectrum. These technologies leverage the power of motivating operations. A total of 91 non-vocal children between the ages of 1.5 to 13 years participated in the study that uses several multiple baseline design sub-studies across subjects. The interventions were carried out in 6 centers across 4 cities in India. 81.6% of children below the age of 6 years became vocal and the success rate was 87% in children between 6-13 years. Vocals emerged as mands, echoics and intraverbals in 23%, 24% and 21% respectively of the 75 who acquired vocals. 64% of the children acquired their first vocal within 180 days. Both the technologies were effective in inducing first instances of speech in 82.4% of the participants. The time to vocalization and the stimulus conditions under which they emerged are explored.

Some reports estimate that approximately one-third to one-half of individuals with autism do not use speech functionally (National Research Council, 2001). The high incidence of non-vocal persons with autism has lead parents, educators, and clinicians to search for procedures that may facilitate the development of vocal responding and potentially lead to effective vocal verbal behavior repertoires. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of manual sign mand training combined with time delay and vocal prompting procedures on the production of vocal responses in non-vocal children with developmental disabilities. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to verify the effectiveness of this intervention. All participants showed increases in vocal production following the implementation of the independent variables.

The present study replicated and extended Hall & Sundberg (1987) by first assessing tact-mand transfer in 7 early learners with autism (4 vocal, 3 signing plus vocal), ranging from 3.6-5.8 years of age. All participants met VB MAPP entry criteria of tacting at least 4 items and manding at least 4 visible, but 0 missing items via the interrupted chain procedure. For each participant, the study targeted 3 tact-mand response forms for each of 3 chains of behavior (9 total) and probed mands after all tacts were trained to criterion. If 0/9 untrained mands emerged, a participant was considered nave with respect to tact-mand transfer and received mand training on targets previously trained as tacts--a version of multiple exemplar instruction. After each mand was trained, remaining untrained mands were probed to assess the point of transfer. Results showed that untrained mands emerged after direct mand training on 4-5 targets with 2 participants, 1 target with 3 participants and 0 targets with 2 participants. Findings from participants requiring multiple exemplar instruction replicate those of Hall & Sundberg, and suggest that functional independence (absence of tact-mand transfer) is a temporary aspect of the learners repertoire rather than a static entity.

A variety of technologies such as Echoic training, Shaping, Antecedent Rapid Motor Imitation sequence, Stimulus Stimulus Pairing (SSP) procedures and Mand training with and without time delay continue to be studied for their effectiveness in increasing vocalizations in children with autism. Intraverbal fill-in training with rhymes, fun and contextual fill-ins builds anticipation and excitement creating opportunities for vocals to be emitted under the control of specific verbal stimuli. In the current study spanning 5 years involving simultaneous administration of sign mand training with vocal prompts and intraverbal fill in training to children with no vocal-verbal repertoire, the latter was found valuable in inducing first instances of speech in non-vocal children with autism. Of the 91 children, each serving as a single subject, first instances of speech were induced successfully in 75 and of these, 51 had at least one vocal emerge during intraverbal training. 16 participants had vocals emerge predominantly under intraverbal fill- in training. Inter observer agreement was taken for every specific vocal acquired for every participant and was at 100% throughout the study. The role of motivating operations in intraverbal fill-in training and comparisons with vocals emerging as echoics and mands during implementation of intervention package are explored

This symposium will present investigations that incorporated findings from basic research to design evaluations of clinical interventions with individuals with autism. Findings from basic research have recently begun to be recognized as valuable sources of information to researchers interested in applied problems. Procedures and results from basic research are interpreted in ways that further the conceptual understanding of behavior change. Using procedures from basic research may allow translational and applied researchers to determine how to increase the effectiveness of clinical interventions. The first investigation incorporates basic-research findings on token and tandem schedules of reinforcement to compare methods of increasing compliance and decreasing escape-maintained problem behavior. Two investigations in this symposium incorporate basic-research findings on resurgence to investigate methods to decrease the likelihood that problem behavior will recur following successful implementation of FCT. The fourth study incorporates basic research on lag schedules of reinforcement to increase the variability in vocal mands. The importance of translational research will be highlighted throughout.

Reinforcement of operant variability may have clinical utility in the treatment of repetitive and stereotyped behavior (RSB). For example, studies have shown lag schedules of reinforcement can replace RSB with variability in the verbal and play behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The need for additional work in this area is highlighted by recent advances in the behavior analytic conceptualization of RSB as a problem with invariance and calls from researchers in behavioral neuroscience for more translational studies of operant variability. This study is a translational extension of lag schedules to vocal mand training. A multiple baseline across behaviors with embedded reversal design was utilized to evaluate the effects of a procedure consisting of a combined lag schedule of reinforcement and progressive time delay on operant variability of otherwise repetitive vocal mand topographies of children with autism. Two participants have completed the study. The procedure replaced topographically repetitive patterns of vocal manding with topographically variant vocal manding. Some limitations of the current study and implications for future research will be discussed.

Treatments for problem behavior often include teaching an alternative response to access a functional reinforcer (i.e., functional communication training; FCT), while simultaneously withholding reinforcement for problem behavior (i.e., extinction; Tiger, Hanley, & Bruzek, 2008). Initially, the individual is immediately prompted to engage in the alternative response, thus limiting their exposure to the relevant establishing operation (EO) for problem behavior. DeRosa, Fisher, and Steege (2015) compared rates of problem behavior and the rate of acquisition of the functional communication response (FCR) when participants used either a vocal or card-based (e.g., exchange, touch) FCR. Use of the card-based FCR resulted in quicker acquisition of the response, less bursting in rates of problem behavior, as well as larger and more rapid reductions in problem behavior. DeRosa et al. proposed that these differences were likely the result of limited (card-based FCR) and extended (vocal FCR) exposure to the relevant EO for problem behavior. In the current study, we extended the findings of Derosa et al. by comparing limited versus extended EO exposure during FCT across one response topography (i.e., a card touch). Results suggest that limiting EO exposure can result in a larger and more rapid reductions in problem behavior during FCT.

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is a function-based treatment often used to reduce problem behavior. We evaluated a specific application of an NCR procedure which involved providing three subjects with continuous access to the functional reinforcer initially and slowly increasing the amount of time subjects experienced the unavailability of the reinforcer (i.e., extinction). Periods of extinction were signaled with a colored card, and a rule about the card was presented at the beginning of each session. This procedure relates to FCT because the signaled extinction period is analogous to those used in multiple-schedule FCT research. Results show immediate and substantial reductions in aggression for all three subjects.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities often require an explicit, systematic approach to reading in order to acquire literacy skills. Recently, a handful of studies have explored Headsprout@ Early Reading and Headsprout Reading comprehension to teach literacy skills to individuals with autism, developmental, and intellectual disabilities with promising results. The Headsprout programs are online behavior analytic programs that provide explicit, systematic reading instruction. The proposed session includes reports on four recent studies: (a) an investigation of Headsprout Reading Comprehension on answering comprehension questions by children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities; (b) a study examining the effects of Headsprout Early Reading on early literacy skills of adult offenders with intellectual disability, (c) an investigation of contingent reinforcement and match-to-sample training on the fluency and independence of children with ASD using Headsprout Early Reading, and (d) a study exploring the use of contingent reinforcement plus physical prompting and prompt fading on progression through Headsprout Early Reading by children with ASD who were minimally vocal. Taken together, results of these four studies indicate that Headsprout Early Reading and Headsprout Reading Comprehension demonstrate promise as an approach to teaching early literacy and comprehension to individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities.

Headsprout Reading Comprehension (HRC) is an online program that teaches learners to answer reading comprehension questions in four categories: literal comprehension, inferential comprehension, main idea (summative) comprehension, and derived meaning (vocabulary) comprehension. These skills are notoriously difficult for many children who present with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). The present study evaluated and investigated the use of HRC with six children with IDD. The research used a single subject pre/post test design. A number of standardised tests were taken prior to and following HRC to assess the effects on the participants key reading repertoires, including reading comprehension and to assess possible links between improved reading comprehension and auditory comprehension. Results are discussed with reference to improved reading and auditory comprehension in this population and the practical strategies required to support children with IDD in order that they may benefit from the HRC program.

Headsprout Early Reading (HER) is an online program, developed for children, that teaches learners basic reading skills. Several studies have found HER to be effective with typically developing children and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program has not yet been evaluated with an adult population. The present study evaluated the feasibility of using HER with two adult offenders with mild intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in a secure hospital. The research used a single subject pre/post test design with two standardised literacy tests completed at baseline prior to HER, one during, and one following HER to assess the effects on the participants reading skills. A measure of reading self-concept was also completed. An additional component to this research design was the inclusion of two treatment as usual control participants who were assessed at the same points but did not complete the program. Results are positive in terms of the feasibility of running the program and improved reading skills and self-concept scores for both treatment participants. Results are discussed in the context of the limitations with the current research design and challenges relating to the fidelity of implementation.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder require instructional programs that simultaneously address academic content, interfering behavior, and potential gaps in prerequisite skills for a given curriculum. This study examined the impact of an intervention package consisting of contingent reinforcement and match-to-sample training on the independent progression of 3 children with autism spectrum disorder through Headsprout Early Reading, a behavior analytic online reading program. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to examine the effects of the intervention package on participants' correct interactions per minute and total episodes completed. Transfer of training to oral reading of companion print books was also assessed. All participants demonstrated an increase in correct interactions per minute. Two participants learned to independently complete a Headsprout Early Reading episode each day and could orally read companion print books. The results suggest individualized behavior analytic programs can support the use of Headsprout Early Reading as a computer-based reading program for some children with autism spectrum disorders.

Recent research has indicated that children with autism spectrum disorder who are minimally vocal can independently access Headsprout Early Reading when provided with a token economy system for behavioral support. This study examined the effects of contingent reinforcement plus most-to-least physical prompting and prompt fading on progression through Headsprout by four elementary-aged children with autism spectrum disorder. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to examine the effects of the intervention package on the cumulative number of segments completed. Performance on Woodcock Johnson early reading tests were also assessed as pre- and post-test measures. All participants demonstrated an increase in number of segments completed per session. One participate was able to progress through Headsprout with contingent reinforcement only. Three participants required prompting for correct answers and two of these three were able to correctly respond with minimal-to-no support by the end of the study. All participants demonstrated an increased performance on the Woodcock Johnson assessments. The results suggest that some children with ASD may benefit from physical prompting for correct answers during Headsprout Early Reading. The range of responses across all participants suggests that a multi-tiered approach to support progression through Headsprout may be needed.

Trial-based functional analysis has been shown to be a viable method of identifying operant function. The TBFA is particularly useful when time is limited or the intensity of the response precludes conducting a more traditional functional analysis. In this symposium we explore several research questions surrounding use of TBFA. Two papers extend TBFA to home settings for the first time. Both Gerow et al. and Standish et al. trained parents to implement the TBFA. Gerow et al. used behavioral skills training to teach parents to implement the TBFA and matched interventions to results of the TBFA. All parents implemented the assessment with fidelity and documented a functional relation between intervention implementation and child outcomes. More specifically, FCT-based interventions were used resulting in reductions in problem behavior and increases in alternative responses. Standish et al. also trained parents to implement the TBFA using behavioral skills training. Standish et al. explored effects of different variations of TBFA seen in the literature including (a) segment duration, (b) use of control segments, and (c) number of trials conducted. Some variability was found however, in general, results support briefer (60 s) segments, use of a post-control only, and using stability criterion to determine when the TBFA is complete. Next, Sellars et al. explored methods for training residential care providers in implementation of TBFA with a particular focus on maintenance over time. They successfully trained direct are staff to implement the TBFA and, for five of six participants, skills were maintained after training however only one participant went on to use the TBFA. XXX Finally, Dr. Jennifer Austin will serve as discussant for this study, exploring ramifications of each study separately and directions for TBFA--and functional analysis more generally--in the future. .

Clinicians working with individuals with developmental disabilities frequently conduct functional analyses (FA) to determine the function of problem behavior and to facilitate the development of an intervention plan to reduce problem behavior. One version of FA methodology, the trial based functional analysis (TBFA), is a viable alternative to a traditional FA when resources are limited. Researchers have demonstrated that teachers and residential staff can be trained to effectively implement TBFAs. However, to date, no studies have looked at the maintenance of implementation following training, or if additional supports (e.g., added coaching/performance feedback, incentive systems) are needed to ensure sustained use of the skill. This study examined the effects of a post-workshop training performance management intervention package of goal setting with data reporting, coaching, and incentives on the implementation of trial-based functional analyses (TBFA) by behavior clinicians in adult residential and day settings. Five of the six participants demonstrated increased implementation of TBFAs only after the performance management intervention was introduced. One participant implemented TBFAs following the workshop training.

Elopement is a high-risk behavior, as individuals who run away may encounter life-threatening situations (e.g., getting hit by a car). Prior functional analyses of elopement reported in the literature have been conducted in a variety of settings ranging from highly-controlled settings to naturalistic settings such as the classroom or playground. However, assessments conducted in these settings have not been compared within the same individual to determine if similar results are acquired across settings. We conducted trial-based functional analyses (FA) of the elopement of 2 children diagnosed with autism in both naturalistic (i.e., a classroom, playroom, and general unit of a day treatment clinic) and contrived (i.e., 2 adjoining session rooms) using a latency measure. Results were compared across settings. Additionally, results of the trial-based FA were compared with a subsequent FA that used a rate measure similar to Piazza and colleagues (1997). Correspondence among assessment methods, limitations of each assessment, and implications of the assessment results for treatment will be discussed.

