the effects of implementing a classwide peer tutoring model on

Where Education and Behavioral Science Meet

Volume 4, Number 2 JEIBI 2007

Table of Contents Page 377: Editorial - Introduction to Volume 4.2 of The Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Interventions - R. Douglas Greer. Page 379: Child and Adult Social-Emotional Benefits of Response-Contingent Child Learning Opportunities - Carl J. Dunst, Melinda Raab. Carol M. Trivette, Cindy Parkey, Mary Gatens, Linda L. Wilson, Jennie French, Deborah W. Hamby Page: 392: The Effects of Daily Intensive Tact Instruction on the Emission of Pure Mands and Tacts in Non-Instructional Settings by Three Preschool Children with Developmental Delays - Jo Ann Pereira-Delgado & Mara Oblak Page 412: Generalized Selection-Based Auditory Matching and the Emergence of the Listener Component of Naming - Jeanne Marie Speckman Collins, Hye Suk Park, & R. Douglas Greer Page 430: The Effects of Observational Training on the Acquisition of Reinforcement for Listening - Tracy Reilly Lawson & Darcy Walsh. Page 453: The Effects of Peer-Yoked Contingencies on Observational Learning and the Collateral Emergence of Naming - Mindy Bunya Rothstein and Grant Gerard Gautreaux. Page 471: The Effects of Implementing a Classwide Peer Tutoring Model on Social Approvals and Disapprovals Emitted During Unstructured Free Time - Tracy Reilly-Lawson & Gabrielle Trapenberg Page 483: The Effects of Writer Immersion on Teaching the Function of Writing with Middle School Students - Yasmin J. Helou, Jasmine Lai & Victoria L. Sterkin. Page 500: Improving Treatment Outcomes for Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Young Children - Elizabeth P. McKenzie Page 511: Behavioral Parent-Training Approaches for the Treatment of Bedtime Noncompliance in Young Children - Camilo Ortiz & Lauren McCormick

Page 526: Book Review - The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to teach children with autism and related disorders by Mary Lynch Barbera with Tracy Rasmussen - Mary Jane Weiss.

PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT JEIBI VOLUME 4, NUMBER 2

Published: May, 2007 The Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention (JEIBI) is published quarterly by Joseph D. Cautilli. JEIBI is an online, electronic publication of general circulation to the scientific community. The materials, articles, and information provided on this website have been prepared by the staff of the JEIBI for informational purposes only. The information contained in this web site is not intended to create any kind of patient-therapist relationship or representation whatsoever.

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Editorial Board

Below is a list of the JEIBI Editorial Board Members Lead Editor: Joseph Cautilli, Ph.D., B.C.B.A.

Co-Lead Editor:

Douglas Greer, Ph.D.

Associate Editors:

Jan Handleman, Ph.D.

Gary Novack, Ph.D.

Editorial Review Board

Shelia Alber- Morgan, Ph.D. Deborah Haas, M.S.Ed. Lillian V. Pelios, Ph.D. John Banard Margaret Hancock, M.Ed. Kimberly Ray, Ph.D., BCBA Thomas Barnes, Ph.D. David Hessler, M.S. Miguel Roberts, Ph.D. John C. Borrero, Ph.D. Anne Holmes Denise Ross, Ph.D. Scott A. Braud, M.A., BCBA Per Holth, Ph.D. Tracy A. Ruff, M.Ed., BCBA Mappy Chavez-Brown, Ph.D. Amoy Hugh-Pennie, Ph.D. Bart M. Sevin, Ph.D., B.C.B.A Leslie R. Cohen, Ph.D. MaryLouise E. Kerwin, Ph.D., BCBA Stacey Shook, Ph.D. Michael Lamport Commons, Ph.D. Doleen – Day Keohane Latha Soorya, Ph.D. Anthony Cuvo, Ph.D. Anjelika Kosanic Paul Strand, Ph.D. Jennifer Dawson, Ph.D. Bonny LeGrice, Ph.D. Carole Van Camp, Ph.D. Jo Ann Perelra Delgado, Ph.D Ronald C. Martella, Ph.D. Renee K. Van Norman, Ph.D. Lara Delmolino, Ph.D. Eric Messick, M.A. Tim Vollmer, Ph.D.

Carl Dunst, Ph.D. Robert Montgomery, Ph.D. Mike Weinberg, Ph.D., BCBA Mark Eddy, Ph.D. Michael M. Mueller, Ph.D., BCBA Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D. Michael Fabrizo, M.A., BCBA Sang Seok Nam, Ph.D. Richard Weissman, Ph.D. Grant Gautreaux, Ph.D. Matthew Normand, Ph.D. Thomas Zane, Ph.D., BCBA Jacob Gewirtz, Ph.D. Robin Nuzzolo, Ph.D.

Per Holth, Ph.D. Martha Pelaez, Ph.D.

Mission Statement The mission of The Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention (JEIBI) is to

provide up to the moment information on critical issues and research in early intervention and intensive behavioral interventions. The journal perceives itself as being a primary source of information for those who work within the field of early childhood interventions and intensive interventions from a behavioral perspective. Topics will include issues, literature review, and research on successful interventions for children with various mental health, medical (pain, obesity, etc) or developmental disorders. In addition, articles and research conducted on organizational behavior management to facilitate program design and development of early intervention centers will also be accepted.

The Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention (JEIBI) envisions a world in which early intervention is no longer needed, but until that time, JEIBI plans to bring to practitioners the latest in empirically valid interventions.

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JEIBI Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention


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Thank you! The Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention Editorial Board

JEIBI VOLUME 4 – NUMBER 2

377

Introduction to Volume 4.2 of The Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention

R. Douglas Greer

This issue offers seven reports of experiments, two reviews of the literature, and a book review. The lead article by Dunst et al. provides our readers with two analyses of the “benefits of “response contingent child learning opportunities” for profoundly disabled participants and their parents. This is interesting and important work that places both children and their parents at the center of the stage. The research also suggests potential behavioral developmental analyses that might be done with typically developing children. Most of all the paper identifies what can and should be done with individuals with profound disabilities, but often is not done. Three of the research reports address contemporary topics in verbal behavior analysis. Each of these analyses incorporates the listener role and the intercept of the speaker and listener. The papers provide protocols that lead the induction of new verbal developmental capabilities, or cusps, that have been identified in recent research in verbal behavior (Greer & Ross, 2007). The intensive tact procedure (Pereira-Delgado and Oblak) replicates and extends findings of the effectiveness of this procedure in expanding non-instructional social verbal interactions by preschoolers with language delays and shows how to induce social verbal behavior without having to wait for incidental opportunities. Specifically, the protocol shows how to provide the prerequisites that allow children to be affected by contact with verbal opportunities when they could not be affected by those opportunities before the intervention. The intensive tact procedure builds generalized reinforcement effect for the emission of tacts. Tacts are the critical foundation for the unfolding of more advanced verbal capabilities and socialization (e.g., naming and conversational units). Until children have the naming capability and are fluent readers the only way that they can acquire tacts is through direct instruction. Once they have naming they can acquire tacts indirectly and that is the capability that Speckman-Collins, Park, and Greer address in the test of the effect of acquiring auditory matching on the listener component of naming. The auditory matching protocol described by Speckman-Collins et al. expands prior work where auditory matching led to either first instances of echoics or exact echoics. In their study, the authors found that the auditory matching protocol resulted in the listener half of naming in children with limited speaker repertoires. Naming was also found to be a collateral outcome of systematic training in observational learning in the Rothstein and Gautreaux paper. Helou, Lai, and Sterkin report new data on the effect of writer immersion on functional writing, particularly the editing aspect of functional writing. Editing is an expanded listener capability. Their work adds to the growing evidence of the utility of the findings from verbal behavior analysis for curriculum objective to reach effective writing to children and youth with and without disabilities. Three of the research reports involve the induction or expansion of observational learning repertories and the manner in which tutoring taps the benefits of observational learning for tutors. Observational contact with contingencies is a critical repertoire. It is a repertoire that is often deficit or missing in some students; however recent work shows how it can be induced or expanded. Research in behavior analysis is currently addressing observational learning with renewed vigor and the result of this work is both surprising and promising (Greer, Singer-Dudek, & Gautreaux, 2006). One of the more promising efforts is the treatment of observational learning as a dependent variable rather that the traditional treatment of it as an independent variable. For too long we have ignored the importance of analyses of how we learn from indirect contact with contingencies of instruction or social interaction and the relation of higher order classes to certain types of observational learning that is key to social behavior. The experiments on listener


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reinforcement and observational training reported in this issue (Reilly-Lawson & Walsh) is one example of the renewed interest in observational learning, and the evidence they report suggest relations between observing responses and the acquisition of verbal-developmental cusps that offer a new perspective on “theory of mind.” The classwide-peer tutoring article by Reilly Lawson and Trapenberg show relations between tutoring and social interactions also suggesting the critical role of listener reinforcement to social interactions. The Rothstein and Gautreaux article provides procedures for expanding observational learning repertoires; that is observational learning is the dependent variable and contingencies to evoke and expand the repertoire constitute the independent variable. In a very interesting outcome of the latter study, the authors found that naming accrued as a collateral outcome of their intervention. Both the observational and the verbal behavior studies point to the importance of the listener role, and other observing responses, to a more complete picture of verbal behavior and its development (Greer & Keohane, 2006) and a more rigorous science of social learning. All of these experiments provide tools that are needed for students with language or learning delays. In several cases, these studies provide interventions that allow students to move up the verbal developmental scale and provide them with the wherewithal to learn new educational objectives. More importantly they provide students with the means to learn by indirect contact with the contingencies of instruction. Additional research is needed to identify individual characteristics or instructional histories of children who are most likely to benefit, although the identification of relevant predictive learning histories is becoming clearer (Greer & Ross, 2007). The two reviews of the literature are informative in that they provide perspectives on existing evidence and how that evidence can provide better treatment options for problematic behavior. The article on oppositional defiant disorders in young children by McKenzie deals with a pervasive problem. Similarly, the parent training review on approaches to bedtime noncompliance by Ortiz and McCormick concerns a common problem that parents often encounter, a problem that often occurs as a function of initially inadequate parental instruction. Together these reviews provide good procedures, references for further reading, as well as suggestions for further research. Finally, the book review by Weiss introduces our readers to a new book for parents that disseminates procedures for expanding the basic speaker operants from the early worm in verbal behavior. The experimental reports and the reviews provide behavior analysts with important and useful ways to be more effective practitioners. The experiments identify ways to teach new operants and new ways to learn them. Moreover, the reports of the experimental analyses provide new and in some cases seminal findings for both the basic and applied sciences. The reviews spell out well-tested procedures for replacing poor performance with more effective performance.

