Association for Behavior Analysis International

Under multiple fixed-ratio (FR) schedule arrangements, extended pausing may occur when an organism transitions from a rich context (e.g., large magnitude reinforcer) to a lean context (e.g., small magnitude reinforcer). In application, when the time to complete the ratio requirement is essential to positive clinical outcomes, pausing can be maladaptive. Children with pediatric feeding disorders often pause during transitions between preferred and less-preferred foods. Preliminary data by Luffman, Borrero, and Borrero (2015) demonstrated that an increase in other inappropriate behavior may coincide with pausing and that excessive pausing may drive meals to exceed clinically acceptable durations. In the current study, we replicated the procedures used by Luffman et al. to highlight problematic transitions during meals. Subsequently, a meal restructuring intervention was implemented in which the number of pause-inducing transitions during mealtime will be decreased. Results support the utility of restructuring meals to include less pause-inducing transitions during meals to produce orderly pause duration across transitions, reduce overall meal duration, and reduce other inappropriate mealtime behavior. To date, one individual has participated in this study.

A growing body of research has shown mindfulness-based interventions to be related to reduced stress, increased psychological flexibility, and increased job satisfaction in health care professionals. The current preliminary investigation sought to investigate and extend previous findings by examining the short-term effects of a mindfulness training in undergraduate psychology students. By replicating the procedures developed by Steven Hayes (2012) and Kabat-Zinn (1982), the study evaluated heart rate change in response to a brief mindfulness-based intervention. The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale were also used as pre and post measures to evaluate perceived changes in stress, mindful attention and psychological flexibility. The results found for some individuals, participation in the mindfulness intervention helped regulate emotions and heart rate. Findings suggest more frequent, but brief interventions incorporating mindful attention can be an effective means of managing stress. Results also warrant further investigation of physiological measures to evaluate mindfulness-based interventions.

Atypical gaze behaviour in response to a face has been well documented in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Eye movements are a uniquely promising target for studies investigating gaze behaviour and are measured, objectively, using eye-tracking technology. However, eye-tracking studies to date have been restrictive in the quality and scope of social stimuli used to assess gaze behaviour in children with ASD, often using static black and white faces or a coloured image of a face. The present eye-tracking study used an original compilation of static black and white, colour, 3D and anime faces when assessing the gaze behaviour of eleven participants with ASD and eleven Typically Developing (TD) controls. Additionally, an intervention was implemented in an attempt to teach participants with ASD and TD participants to increase their gaze behaviour towards faces using principles of behaviour analysis. Therefore, each time a participant looked at a face, this behaviour was immediately reinforced by showing a cartoon clip of their preferred choice. Results of this single-subject design showed that all but one TD participant and half of ASD participants gaze behaviour increased between baseline and re-test. Participants now fixated towards faces more quickly and dwelled on them for longer. For those participants who did not show an overall improvement in gaze behaviour between baseline and re-test, analyses during the training stage showed that they still responded to reinforcement by fixating towards faces with reduced latency despite this behaviour change not being maintained in the re-test stage. Results also found that 90% of participants with ASD fixated on anime faces the most compared to other face stimuli. These findings suggest that including a broader range of face stimuli allows a better understanding of what determines the gaze behaviour of children with ASD. Most importantly, these findings confirm that gaze behaviour of children with ASD can be improved using principles of behaviour analysis and hold promise in enhancing the quality of social interactions in their daily lives.

Headbanging is a self-injurious behavior clinically associated with developmental and personality disorders, as well as a variety of mental illnesses. Initial suggestions that such disturbing behavior might have been influenced by its consequences was met often with vigorous counter-arguments; clinical observers often denied any social benefits that might have maintained such self-injury. Nevertheless, a number of successful interventions have been devised on the basis of functional analyses revealing some self-injurious behavior as producing important reinforcing consequences for individuals engaging in it. The present study systematically replicates the initial findings of Layng, Andronis, & Goldiamond (1997), and Hahn & Andronis (2010), and extends them to include a substantially different history of behavioral contingencies, potentially strengthening the heuristic value of this animal model for the study of self-injurious behavior. The animals were trained to bang their heads without ever having had their headbangs reinforced by food, only by presentation of lights associated with inception of a VT schedule of food deliveries.

Timeout from positive reinforcement is a component of common behavioral interventions in homes, schools, and clinical settings. Our research explores the aversive function of timeout and adds to previous research by incorporating some experimental controls. Rats lever pressing was maintained by a variable-interval 30-s schedule of food reinforcement. On a variable-ratio 2 or 5 schedule, some presses were followed by a 30-s timeout during which the lever was retracted, a tone sounded, and the food schedule was suspended (extinction). To assess the effects of the stimulus events associated with the timeouts, a control condition replaced the timeouts with sham timeouts in which the lever was retracted, a tone sounded, and food was delivered according to a variable-time 30-s schedule. The timeouts reduced lever pressing rates relative to those under both the variable-interval baseline condition and the sham-timeout condition. To assess the effects of the overall reduction in reinforcement rate caused by the timeouts, another control condition currently underway removes the timeout schedule and yokes the food schedule to the interreinforcement intervals in the timeout condition. These outcomes will help to clarify the conditions under which timeout from positive reinforcement functions as an aversive event in a punishment paradigm.