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a parent-implemented trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) in accurately identifying the function of challenging behavior in the home setting. Three young boys with autism and their mothers participated in the study. The mothers implemented a TBFA with coaching from a behavior consultant. TBFA procedures were adapted from Bloom, Iwata, Fritz, Roscoe, and Carreau (2011) to increase contextual fit and to capture typical parent-child interactions within home settings. With coaching, all parents were able to implement the TBFA with high fidelity. TBFA results were matched to a functional communication training (FCT) intervention and evaluated using a multiple baseline design across parent-child dyads. Following parent training, parents accurately implemented FCT, child challenging behavior decreased, and childrens use of the alternative communication response increased. These results speak to the promise of parent-implemented TBFA in identifying social functions of challenging behavior. Implications for research and practice will be presented.

Preference assessments were initially designed to identify potential reinforcers for use in behavioral programming. However, as these procedures have become more refined, researchers have begun asking questions of more subtle aspects of interventions that can affect the efficacy and social validity of interventions with the consumers who experience them. The current symposium provides four examples that investigate the role of client preference for reinforcer gain vs. loss, reinforcer distribution vs. accumulation, and the relative ratio of work to reinforcement (i.e., unit price). These studies combine translational and applied research approaches to inform practice applications.

We compared student preference for versions of the Good Behavior Game (Barrish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969), in which students either earned points following infractions (positive punishment) or lost points following infractions (negative punishment) in an alternative education setting with four students during academic instruction. In the Point-Earning condition, students were required to have two or fewer points to win the game. In the Point-Loss condition, the students were required to keep at least four of six available points to win the game. We defined an infraction as the student leaving his designated space during the course of the game. We started with a phase of brief forced exposures to each condition. After each student had experienced each condition at least once, the teacher asked each student which version of the game he preferred to play at the start of each instructional period, and then implemented the selected game for the remainder of the instructional period. The teacher recorded out of area and inappropriate language. Only one student showed a strong preference for a reinforcer arrangement. There was an increase in game wins for three out of the four students when the teacher provided students with choices.

Differential reinforcement of compliance is a common treatment for children present with escape-maintained problem behavior. This treatment involves providing positive reinforcement following compliance with simple instructions. Although effective, practically this intervention is challenging in home and school settings when it is preferable for children to complete chains of responses (e.g., putting away all of their toys prior to consuming reinforcement rather than following each toy). However, engaging in multiple responses (which we will term massed work periods) results in increasing establishing operations for escape and greater delays to reinforcement relative to conditions that require a single response (which we term distributed work conditions), and thus could potentially result in greater problem behavior. In the current study, we exposed a child with escape-maintained aggression to both massed and distributed work conditions to assess the efficacy of both arrangements. We then assessed this childs preference for both arrangements using a concurrent-chains procedure. Massed and distributed work conditions both resulted in near zero levels of aggression, but the child demonstrated a robust preference for distributed work conditions.

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of unit price on self-control and impulsive choice responding exhibited by individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. In Experiment 1, unit price was altered via manipulations of reinforcement magnitude associated with the delayed option. In one condition, unit price favored the immediate option and in the second condition, unit price favored the delayed option. In Experiment 2, unit price was also altered via manipulations of reinforcement magnitude associated with the delayed option. In one condition, unit price favored the immediate option and in the second condition, unit price was equal for both options. In Experiment 3, reinforcement magnitude always favored one option, while unit price was manipulated via delay. In one condition, delay was held constant and in the second condition, the delayed option was associated with the larger reinforcement magnitude. Results of each Experiment demonstrated that self-control and impulsive choice responding was biased toward the more economical option. These results show that the application of behavioral economic principles in the form of unit price may provide a framework for the study and conceptualization of impulsivity and self-control choice responding.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at a greater risk for having psychiatric conditions than their typically developing peers (Emerson, 2003). Furthermore, individuals with IDD who engage in severe problem behaviors (aggression, self-injury, etc.) are three times more likely be diagnosed with a psychiatric condition and provided medication as one aspect of clinical care than those who do not engage in severe problem behavior (Rojohn, Matson, Naglieric, and Mayville, 2004). The four studies presented here examined the effects and side effects of medication during the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior. Hardesty et al. and Valdovinos et al. both examined the effects and side effects of medication on severe problem behavior during assessment in two different populations and using two different methods (collected case series and prospective analogues). Similarly, Maley and Bourret and Retzlaff et al. both examined the effects of medication during treatment for different target behavior and using two different methods (collected case series and applied treatment). Results of these studies suggest several interesting findings that are directly applicable to clinical care and new prospects for future research. In addition, Dr. Chris Newland will lend his expertise in behavioral pharmacology by serving as discussant.

Numerous studies have demonstrated drug specific (i.e., risperidone) effects on FA outcomes (i.e., Crosland et al 2003; Zarcone et al 2004); however, no descriptive studies examined how medication modifications may impact the clarity (i.e., differentiation) or results (i.e., masked functions) of subsequent FAs. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which psychotropic medication changes altered FA outcomes on an inpatient unit. A review of electronic medical charts was conducted between the years 1995-2014. In total, 12 FA cases (out of 81total) had sufficient evidence (i.e., multiple FAs, detailed medication changes) for further review. Participants were aged 7 to 21 years and were diagnosed with IDD. In each case, 2-4 FAs were conducted. Attending psychiatrists directed medication changes with the guidance of the interdisciplinary team, and those who collected data for FAs remained blind to changes. To determine differentiation, criteria were established similarly to Hagopian et al. (1997), and a quotient score was generated. In half of the cases, alterations to medication (dosage and/or type) led to different conclusions, while the other half did not. In 10 of the 12 cases quotient scores were improved following medication changes. Implications for practicing clinicians will be offered.

Psychotropic medications are often prescribed and used in conjunction with behavioral interventions to reduce challenging behavior in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Functional analyses (FAs) are conducted to determine the conditions under which challenging behaviors are likely to occur and subsequent impact that psychotropic medications may have on challenging behavior function. Under-assessed, however, is the impact psychotropic medication side effects have on challenging behavior. The presence of adverse side effects (ASEs) are difficult to identify given the communication impairments those with ID may often possess. The present study used FA methodology to assess the impact of psychotropic medication adverse side effects on challenging behavior of five individuals diagnosed with IDD. Conditions were selected for assessment based on individual’s initial medication regimen. FAs were conducted when a participant began the study and two weeks after a change in psychotropic medication regimen. Results indicated different rates of challenging behavior during ASE conditions across medication changes for all participants, higher rates implying a more severe experience of specific side effects. These data demonstrate that this method of evaluation may provide feedback for informative decisions about psychotropic medication regimens that could improve quality of life for individuals with ID.

We used a telehealth model to treat one young girls sleep-related trichotillomania and trichophagia using a night-vision webcam placed in the girls bedroom. Data collectors recorded intervals with trichotillomania and trichophagia remotely from a university-based program using video footage of preceding nights, and the girls mother carried out all of the procedures in their home. We implemented a biobehavioral treatment package consisting of sleep-hygiene recommendations (e.g., a structured bedtime and wake time) in combination with the titrated use of melatonin, which decreased the girls trichotillomania and trichophagia and improved her sleep pattern, as depicted by both nightly and hourly analyses, and results maintained at a onemonth follow up. We discuss the use of behavior-analytic research strategies and tactics to evaluate treatments not commonly implemented by behavior analysts.

Psychotropic medications are often prescribed to individuals diagnosed with various mental illnesses. Physicians also prescribe psychotropic medication such as anti-psychotics, anti-depressants and psychostimulants to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to treat behavior problems. In this study, we sampled archival data on problem behavior for individuals previously or currently prescribed one or more psychotropic medications. Data were analyzed in terms of the probability of psychotropic medications of various categories producing decreases in problem behavior and the amount of change observed. In addition, dose response curves were plotted to examine dose-dependent effects. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for behavior analysts working with individuals who may be prescribed various forms of psychotropic medication.

We have initiated a programmatic line of research to apply and adapt the existing procedures to treating very young children who are at risk for developing autism or other developmental problems. Infant engagement responses such as vocalizations, eye contact, joint attention, and social referencing are critical developmental milestones that serve as prerequisites for early communication and social skills (Pelaez, 2009). The purpose of this symposium is to identify the early behavioral indicators of at-risk infants and to report operant-learning procedures shown to be successful in establishing early social-learning repertoires. The first presentation analyzes previous research on behavioral procedures used to establish infant eye contact using a synchronized reinforcement procedure. The second presentation reviews existing research on procedures using adult vocal imitation and motherese speech for improving early infant vocalizations in young children. The third presentation examines the establishment of joint-attention and social referencing via the operant-learning paradigm in infants and toddlers with developmental deficits. The fourth presentation will apply the behavioral systems approach (Novak & Pelaez, 2004) to the development of autism. Early behavioral interactional deficits in the development of autism will be identified. In sum, ongoing programs of research will be discussed.

Parents can successfully increase infant engagement behaviors such as eye contact and positive affect with young children at risk of developmental disorders. This reviews and discusses a synchronized reinforcement procedure, described by Pelaez and colleagues (1996), to strengthen infant eye contact. The procedure includes brief parental training where mothers are taught to contingently provide behaviors such as smiling, verbal praise, and rhythmic touch to reinforce infant eye contact in the natural environment. Establishing eye contact in young children may aid in the development of foundational skills required to build nonverbal and social communicative behaviors. The presentation stresses the importance of contingent mother and child interactions.

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) based treatments are commonly used approaches to suppressing problem behaviors. However, removal of alternative reinforcement following treatment often results in resurgence of problem behavior. The quantitative model of resurgence based on behavioral momentum theory proposed by Shahan and Sweeney (2011) predicts that larger magnitude alternative reinforcement should produce faster suppression of the target behavior but also greater resurgence following removal of treatment. To date, these novel predictions have not been directly tested. Thus, the present study assessed the effects of alternative reinforcer magnitude on response suppression and resurgence. Following baseline, rats responded for either a high- (5 pellets) or low- (1 pellet) magnitude alternative reinforcer during extinction of the target response. Resurgence was then assessed following removal of alternative reinforcers. High-magnitude alternative reinforcement was more effective in suppressing target responding compared to low-magnitude alternative reinforcement. Further, there was a greater increase in target responding following removal of high-magnitude alternative reinforcement but target responding did not increase following removal of low-magnitude alternative reinforcement. Thus, high-magnitude alternative reinforcement might produce more desirable effects than low-magnitude reinforcement during DRA-based treatment, but it may also produce behavior that is more susceptible to resurgence following treatment.

Little is known about effects of response effort on behavioral resurgence. In this translational study we evaluated rate of responding following reinforcement and extinction of two different responses. Six typically developing adults received points on a VI 3 s schedule for touching moving targets (R1 and R2) on a computer screen. To create disparity in response effort we manipulated the speed and size of the targets. Each session consisted of three phases: Establishment of R1, Differential Reinforcement of an Alternative Response (DRA), and a test for Resurgence (EXT for R1 and R2). Rate of responding in the Resurgence test was compared across three conditions: (a) R1 and R2 were the same size and speed (equal difficulty), (b) R1 was a larger, slower-moving target (easy response) and R2 was a smaller, faster-moving target (difficult response), and (c) R1 was the difficult response and R2 was the easy response. The order of conditions b and c was balanced across participants. In 9 of 12 cases, there was greater resurgence when the easy response was established first than when the difficult response was established first.

We evaluated the extent to which using clinically acceptable fixed-time schedules of reinforcement would prevent resurgence of protesting displayed by four elementary-aged children. Two of the four participants experienced thinning of a fixed-ratio schedule during the alternative phase, and two of the four participants experienced a variable-ratio 3-s schedule. Reinforcement rates during the fixed-time phase were yoked to reinforcement rates experienced by each individual participant during the last three sessions of the preceding alternative phase. Levels of resurgence during the fixed-time phase were evaluated in comparison to levels of resurgence during an extinction probe. Resurgence occurred to a lesser extent during the fixed-time phase than during the extinction probe for all four participants.

Social reinforcement is a topic of enormous conceptual and applied significance. The basic mechanisms of social reinforcement are not well understood, however. The goal of this session is to bring together several lines of research designed to assess the efficacy of social reinforcement across a range of species and different reinforcer types. Feuerbacher & Wynne will discuss research aimed at measuring the reinforcing efficacy of human social interaction for dogs, including analyses of reinforcer duration. Pinkston and colleagues will describe research on social/sexual reinforcement with rats, as a baseline against which to measure the response weakening effects of antidepressant drugs. Call and colleagues will present data comparing the relative efficacy of social and non-social reinforcers in autistic and non-autistic children, putting a sharper quantitative point on general methods for assessing social deficits in autism. Hackenberg and colleagues will discuss research exploring the effects of social familiarity on preference for social reinforcement in rats. Together, the work illustrates some promising methods for assessing and quantifying the efficacy of social reinforcement across species, settings, and reinforcers a first step in a comparative analysis of social reinforcement.

Whether human social interaction can function as a reinforcer for domestic dog behavior remains unclear, but is an important question for owners hoping to maintain desirable behavior in their dogs through social interaction. Previously, we demonstrated that brief human interaction did not function as an effective reinforcer for dog behavior. However, others suggested longer interaction might, although confounding contingencies prevented clear conclusions. Thus, we examined whether 30 s of social interaction would function as a reinforcer for dog behavior. We saw little effect and no difference compared to dogs that received 4 s of interaction. To investigate a transient response spike in some subjects, we provided some dogs 4 min of presession noncontingent interaction. This did not affect responding. Finally, we implemented a multielement design in which dogs alternated within and across days between abolishing operation (presession attention) and establishing operation (presession ignore) conditions. Half of the dogs showed a reinforcement effect of 30 s social interaction, although with little distinction between abolishing operation and establishing operation conditions. The other half showed no reinforcement effect. Our results suggest that for some dogs, longer social interaction can function as reinforcer for their behavior, but session spacing might be a critical variable.