References

Greer, R. D. & Keohane, D. D. (2005). The evolution of verbal behavior in young children. Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis, 1 (2), 111-141. Available at www.behavior-analyst-today.com

Greer, R. D., & Ross, D. E., (2007). Verbal behavior analysis: Developing and expanding complex

communication in children with severe language delays. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Greer, R. D., Singer-Dudek, J, & Gautreaux, G. (2006). Observational learning. International Journal of

Psychology, 41 (6), 486-489.


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Child and Adult Social--Emotional Benefits of Response-Contingent Child Learning Opportunities

Carl J. Dunst, Melinda Raab, Carol M. Trivette, Cindy Parkey, Mary Gatens, Linda L. Wilson,

Jennie French & Deborah W. Hamby

Abstract

Findings from two studies of 42 children with profound developmental delays (26 males and 15 females) using systematic and intense response-contingent learning opportunities interventions are reported. Response-contingent learning games were used to promote the participants’ use of behavior that either produced environmental consequences or elicited reinforcing stimuli. The focus of analysis was the social--emotional benefits of the learning opportunities on both the children and adults (parents and teachers). Results showed that child production of behavior producing reinforcing consequences was associated with heightened positive social--emotional benefits in both the children and adults. Keywords: Child learning, response-contingent reinforcement, social--emotional behavior, early intervention.

More than 100 years ago, Baldwin (1895) noted that infants who come to “know” that their behavior is the “cause” of environmental effects often demonstrate increased behavioral responding in other areas, most notably social and emotional behaviors such as smiling, laughter, and excitement. Piaget (1936/1952) made similar observations based on the detailed study of his own three infants. Both Haith (1972) and McCall (1972) noted that an infant’s ability to understand that he or she is the agent of an environmental consequence produces social--emotional behavior because cognitive achievement is pleasurable. Watson (1972) in his seminal paper Smiling, Cooing, and “The Game,” described the importance of contingency awareness and detection as determinants of both the likelihood and strength of the social--emotional concomitants of response-contingent learning (see also Watson, 2001). Most infants learn response-contingent behavior and develop contingency awareness (Watson, 1966) and contingency detection (Tarabulsy, Tessier, & Kappas, 1996) by 2 months of age. Infants and young children with disabilities often take longer to learn contingency behavior but appear to develop contingency awareness and detection in a manner much like infants without disabilities (see especially Dunst, Storck, Hutto, & Snyder, 2006; Hutto, 2003). The extent to and manner in which response-contingent learning is associated with positive child social--emotional behavior was the focus of a research synthesis completed by Dunst (2003) of studies of infants and young children with and without disabilities or delays. The synthesis included 30 studies of infants without disabilities or delays and 12 studies of infants and young children with disabilities or delays. The two sets of studies included 898 and 199 study participants respectively. Findings from the synthesis showed that response-contingent learning opportunities where the relationship between an operant behavior and its environmental consequences were clearly detectable increased the likelihood that the study participants displayed increased positive social--emotional behavior and decreased negative social--emotional responding. The patterns of relationships between contingency awareness and child social--emotional behavior were much the same for children with and without disabilities or delays, although the children with disabilities or delays generally displayed less positive social--emotional behavior compared to their typically developing counterparts. Notwithstanding these differences, the results of the synthesis taken together were consistent with contentions made by Tarabulsy et al. (1996) regarding the role contingency detection and awareness plays in social--emotional development.


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The studies described in this paper were both a replication and extension of previous studies of young children with disabilities or delays. Two studies--one with children with profound disabilities and delays and their parents and the other with children with profound disabilities and delays and their teachers--were conducted as part of a line of research and practice investigating the characteristics and consequences of providing young children with profound developmental delays and multiple disabilities systematic and intense response-contingent learning opportunities. The focus of analysis was the relationship between response-contingent child learning and both child and caregiver social--emotional behavior displayed during contingency learning games and during observations of the study participants while not playing the games. The conduct of the studies was guided by a conceptual framework (Raab & Dunst, 1997) that was the basis for hypothesizing both the immediate effects of response-contingent learning on child and caregiver behavior (termed first-order effects) and the extended benefits of the learning on child and caregiver behavior (termed second-order effects). The framework includes key formulations of an ecological paradigm and the characteristics of microsystems (Bronfenbrenner, 1993) that are the contexts for development-instigating experiences having behavioral effects on both the persons providing and provided learning opportunities. Operationally, the provision of response-contingent learning opportunities having behavior enhancing consequences was expected to have positive effects on a child afforded the learning opportunities and a caregiver who engages the child in the learning opportunities to the extent that the caregiver’s efforts produced expected positive child consequences (Goldberg, 1977). The hypothesized influences of child learning on child social--emotional behavior were based on theory and research demonstrating the fact that infant operant learning and the development of contingency awareness and detection is associated with concomitant positive behavior functioning (e.g., Colombo, 2001; Gergely & Watson, 1999; Rochat, 2001). The expected influences of child learning on caregiver behavior was based on theory and research showing that successful caregiver efforts to influence child learning strengthens caregiver confidence which is typically manifested in the form of behavioral enjoyment (e.g., Goldberg, 1977; Mowder, 2005; Skinner, 1985; Teti & Gelfand, 1991).

The influences of contingency learning on child social--emotional behavior during learning episodes constituted a replication of findings from previous studies (see Dunst, 2003). It was hypothesized that child contingency learning and the contingency awareness and detection associated with that learning would produce social--emotional behavior in a manner similar to that found in other studies of young children with disabilities or delays (e.g., Haskett & Hollar, 1978; O'Brien, Glenn, & Cunningham, 1994). The expectation that contingency learning would be related to child social--emotional behavior beyond the learning episodes was based on research demonstrating a relationship between contingency detection and other areas of child social--emotional functioning (Tarabulsy et al., 1996). The hypothesized relationship between response-contingent child learning and caregiver social--emotional behavior was based on observations made by Dunst and his colleagues (Dunst, Cushing, & Vance, 1985; Dunst & Lesko, 1988) of parents’ responses to seeing their children with profound delays and multiple disabilities display contingency behavior when afforded response-contingent learning opportunities. Dunst et al. (1985) noted, for example, that when parents “see their child for the first time manifest behavioral competencies…the parents often manifest a sense of pleasure and enjoyment in their child’s newly learned behavior” (p. 44). The pleasure and enjoyment that the caregivers displayed included both affective behavior (smiling and laughter) and positive comments about their children’s contingency capabilities. The caregiver social--emotional behavior displayed while a child was playing response-contingent learning games were considered first-order caregiver effects and the caregiver social--emotional behavior associated with child learning when a child was not playing contingency games were considered second-order caregiver effects.


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The children in both studies were engaged in contingency learning games designed specifically to increase operant responding (Williams, 2001). The learning games were characterized by behavior-based contingencies (Tarabulsy et al., 1996) when a child’s behavior either elicited a reinforcing consequence (e.g., swiping at a mobile producing movement and auditory feedback) or his or her behavior was reinforced by a caregiver (e.g., a parent tickling a child’s tummy each time he or she looked at the adult). In these types of learning games, the availability of a reinforcement or the production of an interesting consequence is dependent on the child’s actions and behavioral interactions. The behaviors that the children used to produce environmental effects or reinforcing consequences were ones that were in their behavioral repertoire but were not used as operants.

STUDY 1 Method

Participants The participants were 19 children (12 males and 7 females) and their mothers. The children were an average of 61 months of age (SD = 26) and had a mean developmental age of 4 months (SD = 2) as determined by the Griffiths (1970) Mental Development Scales. The children were all profoundly developmentally delayed as evidenced by Griffiths general quotients (GQ) of less than 20 (Mean = 9, SD = 5). None of the children demonstrated contingency awareness as determined by formal testing, behavioral observations, or parent report. Nearly all of the children (95%) had cerebral palsy and more than three quarters of the children (79%) had seizure disorders. Half of the children (53%) had some type of visual impairment. Sixteen of the children (84%) had two or more disabilities. The children’s parents were, on average, 30 years of age (SD = 6.31) and had completed an average of 12 years of formal schooling (SD = 2.02). The majority of the parents were married (68%) while the other participants were divorced (21%) or single (11%). Sixty (60) percent of the participating parents were not working outside of the home. Procedure The parents and research staff together identified the children’s behavioral capabilities, things the children seemed to enjoy, stimuli that maintained the children’s attention, any learning activities the parents used with their children, and the everyday routines that were the contexts of behavioral expression. This information, taken together, was used to construct a profile of each child’s behavioral strengths and the contexts of and conditions under which these behaviors were most often manifested. Parents were then asked to describe the behaviors they wanted their children to learn or use, and how their children’s behavioral strengths could be used to facilitate child learning. Research staff described the key characteristics of response-contingent learning and explained how children’s behavior that elicited interesting consequences or reinforcement increased child production of targeted (desired) behavior. This information was used by both the parents and research staff to develop contingency “learning games” that included the targeted (operant) behaviors and the reinforcers or interesting consequences that would be provided or made available contingent on child production of the behaviors. Procedures described by Dunst (1981), Dunst and Lesko (1988), and Lancioni (1980) were used as guidelines for developing the learning games. The learning games were implemented by the parents in their homes. Research staff visited the parents and their children every week or every other week to review progress, make changes in the


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learning games, and collect the data constituting the focus of analysis. The parents and their children were visited an average of 16 times (SD = 4.97). Measures

Child learning. The unit of analysis was the learning games played by the children and the percent of response-contingent game trials that resulted in a reinforcing or interesting consequence. The children played a total of 575 games (Mean = 30.26, SD = 12.11). The distribution of the percent of games producing reinforcing consequences was expectedly skewed because the interventions were specifically designed to increase the number of trials that resulted in positive behavior consequences. The learning data were therefore transformed to produce a more equal distribution of the percentages using the probit method for linearizing the data (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003).

