An experimental analysis of gender-biased verbal behavior and self-editing using an online chat analog.

The current study investigated the effects of female and male audiences on gender-biased verbal behavior and self-editing using an online chat environment analog. The chat analog allowed access to self-editing behaviors, which are frequently covert, thus providing additional information about verbal episodes. We examined whether the strength and the dimensions of verbal responses differentially varied across the female and male audience conditions using visual inspection and statistical analysis. Participants were 28 typically developing adults. Overt responses were recorded for interrupting, and both overt and covert responses were recorded for disagreeing, pressuring, and self-editing. Visual inspection revealed differentiated overt and covert disagreeing, pressuring, and interrupting for some participants, while statistical analysis using Fisher's exact test did not reveal significant differences in the dependent variables between audience's perceived gender and participants' gender. Differentiated responding between female and male audiences suggests that perceived gender can exert stimulus control over a speaker's behavior. Although we didn't observe consistent gender-biased responding for all the participants, our experimental evaluation functions as a proof-of-concept study that can encourage the use of this methodology to study complex social behavior.

Comparing mand training and other instructional methods to teach a foreign language.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of mand, tact, and native-to-foreign (NFI) and foreign-to-native (FNI) intraverbal training on the acquisition of a foreign language. We used a multiple-baseline design across participants with an embedded adapted alternating treatments design to compare the effects of mand training, tact training, NFI training, and FNI training on the acquisition rate of Chinese words in four typically developing adults. We also examined the emergence of untrained foreign language responses for each training condition. Data for 3 out of the 4 participants suggest that mand training was the most efficient training procedure with respect to acquisition rate. The greatest amount of emergent responding was observed for the mand and tact training conditions.

The effects of receptive and expressive instructional sequences on varied conditional discriminations.

Many Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) curricula recommend teaching receptive responding before targeting expressive responding (Leaf & McEachin, 1999; Lovaas, 2003). However, a small literature base suggests that teaching expressive responses first may be more efficient when teaching children with ASD and other developmental disabilities (Petursdottir & Carr, 2011). The present study employed an alternating treatments design to compare the effects of three instructional sequences to teach feature, function, and class to three children diagnosed with ASD: (a) receptive-expressive, (b) expressive-receptive, and (c) mixed. The results suggested that expressive-receptive was the most efficient training sequence for all three participants. Additionally, greater emergent responding was observed with the expressive-receptive training sequence.

An annotated bibliography of verbal behavior articles published outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior: 2016.

An annotated bibliography is provided that summarizes journal articles on verbal behavior published outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior in 2016, the primary journal for scholarship in this area. Thirty-seven such articles were identified and annotated as a resource for practitioners, researchers, and educators.

An Annotated Bibliography of Verbal Behavior Articles Published Outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior: 2015.

An annotated bibliography is provided that summarizes journal articles on verbal behavior published outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior in 2015, the primary journal for scholarship in this area. Thirty such articles were identified and annotated as a resource for practitioners, researchers, and educators.

An Annotated Bibliography of Verbal Behavior Scholarship Published Outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior: 2014.

This annotated bibliography summarizes journal articles on verbal behavior published outside of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, the primary journal for scholarship in this area. Seventeen such articles were published in 2014 and are annotated as a resource for practitioners, researchers, and educators.

The Effects of Multiple Exemplar Instruction on the Relation Between Listener and Intraverbal Categorization Repertoires.

We evaluated the effects of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) on the relation between listener and intraverbal categorization repertoires of six typically developing preschool-age children using a nonconcurrent multiple-probe design across participants. After failing to emit intraverbal categorization responses following listener categorization training, participants were exposed to MEI in the form of alternating response forms (listener and intraverbal) during categorization training with novel stimulus sets. For two participants for whom there was some evidence of emergent intraverbal responding, responding was variable. For the remaining four participants, 32 to 99 MEI trial blocks produced minimal improvement in responding or no emergent responding at all. The results are discussed in terms of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior and naming theory.

A Comparison of Feedback Provided In Vivo Versus an Online Platform on the Treatment Integrity of Staff Working with Children with Autism.

The number of BACB-accredited distance education programs is increasing, potentially bringing remote supervision into greater demand. Videoconferencing programs like Skype™ represent one avenue for remote supervision. The current study compares the effects of covert observations, in vivo observations, and observations using the Skype™ program on treatment integrity in three therapists working with children diagnosed with autism. The results show that the level of treatment integrity is comparable in both the in vivo and Skype™ conditions, both of which are superior to the covert observation condition.

Teaching "How?" mand-for-information frames to children with autism.

The current study extends the mand-for-information literature by examining a method to teach mand-for-information frames, targeting 2 frames for the "How?" mand ("How do I?" and "How many?"). Using separate behavior chains to target the 2 frames, we taught 3 children with autism to emit mands for information with 1 behavior chain and assessed generalization with the remaining behavior chains. Behavior chains that the participants were unable to perform independently and that produced a desirable outcome for the participant (e.g., tornado water) were used to contrive the relevant motivating operation. For all 3 participants, mands for information generalized across motivating operations and response topographies.

Mands for information generalize across establishing operations.

The current study extends the literature on teaching mands for information by assessing whether mands generalize across different establishing operations (EOs). Three children with autism were taught to perform multiple behavior chains, 3 of which included a common response (e.g., "Where is the spoon?") used for different purposes. An interrupted-behavior-chain procedure was used to contrive the EO for each mand. After teaching a mand for information under 1 EO, the remaining chains were interrupted to determine whether the mand had generalized to different EOs. For all participants, mands for information generalized across EOs. For 2 participants, a new mand-for-information topography emerged after training.

Recommendations for reporting independent variables in outcome studies of early and intensive behavioral intervention for autism.

Early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) has been established as an effective treatment for autism. However, the complexity and intensity of EIBI programs make it difficult to fully report all critical aspects of the independent variable. Consequently, scientific reports of EIBI outcomes have been criticized for providing less than comprehensive treatment descriptions. In an effort to address this problem, the present article provides a template to aid outcome researchers in (a) clearly reporting each participant's curricular targets and (b) describing critical aspects of treatment.

An evaluation of intraverbal training and listener training for teaching categorization skills.

The effects of vocal intraverbal training and listener training on the emergence of untrained categorization skills were evaluated. Five typically developing preschool children initially learned to name a number of previously unfamiliar visual stimuli. Each child then received one of two types of training. Intraverbal training involved reinforcing vocally emitted category names by the child in the presence of a spoken exemplar name. Listener training involved reinforcing the selection of visual stimuli by the child in the presence of a spoken category name. A multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of training on each child's intraverbal category naming and stimulus selection. Pre- and posttests were used to assess additional emergent relations. Four of 5 participants did not demonstrate the emergence of any untrained relations. The current findings suggest that additional research is needed to determine the optimal sequencing of conditions in programs designed to teach categorization skills.