There is growing support for the theory that disruptions in the degree to which social interactions are reinforcing may constitute a root cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This paper will present studies that have attempted to develop methods for quantifying the degree to which social interactions function as reinforcers for children with ASD. This will include the results of a study that used PR schedules to compare the relative reinforcing efficacy of social attention and leisure items in children with ASD (n=8), Williams Syndrome (WS; n=4), and typically developing peers (n=9). Participants in the ASD group exhibited higher breakpoints and Omax for leisure items than for attention, whereas children in the typically developing and WS groups exhibited the opposite pattern. Results will be discussed in terms of how these methods compare to other approaches to quantifying the reinforcing efficacy of social interactions in children with ASD.

In a concurrent schedule procedure, female rats made repeated choices between two options, each of which opened into side compartments in a three-compartment apparatus. Responses on levers in the middle chamber opened guillotine doors separating the middle from the side compartments, permitting 45-s access to the side compartment adjacent to target lever. In baseline conditions, one side compartment contained a familiar female rat (the focal rats cagemate, with which it was housed outside the experiment), whereas the other side compartment was empty. In a second condition, the empty chamber was replaced with a new female rat, unfamiliar to the focal rat, thereby permitting a choice between a familiar and unfamiliar rat. This was followed by a return to baseline conditions, with choice between a familiar rat and an empty chamber. The focal rats showed a clear and consistent preference for the familiar rat over the empty chamber in baseline conditions, but reversed their preference in favor of the unfamiliar rat when pitted against a familiar rat. The methods show promise as an experimental paradigm for evaluating and quantifying preference between qualitatively different social reinforcers.

Skinner (1938) wrote of his own work that It is a serious mistake to allow questions of ultimate application to influence the development of a systematic of a systematic science at an early stage (p.441). His analysis of verbal behavior (Skinner, 1957) has generated much applied research, but relatively little basic research. This symposium reminds us of the value of asking and answering questions which may not have immediate applied relevance, because they provide information about uniformities in verbal behavior which lead to practical benefit. Topics include studies on the parity hypothesis, grammar and production of novel prepositional sentences, the effects of blocking verbal behavior on joint-controlled sequencing and a direct replication of Skinners verbal summator experiment.

Skinner (1957) hypothesized that ones vocal pattern is automatically reinforced if it is similar to the vocal patterns of preferred individuals which results in borrowing verbal behavior from the community (p. 164). Palmer (1996) describes this process as parity which occurs when a speaker, who is a competent listener, differentially reinforces his/her own vocal verbal behavior to conform to that of the verbal community. The current study replicates and extends stvik, Eikeseth, and Klintwall (2012) by examining if English-speaking undergraduate students would alter their vocal verbal behavior to conform to an experimenters model of tacts in the passive voice in the absence of socially-mediated reinforcement. Undergraduate students were assigned to either the control group, which was never exposed to modeling; the waiting quietly group, which replicated previous procedures; or the vocal imitation group, which extended previous procedures by including echoic tasks during the wait interval. Participants in the control group had consistent grammatical forms of tacts across phases and rarely engaged in vocal verbal behavior with passive voice, whereas the majority of participants assigned to the waiting quietly or vocal imitation groups showed increased use of passive voice following modeling. However, the degree of change differed across participants. Verbal behavior theoretical implications and future directions will be discussed.

The verbal summator was a device created by B. F. Skinner to assess verbal behavior. Skinner's original 1936 verbal summator study was an early attempt to study echoic (originally termed imitative) and intraverbal (originally termed summative) behavior. Extensions of the original study focused on the use of the summator as a diagnostic or assessment tool rather than using it to study the function of verbal behavior. No previous studies have directly replicated Skinner's original experiment. For the current study, researches recorded new samples resembling Skinner's original audio recordings using modern digital recording technology. These samples, like the originals used by Skinner, were arrangements of preverbal sounds that were played slightly distorted at a low volume. During the experimental sessions, we presented random selections of these audio recordings to 30 subjects and asked to report what they heard. The audio samples were repeatedly presented until the subject provided a word or phrase describing what they heard. The resulting data analysis was conducted as described by Skinner (1936). Implications of these results and directions for future research will be identified. Data will be presented on the number of samples, organized by the number of syllables. In addition, data will be presented on the similarity of the collected responses to real speech, as described in Skinner (1936), through the use of Zipf's law analysis. Finally, responses were collected and ranked according to their frequency of occurrence.

Research suggests that individual instructional arrangements are highly effective with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who display challenging behavior, however the resources necessary to provide intensive staffing to all students are rare (Kamps & Walker, 1990). Not only is intensive staffing often unrealistic, some research indicates that individual instructional formats hinder generalization of skills, eliminate the potential for observational learning, and require far more instructional time than do group formats (Favell, Favell, & McGimsey, 1978; Keel & Gast, 1992; Koegel, Egel, & Dunlap, 1980). The ability to follow instructions delivered to a group is essential to successful integration in school, vocational, and community settings. This symposium will explore ways to assess the ability to acquire novel skills and maintain existing skill repertoires in individual instruction, dyad instruction, and small group instruction. Additional information about instructional efficiency and the rates of challenging behaviors in these instructional formats will be discussed.

Fading intensive staffing is essential to the promotion of independence and successful transitioning to less restrictive settings. However, concerns about behavioral regression and slower rate of acquisition coupled with limited guidelines on the assessment of instruction arrangements often result in long term provision of individual instruction. Therefore, an instructional protocol was designed to assess a learners academic and clinical performance in individual and group instruction. Variables assessed included the ability to learn new material, levels of engagement in independent activities, rates of challenging behavior, and maintenance of mastered targets in individualized and group instructional arrangements. Initial data collected using this protocol demonstrate that a learner continued to learn novel skills while maintaining previously mastered skills in small group instruction. Data also demonstrate that the learner engaged in low level problem behavior while engaging in adaptive skills such as functional communication, leisure and waiting skills. Follow-up data will be shared with a focus on the expansion of this protocol for larger periods of the instructional day.

A series of studies exploring the impact of instructional ratio on learning will be described. The presentation will begin by reviewing various levels of staffing support provided to individuals with autism. The first study evaluated criteria to guide clinicians in moving students to group instructional formats. Targeted behaviors included stereotypy, engagement, active responding, and the presence of other challenging behaviors, and three different instructional content areas were evaluated. Criteria were set to guide clinicians in decisions to reduce the intensity of staffing along the various levels of support. Study two looked at skill acquisition in individual and dyad instruction, with an additional focus on observational learning opportunities. The final study looked at individual, dyad and triad instruction across learners, and evaluated how the size of the group affected rates of learning. The discussion will highlight individual differences in appropriateness for transitioning to group instruction, and will hypothesize about predictive variables.

Gender and sexual minorities experience stigma and discrimination in a number of domains, leaving them at an increased risk of psychological distress, mental health symptomatology, and risk-taking behaviors. Some GSM individuals are resilient, however, thriving even in the face of clear discrimination and subsequent distress. It may be that the impact of discrimination and distress depends on the psychological skills one applies. For example, both self-compassion and psychological flexibility have been shown to mitigate the impact of psychological stressors on well-being. The current study aimed to consider 1) the extent to which daily experiences of perceived discrimination lead to psychological distress and disruption of well-being in GSM individuals and 2) how psychological flexibility, self-compassion and other coping mechanisms might mitigate the impact of perceived discrimination on distress and well-being. Participants tracked their daily experiences of discrimination, their private reactions to those experiences, and functions of those reactions. Implications for interventions targeting discrimination-relevant distress and dysfunction will be discussed.

The Brain Injury Association of America has reported CDC estimates of 2.4 million Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) each year. Of those injuries 3-5% will result in chronic impairments of mood, function and cognition. ABA offers a significant addition to neurorehabilitation in terms of accountability, quantification and effectiveness. This panel will cover some of the more frequently encountered challenges and demonstrate the effectiveness of the behavioral approach within a multidisciplinary team. This panel will review effective treatment procedures and strategies that increase an individual's quality of life and reduce the burden for caregivers. The panelists will cover topics including: bowel and bladder training using an auditory cue vs. scheduled toileting, anger management utilizing massed practice of relaxation using cue card training, and timely intervention for adjustment problems including depression and anxiety that lead to improved participation and engagement in rehabilitation, which allow individuals to better accept their "new normal."

Single-subject methodology and Skinner's caution against inferential statistics based on group averages have been very influential with researchers in behavior analysis. Here we review recent developments in the philosophy of science and methodology, including the "new statistics," and consider their implications for the quantitative analysis of behavior. We describe an account of scientific methodology—the Abductive Theory of Method (ATOM; Haig, 2005)—which details how empirical phenomena are detected and contribute to theory construction via inference to the best explanation, and show how it is relevant for behavior analysis.

Licensed psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

Academic and behavior problems are highly co-morbid, yet little more is known about the relation between the two. Does one lead to the other? It is easy to imagine that as behavior problems persist and instructional time is lost to disciplinary procedures such as time-out and suspension, the lost instructional opportunities result in poor academic performance. However, it is also easy to imagine that as a young student's academic difficulties persist, school becomes increasingly aversive and socially reinforced behavior problems emerge. Effective interventions exist for both learning and behavior problems separately, but is it possible to implement intervention for one and achieve concomitant improvement in the other? If so, under what conditions is it possible to implement treatment that results in improvement in both academic performance and behavior? This presentation will begin with the question of the relation between learning and behavior problems and include data from several investigations of the influence of motivating operations, stimulus control, and reinforcement on academic performance and behavior.

Licensed Psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

Programs prioritizing ?motivating Behavior Change? frequently fail to generate sustained engagement: over 80% of employees who attempt to create new, healthy behaviors still fail at continuing their training after just the first 30 days, and corporate lifestyle management programs return only $0.50 for every $1 invested (RAND, 2015). The CDC attributes 80% of chronic conditions to this inability to form successful wellbeing habits, resulting in almost $1 Trillion in lost productivity alone (CDC, 2009). The problem is not that people resist change, but they resist being changed. While health promotion can motivate employees to make episodic, temporary changes, when it comes to creating lasting results, learning the skill of creating new habits is what is vital for long-term Behavior Change. The reason: While motivation may get you started, habit keeps you going. Developed by licensed, clinical psychologists from Yale and the University of Washington, this session covers best practices in the design of sustainable Behavior Change systems that have led to the successful training of unconscious, daily habits, derived from more than eight years of clinical testing of evidence-based research from over 100 behavioral researchers. Habit Design has trained more than 500 companies and 100,000 employees - from UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Stanford Medical School, Boeing, Google, The White House, and many others.

Past research comparing brief and lengthier functional analyses has generally shown high rates of correspondence. In 1995, Vollmer, Marcus, Ringdahl, and Roane, proposed an assessment model that progressed from brief functional analyses to lengthier functional analyses following undifferentiated results. This study sought to examine the proposed model by comparing the results of brief functional analyses and lengthier functional analyses conducted according to procedures from Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman (1982/1994) with participants from a day treatment program for severe problem behavior. Results showed low correspondence between the brief and lengthy functional analyses across 22 comparisons indicating possible false positive or false negative results. Low correspondence may be due to the various differences between assessments or the particulars of the participants and behaviors included in the study. Past research has shown both assessments have demonstrated successful treatment development. Therefore, future research is necessary to evaluate correspondence between assessments in other settings and with other types of participants.

This symposium contains three presentations regarding improving social functioning for children with autism by teaching them important skills. The first paper involves teaching basic skills of understanding perspective taking. The second presentation is teaching the identification of false-belief tasks, which are commonly used by developmental/cognitive psychologist to test the ability of "theory of mind." The third presentation uses an evaluation form along with video modeling to train parents how to teach their children with autism.

Previous research has reported that the inability of children with autism to discriminate between the reality and non-reality of events may contribute to their difficulties in understanding others perspectives. The purpose of this study is to use behavior analytic approach to teach children with autism to tact mental vs. physical state of verb. A seven year-old child with autism, who had advanced speaker and listener repertoires, participated in this study. A multiple probe across three behaviors design was used. Three target behaviors included (a) discrimination of physical and mental states of events (e.g., Tony takes a train in his hands. Kevin is thinking about the train. Who has the train?) (b) discrimination of reality and imagination (e.g., Mary locked the door. Tim wanted to lock the door. Who indeed lock the door?), and (c) discrimination of reality with and without evidence (e.g., John saw the candy on the table. Helen heard that the candy is on the table and believes the candy is on the table. Who can get the candy for sure?) Multiple exemplar teaching strategy with picture stimuli along with verbal instructions were used during training. Data showed that the rate of correct responses was increased after training. The skills were also generalized to novel scenarios.

Children with autism often have difficulty taking others' perspective--a developmental capacity commonly observed in typically developing children, termed the theory-of-mind (ToM). Teaching the children to tact other's belief is the fundamental skill in ToM. The purpose of this study is to use behavior analytic approach to teach children with autism to identify false-belief tasks. Two children, age 6-7 diagnosed with autism, who had advanced speaker repertoires, participated in this study. A combination of multiple probes across subjects and behaviors was used. Ten scenarios with pictures illustrating the stories were created as instruction materials. The teaching procedure included showing the scenario with drawn pictures, and asking questions regarding the belief of each person. Two target behaviors included:(a) tacting other's belief, (e.g., John is looking for his pencil box. Pencil box may be on the shelf or dining table. John thinks that it should be on the shelf. Where is John going to find his pencil box? Why?) (b) tacting other's false belief (e.g., John is looking for his pencil box that he left on the dinning table. Mary has put John's pencil box on the shelf. Where is John going to find his pencil box? Why?) Both children showed positive results for the acquisition and generalization of the tasks.