Child and parent behavior codes. Child and parent social--emotional behavior was coded both during the learning games (first-order effects) and during observations of the study participants while the child was not producing operant behavior (second-order effects). The first-order child behavior codes included positive affect (smiling or laughter), positive vocalizations (cooing or babbling), and behavioral excitement (anticipatory responses or generalized body movements). These behaviors were coded for each learning game trial. Second-order child behavior codes also included positive child affect, positive vocalizations, and behavioral excitement. These behaviors were coded each time they were manifested following but not during child production of operant behavior. The first-order and second-order parent behavior codes included positive caregiver affect (smiling or laughter) in response to child contingency behavior and positive verbal descriptions of child contingency capabilities. Both the first-order and second-order caregiver behavior was coded as not occurring (0), occurring one time (1), or occurring more than once (2) during each game and nongame observation period respectively. Inter-rater Reliability Inter-rater reliability was determined for the learning game trials and both the child and parent social--emotional behavior. Reliability was calculated as the number of agreements divided by the number of agreements plus nonagreements multiplied by 100. The percent agreement was 95% for the learning game trials producing reinforcing consequences, 87% for the first-order child effects behavior, 98% for the second-order child effects behavior, 96% for the first-order caregiver effects behavior, and 90% for the second-order caregiver effects behavior. Method of Analysis

The independent variable was the percentage of game trials associated with reinforcing consequences. The percentages were grouped into 5 categories: 0-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, and 81-100 representing a continuum of response-contingent learning. The mean number of learning games in each percent category was 115 (SD = 7.82, Range = 106 to 127).

The extent to which child and parent social--emotional behavior was associated with differences in child response-contingent behavior was determined by four MANOVAs with the first and second order child and caregiver effects data as the dependent measures. The MANOVAs included univariate ANOVAs to determine if variations in response-contingent learning were associated with differences in the individual effects data. Both the MANOVAs and ANOVAs included tests for linear trends to ascertain if differences in the dependent measures were linearly related to differences in response-contingent learning. Cohen’s d effect sizes for the linear trends (Rosenthal & Rosnow, 1991) were used to assess the


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strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Results

Table 1 shows the findings from the four sets of analyses. The MANOVAs for both the child and caregiver first- and second-order effects data showed that variations in positive social--emotional behavior was associated with response-contingent child behavioral capabilities. In all cases, the larger the percent of game trials that produced reinforcing consequences, the more positive behavior the children and their parents manifested.

Child Effects The ANOVAs for the individual child effects measures showed, except for second-order child excitement, that heightened positive social--emotional behavior was associated with response-contingent child behavior. In each of the five analyses producing significant results, the larger the percent of game trials that produced reinforcing consequences, the more positive the child social--emotional behavior both during the child’s production of operant behavior (first-order effects) and during the observation period following production of the behavior (second-order effects). The nature of the relationship between child learning and the dependent measures however was not the same as evidenced by percent category x child behavior interactions for both the first-order, F(8, 1140) = 21.93, p < .0001, and second-order, F(8, 1140) = 5.15, p < .0001, child effects data and the differences in the effect sizes for the linear trends. The strength of the relationship was strongest between response-contingent behavior and child positive affect in the first-order effects analyses and strongest between response-contingent behavior and child


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vocalizations in the second-order effects analyses. Parent Effects Parent positive affect was associated with response-contingent child behavior both during the learning games (first-order effects) and during observations of the parents while not engaging their children in the learning games (second-order effects) as evidenced by both the linear trends and effect sizes. Second order parent positive comments about their children’s capabilities were also related to response-contingent child behavior. Significant percent category x parent behavior interactions for both the first-order, F(4, 541) = 8.96, p < .0001, and second-order, F(4, 541) = 3.15, p < .01, effects analyses indicated that the pattern of the relationship between child learning and the dependent measures were not the same. The strength of the relationship between child learning and caregiver positive affect was stronger than that between child learning and caregiver verbalizations in both analyses.

Discussion

Findings showed that the response-contingent learning demonstrated by children with multiple disabilities and profound delays was associated with social--emotional behavior during learning games in a manner much like that found in other studies (see Dunst, 2003) and that there were both extended child and caregiver social--emotional benefits associated with child contingency learning. The extended child and caregiver benefits are consistent with transactional theories of child development and the bidirectional influences of a caregiver on a child and the influences of a child on his or her caregivers (Anderson & Vietze, 1977; Sameroff, 1975; Sameroff & Chandler, 1975; Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003). Practically, the results showed that intentional efforts to provide young children with multiple disabilities and profound developmental delays systematic and intense response-contingent learning opportunities was related to child social--emotional behavior and that the children’s parents derived enjoyment and gratification from their efforts to influence and promote child learning. The extended benefits to both the children and their parents deserve comment for two reasons. First, the findings show that the benefits associated with child contingency learning are not limited to response-contingent episodes themselves but are manifested in ways consistent with conceptual models predicting the manner in which child and parent behavior and the different contexts of child learning are inter-related (e.g., Goldberg, 1977; Johnson & Martin, 1985). Second, to the best of our knowledge, the findings are the first of their kind demonstrating the fact that contingency learning opportunities, afforded children with multiple disabilities and profound delays, are associated with child and caregiver behavior in a manner consistent with the hypotheses set forth in the introduction. In summary, the results from the first study showed that the children’s learning was enhanced and that there were social--emotional child and parent benefits associated with child contingency learning. The purpose of the second study was to replicate the findings with caregivers other than the children’s parents to ascertain if the practices and benefits could be generalized.

STUDY 2

Method

Participants The participants were 22 children (14 males and 8 females) and 16 teachers. The children were an


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average of 56 months of age (SD = 27) and had a mean developmental age of 3 months (SD = 2) (Griffiths, 1970). All of the children were profoundly developmentally delayed as determined by their Griffiths (1970) general quotients (Mean = 8, SD = 8). None of the children demonstrated intentional or instrumental behaviors that indicated they had contingency awareness. Eighteen of the 22 children (82%) had cerebral palsy and 4 children (18%) had other diagnoses (e.g., Down syndrome). Nearly two thirds of the children (64%) had visual impairments and about half (45%) had seizure disorders. Two thirds of the children (68%) had two or more disabilities. The teachers all worked in center-based programs or preschool special education classrooms. The study participants had high school, bachelor or master degrees, and worked with young children with disabilities from less than one to more than 10 years. Twelve of the teachers implemented the interventions with one child, and four teachers implemented the interventions with either 2 or 3 children. Procedure The assessment and intervention procedures were identical to those in Study 1. The teachers and the research staff identified behavior that the children were capable of producing and developed learning games that promoted use of behavior as a means of producing or eliciting reinforcing consequences. The learning games were implemented by the teachers in their preschool classrooms or center-based programs. Research staff visited the teachers once a week or once every other week to review progress, modify or change the learning games, and to collect the data constituting the focus of analysis. The teachers and children were visited an average of 14 times (SD = 5.94). Measures Child learning. The children played a total of 467 learning games (Mean = 21.23, SD = 8.97). The percentage of game trials that resulted in a reinforcing or interesting consequence was the unit of analysis. The percentages were transformed to make them normally distributed in the same way that was done in Study 1. Child and teacher behavior codes. Both child and teacher social--emotional behaviors were coded during the learning games (first-order effects) and during observations of the study participants while the child was not producing operant behavior (second-order effects). The child social--emotional behavior codes included positive affect (smiling or laughter), positive vocalizations (cooing or babbling), and behavior excitement (anticipatory responses or generalized body movements). The first-order child social--emotional behavior was coded for each learning game trial and the second-order child social--emotional behavior was coded each time they were manifested following child production of operant behavior.

The teacher behavior codes included positive affect (smiling and laughter) and positive verbal descriptions of child contingency capabilities (recognition of child competence and teacher gratification in facilitating child competence). Each of the four behaviors were coded as not occurring (0), occurring one time (1), or occurring more than once (2) during the learning games and observation period respectively. The ratings for the behaviors in each code were summed to produce scores of teacher positive affect and teacher verbalizations which ranged from zero (0) to 4 for each measure. Inter-rater Reliability Inter-rater reliability was calculated in the same manner as Study 1. The percent agreement was 93% for the learning game trials, 98% for the first-order child effects behavior, 99% for the second-order


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child effects behavior, 87% for the first-order caregiver effects behavior, and 96% for the second-order caregiver effects behavior. Method of Analysis The independent variable was the percentage of game trials associated with reinforcing consequences organized in the same categories as was done in Study 1. The mean number of learning games included in each percent category was 93.40 (SD = 5.04, Range = 88 to 102). Both MANOVAs and ANOVAs were used to determine if response-contingent learning was associated with differences in the dependent measures. Tests for linear trends and Cohen's d effect sizes for the linear trends were used as the measures of the strength of the relationship between variables.