Studies done in our laboratory using a discrete-trials procedure have shown that food accumulation by rats is an increasing function of lengthening delay of reinforcement. In our latest experiment a retractable lever was intruded periodically into the chamber for 20 s. Presses only programmed the delivery of an equal number of pellets after a wait period of either 0, 1, 4, 16 or 32 s, when the lever was intruded again. We found that the number of pellets (and responses) increased as the wait period was lengthened, suggesting that delay of reinforcement may result in increasing response gradients. The present investigation tried to replicate these results using a free-operant situation, with a lever constantly available. A mixed schedule alternated a 30 s food-procurement component with a wait component of either 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 s. For three rats each pressing during the procurement component programmed delivery of an equal number of food pellets after the wait component. For three different rats pressing during the procurement component resulted in the delivery of a single pellet after the wait period. We found an increasing response gradient for the food-accumulation condition and a decreasing gradient for the single pellet condition. Our findings suggest that the effects of reinforcement delay depend on reinforcement magnitude.

Several studies have investigated the relationship between spatial dimensions of responses and reinforcement schedules. For example, Kono (2015) investigated the spatial location of pigeons responses under a fixed-interval (FI) schedule. Results showed that the response location pattern had a clumpy distribution, and variability of response location increased as FI requirement. These results suggest the possibility that response location might be a useful index for analyzing performance during certain reinforcement schedules. The present study investigated pigeons response location during a variable-interval (VI) schedule. Two pigeons (MP1101 and MP1201) were exposed to VI 30s schedule. A circular response area (22.5 cm in diameter) was used so that pecking responses would be effective over a wide range. Results indicated that non-reinforced responses were distributed around the reinforced responses. Additionally, an L-function, which was calculated based on Ripleys K-function, revealed that the response location pattern had a clumpy distribution, as noted by the positive L(r) value. These results suggest that VI schedules produced the clumpy pattern as with FI schedules.

Newly hatched chicks emit their approach and/or following behavior towards artificial objects they first encountered. Skinner (1969) suggested that only chicks susceptibilities to contingencies of reinforcement were innate. His suggestion remains to be tested experimentally. The present study aimed at investigating whether newly hatched chicks approach responses to their imprinted stimulus could be reinforced by reduction in distance between them and the stimulus. Eight chicks were divided into two groups after hatching. Group AT (n=4) could approach to a stationary red cylinder and touch the stimulus during six experimental sessions. Group ANT (n=4) could approach the stimulus but could not touch the stimulus. After the sessions, all chicks were tested on their imprinting using both the stimulus and a novel green ball. Figure 1 shows the probability of approach response for each chick of both groups over the sessions. Most of them showed increasing tendencies of the response. From the results, the chicks approach responses could be reinforced by decrease in distance between them and the stimulus. The chicks whose approach responses were reinforced showed strong imprinting. From these results we conclude imprinting is a behavioral process established by contingencies of reinforcement for chicks approach responses to their imprinted stimulus.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two types of instructions -General vs. Accurrate- on the execution in the Tower of London task in children and adults. 20 children and 20 college students were assigned to one of two experimental groups. An 2X2 factorial design was used, defined according to the two types of instruction evaluated: general and accurate and; two populations, children and adults. As dependent variables were measured: a) the latency and, b) correct trials. The experiment consisted in one training session of 24 trials divided into three blocks of eight trials each one, and two test sessions, divided into two blocks of six trials the first one, and three blocks of four trials the second one. The data was analyzed in terms of: 1) a descriptive analysis based on mean and standard deviations from the correct tests and instructional latency condition and age group, and 2) an inferential analysis with the aim of: two types of data analysis were conducted assess potential data differences referrals. The adults had a higher average of correct trials [t = -2.85 (df = 18), p <.01] and latency [t = -2.70 (df = 18), p <.01], regardless of the type of instruction to which they were subjected, compared with children.

In this study, we analyzed the performance of college students writing abstracts of experimental papers with exposure to an implicit achievement criterion. Forty college students were asked to read an experimental paper, to select sentences from it, and to write an abstract for that paper. After that, they were exposed to a compendium of five abstracts of experimental papers (implicit achievement criterion) and were asked to repeat the task with another paper. One group of participants could read the compendium of abstracts only once, whereas another could review the compendium while drafting the abstract of the second paper. Participants allowed to review the compendium permanently showed the best performance in the number and order of the elements included in the abstract (objective, sample, task, results, etc.). The importance of further studies to identify the variables involved in drafting abstracts of experimental papers is discussed. Keywords: abstract, experimental papers, implicit achievement criteria, college students.

The present concern about questions on human impact on environment is related to the exacerbated consumption. Services and product consumption has become permanent and inevitable everyday. It's increasingly the amount of products that recycling materials are needed. But, the use of new technologies demand industrial investments, and so, more expensive products. So, nowadays, sustainable reinforcers have a higher prices to those non sustainable substitutes, and the technology lonely will not be the only way, unless the consumers are concerned about other parameters than price. In order to estimate the amount of money the consumers are disposed to pay for a sustainable parameter, 80 Brazilian participants were asked to inform how much they would pay for a long neck beer. The group with minimal instruction was confronted with the question the long neck beer costs R$8,00. It the bottle was refundable, in the case you give the bottle to have a beer, how much did you pay for the beer? For the group with full instructions, the experimenter previously showed an instruction that informed the environmental problems due to the time needed for the glass decomposition. The results showed that only five participants in the full instructions group responded to pay more money due to the bottle refunding, while the others responded they pay an amount smaller than R$8,00. The group data showed that the participants in the full instructions payed a significative higher amount for the beer than the minimal instructions participants. These results showed that in this case, the sustainable behavior was related to the individual monetary consequences instead the impact to the environment.