The study was conducted in an Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) program of a public children's hospital in the Seoul city. Three mothers whose children were receiving the EIBI service participated in the study. A multiple baseline across participants design was used in the study. During the baseline, a behavioral skill training package was implemented in which lecture, written instruction, modeling, coaching, role-playing, and feedback were provided to the parent during DTT sessions. During the intervention phase, parents were required to watch their performance video scoring their own performance with TPRA forms. Percent of trials which were delivered without errors and rate of delivery of correct trials were measured using TPRA, and overall performance during DTT were evaluated using "Performance Checklist" throughout the study. The results showed that video self-monitoring using TPRA forms were effective in improving parents' performance during DTT with their children with ASD. The improved performance of parents during DTT was maintained during follow-up sessions.

Emerging research supports the psychological benefits of engaging in values-consistent patterns of behavior (e.g. Crocker, Niiya, & Mischkowski, 2008). In psychology, multiple definitions of values have been proposed. However, most of these definitions include terms that are not useful for scientific analysis and application. It is important to remember that behavior analysis "does not insist upon truth by agreement and can therefore consider events taking place in the private world within the skin" (Skinner, 1945). Given the occurrence of "values" in popular culture and in our scientific discussions, it seems appropriate to delineate a behavioral definition and discuss the potential benefits of examining interactions between the environment and values-consistent behavior(s). The aim of this panel is to discuss behavioral analytic definitions of values and the roles that values can play in behavior analysis in practice. Panelists will discuss the function of values in behavior analysis, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Relational Frame Theory (RFT).

Every day, individuals with developmental disabilities are asked to complete multiple transitions across environments, from school programs to home settings, home settings to the community, and the community to vehicles. By being able to complete these transitions without challenging behavior, individuals gain access to a larger variety of areas including less restrictive placements and more frequent community access. Through systematic evaluation, clinicians can identify the functions of challenging behavior during transitions and teach functionally-equivalent behaviors. Following treatment, students may be able to transition more successfully, therefore, increasing their access to more settings including the community. When in the community, challenging behavior may bring about different risks including potential police involvement, less support staff, vehicle safety concerns, and negative interactions with bystanders. Frequently the first response is to limit the students access to the community following challenging behavior. In doing so, teaching opportunities are decreased and the individuals activities are more restricted. By evaluating effective treatments in the community, individuals regain access to a variety of settings therefore increasing the individuals overall quality of life. Evaluating and treating challenging behavior which may impact an individuals ability to transition is essential for increasing access to social opportunities via their school or community.

One component of an intervention package for aggression maintained by avoidance of physical contact would be to remain out of arms reach of the individual engaging in aggression. However, for an individual with severe physical impairments who requires staff to be within one foot of him when walking, that type of environmental manipulation is impossible. This research aimed at reducing the rate in which an individual engaged in aggressions while walking throughout a school building. Data showed that the rate of aggressions decreased when a gait trainer was introduced which allowed the student to walk next to someone without making physical contact. Interobserver agreement was assessed during 50% of baseline sessions and 50% of treatment sessions. Average agreement for the occurrence of aggression was 83% during baseline sessions and 90% during treatment sessions. These data provide practitioners with an antecedent-based intervention strategy to reduce aggressive behavior for an individual with physical impairments who needs support while walking. This intervention allowed the student to navigate not only throughout the school building with minimal staff assistance, but also throughout the community.

An alternating treatment design was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of two reinforcement systems in the community as a treatment for non-compliance across multiple individuals. All participants had a history of challenging behavior in the community including non-compliance, stealing, aggression, and elopement which had impacted their ability to access the community. All participants were admitted to a Residential Treatment Facility at the time of treatment. General locations in the community were identified for each participant prior to treatment to establish a schedule of systematic access. The reinforcement systems evaluated were individualized for each student based on the students interests, related components of their current treatment plans, and functions of challenging behavior. The more effective reinforcement system was then utilized during generalization training and adapted into the students treatment plan. Effective reinforcement systems were identified for all participants with a decrease in challenging behavior and increase in compliance while in the community. These examples show multiple ways in which to systematically reintroduce individuals into the community and increase their ability to access less restrictive settings.

Health promotion research often includes randomized control trials (between-groups design); however, in practice, clinicians may utilize single-subject designs (within-subjects design) to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention. Within-subject experimental designs may provide additional information that cannot be gleaned from group designs (i.e., individual trends in responding); however, group designs control for many of the variations that cannot be controlled in a single-subject design (e.g., demographic variations). There are advantages and disadvantages in utilizing each type of experimental design. The purpose of the panel discussion is to review differences in within-subjects and between-groups experimental designs, discuss the strengths and limitations of each design, and make recommendations for conducting research using either methodology.

Resurgence is the reoccurrence of a previously reinforced response, typically following (conventional) extinction of an alternatively reinforced response. Resurgence is both of research interest and applied relevance. Presenters in this symposium will discuss variations on resurgence procedures in both laboratory and applied contexts. In the first presentation, presenters will describe an animal model for studying resurgence of punishment-suppressed behavior using rats, and theoretical and applied implications of results will be discussed. In the second presentation, a human operant arrangement will be presented that investigated the effects of varying density of reinforcement and the addition of an aversive auditory stimulus during Phase 2 on subsequent resurgence. Basic and applied implications will be discussed. In the third presentation, researchers will present an evaluation the use of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) to attempt to mitigate the resurgence phenomenon in a clinically relevant context. Results will be discussed in the context of previous research showing similar effects with NCR as a disruptor and its comparison to traditional extinction as a disruptor.

Treatment relapse refers to the return of an unwanted condition that has previously been successfully treated. One such treatment relapse phenomenon is called resurgence. Resurgence occurs when a previously extinguished response returns following extinction of an alternative response that has been reinforced. It is commonly produced by a three-phase procedure: 1) a target behavior is reinforced until responding is steady, 2) the target behavior is placed on extinction and an alternative behavior is reinforced until responding is steady for both, and 3) both behaviors are placed on extinction. If the initial target behavior re-emerges in the final phase, it is called resurgence. Most applied and basic studies have used "traditional" extinction during the disruptor phase; that is, the behaviors are not met with reinforcement. However, more recent studies have been evaluating the use of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) to attempt to mitigate the resurgence phenomenon. In this study, two participants with a history of communicative difficulties and socially maintained problem behavior experienced the three-phase procedure in which participants were exposed to NCR during the final disruptor phase. One participant demonstrated mild resurgence of problem behavior, whereas resurgence of problem behavior did not occur for the second participant. Results are discussed in the context of previous research showing similar effects with NCR as a disruptor and its comparison to traditional extinction as a disruptor.

The study of delay discounting, or valuation of future rewards as a function of delay, has contributed to understanding the behavioral economics of addiction. Accurate characterization of discounting can be furthered by statistical model selection given that many functions have been proposed to measure future valuation of rewards. This tutorial will present a convenient Bayesian model selection algorithm that selects the most probable discounting model among a set of candidates chosen by the researcher. The approach assigns the most probable model for each individual subject using an asymptotic approximation to model probability based on the Bayesian Information Criterion. Importantly, effective delay 50 (ED50) functions as a suitable unifying measure that is computable for and comparable between several popular functions, including both one- and two-parameter models. Software to execute the combined model selection/ED50 approach is illustrated using empirical discounting data collected from a sample of 111 undergraduate students with five discounting models proposed between 1937 and 2006. The work this tutorial is based upon was published in the January, 2015, special issue of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior studying experimental manipulations of delay discountingand related processes.

Licensed psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

Prior knowledge has been a key construct for theories of memory, comprehension, and learning. And traditionally prior knowledge has been identified as a resilient source of information, standing strong in the face of even the most compelling refutations and evidence. In the current talk I describe experiments that call into question this characterization of prior knowledge. Work from my lab shows that well-worn expectations appear malleable (and sometimes even non-existent) when people are confronted with contradictory arguments and facts. Across a variety of demonstrations involving the presentation of text content containing potential misinformation, people subsequently rely on encoded inaccuracies leading to problematic and surprising demonstrations of ignorance. Even obvious misinformation, which individuals should know better than to fall for, can influence subsequent problem solving and decision making behaviors. This talk will identify the consequences of exposure to misinformation, as well as highlight important boundary conditions for when and how people might be encouraged to engage in more critical evaluation in the service of successful comprehension.

Educational researchers, practitioners

Rural behavior analysts face many issues. This panel will bring together three practitioner-researchers who are working within the scope of these issues. Panelists will present issues pertinent to ethical practice in small communities, reviewing telehealth and telepractice constraints, and issues related to remote supervision of behavior analysts, assistants, students, and RBTs.

There is little behavior analytic research on teaching social, self-advocacy, and job-related skills to adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current symposium includes four papers directed toward filling this gap in the literature. In the first paper, the authors piloted an assessment for evaluating job-related socials skills that are important for individuals with ASD to succeed in work environments. In the second paper, the authors evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training to increase the social play skills of adults with ASD who were teaching social play skills to children with ASD. In the third paper, the researchers evaluated the effects of a text prompt with a time delay on the self-advocacy of an adult with ASD. In the fourth paper, the authors examined the effects of teaching a problem-solving strategy to adolescents with ASD on solving common job-related problems.

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in social skills that may impede their success on the job. As part of a vocational training program, three adults, aged 21 to 27 years, with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and no intellectual disabilities were taught to increase the social play skills of children with autism. Behavioral skills training (BST) was effective in increasing social play skills of the adult. Additionally, social engagement of the children increased. Probes conducted throughout the study evaluated whether the play skills training impacted a measure of rapport between the adult and child. These rapport probes showed that play skills training increased levels of proximity, our measure of rapport, between the adults and children. These findings extend previous work on using BST to teach adults with ASD to implement behavioral procedures with children with autism and suggest that this type of training is potentially valuable for the future employment of individuals with ASD who desire a vocation as a behavioral technician.

Little research has explored procedures for teaching adults with autism to make self-advocacy statements. The present study used a multiple probe design across stimulus categories to evaluate the effects of using a text prompt and time delay procedure on the acquisition and generalization of self-advocacy responses. A twenty-five year old adult with autism participated in the study. The participant was presented with situations that required a self-advocacy response (e.g., he asks for a soda and the instructor gives him water instead). During baseline, if the participant responded correctly, the instructor corrected the situation, and if the participant errored, the instructor did not correct the situation. During intervention, a text prompt was used to prompt a self-advocacy response for each situation, and upon a correct response, the instructor corrected the situation and provided reinforcement on the participants motivational system. Results extend the literature by showing an effective procedure for teaching an adult with autism self-advocacy responses. The percentage of independent self-advocacy responses increased for the participant when the text prompt and time delay procedures were introduced across the three baselines. Results also showed generalized responding to novel examples and materials for each situation presented. Future research should investigate these procedures with additional participants as well as explore teaching more advanced self-advocacy responses to adults with autism.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of teaching a problem-solving strategy on the independent completion of vocational tasks by four adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The strategy was presented as a textual activity schedule in a binder and it was evaluated across three types of problem situations (missing items, broken items, mismatched items) and non-problem situations. Use of the problem-solving strategy in these situations was assessed with a multiple-probe-across-participants design. None of the participants were able to complete the vocational tasks when a problem (e.g., stapler missing when stapling packets) arose during baseline. Following introduction of the problem-solving strategy all four participants completed the tasks during problem scenarios and use of the problem-solving strategy generalized in the presence of vocational tasks not associated with teaching.

The continuation of responding in the face of disruption (i.e., response persistence) is a desired outcome in many situations. For example, one goal of early intervention is to ensure that skills acquired in the clinic or home setting generalize and maintain when the student transitions to school. Conversely, persistent responding may be problematic if destructive behavior maintains when treatment is introduced. The presentations in this symposium focus on the factors that contribute to or mitigate against behavioral persistence in applied contexts. Dr. Joel Ringdahl will present on one way to increase the persistence of social skills exhibited by adults with developmental disabilities. Stephen Ryan will discuss reinstatement of appropriate communication responses following periods of extinction. Valdeep Saini will present on the effects of discriminability on persistence of responding during and following the use of time-based reinforcement schedules. Katherine Lichtblau will discuss differential levels of resurgence of destructive behavior following two forms of differential reinforcement.

Several studies in the basic, translational, and applied literatures have demonstrated that the frequency with which reinforcers are delivered (i.e., reinforcement rate) can impact responses persistence. Additional reinforcer parameters, including magnitude of reinforcement, have also been demonstrated to impact response persistence. However, studies relevant to this topic have been conducted in basic laboratories using nonhuman (e.g., Nevin, 1974) and human (e.g., McComas, Hartman, and Jimenez, 2008) participants. Thus, the applied impact is unknown. In the current study, the effect of magnitude of reinforcement on the persistence of socially significant behavior exhibited by adults with mild disabilities was evaluated. Initially, a BST package that included a reinforcement component was used to teach conversation and job interview skills to young adults with developmental disabilities. Performance was scored in terms of percent of steps correct, according to task analyses. The BST packages were paired with either high magnitude of reinforcement or low magnitude of reinforcement, depending on baseline performance (i.e., high magnitude of reinforcement for the skill performed with relatively worse skill during baseline). Following acquisition of the skills, the BST package was discontinued, resulting in termination of the reinforcement contingency. Results indicated that the skill taught using the high-magnitude reinforcer persisted at relatively higher levels during the maintenance period (4 weeks of follow-up) for each participant, though performance remained above criterion regardless of reinforcer magnitude.