Results

Findings from the different sets of analyses produced significant results for both the four

MANOVAs and the 10 ANOVAs (Table 2). In every case, positive child and teacher social--emotional behavior was associated with response-contingent child behavior both during the learning games (first-order effects) and during observations of the children and their teachers when the children were not producing operant behavior (second-order effects). Child Effects The ANOVAs for both the first- and second-order child effects data indicated that heightened social--emotional behavior was related to response-contingent child behavior as evidenced by both the linear trends and effect sizes for these trends. The patterns of social--emotional responding were however not the same as determined by percent category x child behavior interactions for both the first-order, F(8, 924) = 9.58, p < .0001, and second-order, F(8, 924) = 7.11, p < .0001, effects data and the effect sizes for the linear trends. The strength of the relationship was strongest between response-contingent behavior and child positive affect in both the first-order and second-order effects analyses. Teacher Effects Both teacher positive affect and teacher positive verbalizations were associated with response-contingent child behavior both during the learning games (first-order effects) and while the teachers were not engaging the children in playing the games (second-order effects). The pattern of the relationship between child learning and teacher affective behavior and verbalizations was not the same in the first order analysis as determined by a percent category x teacher behavior interaction, F(4, 462) = 2.36, p < .05. The strength of the relationship between child learning and teacher positive affect was stronger than the relationship between child learning and teacher verbalizations.


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Discussion

Findings were very similar to those found in Study 1. The children’s response-contingent behavior was associated with child positive social--emotional responding during the learning games and when the children were not producing operant behavior. Response-contingent child learning was also associated with teacher positive social--emotional behavior while engaging the children in the learning games and during observations of the teachers while not engaging the children in the contingency games. The findings replicate those reported for Study 1 and add credence to the contention that the relationships between the study variables generalized across both caregivers (parents and teachers) and settings (children’s homes and classrooms).

GENERAL DISCUSSION

The fact that the caregivers in both studies were able to use response-contingent learning games to promote the children’s acquisition of contingency behavior was not unexpected since more than 30 of years of research has produced evidence demonstrating the fact that children with multiple disabilities and profound developmental delays are capable of operant learning (see Dunst, 2003; Dunst & Lesko, 1988; Dunst et al., 2006; Hutto, 2003). Likewise, the fact that contingency awareness and detection was associated with positive child social--emotional behavior was not unexpected because previous research indicates that children with and without disabilities and developmental delays manifest pleasure in response to their emerging understanding of the relationship between their behavior and its consequences (Dunst, 2003). Findings demonstrating a relationship between child contingency learning and extended


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child and caregiver benefits add to the knowledge base in terms of broader-based influences of child learning on both child and caregiver behavior (e.g., Gewirtz, 1991; Goldberg, 1977; Lamb & Sherrod, 1981). The assertion that intense response-contingent learning opportunities provided to children with multiple disabilities and profound developmental delays has both immediate and extended child and caregiver social--emotional benefits therefore seems warranted.

The benefits, however, were not the same depending on the social--emotional behavior measure and whether the outcome was a first- or second-order effects measure. In both sets of analyses (Tables 1 and 2), for example, child first-order positive affect was more strongly related to response-contingent child learning compared to the relationship between child first-order vocalizations and child learning. Similarly, caregiver first-order positive affect was more strongly related to response-contingent child learning compared to the relationship between caregiver first-order verbalizations and child learning. Findings of this sort help elucidate the particular influences contingency learning and detection are likely to have on both the children and their caregivers. Further inspection of the patterns of results yields yet additional insights. In both sets of analyses, second-order caregiver verbalizations were more strongly related to response-contingent child learning compared to the relationship between first-order caregiver verbalizations and child learning. These findings are best explained by the fact that when caregivers are engaging the children in the contingency games, they are more intent on ensuring child success and therefore verbalize less, whereas their reflections on the children’s and their own successes while not playing the games are occasion for positive comments about child learning. In conclusion, young children with multiple disabilities and profound developmental delays were found capable of learning response-contingent behavior and the learning was associated with positive social--emotional benefits among both the children and their caregivers. Findings taken together were consistent with the study hypotheses and are very much consistent with theoretical formulations posed by Colombo (2001), Rochat (2001), Tarabulsy et al. (1996), and Watson (2001). Practically, the results demonstrate that systematic and intense contingency interventions provided to young children with multiple disabilities and profound developmental delays have a host of immediate and extended positive benefits on both the children and their caregivers.

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Acknowledgement

The research reported in this paper was supported, in part, by funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Research to Practice Division (Grant #s G008730263 and H024B0015). The opinions expressed however are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education. Appreciation is extended to the parents and teachers who participated in the studies.

Author Contact Information: Carl J. Dunst, Ph.D. Research Scientist Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute 18A Regent Park Blvd. Asheville, North Carolina 28806 Phone: 828-255-0470 Email: [email protected]

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The Effects of Daily Intensive Tact Instruction on the Emission of Pure Mands and Tacts in Non-Instructional Settings by Three

Preschool Children with Developmental Delays Jo Ann Pereira Delgado & Mara Oblak

Abstract

We tested the effects of an intensive tact instruction procedure on the emission of verbal operants in non-instructional settings by three preschool students with developmental delays. The participants were selected because they emitted low numbers pure verbal operants in non-instructional settings throughout the school day. Specifically, we measured the number of pure mands and tacts emitted during probes in the non-instructional settings. During the intensive tact procedure, the participants received an additional 100 tacts above their average number of daily learn units. In a delayed multiple probe design, we found that the intensive tact instruction was effective in increasing the number of pure mands and tacts emitted in the non-instructional settings by all three of the participants in the study.

Keywords: Tacts, Mands, Learn units.

The development of a fluent speaker repertoire is critical for young children with language delays. Students with a fluent speaker repertoire use an extensive vocabulary across settings and overtime, extrapolate new vocabulary based on existing vocabulary and are reinforced naturally by communicative behavior (Hart & Risley, 1996). Furthermore, students who function as “speakers” can govern consequences in the presence of “listeners” in their environment by using another individual to mediate the contingencies (Greer, 2002). Deficits in the development of a speaker repertoire may be attributed to native or environmental factors. The latter was demonstrated by Hart & Risley (1995) who found a correlation between SES and vocabulary growth, where 3 year-old children from families categorized as low SES had acquired approximately half the vocabulary compared with children from higher SES or professional families. These findings were attributed to overall language interactions between parents and their children, in which parents of high SES used a vocabulary of over 2000 different words versus 1000 words used by parents of low SES. Additionally, the low SES children experienced infrequent opportunities for interactions, which placed these children at risk for failure in future language-learning opportunities.

Students that present with deficits in their speaker repertoire often receive intense behavioral interventions that provide opportunities for compensation. This instruction involves teaching the vocal operants-- mands and tacts. According to Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior (1957), mands and tacts are two of the functional relations in terms of their controlling antecedent and consequent events. Children typically learn tacts through direct instruction, naming or via observation if the student has an observational learning repertoire. The term “tact,” is derived from “contact” with one’s own environment, and can represent aspects of an individuals’ environment across all five senses: taste, smell, sound, touch and sight (Greer & Ross, 2006). More specifically, a tact is a vocal verbal operant that is under non-verbal control and is reinforced by a generalized reinforcer (Skinner, 1957; Becker, 1989). In this case a generalized reinforcer would be the attention of another person. For example, a child may emit the tact car with a vocal response “car” in the presence of an actual car and the child’s mother may respond “that is a red car.” In this case the mother’s response functioned to reinforce the child’s initial tact. This then increases the likelihood that the child would emit further tacts in the future.


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Skinner (1957) differentiated between two different types of tacts; pure and intraverbal tacts, where an intraverbal or impure tact occurs under multiple controlling antecedents, which are both verbal and physical. At times during direct instruction students are required to emit impure tacts where the teacher points to a stimulus and as part of the antecedent and may ask “What is it?” Typically, children are learning the form and the correspondence between the stimulus and the word during instruction under the antecedent control of both a verbal stimulus and a nonverbal stimulus. A pure tact, however, is a tact that occurs under the control of a physical stimulus, but not under verbal stimulus control and occurs under natural motivational conditions. Greer & Ross (2007) state, “It is reinforced by attention or other forms of generalized reinforcement, such as the opportunity to mand.” (475). A child may emit the pure tact “apple”, if they are walking in a grocery store and see a stimulus whose properties are round and red. In this case example, the child here has learned the form under relevant conditions and does not rely solely on the vocal antecedent of a teacher to evoke a functional response. Furthermore, the consequence for emitting the tact may be adult attention that may consist of a conversational response (i.e. “I love apples, don’t you?”) or the delivery of the specified item, which would constitute an impure mand.

The tact repertoire is critical for the advancement of a fluent speaker repertoire in children with developmental delays. More recent research on developmental capabilities identifies the presence of the tact repertoire as key component to developing other speaker and listener capabilities, and eventually joining those capabilities together (Greer & Ross, 2007). Those higher order capabilities are naming, observational learning of tacts, textual responding, and recruitment of tacts using “Wh” (Greer & Ross, 2006; Lowe, Horne, Harris & Handle, 2002; Greer, Stolfi, Chavez-Brown & Rivera-Valdes, 2005).

Skinner (1957) defined a mand as a verbal operant in which the response is controlled by a condition of deprivation or aversive stimulation as a result of a history of reinforcement with a consequence specific to that condition. Unlike a tact response, which is controlled by a discriminative stimulus, a mand is controlled by an establishing or motivating operation (Laraway et al., 2003). Michael (1998) defined establishing operations (EOs) as events that momentarily alter the reinforcing effects of a stimulus. The form may be the same for a tact and mand, however the functional properties differ. The consequence for a mand results in delivery of the item itself whereas the consequence of a tact results in generalized reinforcement.

Skinner noted that mands and tacts develop independently from one another (Skinner, 1957). That is, if one learns to directly tact “Juice” in the presence of the discriminative stimulus (picture of juice), they may not emit the mand or “Juice” given relevant EO (cup of juice). Several applied studies have investigated the functional independence of mands and tacts in children with developmental disabilities (Nuzzolo & Greer, 2004; Twyman, 1996) and young children without developmental disabilities (Lamarre & Holland, 1985; Petursdottir, Carr & Michael, 2005). Research has shown that multiple exemplar experiences, in which mand a tact responses were rotated across the separate establishing operations for the mand and tact resulted in the acquisition of untaught verbal functions (Greer, Nirgudkar, & Park, 2003; Nuzzolo & Greer, 2004; Petursdottir, Carr, & Michael, 2005).