Using a human-operant preparation and guided by Shahan and Sweeneys (2011) model of resurgence based on behavioral momentum theory (BMT), we evaluated a refinement to noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) designed to reduce persistence of problem behavior during NCR and mitigate response resurgence during extinction following NCR. The refinement involved increasing the saliency and discriminability of the change from contingent reinforcement (during baseline) to NCR, which BMT predicts should lead to faster reductions in target responding and decrease the likelihood of resurgence. We present data on four subjects, all of whom responded in ways predicted by BMT to varying degrees. Our results are discussed within a translational research framework and broader context of strategies used to mitigate treatment relapse for severe destructive behavior, as NCR is one of the most commonly prescribed interventions for destructive behavior displayed by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Nevin and Shahans (2011) Equation 7 of behavioral momentum theory (BMT) predicts that when all other variables are held constant, the rate of alternative reinforcement (Ra) predicts the degree to which responding recurs when disrupted. In the current investigation, we used extinction as a disruptor to evaluate levels of resurgence of problem behavior following two forms of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) in which overall rates of reinforcement were equated. In one condition, reinforcement remained available for problem behavior, as well as for a communication response (i.e., DRA without extinction), whereas in the other condition, DRA was implemented with extinction, but we added noncontingent reinforcement to yoke the obtained rates of reinforcement to the DRA without extinction condition. Both DRA conditions suppressed rates of problem behavior with one individual, but we observed higher levels of resurgence following DRA without extinction. We discuss these results in light of BMT, as well as other treatments for problem behavior that do and do not involve terminating of the response-reinforcer relation.

Many children with autism fail to demonstrate echoic behavior as early as their typically developing peers. Some also make very limited vocal sounds in general, remaining mostly mute aside from crying or engaging in stereotypy. Echoic skills demonstrate auditory discrimination and matching, and function as a beneficial, if not necessary, prerequisite for many other vocal-verbal skills. The purpose of this study was to develop an alternative echoic training procedure for primarily non-vocal children who did not demonstrate auditory discrimination in baseline. The intervention consisted initially of sessions in which any vocal sounds were reinforced. Then reinforcement schedules were manipulated to increase the variety of sounds each child made. This was followed by a simplified echoic protocol to establish auditory stimulus control, beginning with high-rate vocalizations. Echoic skills were tested prior to and throughout the intervention. This procedure was able to produce an echoic repertoire in two out of three participants.

Simple and conditional visual and auditory discrimination repertoires are critical components of many skills necessary for daily functioning, including communication, academic, and daily-living skills (Green, 2001). When auditory discrimination is not under instructional stimulus control it can result in delayed acquisition of new skills and limit academic progress. The purpose of this study was to teach auditory discrimination to children with autism who had little-to-no progress on classroom procedures that required auditory discrimination, such as selecting an object from an array when given the name of the object as the instruction. Auditory discrimination will be taught starting with teaching a particular motor response in the presence of an environmental sound, then slowly introducing other sound and response pairings. The procedure will use a variety of teaching methods based on the learner's progress. Trial-and-error, shaping, and physical prompts will be used to aid in the acquisition of discrimination skills.

Numerous everyday living skills rely on an individual having an extensive conditional discrimination repertoire. Some children with autism show difficulty in acquiring conditional discriminations, which can lead to delayed progress through classroom curricula. Green (2001) stated that it has been demonstrated that teaching simple visual discrimination tasks help cultivate the development of more complex visual discriminations. Even though some children with autism show difficulty in acquiring conditional discriminations, these individuals can acquire conditional discriminations after training on simple visual discriminations. The purpose of this study was to teach two individuals with autism simple and conditional visual discrimination tasks. Once the simple discrimination procedure was mastered, a conditional visual discrimination procedure was implemented. Both children had previously mastered classroom matching-to-sample procedures, but the skills failed to maintain. Simple and conditional visual discrimination were taught using trial-and-error and within-stimulus prompts.

The symposium includes four studies on programming for and assessing generalization in individuals with developmental disabilities. The first presentation evaluated the effect of teaching tolerance responses to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following training a functional communication request. Generalization was assessed with stimuli, settings, and caregivers not associated with treatment and the effects of treatment maintained up to 6 weeks. The second presentation examined several stimulus conditions under which vicariously reinforced responding might emerge by embedding probes within an experimental arrangement that included multiple exemplars. The third presentation evaluated behavior skills training to establish generalized safety responding in children with ASD. Multiple exemplars were taught to program for generalization to stimuli and settings not associated with training. The fourth presentation taught children with ASD to tolerate medical and dental procedures and determined the extent to which tolerance transferred to settings not associated with training. Collectively these studies provide support for the value of programming for and assessing generalization for individuals with developmental disabilities across a wide range of skill areas.

We evaluated the effects of teaching tolerance responses on problem behaviors using a multiple baseline design across participants design with two young children diagnosed with autism. After identifying the function of the problem behavior by conducing a functional analysis, we taught the children simple and complex functional communication responses (FCR). Afterwards, we introduced delay and denial tolerance training. Our dependent measures were (a) problem behaviors, (b) tolerance responses, (c) simple FCR, (d) complex FCR, and (e) percentage of the delay the child was independently engaged in an alternative activity. Generalization was assessed with novel stimuli, settings and caregivers. Maintenance was assessed through a 6 week follow-up. Our results suggested that there was an inverse relationship between tolerance responses and problem behaviors. Additionally, after the children learned FCRs, they were able to accept delays or denials to reinforcement and spend the majority of the delay engaged in a less preferred alternative activity. The effects generalized to novel settings and stimuli and the results maintained at a 6 week follow-up.

Vicarious reinforcement refers to an increase in ones behavior as a result of observing reinforcement delivered to a model, but in the absence of direct reinforcement delivered for imitation of the models response. We examined several stimulus conditions under which vicariously reinforced responding might emerge by embedding probes for vicariously reinforced responding within an experimental arrangement that included multiple training tasks (multiple exemplars) maintained by direct intermittent reinforcement. Four subjects attending a school for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities participated. Data for one subject showed maintenance and generalization of vicariously reinforced responding across three different probe tasks. Data for a second subject showed maintenance of vicariously reinforced responding on the first probe but no generalization to a second probe. Data for the remaining two subjects showed initial vicarious reinforcement effects but did not show maintenance on any probe. Implications for the applied use of vicarious reinforcement arrangements are described.

Children have been taught to demonstrate a safety response when they encounter a dangerous stimulus using behavioral skills training (BST). However, little research has evaluated the usefulness of BST to teach safety skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the current study, we evaluated BST to establish a generalized repertoire of safety responding in children with ASD. Three categories of dangerous stimuli were identified and multiple exemplars were taught to program for generalization to stimuli and settings not associated with training. The three participants demonstrated an appropriate safety response after BST training across trained and untrained exemplars and settings. Additionally, responding to trained exemplars maintained up to four weeks following training. High levels of social validity were also found. These results suggest BST is a viable training approach for training individuals with ASD to demonstrate safety responding and results are discussed in light of previous studies.

Children with autism often engage in disruptive behavior (i.e., crying, refusal, aggression) at the doctor or dentist, preventing medical or dental personnel from completing routine procedures. Previous research has demonstrated that exposing clients to a hierarchy of systematic fading steps, while differentially reinforcing compliance, can effectively decrease disruptive behavior and increase cooperation with a variety of procedures, when conducted in a therapeutic setting. However, is it unclear if cooperation generalizes to the natural environment of the doctor or dentist. The purpose of this study is to teach children with autism to tolerate routine medical and dental procedures, without engaging in noncompliance or disruptive behavior, and determine the extent to which cooperation transfers to the natural environment of the childs primary care provider (i.e., doctor or dentist) via pre- and posttest.

When left untreated, pediatric feeding problems can result in poor weight gain, weight loss, malnutrition, dehydration, cognitive impairment, compromised immune function, and dependency on tube feedings (Cohen, Piazza, & Navanthe, 2006). Therefore, it is imperative that clinicians and researchers continue to develop effective treatment procedures and disseminate their findings to a larger audience. This symposium combines 4 data-based presentations on the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding problems from 4 different programs: Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Marcus Autism Center, and University of Kansas. Following the 4 presentations, Dr. Cathleen Piazza (Munroe-Meyer Institute) will discuss the presentations and the implications of each presenters findings. The first presentation will focus on the use of applied behavior analysis to treat feeding problems in children with autism spectrum disorder. The second presentation will compare descriptive and functional analyses in the treatment of feeding disorders. The third presenter will discuss the use of alternative bite presentation methods in the treatment of expulsion and packing. The final presenter will discuss the use of response blocking to distinguish between motivational and skill deficits in pediatric feeding disorders.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display feeding problems, and food selectivity, defined as consumption of a limited variety of foods (Schreck, Williams, & Smith, 2004), is the most commonly reported feeding problem. Results of studies have shown that treatments based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) are effective as treatment for feeding disorders in the general pediatric population (e.g., Piazza, Patel, Gulotta, Sevin, & Layer, 2003; Volkert & Piazza, 2012). Although ABA treatments have empirical support for feeding problems, and ABA also has empirical support for the treatment of the core symptoms of ASD, there are no ABA randomized clinical trials with a well-defined cohort of children with ASD and food selectivity. We conducted a randomized clinical trial of ABA treatment of food selectivity in children with ASD relative to a wait-list control group. We randomly assigned 3 children to ABA and 3 children to a wait-list group and compared the effects of treatment in a multiple baseline design across novel, healthy groupings of foods. Results demonstrated that ABA treatment increased acceptance of all food groupings for all six children who participated in the study.

Children typically gain the skills to appropriately feed themselves by the age of two years (Carruth et al., 2004). Those whose skills are delayed have statistically been shown to consume less nutrients (Carruth et al., 2004) and are at risk for both developmental and growth delays (Manikam & Perman, 2000; O?Brien et al., 1991). Though previous research has assessed a multitude of treatments for feeding delays and disorders (Cooper et al., 1995; Manikam & Perman, 2000; Piazza & Carroll-Hernandez, 2004), little research has evaluated whether such delays are maintained by motivational or skill deficits. The current study describes the treatment of age-inappropriate self-feeding skills for four children with developmental disabilities. Response blocking was used to determine whether the absence of appropriate self-feeding was a motivational or skill deficit. Results of response blocking for one child suggest a motivational deficit, whereas results for the other three children suggest a skill deficit. Results will be discussed in terms of response blocking as an assessment procedure as well as backward chaining as a procedure for increasing self-feeding skills.

One of the challenges faced by parents is objectively measuring treatment outcome. Currently, measurement methods are too cumbersome or rely upon subjective information. The current investigation aims to use a simplified measurement system to assess treatment outcome for problem behaviors exhibited by individuals with DD. Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) is an evaluative rating completed by caregivers at the time the behaviors occur and includes multiple, continuous observations over a period of time that yields a repeated, objective, and quantitative measure of behavior. The specific aim of this project is to demonstrate that DBR is maximally sensitive to detect behavioral changes. The participants were four female college students. Each participant viewed 12, 5-min videos of a child with autism under baseline and treatment conditions. After viewing each video, the participant used DBR to rate the severity of the problem behaviors. Our primary analysis compared DBR to systematic direction observation (SDO) across baseline and treatment phases comparing changes in level, trend, and variability. The results showed good correspondence between DBR and SDO in terms of changes in level across phases, trends, and variability. These preliminary data highlight a promising approach to evaluating treatment outcome in settings in which SDO is difficult.

A variety of sequential analysis methods exist to quantify operant contingencies from observational data. Results of a recent simulation study indicated a modified event lag method may produce more accurate and interpretable contingency estimates relative to other standard approaches (Lloyd, Yoder, Tapp, & Staubitz, 2015). Whereas the simulation study modeled zero contingencies, the current study extends this research by applying the same methods of sequential analysis to observations with programmed non-zero contingencies. We used Sniffy the Virtual Rat software to generate observational sessions with programmed reinforcement contingencies, then superimposed fixed time schedules of reinforcement to model variation in contingency strength. We evaluated the degree to which each method of sequential analysis produced contingency estimates that (a) approximated programmed reinforcement contingencies and (b) demonstrated sensitivity to changes in contingency strength. Results indicated that event lag methods produced closer approximations of programmed contingencies and demonstrated greater sensitivity to changes in contingency strength relative to interval-based and time window methods. In addition, consistent with the previous simulation study, our results suggest that interval-based and time-window methods have the potential to produce negatively biased contingency estimates.

Advancing technology allows behavioral observation and analysis to move beyond summaries of partial-interval data, to methods that preserve the time sequence of events. With these changes come questions about analysis of indices of association available in different software packages for understanding contingencies between caregiver and participant behavior. Within the context of a larger study evaluating the impact medication changes had on challenging behavior of 11 individuals, weekly, one-hour direct observations were conducted over a period of 2.5 yrs. Videos were uploaded into The Observer XT and coded for the onset and offset of environmental conditions (e.g., location, noise level, number of people in the room), participant behavior (e.g., challenging and adaptive behavior), caregiver behavior (e.g., demands made, attention delivered, etc.). Data from observations were aggregated and analyzed using two tools: the lag sequential analysis function in Observer which provides unadjusted conditional probabilities, and the freeware Generalized Sequential Querier software which provides indices of association adjusted for base rates of occurrence of the event sequences in question (Yules Q). The results obtained from these tools produced different conclusions for the same events (e.g., Table 1). The benefits and challenges of interpreting results within a behavioral analytic contingency framework will be discussed.

Latency-based functional analysis (FA) may be a viable alternative to traditional FA when evoking and reinforcing high rates of problem behavior is not advisable. We conducted 16 latency-based FAs of the problem behavior of 15 children diagnosed with autism in inpatient hospital settings. Concurrently, we conducted latency-based structured descriptive assessments (SDA) of four secondary response topographies. Latency-based FAs identified functional relationships for targeted responses during 50% (8 of 16) of assessments and latency-based SDAs yielded evidence suggestive of functional relationships for non-targeted responses during 50% (2 of 4) of assessments. Implications and future directions are discussed.