There has been a plethora of research on successful procedures and tactics that increase early speaker behavior. Procedures such as stimulus-stimulus pairing (Sundberg, Michael, Partington, & Sundberg, 1996; Yoon & Bennett, 2000) and presenting a series of rapid motor imitations (Ross & Greer, 2003; Tsiouri & Greer, 2003) have functioned to advance students from a pre-speaker to an emergent speaker level of verbal behavior. Some research on first instances of speech has emphasized teaching students form or production of words by teaching students to match different sounds (i.e. “c-a-t”) (Chavez-Brown, 2005). However, there have been few findings on procedures that increase the function or the emission of learned vocabulary in the environment.

In some cases, even when students received intense behavioral intervention such as the echoic to

tact or mand teaching procedures (Partington & Sundberg, 1998; Williams & Greer, 1993) in effort to


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compensate from limited language interactions, children may emit few verbal operants in their environment. One explanation among behavior analysts is that these students are indeed under control of vocal verbal antecedents, perhaps due to their instructional history versus generalized reinforcement such as adult attention or praise (Partington, Sundberg, Newhouse, & Spengler, 1994; Greer & Ross, 2006).

Some research has focused on setting up the appropriate establishing operations (Eos) to evoke independent language (Michael, 1988). Schwartz (1994) compared 3 types of EOs (incidental, brief deprivation and interrupted chains) for teaching mands and found that each EO was successful in acquisition, generalization and maintenance of pure mands. Ross, Nuzzolo, Stolfi & Natarelli (1995) tested the effects of a speaker emersion procedure on independent tacts and mands for students who had limited mand and tact repertoires. The speaker emersion procedure used an intense number of EOs where students were required to mand for specific items and activities throughout the school day. The authors found an increase in independent (pure) mands and tacts by the participants in non-instructional settings following the speaker immersion procedure.

Recently, Schauffler and Greer (2006) tested the effects of intensive tact instruction on the acquisition of audience-accurate tacts and conversational units with middle school aged students diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders. The participants emitted a low number of audience appropriate tacts and conversational units. In this study, an audience accurate tact included the emission of a tact operant that corresponded with a stimulus within the environment that was appropriate for a school audience. A conversational unit is a verbal exchange where each individual functions as both a speaker and a listener (Skinner, 1957; Chu, 1998). The independent measure was the intensive tact instruction where students where taught an additional 100 tacts daily. These tacts included the use of autoclitics (i.e. “It’s a huge pine tree”). Specifically, an autoclitic is verbal behavior that functions to qualify, affirm, negate, specify, or in some way modify the effect of the speaker’s behavior on the listener or audience (Skinner, 1957). The results of the study found that after the daily intensive tact procedure, both participants emitted a higher numbers of accurate tacts and conversational units.

Pistoljevic and Greer (2006) found similar results in the emission of pure tacts and mands in non-instructional settings (lunch, recess, and play area) by preschool students with developmental delays. The daily intensive tact protocol required the students to learn an additional 100 tacts daily using learn units. A learn unit is a 3 term contingency for the student and 2 or more three term contingencies for the teacher (Greer, 2002; Albers & Greer, 1991). Responses to the learn unit presentation from a teacher results in a response from the student. The student’s response then occasions reinforcement or a correction operation by the teacher. In a multiple probe design, the results demonstrated an overall increase in the number of pure mands and tacts emitted during non-instructional time (hallway, lunch and toy area) following mastery of each set of tacts.

The purpose of the present study was to test the effects of the intensive tact protocol across three participants with developmental delays who emitted low levels of vocal verbal behavior throughout the school day. More specifically, will our findings replicate those found by Pistoljevic & Greer (2006) where there were increases in pure mands and tacts emitted by students with developmental delays?

Method

Participants

The participants in this study were 3 preschool students diagnosed with developmental delays. The participants all had acquired several tacts with autoclitics through instruction using learn units but still emitted few pure tacts throughout the school day. In addition, the participants had several generalized mands in their repertoire. More specifically, the participants were selected because they emitted low numbers verbal operants in non-instructional settings, such as the play area, hallway, and lunchtime.


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Participant A attended a classroom with a 10:3:1 student: teaching assistant: teacher ratio and was educated in a class for students with and without disabilities. Participant B and C attended a classroom with a 6:2:1 student: teaching assistant: teacher ratio. See Table 1 for a complete description of the participants including a list of present verbal capabilities.

Table 1. Participant A, B, and C’s Gender, Level of Verbal Behavior, Present Capabilities, Current Objectives and Standardized Test Scores

Participant & Gender

Level of Verbal Behavior

Present Capabilities Some Current Programs

Preschool Language Scale- 4 Test Scores

A Male

Listener Speaker Early Reader Beginner Writer

Conditioned reinforcement for listening to voices, Sensory matching, capacity for sameness across senses, listener literacy, parroting, echoic to mand and tact, independent mands and tacts with autoclitics, generalized matching

Print transcription, conditioned reinforcement of book for the observing response, textually responding to numbers

Auditory Comprehension: Standard Score (SS) = 59 Age equivalent (AE) = 2.4; Expressive Communication: SS= 62 AE = 2.7 Total Age Equivalent= 2.5; Percentile rank = 1%

B

Female

Listener Beginner Speaker Beginning Reader Early Writer

Conditioned reinforcement for listening to voices, auditory matching, listener literacy, parroting, echoic to mand, echoic to tact, independent mands and tacts with autoclitics, generalized matching

Conditioned reinforcement for the observing of books, print transcription, textual responding to numbers, and Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) with lowercase letters

Auditory Comprehension: SS = 63 AE = 2.7 Expressive Communication: SS = 57 AE = 2.4; Total Age Equivalent = 2.5; Percentile Rank = 1%

C

Male

Listener Beginner Speaker, Pre-Reader Pre-Writer

Conditioned reinforcement for listening to voices, auditory matching, listener literacy, parroting, echoic to mand, echoic to tact, independent mands and tacts with autoclitics, generalized matching

Conditioned reinforcement for books through observation, print transcription, and conditioning blocks

Auditory Comprehension: SS= 52 AE = 2.2 Expressive Communication: SS = 59 AE = 2.8 Total Age Equivalent = 2.3 Percentile Rank = 1%


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Setting

The participants attended a private, publicly funded pre-school that serviced children with and without developmental delays. The school was located outside of a large metropolitan area and employs the Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®). There were four classrooms in the school that vary in terms of the students levels of verbal behavior (pre-listeners/speakers through speakers and emerging self-editors) and ratio of students to teachers (10:1:3; 7:1:7; 6:1:3 & 7:1:4). The students were assessed according to the Pre-School Inventories of Repertoires as well as the Verbal Capabilities (Greer & McCorkle, 2003; Greer & Ross, 2007). Programs and Protocols were selected from these assessments in order to move students to higher developmental levels.

This study took place in various locations at the school. The probe sessions were conducted upon arrival and departure to and from school, during lunchtime, and in the free-play area. Tact instruction took place in the hallway, the free-play area, and in various other places in classroom (i.e. small table near the play area, computer area, by teacher’s desk and at the lunch table). Instruction on tacts did not take place in the typical setting where instruction would normally take place (at the students' assigned table).

Dependent Variable

The target behaviors in this study were pure tacts and pure mands emitted during non-instructional time. Pure tacts were defined as vocal verbal operants that were under the control of non-verbal antecedents and reinforced by generalized reinforcement. An example of a pure tact included the student was walking out of the school toward the bus and emitted the tact “the bus”. Some pure tacts emitted in this study included, “it’s a cow”, “it’s stuck” (referring to zipper on a backpack), “He’s crying”. Pure mands were defined as verbal operants that were under the control of non-verbal antecedents and in which the response is reinforced by a characteristic consequence (the specified item). In this case, a pure mand would constitute a child emitting the mand “open the door” in the presence of a closed door. Some pure mands emitted in this study included, “I want the play area”, “help”, & “what about me?” The consequence for the mand was the teacher delivering the item or activity. The delivery of the item (in the case of the mand) or teacher attention (in the case of the tact) functioned as reinforcement for the student, which would increase the likelihood that the student would emit pure mands and tacts in the future.

Intensive Tact Instruction

The independent variable in this study was the daily intensive tact instruction protocol. This procedure required each participant to receive the same number of learn units as in baseline for all other academic programs. Participants received 100 additional learn units daily of tacts while the amount of other instruction remained constant. This was calculated by determining an average number of learn units presented to the participant prior to the start of intensive tact instruction.

Learn unit instruction for all sets of stimuli were conducted in non-instructional settings. Five sets of two-dimensional stimuli printed on 3 by 5 index cards were used. Each set consisted of 5 categories with multiple exemplars of 4 novel stimuli. Table 2, 3 and 4 shows the sets of stimuli for each participant that were selected from the Preschool Inventory of Repertoires for Kindergarten (PIRK®), (Greer & McCorkle, 2003); 1) Community Helpers, 2) Transportation, 3) Fruits, 4) Animals & 5) Instruments. The multiple exemplars of each stimulus varied across irrelevant dimensions such as color or size. The categories were consistent throughout all participants, however, the stimuli within each set varied to based on the participants prior instructional history. Each category was presented in isolation with 20-learn unit opportunities.


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Table 2. Set Stimuli Used for Participant A Set 1 Set 2 Set 3

Community Helpers Ballerina Photographer Fisherman Barber

Stewardess Computer Tech Cab Driver Hockey Player

Football Player Electrician Scientist Painter

Transportation Ambulance Motorboat Ferry Canoe

Scooter Wheelchair Crane Snowmobile

Buggy Sled Rocket Forklift

Animals

Platypus Ostrich Seahorse Buffalo

Squid Guinea pig Anteater Iguana

Coyote Leopard Mere cat Slug

Instruments

Harp Choir Drums Cello

Bongo Recorder Saxophone Tambourine

Fiddle Tuba Harmonica Banjo

Food

Sour Sap Toddy Palm Mangosteen Dragon Fruit

Taco Fortune Cookie Avacado Pear

Sushi Burrito Pomegranate Cauliflower

Table 5 depicts a learn unit presentation in this study. All antecedents were non-vocal presentations by the teacher. That is, the teacher provided opportunities for the students to emit pure tacts by holding up pictures of the stimuli, as part of the learn unit in the non-instructional settings. Thus, the teacher would bring the student to non-instructional areas, obtain the student’s attention and present the stimulus. A correct response was recorded if the student emitted the target word that had point-to-point correspondence with the stimuli presented. Additionally, autoclitics were required as part of the response, since the participants readily emitted autoclitics as part of their prior mand and tact instruction. For example, upon presentation of the stimulus “policeman” a response with autoclitics would be “It’s a policeman”. For all of the participants for a response to be recorded as correct, the participant was required to say, “It’s a _______”. Omission of the autoclitic was recorded as an incorrect response. The consequence for a correct response included the instructor delivering vocal praise, and/or tokens, which could be exchanged for back-up reinforcers. An incorrect response included the student emitting an incompatible or unclear response, as well as omitting the autoclitics. The consequence for an incorrect response resulted in the teacher representing the antecedent (holding up the stimulus) and requiring the student to repeat the correct answer. Mastery on a set of stimuli constituted the student responding at 90% accuracy for 2 consecutive sessions or 100% accuracy for 1 session.


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Table 3. Set Stimuli Used for Participant B Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Community Helpers

Stewardess Basketball player Rower Referee

Painter Ballerina Garbage Man Florist

Lifeguard Scientist Fisherman Baseball player

Delivery Man Captain Construction Worker Policeman

Veterinarian Musician Judge Astronaut

Transportation

Tricycle Crane Ferry Sled

Tractor Jet Ski Escalator Airplane

Bicycle Speedboat Dump Truck Helicopter

Elevator Roller Skates Skis Stroller

Snowboard Ambulance Submarine Fire Truck

Animals

Dragonfly Shark Alligator Squirrel

Penguin Ants Lizard Fox

Octopus Goal Guinea pig Dingo

Dolphin Ostrich Platypus Mountain Lion

Mongoose Sea Horse Cheetah Whale

Instruments

Tuba Harmonica Flute Cello

Violin Drums Saxophone Piano

Trombone Accordion Banjo Clarinet

Cymbal Gong Ganza Bagpipes

Timpani Bongos Tambourine Cow bell

Food

Salad Coffee Sushi Donut

Pasta Beans Bacon Waffle

Grapefruit Pie Potatoes Bagel

Lemon Onion Tomato Wheat

Flan Sundae Lasagna Radish

Table 4. Set Stimuli Used for Participant C Set 1 Set 2 Community Helpers

Taxi Driver Crossing Guard Surgeon Photographer

Flight Attendant Basketball Player Rower Referee

Transportation

Forklift Bulldozer Sailboat Motorcycle

Tricycle Ferry Sled Crane

Animals

Gerbil Starfish Bumble Bee Raccoon

Dragonfly Zebra Alligator Squirrel

Instruments

Harp

Flute


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Organ Guitar Xylophone

Cello Tuba Harmonica

Food

Cotton Candy Watermelon Cashews Asparagus

Salad Sushi Cucumber Pineapple

Table 5. Example of a Tact Learn Unit for Correct and Incorrect Student Responses Event Operant Correct Learn Unit 1) Attending Student Teacher Discriminative

Stimulus (Sd) 2) Teacher holds up picture of a cat Teacher Behavior Student Sd 3) Student responds “It’s a cat” Student Behavior Teacher Consequence Teacher Sd 4) Teacher provides consequence in the form Teacher Behavior of generalized reinforcement by saying “good” Student Consequence 5) Completion of the learn unit Teacher consequence _____________________________________________________________ Incorrect Learn Unit _____________________________________________________________ 1) Attending Student Teacher Sd 2) Teacher holds up picture of a cat Teacher Behavior Student Sd 3) Student responds “It’s a dog” Student Behavior Teacher Consequence Teacher Sd 4) Teacher provides consequence in the form Teacher Behavior of a correction procedure, by representing the Student consequence stimulus and having the student echo the correct Teacher Sd response “It’s a cat”. 5) Completion of the learn unit Teacher consequence__


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Data Collection

Pure Mand and Tact Probe Sessions: During probe sessions, data were collected on the frequency of pure tacts and mands using a pen, data collection sheet and clipboard by one or two observers. A timer was also used to ensure that each probe was exactly 5 min in length for each non-instructional setting; hallway, lunch, and free play area. The data were then added across settings and graphed as the total number of pure mands and tacts emitted across the cumulative 15 min period.

Intensive Tact Instruction: Data were collected during instructional sessions using a data collection sheet and pen. The learn unit was used, where the instructor recorded the number of correct and incorrect responses to 5 different categories of stimuli (Table 2, 3 and 4). Each category consisted of 4 stimuli and the student received 20 learn unit presentations per category. Data were recorded and graphed as the numbers of learn units correct and displayed on a 20 learn unit graph.

Procedure

During baseline and following mastery of each set of stimuli (post experimental probes), data were collected using an event recording on the frequency of pure tacts and mands emitted by each participant in each of the three non-instructional settings during 5 min observational sessions. Data were blocked daily into 15 min probe sessions (5 min for each setting). During the transition setting, a timer was set during arrival from when the student stepped off the bus through when the student entered the classroom. The timer was then restarted during the next transitional time to ensure that a full 5 min probe session was conducted during transitions. The timer was started and stopped after a full 5 consecutive min across both lunchtime and free play area. Data were collected at the lunch table when the student finished their lunch and began their snack and in the toy area when at least 1 other student was present.

During the intensive tact instruction, when the participant achieved mastery on one category of stimuli in a set, another category was presented twice throughout the day to insure the student received 100 tact learn units within a day. Thus, the instructor did not introduce another set of stimuli until the student acquired mastery on each category within a set. After mastery was met on all five categories, one day of post probes were conducted, and then instruction began on a new set of stimuli.

Interobserver Agreement

During the intensive tact instruction, interobserver agreement was conducted using the Teacher Performance Rate Accuracy (TPRA) observations (Ingham & Greer, 1992). All teachers that instructed the students during tact instruction had errorless TPRAs with 100% accuracy. During probe sessions, a second observer, who independently and simultaneously recorded the frequency of pure tacts and mands emitted during non-instructional time, conducted interobserver agreement. Interobserver agreement was calculated by dividing the total number of agreements by the total number of agreements and disagreements and multiplying that number by 100. Interobserver agreement was conducted for 35% of all sessions for Participant A with mean agreement of 100%. Interobserver agreement was conducted for 19% of the total sessions for Participant B and with a mean agreement of 98% and a range of 95-100%. Interobserver agreement was conducted for 30% of all sessions for Participant C with a mean agreement of 99% and a range of 95% to 100%. Procedural integrity was also measured by the TPRA observations and was 100% throughout.

Design

A delayed multiple probe design across participants was used for this study (Horner & Baer, 1978). Baseline probe sessions were conducted for each participant for three consecutive days prior to the start of the intensive tact instruction. Following mastery on a given set of stimuli during the intensive tact instruction, one post-probe session was conducted to measure the number of pure mands and tacts across non-instructional settings (15 min). The sequence of the study was as follows 1) Baseline Probe Sessions, 2) Instruction on Set 1, 3) Post probe sessions, 4) Instruction on Set 2 stimuli, 5) Post Probe


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sessions, 6) Instruction on Set 3, 7) Post probe sessions, 8) Instruction on Set 4, 9) Post probe sessions. Participant A completed 3 sets of tact instruction, Participant B completed 5 sets of tact instruction and Participant C completed 2 sets of tact instruction.

Results

A functional relationship was demonstrated in that the daily intensive tact training increased the number of verbal operants emitted in non-instructional settings across all three of the participants. Figure 1 shows the number of verbal operants emitted in the non-instructional setting. Figures 2, 3 and 4 show mastery on each set of stimuli during the intensive tact instruction for Participants A, B, and C respectively.

FIGURE 1, NEXT PAGE!


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Figure 1. The Number of Verbal Operants Emitted during Pre and Post Probes in Non-Instructional Settings for Participants A, B B, and C.


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Figure 2. Intensive Tact Training Graphs for Sets 1, 2, and 3 for Participant A.


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Figure 3. Intensive Tact Training Graphs for Sets 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for Participant B.


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Figure 4. Intensive Tact Training Graphs for Sets 1 and 2 for Participant C

As shown in Figure 1, during the three days of baseline probes in the non-instructional settings, Participant A emitted 5, 4, and 3 pure tacts (mean=4), and 4, 3, and 4 (mean=3.7) pure mands respectively. After mastery of Set 1 (Figure 2), Participant A emitted 9 pure tacts and 8 pure mands during post probes in non-instructional settings. Following mastery of set 2, Participant A emitted 18 pure tacts and 8 mands during the post probes in non-instructional settings. After mastery of Set 3,


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Participant A emitted 27 pure tacts and 3 mands during post-probes in non-instructional settings. The learn units to criterion for mastery of sets of stimuli decreased with each set (Table 6). Additionally, Participant A’s rate of tacts emitted during the post probes in non-instructional settings increased as the study progressed (Table 7).