No research has used latency-based functional analysis (FA) outcomes as baseline data from which to evaluate the effectiveness of subsequent function-based treatments. This approach to analysis calls for the continued collection of latency-based measures for all targeted variables throughout all phases of treatment. We tracked client progress during treatment using latency-based, rate-based, and percentage-of-opportunity measures of relevant behavior and compared graphical representations of each. Visual inspection of all data indicates that changes in variability level, and trend of latencybased measures correspond well with said changes in more traditional measures.

Individuals engaging in problem behavior may also engage in milder, topographically different precursor behavior maintained by the same functional reinforcers as the more intense problem behavior. Identifying functionally related precursor behavior allows clinicians to implement interventions directly on precursor behavior, which may result in fewer instances of more intense problem behavior occurring during assessment and intervention implementation. Previous research conducted descriptive analyses to identify precursors, conducted functional analyses targeting the precursor behavior, and demonstrated that precursors were functionally related to the more intense topography of problem behavior. Researchers then demonstrated decreases in the targeted problem behavior by implementing interventions addressing the precursor behavior. The current study extended the application of this methodology to children under the age of five who had a history of engaging in problem behavior. Specifically, we conducted descriptive analyses to identify precursor behavior and subsequent functional analyses targeting the pre-identified precursor behavior to identify the function. A function-based intervention was implemented to address the precursor behavior resulting in decreased levels of precursor behavior and suppression of the more intense problem behavior.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) have successfully demonstrated the use of telehealth in coaching parents to conduct functional analyses (FA) and subsequent functional communication training (FCT). We replicated and extended previous research by enlisting existing natural change agents to conduct FAs and FCT interventions via telehealth for children three years old and younger. BCBAs trained and coached the existing behavior specialist via telehealth, who in turn trained and coached parents to conduct FAs and implement FCT in the community clinic setting. The function of problem behavior was successfully identified for five participants. Two participants have completed FCT. Problem behavior reduced and the selected appropriate communication response increased for both participants. The remaining three participants have begun FCT interventions. This study demonstrates that BCBAs can provide coaching and training, via telehealth, to less trained behavior specialists to improve existing services provided through service programs, while minimizing potentially intrusive involvement of outside service providers.

The papers in this symposium review the current status of the literature with respect to treatment integrity and describe the outcomes of investigations of procedures to train caregivers to implement behavior change procedures with integrity. The extant literature was reviewed to identify 1) the number of studies in which levels of treatment integrity were manipulated systematically, 2) the types of errors investigated, 3) which parts of the intervention procedure were manipulated, and 4) the degree to which these errors affected participant behavior. The effects of a video modeling program to increase procedural integrity with graduated guidance to 3 direct care teachers were investigated, with results showing benefits in both treatment integrity and student outcomes. Two studies investigated the development, implementation, and evaluation of a large-scale behavioral skills training program in a large residential/training facility. Following initial development and establishment of a pyramidal training program, maintenance of trainer and direct caregiver skills were assessed and, when necessary, remedial training was provided. Procedures for assessing generalization of caregiver skills to natural environments were developed, implemented, and evaluated.

The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of video modeling as a teacher training tool to improve procedural integrity of graduated guidance. Additionally, the effectiveness of a prescribed graduated guidance procedure was assessed. The implementation of the video modeling training procedure was assessed with a non-concurrent multiple baseline design. Participants were 3 teenaged students diagnosed with autism and 3 direct care teachers. Narrated video models of the lead experimenter and a confederate were used to train the teachers to implement a graduated guidance procedure with their students for three house-hold chores. Results showed that the video models were an effective training tool and that increases in procedural integrity generalized to untrained tasks. Furthermore, the students learned the tasks with the prescribed graduated guidance procedure. The social validity of the video modeling training procedure was assessed with a participant completed survey. The importance of using effective training methods for both teachers and students are discussed. Data reliability was collected in 46% of sessions and range from 91% to 100% agreement.

Cooper, Heron and Heward (2007) define maintenance as the extent to which the learner continues to perform the target behavior after the intervention has been terminated. Maintenance is important because it ensures that long-lasting behavior change is occurring, and that gains were sustained following the termination of a treatment program. In addition, once it is proven that a learner’s skills have remained in the repertoire the assessment of generalization is possible. Previous literature in behavior skills training has assessed maintenance in a variety of settings and for a variety of skills. Following maintenance assessments, booster sessions are commonly used to re-train skills that did not maintain at criterion levels. The current project assessed the maintenance of caregiver’s skills following a training package used to teach behavior management skills at a large, residential facility as well as the maintenance of the professional staff’s skills in implementing the training package. The project developed, implemented, and evaluated procedures to assess the caregivers maintenance of the skills and, if needed, to re-establish those skills using 5-15 minute booster sessions.

In order for the benefits of a behavior management package to reach clients, the caregivers must use the behavior management package in the natural environment. Caregivers at a state residential facility were previously taught three behavior management tools to competency. Initial training and subsequent maintenance probes with booster sessions (2-22 months after training) were assessed through contrived role-plays. Generalization of behavior management tools in the natural environment is difficult to assess because opportunities to utilize the tools are not programmed by the researcher, rather they are contingent on client behavior. Therefore, the current project systematically defined opportunities to use the tools prior to assessing generalization. Generalization of the behavior management package was assessed by observing caregivers use of the tools when the opportunities arose in the natural environment. Training procedures included prompting the staff when to use behavior management tools in the natural environment followed by immediate feedback and using a constant prompt delay to teach staff to identify opportunities to use behavior management tools.

The methodology used by many studies in the social sciences and even behavioral science is severely lacking. This symposium works towards identifying flaws and offering suggestions for improving methodology in behavioral studies. The presentations in this symposium will include a critique on the methodology used in social science that includes composite variables and a lack of empirical evidence-based explanations. In addition they will offer a critique of a common method used for evaluating smarts, IQ tests, and offer an alternative behaviorally based method, behavioral developmental Stage. The effectiveness of instruments based on behavioral developmental Stage will evaluated in another presentation, as well as the benefit of using reinforcement and gamification to increase Stage of performance on these instruments. Finally a methodological study on charting behavioral progress will help to offer an improved manner to assess effectiveness of behavioral interventions. In total, the presentations in this symposium will help to foster a discussion on the methodologies used in behavioral analysis and beyond, and how they can be built and improved upon.

Even though social science and behavioral science are interconnected and both study organization of behaviors, there are some noteworthy differences between them in the level of scientific analysis and various dimensions of conduct. Social science is the study of the relationships between macro type variables, like culture and society, and micro variables such as how people behave in very well specified situations. Behavioral research, on the other hand, is the study of the dependent variable which is almost always some kind of relatively directly observable behavior. The independent variables are multiple single dimensionals that measure the environmental situation and other contingencies (Bush & Kennedy, 1985). There are some important distinctions between the two fields in terms of operationalization and the use of composite variables. Claims that social science is both theoretically informed and empirically driven, committed to developing evidence-based observations, descriptions and explanations through theoretical and empirical investigations does not hold true in the absence of true or quasi-independent non-composite variables. Social science can expand their social value by implementing research methods more like behavioral science. Further, behavioral science needs to expand its scope to take on social science issues.

Although individual charting can be an effective way to demonstrate progress, it does not allow for comparisons of effectiveness using traditional statistical standards. Due to the increasing need for evidence of effectiveness of interventions it is important that there be a way to compare interventions. Therefore, this paper proposes a method to aggregate individual data into group data. First, an individuals progress is documented along a behavioral-developmental sequence, using the Model of Hierarchical Complexity (MHC). Sequencing through MHC is important because acquisition of individual, possibly helpful behaviors does not always represent development. A behavioral aim can then be selected and behavior can be tracked depending on whether developmental tasks are completed. The effects of contingent reinforcement and training on correct response is analyzed. It is then demonstrated how to specify regression to estimate progress in a subdomain, and how to generalize findings to all participants. The implications and limitations of this method and future directions are discussed.

Behavior analysts are bound to the use of scientific knowledge in scientific and professional judgments. The aim of this symposium is to provide evidence that the classroom is not an exception to this tenet. The format of instructional delivery in higher education has expanded past the traditional text and lecture format. Accordingly, this symposium will review novel approaches to teaching with an aim to contribute to the evidence of non-traditional pedagogical approaches. Approaches discussed will include active responding via online asynchronous discussion, the use of interteaching in online coursework, classroom exercises developed to demonstrate principles of learning and other forms of behavior, and the use of matching-to-sample (MTS) and computer-aided personalized system of instruction to teach definitions of concepts, and design, and conduct MTS teaching.

Since the mid-1990s, the Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology at Oklahoma State University have developed a number of exercises appropriate for classroom use to demonstrate principles of learning and other forms of behavior. These activities have primarily focused on animals such as snakes, planarians, houseflies, earthworms, wasps, and honey bees. We have also developed exercises using fish based on an inexpensive apparatus we have created called the Fish Stick. Other exercises to be discussed include project Petscope which turns local pet stores into animal behavior research centers, Correspondence in the Classroom which helps students learn to write letters to scientists in various fields, Action Figures in Comparative Psychology which stimulates interest in comparative issues, and the Labyrinth in which students negotiate an object through various obstacles. These teaching activities are summarized and the advantages and limitations of each are discussed. We also discuss how our activities can be used to stimulate interest in the STEM disciplines especially when used in conjunction with our psychmobile program. Tables will be presented as a ready reference for using the activities and we are glad to offer assistance.

Interteaching is an instructional design and delivery method that incorporates elements of Personalized Systems of Instruction and Peer tutoring. Students complete reading guides in groups of 2-3 and lectures are delivered only on concepts where there is a need for clarification. There is quite a bit of literature supporting the use of interteaching to increase acquisition and retention of material. However, no literature exists that supports the use of interteaching in an online format. In this presentation, I will describe the design and delivery of online interteaching conducted in Fall Semester 2016. Two courses will be described: an undergraduate introduction to behavior analysis course and an upper-level graduate course in behavior analysis methodology. Data presented will include total time preparing and delivering instruction, total time grading, student reviews and suggestions, and student outcome data.

Matching-to-sample (MTS) teaching consists of presenting a stimulus called sample followed by stimuli called comparisons from which an individual makes a choice. Research shows that MTS is effective in teaching basic academic skills such as word reading to a varied population range including children with learning disabilities. A training program to promote knowledge and use of this teaching technology was evaluated in the present study. Specifically, we compared two intervention packages - a manual by itself and the manual in combination with a computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI) to teach university students how to define concepts, and design, and conduct MTS teaching. Tests also evaluated generalization to novel words and generalized designing and conducting MTS-related teaching. A group design with five and seven participants in experimental and control groups, respectively, was used. During pre-intervention all participants received written and applied tests involving MTS teaching. During training the control group received the manual while the experimental group received the manual and CAPSI. During post-intervention, participants again received written and applied tests, except that those who did not meet 80% accuracy in designing MTS teaching received further intervention. Results indicate that CAPSI produced better results in teaching concepts and in generalized designing and conducting MTS-related teaching.

Play is one of the core deficits of children with autism. Impairments in play impact communication and language, cognition, and social and emotional interactions. Appropriate independent and sociodramatic play skills are critical to the development of social skills. Children who do not learn to play may miss out on opportunities for social interactions due to observable differences in their play. Increasing appropriate play has been shown to increase language skills while decreasing stereotopy and other problem behaviors. Play is an integral part of the development of typically developing children and should be an emphasis in a behavioral intervention for children with autism. Applied behavior analysis play interventions often target improving play skills by relying on extrinsic reinforcers. Genuine play is intrinsically motivated and will maintain and generalize across environments. These studies utilize behavioral interventions to increase appropriate independent and sociodramatic play skills for children with autism and decrease the reliance on prompts and extrinsic reinforcers.

Behavioral intervention for preschool age children on the autism spectrum should emphasize play. Deficits in play aversely impact language and communication skills, cognition and problem solving, and social interactions. In this study a priming strategy was used to teach 3 essential skills of socio-dramatic play to 3 participants, aged 4-6, diagnosed with autism. Priming was systematically faded by increasing the duration of time between priming and the play opportunity. All participants are currently receiving center based applied behavior analysis services. Participants were taught to generalize mastered independent play of combining multiple play schemes by utilizing the essential skills for age appropriate sociodramatic play. These three essential skills are 1) initiating a new cooperative play action, 2) responding to a peers play action, and 3) expanding on the current play action. A multiple baseline across participants study demonstrated the efficacy of priming as an effective procedure to teach the three essential skills to engage in sociodramatic play. Generalization across peers and environments was assessed.

The purpose of this study was to compare script fading wtih video modeling and the rates of acquisition, maintenance, and generalization to teach pretend play to children with autism. Script fading and video modeling are procedures that have been effective in increasing a variety of skills. Scripts have been used to teach a variety of social skills including increasing social initiations, conversations, and imitative independent play. Video modeling procedures have also been used to teach a variety of skills including increasing reciprocal pretend play, daily living skills, perspective taking, conversational skills, and game play. A multiple baseline across participants study with concurrent treatments of video modeling and script fading per participant was implemented. The study had three participants, 2 boys and 1 girl with autism diagnoses, ages 4-5, who receive center-based applied behavior analysis services. The same two play schemes were taught (Burger Shop and Birthday Party) to each participant simultaneously, using video modeling to teach one scheme and script fading to teach the other. The video model and the script both consisted of 7 scripted play actions and corresponding vocalizations. The outcomes of the acquisition rates, maintenance across 3 months, and generalization across settings will be discussed.