Table 6. Learn Units to Criterion for Each Set of Stimuli for Participants A, B, and C Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5

Participant A 92 84 80 n/a n/a Participant B 116 108 168 160 136 Participant C 320 232 n/a n/a n/a Table 7. The Number of Tacts Emitted Per Minute During Pre and Post Probe Sessions in Non-Instructional Settings

Participant A Participant B Participant C Baseline Probe 1 .33 None .47 Baseline Probe 2 .26 .533 .27 Baseline Probe 3 .20 .06 None Post Set 1 Probe .6 .33 1.07 Post Set 2 Probe 1.2 .4 .4 Post Set 3 Probe 1.8 1.2 n/a Post Set 4 Probe n/a .67 n/a Post Set 5 Probe n/a 1.07 n/a

During the three days of baseline probes in non-instructional settings, Participant B emitted 0, 8, and 1 tacts (mean=3) and 0, 0, and 0 mands (mean = 0) in non-instructional settings, respectively (Figure 1). After mastery of Set 1 stimuli (Figure 3), Participant B emitted 5 tacts and 0 mands during the post probes in non-instructional settings. After mastery of Set 2 stimuli, Participant B emitted 6 tacts and 6 mands during the post probes in non-instructional settings. After mastery of Set 3 stimuli, Participant B emitted 18 tacts and 4 mands on post probes in non-instructional settings. After mastery of Set 4 stimuli, Participant B emitted 10 tacts and 8 mands on post probes in non-instructional settings. After mastery of Set 5 stimuli, Participant B emitted 16 tacts and 5 mands on post probes in non-instructional settings. The learn units to criterion for mastery of sets of stimuli decreased from Set 1 (116) to Set 2 (108), but there was an increase in the number of learn units required to master Sets 3, 4 and 5 (168, 160 and 136) (Table 6). Additionally, Participant B’s rate of tacts emitted during the post probes in non-instructional settings increased as the study progressed (Table 7).

During the three days of baseline probes in non-instructional settings, Participant C emitted 7, 4, and 0 tacts (mean=3.7) and 0, 1, and 1 mands (mean=.67) in non-instructional settings, respectively (Figure 1). After mastery of Set 1 stimuli (Figure 4), Participant C emitted 16 tacts and 4 mands on post probes in non-instructional settings. After mastery of set 2 stimuli, Participant C emitted 6 tacts and 7 mands on post probes in non-instructional settings. The learn units to criterion for mastery of sets of stimuli decreased with each set (Table 6). Additionally, Participant C’s rate of tacts emitted during the post probes in non-instructional settings increased as the study progressed (Table 7).

Discussion

This study was conducted to test the effects of the intensive tact procedure on the number of pure mands and tacts emitted during non-instructional time by students who emitted a low level of independent


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mands and tacts. These results paralleled the results found by Pistoljevic & Greer (2006), where a functional relationship was demonstrated between the intensive tact protocol and increases in independent verbal operants. All of the participants in the study emitted an overall increase in both the number and rate of pure mands and tacts in the non-instructional setting.

Limitations

One limitation in this study was methodological in that it was difficult to control for the number of learn units presented throughout the day. Some days, the sessions were slightly under the number of learn units required due to setting events (i.e. student picked up early from school). Also, as the study progressed, the students’ rate increased across instruction. Therefore, the students were meeting their required learn unit goal at a faster rate. Because of ethical issues, at times the instructors would deliver slightly over the required number of learn units. Overall, the mean numbers of learn units presented daily closely matched the baseline measure. A second limitation of this study was that Participant A received after school instruction that could not be controlled for. This of course increased the number of “daily” learn units that he was required to receive. However, tact instruction was not part of his after school program.

Another limitation of the study is that Participants A and C did not receive all of the sets of stimuli. This of course could account for the levels of tacts and mands emitted in the non-instructional setting following the intensive tact treatment. In addition, Participant C had high rates of stereotypy that could also have accounted for his lower levels of responding. During the study a planned ignoring procedure was put in place as a tactic decrease his stereotypy and increase correct responses to tacts (Figure 4), which was interfering with his acquisition on sets of tacts. This tactic was successful in increasing mastery on sets of tacts. Rates of stereotypy decreased throughout the course of the study, which may possibly be attributed to the intensive tact procedure although that cannot be confirmed. Also Participant B required a slightly higher number of learn units to master the tacts during the intensive tact procedure (Table 6). This may be because of the difficulty associated with the stimuli in Sets 3 and 4 (Table 3).

Potential Explanations

The increase in the number of independent tacts emitted in the non-instructional setting are explained in terms of the findings on tacts and its link to the recruitment of generalized reinforcement. Furthermore, the rate of tacts emitted per minute also increased for all participants (Table 7). It is critical to note that the tacts emitted by the students during non-instructional time were not the tacts that were taught specifically during the tact instruction. Instead, the students’ tacts were stimuli in the students’ natural environment (i.e. pictures in a book, stimuli on the walls). Because the students were required to tact an additional 100 items per day during instruction, the numbers of reinforcements from adults increased through learn unit presentations. Thus, the students became progressively more under the control of adult attention and perhaps this resulted in the likelihood that the students would emit tacts in their natural environment.

There was a marginal increase in the number of mands emitted across all participants. The mand operant is a critical component in verbal behavior and in many instances is the first operant learned (Sundberg et al, 1996; Greer, 2002). However, once children surpass the pre-speaker level of verbal behavior, it is imperative that students learn tacts to exponentially increase their vocabulary. Without tacts, a student is limited and cannot advance to a fluent speaker level of verbal behavior (Greer & Keohane, 2005). Since the students (in particular Participant A) in the study were classified as possessing speaker or emergent speaker levels of verbal behavior, prior to the onset of the study they had several generalized mands in their repertoire. Furthermore, we collected data during the probe sessions for a short period of time across instructional settings (cumulative 15 min), which limited the student on the number of mands they may emit. For example, Participant A emitted a mean of 3.7 mands during baseline


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levels. Although, there was an increase following post set 1 and 2, the data for the mands decreased to baseline levels, following set 3. These results are consistent with the limitation of the mand operant alone; in that one is restricted in the number of items they can mand in a given time, even if they have a fluent mand repertoire. This may also explain the slight increase from baseline levels for Participants B and C in comparison to tacts. Furthermore, the participants in the study acquired more independence in terms of self-help skills. In particular, this was noted across all of the participants during the non-instructional times, such as transitioning from the bus where the student did not need to emit a mand for help associated with putting or gathering their belongs (i.e. zipping up coat, getting back-pack).

The collateral effects in this study were apparent in that all of the participants completed the tact instruction at progressively faster rates (Table 7). In particular, Participant B actively sought out stimuli to tact on her own outside of instruction and often delivered learn units to herself. A change was also observed in the learn units to criterion for the mastery of each set of stimuli for Participants A and C (Table 6). As the research progressed, the numbers of learn units to criterion for mastery of each set of stimuli decreased for these participants. These findings contribute to the research on inducing verbal capabilities, which provides teachers with “tools” to advance students at an accelerated rate more advanced verbal developmental cusps.

Future Implications

The results of these findings are promising. The intensive tact procedure may provide as one means of increasing verbal operants for both students with native disabilities as well as those who do not have rich language interactions in early years as prescribed by Hart and Risley’s (1995) research. These children require approximately double the amount of language instruction to catch up to their peers. This research not only serves to bridge the gap in vocabulary growth but more importantly examines the production of pure mands and tacts, which are critical to the advancement through developmental milestones (Greer & Ross, 2006). This includes increasing verbal exchanges (joining the listener and speaker) and eventually the opportunity to access more advanced verbal capabilities. These capabilities include naming, which is the ability to acquire novel vocabulary without direct instruction (Horne & Lowe, 1996). The acquisition of naming is equated with an increase in vocabulary and with independent learning, which is the goal for all children.

Furthermore, it is important to note the functional independence of mands and tacts as describe by Skinner (1957). He noted that establishment or acquisition of one verbal operant (e.g. mand or tact) does not always result in the appearance of the other without direct instruction. This has been identified as a verbal capability, the transformation of establishing operation between mands and tacts (Greer & Ross, 2007). Several experiments showed that young and/or developmentally delayed students do not demonstrate this capability (Hall & Sundberg, 1987; Lamarre & Holland, 1985; Ross & Greer, 2003; Tsiouri & Greer; 2003). We did not specifically test for this capability but it would be interesting to examine this relationship in terms of the effects of the intensive tact protocol. The participants did overall demonstrate an increase in the number of mands emitted, which suggests that the treatment of tacts may have had an effect on the number of mands emitted in the non-instructional setting. Future research would further investigate the relationship between tacts and mands and more specifically the effects of the intensive tact procedure on the emission of mands.

The researchers will continue to teach additional sets of stimuli for Participants A and C. In addition instruction will continue for each participant until the naming capability, observational learning of tacts capabilities are present, the participant has fluent and independent textual responding as well as the capability to recruit new tacts using “Wh” questions (Greer & Ross, 2007). Future research and replications using the intensive tact instruction should examine the effects on conversational units and the acquisition of the above mention capabilities. This may include increasing the time of the probe sessions to look at these measures and perhaps conduct probes across other settings to evaluate its effect. This is


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imperative toward the progression of more advanced developmental milestones that translates into more educational outcomes for students.

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Author Contact Information:

Jo Ann Pereira Delgado, Ph.D.

[email protected]

The Fred S. Keller School

680 Oak Tree Road, Box 716

Palisades, NY 10964

Mara Oblak

[email protected]

The Fred S. Keller School

680 Oak Tree Road, Box 716

Palisades, NY 10964

Author Notes: The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Mindy Rothstein and Amanda Rich

for their assistance with data collection and of two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Ruth Rehfeldt for their helpful suggestions and insightful comments that enhanced this manuscript. We are also indebted to Dr. R. D. Greer for his theoretical support and constructive discussion. Finally, we acknowledge the children at the Fred S. Keller School for making this research possible.


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Generalized Selection-Based Auditory Matching and the Emergence of the Listener Component of Naming

JeanneMarie Speckman-Collins, Hye-Suk Lee Park & R. Douglas Greer

Abstract

We tested the effects of teaching an auditory match to sample repertoire on the emergence of the listener half of the verbal developmental cusp of Naming for 2-preschool students with language-based disabilities. The study was conducted in a special education CABAS® preschool. Neither of the students had selection or discrimination responses, the listener component of Naming, following mastery of match to sample programs for two-dimensional visual stimuli while hearing the tact as they matched. We taught the students to match same sounds and same words using BIGMac® buttons, and then tested the effects of mastery of these skills on the emergence of the listener component of Naming. A time-lagged multiple probe design across students was employed to determine if there was a functional relation between the acquisition of auditory matching and the emergence of the listener component of naming. The results showed that for these two students, the acquisition of an auditory matching repertoire was functionally related to the emergence of the listener component of Naming. We also report data on the participants’ echoic responses to stimuli as well as emergent tact responses (the speaker component of Naming). Keywords: Observational learning, naming, contingency learning, & emotional and behavioral disorders.