The first presentation reports data on the extent to which a functional reinforcement contingency may facilitate receptive discriminations in children with ASD. The number of trials needed to establish four receptive discriminations was assessed using either a functional reinforcement contingency (e.g., if cookie was the sample stimulus, identifying the cookie produced cookie as a consequence) or an arbitrary reinforcement contingency (e.g., highly preferred stimuli were used as reinforcers, but they had no relation to the stimulus material). The second presentation canters on variables that can predict overall treatment outcome. Given the central role of positive reinforcement in (early intensive behavioral intervention) EIBI, it has been hypothesized that the more reinforcers are available for teaching a specific child, the more that child will benefit from treatment. The second presentation report data on how assessing preferred items that can be used to predict rate of learning in children with ASD receiving EIBI.

Many behavior analytic procedures have proven successful in establishing receptive discriminations in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most procedures are based on discrete trial teaching, and adding a prompt to the relation between the instruction and the response. Despite applying a number of well-documented effective procedures, some children have difficulties learning receptive discriminations. The purpose of this study was to examine if a functional reinforcement contingency could facilitate receptive discriminations in these children. We compared the number of trials needed to establish four receptive discriminations following well-established procedures under a functional reinforcement contingency and an arbitrary reinforcement contingency in an alternating treatment design. Three out of the six participants showed more rapid acquisition in the functional reinforcement condition. The remaining participants did not establish any discrimination in neither of the conditions. These findings suggest that arranging a functional response-reinforcer contingency should be considered when encountering children that struggle to establish receptive language through more traditional teaching procedures.

Toys, activities and other items that a child express interest in can function as contrived reinforcers during treatment. However, some reinforcers are controlled solely by the stereotyped behavior of the child, and may compete with contrived reinforcement, such when a child produce sensory reinforcement by eye-gazing, rather than complying with a therapist to receive contrived reinforcement. Klintwall and Eikeseth (2012) developed a questionnaire to indirectly assess these types of stimuli, and found that when subtracting the number of stereotyped behaviors from the number of preferred items that potentially could be used as contrived reinforcers (i.e., SMARQ total score); this controlled 50% of the variance in treatment outcome. The present study was designed to replicate and extend the study by Klintwall and Eikeseth (2012), using a prospective design, a new sample, and by assessing preferred items and stereotyped behaviors at intake, rather than later in treatment. Results replicated the findings of Klintwall and Eikeseth (2012) by showing a correlation between SMARQ total score and outcome after one year of EIBI. An interpretation of these results is that for every SMARQ total score, the learn rate in treatment increased by one month per year.

Associative symmetry is one of a number of derived relations that can emerge after explicit training on other conditional relations. Here, untrained but accurate B?A conditional discrimination performances arise from training A?B conditional relations, a finding indicative of stimulus class formation (i.e., the development of sets of disparate but interchangeable stimuli). Recent research shows that human language capabilities are not necessary for associative symmetry; it can also reflect basic reinforcement and stimulus control processes.This tutorial will describe the history of the now-successful search for symmetry in an animal other than humans (viz., the pigeon) and show how this important finding led to demonstrations of other rarely or never-before seen emergent relations in a non-human animal. Central to these demonstrations is the presenter's theory (Urcuioli, 2008) of the origin of stimulus classes in pigeons, specifically, the reinforcement contingencies of training, the nature of the functional stimuli, and the effect of common functional stimuli across different reinforced relations. The theory makes precise, testable and often confirmed predictions about the training conditions that should, and should not, yield emergent relations such as symmetry, transitivity, and reflexivity.

Licensed psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

Experimental analyses of the characteristics of performance feedback inform the proper use and application of feedback as OBM interventions. In this symposium, we will present and discuss the results of three laboratory-based experiments that examine critical components of feedback and associated performance goals. The first presenter will discuss the differential effects of three different feedback modalities on performance of a simple data entry task. The second presenter will discuss the interaction between feedback source and goal difficulty on performance and feedback-seeking behavior. Finally, the third presenter will discuss the effects of altering the placement of a single corrective statement in a feedback sequence that includes two positive statements on individuals' persistence to perform in the presence of a challenging �stretch� goal. Come and find out the best mode and sequence with which to deliver feedback and how the type of performance goals in place might influence the appropriate mode of feedback.

The purpose of the present study was to create a methodology for conducting experimental functional analyses on gambling behaviors, and test the convergent validity of the Gambling Functional Assessment (GFA) and Gambling Functional Assessment-Revised (GFA-R) with results obtained from the functional analysis. Pathological and recreational gamblers completed all study procedures in a gambling lab in the Midwest. Functional assessments were counterbalanced across participants, to control for order effects. During the experimental functional analysis, participants were asked to gamble on one of four slot machines. Each slot machine had a concurrent random ratio (RR) and fixed time (FT) 30s reinforcement schedule, where additional reinforcers were provided across four conditions (social attention, escape, tangible, sensory). Participants were instructed to play on each machine for 2min, prior to completing a free play condition. Next, participants were provided a vignette derived from items on the GFA and GFA-R, prior to selecting a machine to play on for 2min. Slot machine selection was recorded across each 2min trial. Cumulative records indicate response differentiation across slot machines for all participants. Convergent validity results to date suggest the current methodology is consistent with outcomes generated by the GFA-R.

The current discounting literature in impulsivity research indicates that impulsivity may be a multifactorial concept. The potential sources that may lead to impulsivity have yet to be completely identified. Among the variables that are considered to play a role in impulsive choice are setting events. Yet, limited research has been conducted on how setting events may affect risky choice, which is one part of the multifactorial concept. In the current study the researchers investigated how grade standing in a course influenced the rate of discounting on an actual probabilistic discounting task. Twenty college students participated for the chance to earn extra credit worth up to 3% of their final grade, through a game of roulette. The roulette game was arranged to mirror the traditional probability-discounting task. Participants were staked with a proportion of their extra credit to gamble with and told that they could earn up to 3% of their final grade. An analysis of the rate of discounting and academic standing was made. The results and implications of the current study are discussed with regard to pathological gambling, risk taking with regard to setting events, behavioral economics, and the effectiveness of self reported discounting tasks.

Over the past 20 years there has been a renewed interest in designing educational environments that lead to a range of practical outcomes for learners. Educational endeavors may be conceptualized as falling within several categories that may include formal public education, formal private education, independent studies, sports related activities, musical activities and day-to-day learning through the life of an individual. A common move in the past 10 years has been the creation of individual learning opportunities through internet-based applications. Behavior analysis as a science has historically been closely aligned with the formulation of instructional design methods and is in a well-suited position to lend a helping hand to the endeavor of creating meaningful educational opportunities for people of varying ages and skill sets. This presentation will outline a pilot program that was designed to teach students of music how to design their own independent studies using the science of behavior analysis. This program, Measured Music, is one example of how the Institute of Meaningful Instruction is aiming to assist learners in becoming their own instructional designers. The Measured Music program will be overviewed and future directions will be discussed.

As technology usage continues to swell worldwide the penchant for technology options in educational environments has reached a fever pitch. In US alone it is projected that spending on instructional technology will reach over $20 billion by 2020. The emphasis on the use of delivering instruction via high tech options is easily observed in most school settings. Smart boards, personal e-tablets, response clickers are just as prevalent as the crayons and compositions found in children’s school bags found in classrooms just a generation ago. However, relying on sophisticated technology tools to fix educational problems may fall short if the technology options do not incorporate evidence based components of effective instruction. Low Tech options such as guided notes and active student responding have an extensive research based and permeated the behavior analytic literature in the mid and late 1980’s. Conversely some of the more prevalent high tech options found in today’s classrooms little or no research to support their usage. In this symposium we report four papers which address some element of either high or low tech instructional delivery tactic across 4 distinct populations and target behaviors.

We report an experiment to investigate the effects of an auditory match-to-sample protocol on three preschoolers accurate echoics to 100 English words and advanced listener literacy skills. The protocol was presented by using an iPad app Sounds the same: an app to target listening and speaking clearly. A delayed multiple probe design across participants verified the effectiveness of the auditory match to sample protocol. The three participants ranged from 4 to 5 years old and were all diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. They were taught to discriminate between positive and negative exemplars of different sounds, words, and phases by matching the sample sound to the matching exemplar. Our data show that acquisition of auditory match-to-sample resulted in increases of the accuracy in participants articulation of their echoics as well as their advanced listener repertoires as measured by having students follow vocal directions in the presence of visual negative exemplars.

Professional development remains a foundational crux for training teachers and staff in evidence based interventions for teaching students with autism. Online training videos provide a viable component of professional development for early intervention and special education organizations facing budget constraints and challenges with complying with mandates for training their staff and teachers in evidence-based interventions for students with autism. Mand training is an effective evidence based procedure for increasing functional language and decreasing problematic behavior associated with autism spectrum disorders. The teacher implementation of four-step manding procedure was also evaluated. Measuring both the student and the teacher behavior evaluated interventionists competency improvement following and/or during different training components and concurrently measured student manding changes in frequency across each training component phase. Online training remains a valuable tool to efficiently and effectively train staff, however additional components may be necessary to result in optimal outcomes. Results indicated that student manding increased slightly when online training videos alone was used for one participant and with more significance when components of feedback and coaching/modeling were added.

The goal was to assess preference between massed and alternating matching-to-sample trials in children with autism. Two participants were presented with a matching-to-sample task on a computer. Sessions consisted of six trials of an unknown set of word-picture stimuli relations and six trials of known picture-picture identity relations. Prior to the presentation of the 12 trials, participants were asked to choose between three different colored stimuli randomly located on the computer screen. The participants choice of stimuli determined the condition for the session either mass (6 known/6 unknown stimuli relations, or vice-versa), alternating (alternation of known and unknown stimuli relations), or extinction (no reinforcement delivered). Once a condition preference to a condition was established a new set of colors were presented and preference was reassessed. Throughout a session, no prompts were delivered during the presentation of known stimuli relations, and a spoken word was used as prompt for the unknown stimuli relations. Prescribed prompts were faded systematically to assess acquisition of skill. All correct responses produced a token and once three tokens were earned a trade-in period occurred (unless the extinction condition was chosen). A preference for alternating trials developed during every assessment within and across participants.

An accurate tact repertoire often requires control by multiple features of nonverbal stimuli over the verbal response. Inappropriate stimulus control can develop when learners are exposed to compound stimuli. The current study evaluated the effects of a differential observing response (DOR) on typically developing childrens (3-5 years old) acquisition of tacts of overlapping compound stimuli. When initial instruction without a DOR did not produce acquisition, an instruction format was introduced which required participants to engage in a DOR in the form of an identity match to sample response prior to tacting the stimuli. If the DOR intervention did not produce mastery, further manipulations were evaluated, including a verbal DOR and the establishment of vocal precurrent responses. Implications of the effectiveness of such interventions on tact acquisition are discussed.

Some children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) display persistent errors during discrete-trial training. Fisher and colleagues showed that combining a second-order reinforcement schedule with response cost produced improved accuracy in completion of intraverbal and receptive tasks among children with ASD (Fisher, Pawich, Dickes, Paden, & Toussaint, 2014). The purpose of the current study was to extend the findings of Fisher et al. (2014) by evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of their second-order reinforcement and response-cost procedure with a common error-correction procedure during acquisition of receptive-identification tasks. Two children diagnosed with an ASD participated. During baseline, we implemented a VR2 reinforcement schedule for cooperative behavior but not for correct responses. During treatment, in one condition we reinforced correct responses on a second-order FR3 [FR1] schedule and removed all accumulated reinforcers contingent on an error. In the other condition, we reinforced correct responses on an FR1 schedule, and following an error, we repeated the trial until the participant emitted an independent correct response. Results showed that the error-correction procedure proved to be more efficient with both participants and more effective with one participant. We discuss these results relative to the discriminative effects of reinforcement and punishment during acquisition of new tasks. We will continue to replicate these procedures with additional participants.

The topography of maladaptive behavior provides minimal information in terms of developing treatment strategies for reducing its occurrence, rather an analysis of the function of behavior both adaptive and maladaptive has repeatedly shown effectiveness across populations and behaviors. Contemporary treatment strategies for individuals with developed language and cognitive abilities have focused on verbal behavioral interventions that are function-based and teach the necessary skills for children and adults to progress towards their values. The current set of studies show how two pervasive contemporary treatment approaches, behavioral skills training (BST) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), can be utilized with both clinical and non-clinical populations to decrease various topographies of maladaptive behavior, increase psychological flexibility as an alternative operant, and help participants move towards a valued life. Three of the studies detail the use of these approaches in large scale application in school settings, and the other provides a metric for on-going evaluation of psychological flexibility as a generalized operant.

Behavioral Skills Training (BST) has been used as an antecedent intervention to teach a range of skills, however little is known about the effects of BST paired with observational learning. Therefore, the current study used a concurrent multiple baseline design across classrooms to evaluate the effects of BST paired with observational learning on responses to aggression. Four students with emotional and behavioral disorders (age range = 8-18) were randomly selected as models (n=2) and classmates (n=2) across two classrooms. Classroom observations were conducted on the percent of intervals the selected students engaged in classroom aggression using a 5-s momentary- time sampling procedure. Before BST, selected students completed a verbal assessment, consisting of forced choice and open ended WH questions related to peer aggression. During training, the model was trained to ignore, walk away, and/or engage in a calming strategy when peers engage in aggression. BST sessions took place in front of the models classmates. Following BST, students completed the verbal assessment and classroom observations were conducted. Results identified increases in appropriate responding to peer aggression, and decreases in engagement in aggression. These results support the clinical utility of observational learning in groups, to assist with training appropriate classroom behavior.

Food selectivity is defined as consumption of a limited variety of foods (Schreck & Williams, 2006). Children with selective diets often consume foods that are high in fat and/or sodium (e.g., French fries) and/or low in nutritional content, which is of concern because poor dietary intake is associated with health, learning, and behavior problems. Children who are selective eaters and who consume these types of diets are at greater risk for developing severe health problems such as obesity, Type-2 diabetes, chronic constipation, and hypertension (Freedman, Dietz, Srinivasan, & Berenson, 1999; Ludwig et al., 1999). Given the negative consequences associated with food selectivity, validation and dissemination of effective treatments is critically important. This symposium includes two data-based presentations from different programs.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display food selectivity (consumption of a limited variety of foods; Schreck, Williams, & Smith, 2004). Treatments for pediatric feeding disorders based on applied behavior-analytic (ABA) research have the most empirical support (Volkert & Piazza, 2012). To our knowledge, no empirical evidence supports the use of an alternative treatment approach, Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS), despite its wide use. In the current study, we modified the SOS procedure to evaluate it scientifically as a treatment for food selectivity in two children with ASD using a multiple baseline across foods design. When acceptance of target foods did not increase during SOS, we implemented the ABA treatment and observed high levels of acceptance. Additionally, once we implemented ABA treatment with the first food, both children began accepting bites of the other two foods that were not in treatment (i.e., generalization). For one participant, generalization did not occur during an additional assessment with three foods that were never exposed to SOS. The findings of the current study suggest that although SOS in isolation was not effective, implementation of SOS prior to an ABA treatment produced more robust effects.

In clinical settings, absent an intensive feeding program, high rates of problem behavior can deter parents and clinicians from successfully implementing food acceptance protocols. After initial ineffective attempts to increase acceptance using escape extinction and shaping with one participant, the experimenter implemented a hierarchical presentation of steps along with shaping, chaining, and modeling. Results showed an increase in food acceptance and decrease in problem behavior. Due to rapid food acceptance in the 9 step hierarchy, the total number of required steps was reduced to 3. A multiple probe design across foods with terminal baseline probes throughout was used to determine if additional shaping steps were needed. In one day, both participants met the response requirements for each novel food within the reduced 3 step hierarchy with negligible rates of problem behaviors. This procedure is a viable alternative to parents and clinicians that want to obviate side effects of using escape extinction.

Perspective-taking is a complex repertoire of behavior that is crucial to nearly all areas of human functioning that involve social interactions, be they at school, home, work, or play. Unfortunately, many children with autism have difficulties with perspective taking skills, even when they have age-appropriate verbal and intellectual functioning. This symposium brings together three presentations on teaching various aspects of perspective taking to children with autism. The first presentation, by Rocio, consists of a behavioral conceptual analysis of humor and how it might be taught to children with autism. The second presentation, by Dr. Adel Najdowski, consists of a study that taught children with autism to identify and respond to the preferences of peers during play. The third presentation, by Smita Mehta, consists of a study on a computerized program for teaching perspective taking skills.

Understanding and using humor are critical components of many social interactions and have been shown to be deficit for many individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The vast majority of research on humor has come from developmental psychology and describes the various levels and stages of humor that are typically observed throughout childhood and adolescence. This paper will discuss a behavior analytic interpretation of humor, utilizing the stages and types of humor described in the developmental psychology literature, with a Relational Frame Theory approach to non-literal language. In addition, we will suggest some intervention strategies and implications that this may have to remedy these deficits in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Deficiency in social interaction is characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD; DSM-5, APA, 2013), and in particular, children with ASD have been found to have difficulty with perspective-taking, including detecting what others are thinking, feeling, or wanting (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985). This study employed a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design to investigate the use of a multiple exemplar training package for teaching children with ASD to notice and respond appropriately to the preferences of others during play. The intervention was effective in teaching participants to: (a) identify what others like and dont like, (b) make offers to play with items that were demonstrated to be preferred by others, (c) and refrain from making offers to play with items that were demonstrated to be nonpreferred by others. Generalization to the preferences of untrained adults and peers was also observed.

Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show significant deficits in social interaction and communication, emotion recognition, and perspective taking. These deficits are often exhibited as an inability to understand and process subtle social and emotional cues expressed through facial expression, voice intonation, and context cues (i.e., deficit in Theory of Mind). One intervention gaining increased attention for teaching Theory of Mind (ToM) to children with ASD is the use of computer assisted instruction (CAI). This study evaluated the effect of CAI on ToM skills of four children (5-12 years) with high functioning autism. A software program was developed using 22 line-drawn scenarios from the mind-reading curriculum by Howlin et al. (1999), where characters were portrayed without facial expressions. Using a single-subject multiple baseline design across participants, the CAI software was delivered to participants to teach them to identify emotions of characters based on situational cues alone. Results showed that all participants correctly identified emotions of characters during intervention. Additionally, learned behavior generalized to untrained social situations at home involving family members. The magnitude of effect was also large for all participants. Implications of the study will be discussed with regards to strategies for bridging the research-to-practice gap.

From dawn to dusk, psychology affects every aspect of our lives. For example, success in educational settings, at the workplace, on the athletic field, and at home is influenced dramatically by interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. Are teachers facilitating motivation and learning among their students? Do supervisors empower workers to go beyond the call of duty to achieve organizational goals? Do coaches bring the best out of their players by enhancing self-motivation and cultivating interdependent teamwork? Do parents discipline their children so undesirable behaviors are not only eliminated but desirable behaviors and attitudes are promoted? This presentation will offer research-based principles and techniques teachers, coaches, supervisors, parents, and healthcare workers can use to instruct and inspire others to perform at optimum levels of effectiveness. Within this context, the vision of an Actively Caring for People Movement will be introduced � large-scale applications of behavioral science and leadership principles to cultivate cultures of compassion worldwide and thereby prevent interpersonal conflict, bullying and violence.

Licensed Psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

We report two papers related to the establishment of social reinforcers, including peer observation and awareness, observational learning of conditioned reinforcers, observational performance, and the acquisition of new operants as a function of observation for preschoolers with language delays through two different social learning interventions. The first paper tested the relation between peer awareness responses and observational learning repertoires, indicating that peer awareness was a prerequisite for acquisition of new operants or new reinforcers through observation. In a second experiment, a peer-yoked contingency was used to establish observational learning repertoires. In the second paper, a peer observational procedure used to establish neutral stimuli as reinforcers functioned to increase peer awareness in free-play settings and audience-appropriate responses in social settings.

For decades, there has been research about how humans learn through observation, however there has been little research on the prerequisites for observational learning. We conducted 2 experiments to determine the relation between peer observing responses and observational learning. In Experiment 1 we selected 21 preschool-aged participants with and without developmental disabilities and screened the participants for a) peer observing responses; b) observational performance; c) observational acquisition; and d) conditioned reinforcement through observation. The data were analyzed through a Pearson correlation. The results of the experimental comparison indicated statistical significance between peer observing responses and observational performance, peer observing responses and conditioned reinforcement through observation, observational performance and conditioned reinforcement through observation, and observational performance and observational acquisition. The correlational data suggested that the peer observing responses are likely prerequisites for observational learning. In Experiment 2, we tested the effects of a peer-yoked contingency game board intervention on the emergence of observational learning. The results of Experiment II demonstrated that only the participants with the peer observing responses in repertoire had the prerequisites to acquire observational learning from the observational intervention. Additionally, the results verified that the peer observing responses cusp is a prerequisite for observational learning, as well as the peer-yoked contingency game board observational intervention.

We tested the effects of an observational intervention on peer awareness and socially appropriate responses to peers in four preschool children with developmental disabilities. The participants ranged in age from 3-5 years and were selected from a preschool program that implemented a behavior analytic approach to all instruction. The children were selected to participate because they displayed little to no awareness of their peers during free play and social settings. All participants had fluent listener and speaker repertoires and emitted mands, tacts, and sequelics with adults. A series of probes were designed to test the presence of peer awareness as well as appropriate social interactions with peers. These probes were conducted across different settings, and using different peer contingencies. Pre-intervention probes showed that all participants emitted low observing responses to their peers in free play settings, and did not initiate or reciprocate peer interactions across different social settings. The independent variable was an observational intervention. The dependent variables were peer observing responses and audience appropriate responses in social settings. Post-intervention data suggest that the observational intervention increased peer observing responses in free play settings as well as audience appropriate responses in social settings in two of the participants.

Baron and Perone (1982) attributed what they described as a "paucity of laboratory research on human operant behavior" to several misconceptions about constraints on experimental research with humans. The intervening decades have seen great expansion of the number and variety of publications reporting experimental analysis of human behavior. Has human operant-conditioning research acquired the technical depth and topical breadth to address Baron and Perone's concerns? Through two empirical presentations, this symposium will provide a snapshot of contemporary laboratory human operant conditioning research. In two talks, speakers will present schedule-based work testing the generality of basic behavioral principles as they have been applied to experimental analysis of delay discounting and interval timing. Vanderveldt and Green will discuss the magnitude effect in delay discounting, a robust effect in nonhuman research that has been more elusive in human subjects. Subramaniam and Kyonka will present results of peak-interval experiments with humans in which screen color-interval correlations differed across conditions. Discussant Michael Perone will present his opinion of the quantity and quality of experimental human operant research today.

The peak-interval (PI) procedure is a well-established and widely used way of researching interval timing in laboratory animals, but has been used much less with human subjects. In a version introduced by Guilhardi and colleagues (2010), a target moved across a computer monitor at several velocities and participants fired shots at the center of the screen. The target was masked during 12-s PI trials. The distribution of shots was similar to PI response gradients from nonhumans. We used this PI procedure to isolate the relation between timing and misinformation. The correlation between screen color and interval duration (i.e., time to point availability) varied across conditions in Experiment 1 and groups in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 resulted in order effects that were prevented using a group design. When screen color was perfectly correlated with interval duration, PI distributions peaked at the target times. At intermediate correlations, differences between distributions from different screen colors were smaller, and when the correlation was 0, distributions converged. Color-interval correlation affected response strategy by altering the stimulus control. Regard for strong, experimentally imposed contingencies above face validity can overcome difficulty with complex human subjects in the operant laboratory.

The BACB specifies that supervision provided by BCBAs must be evidence based and include observations of supervisee performance. It is recommended, as outlined in the Supervisor Training Curriculum Outline, that supervision includes competency tests, assessments of skills, direct observation of, and review of written material of supervisees. However, even after going through the required 8-hour supervisor training, supervisors are still unclear on how to make supervision data-based. The current presentation will discuss how to break down the 4th edition Task List in ways that allows the BCBA to continuously assess skill acquisition in supervisees and requires the supervisee to show competency in each Task List item. Combinations of OBM-style approaches can be integrated into what is subsequently created, which should include behavioral skills training, direct observation and assessment of supervisee performance, along with immediate feedback. In doing so, the supervisee knows what is expected of them throughout supervision, the BCBA has a way to monitor skill acquisition of supervisees, and allows both supervisee and BCBA to know that the supervisee has shown competencies in all areas of the Task List.

Contingency is a fundamental concept in associative learning, but it has not been defined in such a way that it could be measured in most conditioning paradigms, particularly operant paradigms. A simple information-theoretic measure of contingency may be applied to most classical and operant associative learning paradigms. In applying it to assess the role of contingency in maintaining responding on variable interval schedules of reinforcement, we distinguish between prospective contingency—the extent to which one event (e.g., a response) predicts another (e.g., a reinforcement)—and retrospective contingency—the extent to which one event (e.g., a reinforcement) retrodicts another (e.g., a response). We find that the prospective contingency between response and reinforcement is un-measurably small, that is, the probability of reinforcement at any latency following a response does not differ from the probability of reinforcement following a randomly chosen moment in time. By contrast, the retrospective contingency is perfect. Degrading the retrospective contingency in two different ways, by delay of reinforcement or by partial non-contingent reinforcement, suggests that reinforcement is only effective when it falls within a critical time window, which implies that retrospective temporal pairing is critical, not retrospective contingency.

Licensed Psychologists, certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

Practical experience is a vital component of any behavior analytic training program. Practicing skills in supervised settings provides students with the opportunity to further develop their competencies and demonstrate that they have learned the technologies reviewed in their didactic courses. However, ensuring students are receiving quality practical training relevant to their needs while remaining in compliance with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) experience standards can be a challenge. During this event our panelists will describe their experiences coordinating practical training systems designed to meet the needs of their students and the standards set by the BACB. Topics reviewed will include, but are not limited to: diversity of training; site development; supervisor management, contact and oversight; assignments and grading; distance supervision; sequenced learning objectives; case management; training of trainers; record review/keeping; and international development. Faculty members directing practical training activities, students accumulating BACB experience hours, and supervisors overseeing their work should benefit from this discussion.

Dr. Nicolelis will describe how state-of-the-art research on brain-machine interfaces makes it possible for the brains of primates to interact directly and in a bi-directional way with mechanical, computational, and virtual devices without any interference of the body muscles or sensory organs. He will review a series of recent experiments using real-time computational models to investigate how ensembles of neurons encode motor information. These experiments have revealed that brain-machine interfaces can be used not only to study fundamental aspects of neural ensemble physiology, but they can also serve as an experimental paradigm aimed at testing the design of novel neuroprosthetic devices. Dr. Nicolelis will also describe evidence indicating that continuous operation of a closed-loop brain machine interface, which utilizes a robotic arm as its main actuator, can induce significant changes in the physiological properties of neural circuits in multiple motor and sensory cortical areas. This research raises the hypothesis that the properties of a robot arm, or other neurally controlled tools, can be assimilated by brain representations as if they were extensions of the subject's own body.

Board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.