The productivity of human language is an area of interest for many who research language

development (Skinner, 1957; Chomsky, 1959; Pinker, 1999; Horne and Lowe 1998; Hayes, Barnes-Holmes & Roche 2001, Greer and Yuan, 2003, Speckman-Collins and Greer 2005, Lee-Park 2005.) Some linguists account for novel language production in terms of a lexicon, lexical rules and an infinite number of combinations available to a speaker (Pinker, 1999; Jackendoff, 2002.) Horne and Lowe’s (1998) theory on Naming provides an operant explanation of productive verbal behavior. Naming is “a circular relationship between classes of objects and events and the responses they occasion” (Horne & Lowe, 1998, p.5.) According to the theory of Naming, speakers listen to their own speech. This orients the speaker back to the item of which they are speaking. This can be a particular item or a class of items in general. If the item or items then evoke a tact response from the speaker, the cycle may begin again. The individual can then” hold the object in consciousness” (Horne & Lowe, 1998, p.6) for as long as the cycle continues. Once an individual has an orienting response towards an item, or a listener response, an echoic response may occur. Once a listener and echoic response are in place, the conditions then exist for the corresponding tact response (Horne & Lowe, 1998.) Once the listener response, the echoic response and the tact are in place, the Naming cycle is complete. Horne and Lowe (1998) claimed that Naming is the basic unit of verbal behavior, upon which all complexities of human language are founded.

One experiment that tested the Naming theory showed that only 1 out of 5 children tacted items

after being taught an echoic response not in the presence of the item and a listener response, but 5 out of 5 children tacted items after being taught a listener response and an echoic response in the presence of the item (Horne & Lowe, 1998). In other experiments, acquisition of Naming led to the emergence of discrimination responses to those stimuli (Horne & Lowe, 1998) and teaching a tact response resulted in correct “sorting behavior” (Horne & Lowe, 1998) while teaching only a listener response did not (Horne & Lowe, 1998). Another study showed that Naming in two to four year old children resulted in the


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establishment of arbitrary stimulus classes and that match to sample training resulted in categorization responses (Lowe, Horne, Harris & Randle, 2002).

The emergence of Naming has been functionally linked to multiple exemplar instruction (Greer,

Stolfi, Chavez-Brown and Rivera-Valdes, 2005.) When individuals are exposed to a variety of exemplars across different situational contexts, responses and the sources of stimulus control over them are refined. “Contextual dimensions of the training tasks must vary… while reinforcement is maintained so that relevant features of the task can be discriminated.” (Hayes, et.al., 2001 p.26). In multiple exemplar instruction, many exemplars and non- exemplars are presented and responding to a particular stimulus is differentially reinforced (Fields, Reeve, Matneja, Varelas, Dalanich, Ditzer & Shamoun, 2002). Using many within class exemplars during discrimination training has been shown to increase the likelihood of perceptual class formation (Fields et. al , 2002; Brown, Brown & Poulson, 1995; Gena, Krantz, McClannahan & Poulson, 1996), relational frame formation (Hayes & Barnes, 1997; Steel & Hayes, 1991; O’Hora, Roche, Barnes-Holmes & Smeets, 2002) and transformation of stimulus function across functionally independent operants (Greer, Yuan & Gautreax, 2003). Multiple exemplar instruction for transformation of stimulus function involved rotating instruction across different response forms and functions for purposes of establishing joint stimulus control across those responses.

Greer et. al. (2005) and later Fiorile and Greer (2006) found that multiple exemplar instruction

that rapidly juxtaposed match to sample while hearing the tact, point to responses while hearing the tact, and tact responses for the same two-dimensional stimuli induced Naming in young children with disabilities. More recently, Feliciano (2006) found that multiple exemplar instruction that closely rotated only match to sample and selection or point responses to the same stimuli led to the emergence of the listener component of Naming in children with disabilities ranging in age from 3 to 7 years. For some students, full Naming emerged as a result of the instruction. Gilic (2004) looked at the prevalence of Naming in typically developing children and found that most of the typically developing two-year-olds she studied did not have a Naming repertoire, but that MEI induced a full Naming repertoire in those typically developing two-year- olds.

The importance of a Naming repertoire cannot be underestimated for children with language

based disabilities as well as for children who lack certain verbal experiences. For these students, acquisition of one operant could lead to as many as three more listener and speaker operants (selection, tact, multiply controlled responses) and later, the acquisition of similar joint stimulus control among text and spoken words may lead to many more relations necessary for success in school (Greer & Keohane, 2005.) Multiple exemplar instruction has been shown to be an effective tactic to induce both full Naming and the listener component of Naming in children for whom the repertoires were not present. It is important to test for more procedures that may also be successful in inducing these important repertoires. In the present study we tested the effect of mastery of selection based auditory matching on the emergence of the listener component of naming.

Auditory Matching

Vause (1998) and Vause, Martin and Yu (2000) taught children to match first sounds, then words and investigated performance on these tasks as a predictor of performance on the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) (Kerr, et al. 1977.) The results showed strong correlations. Marion (2003) looked at the relation between the ABLA, two auditory matching tasks and the emission of mands, tacts and echoics. The results showed that children who passed the auditory matching tests had more success with mand, tact and echoic responses. Chavez-Brown (2005) tested the effects of an auditory matching procedure with increasing levels of complexity on the echoic behavior of preschoolers. Students were required to press Big Mac® buttons that produced sounds that were identical to the sounds produced by the experimenter’s buttons. The experimenter had a sample button and two comparisons set up in front of the student. The experimenter, sitting across from the student, pressed all three buttons (two produced the


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same sound or word and the other was different.) The student then had to press the button that produced the sound or word that matched the sample sound or word. The student progressed through levels of instruction including sound vs. no sound, sound vs. white noise, sound vs. sound, non-word vs. word, word vs. word and finally, novel word vs. novel word (generalized auditory matching.) The results showed that the acquisition of an auditory matching repertoire resulted in increased partial and/or full echoic responses for all participants.

For the current experiment, we tested the effects of the same auditory matching procedure (AM)

employed by Chavez-Brown (2005) on the acquisition of the listener component of Naming for three preschoolers with disabilities. We also investigated the effects of AM on the acquisition of the speaker component of Naming and the emission of full echoic responses by participants.

Method

Participants Student S was a three year five month- old female with a diagnosis of autism. She was a pre-

listener as well as a pre-speaker. According to the results of Preschool Language Scale- Fourth Edition (PLS-4) (Zimmerman, Steiner, and Pond, 2002), her auditory comprehension age equivalent was 1.3 years and her expressive communication age equivalent was 11 months. She did not demonstrate reliable eye contact or imitation of teachers’ actions. Student S pointed or gestured to mand desired items. She did have a generalized echoic repertoire, however she had been observed to produce true words or parrot. She did not have a generalized matching repertoire, however she had mastered matching some directly taught sets of objects and pictures.

Student D was a four year eight month-old female with diagnoses of autism and cerebral palsy.

She was a listener/ early speaker. According to the results of PLS-4, her auditory comprehension age equivalent was 1.11 years and her expressive communication age equivalent was 1.9 years. Participant D had a generalized echoic repertoire but did exhibit difficulties in the articulation of certain phonemes (e.g., /r/, /l/, etc.) and some combination of phonemes (e.g., /dl/). She had mands and tacts with autoclitics in her repertoire, but demonstrated limited generalized vocal verbal skills, or she did not mand or tact “spontaneously” across environments.

Setting The present study was conducted in a CABAS preschool (a publicly funded private school in a suburb of a large metropolitan city). Behavior analysis was applied to all aspects of instruction as well as for measurement of all of the students’ responses to instruction received in the school. The ratio of student to teacher was 1:1. The experimental and pre- experimental probes, as well as instruction in matching picture sets were conducted in the classrooms of the participants. Instructions for auditory matching were conducted in a small therapy room. The sessions began as soon as the experimenter sat at a child size table across from the participant. Data Collection Data were collected on data forms with a pencil. The experimenters recorded pluses (+) following participant correct responses and minuses (-) following participant incorrect responses. After 20 instructional trials, learn units, were presented, the pluses were summed and plotted on a graph. Dependent Variables Emergent selection or point responses as listener component of Naming. During probe sessions for untaught selection or point responses, the experimenter placed two pictures, a positive and a negative exemplar, on the table in front of the participant. The experimenter provided the vocal direction “Point to ___”. The participant had three seconds to point to or touch the correct picture. If they did, it was considered a correct response and the experimenters recorded a plus (+). If the student pointed to the


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wrong picture, did nothing or pointed to the picture after the three seconds allowed latency had elapsed, it was considered an incorrect response and the experimenter recorded a minus (-). There was no feedback given to the participants for correct or incorrect responses during probe sessions. Echoic responses. During probe sessions for echoic responses, the experimenter presented a picture to the participant and tacted the picture. The participant had three seconds to echo the tact with direct phonetic correspondence. If they did, it was considered a correct response and the experimenters recorded a plus (+). If the student emitted the wrong phonetic structure, said something completely different, or did not vocalize, it was considered an incorrect response and the experimenter recorded a minus (-). There was no feedback given to the participants for correct or incorrect responses during probe sessions.

Emergent tact responses as the speaker component of Naming. During probe sessions for emergent tact responses, the experimenter presented a picture to the participant. The participant had three seconds to vocally tact the picture, or produce the correct name of the picture that had been used by the experimenter during match training. If they did emit the tact response, it was considered a correct response and the experimenters recorded a plus (+). If the student emitted the wrong tact or vocalized nothing, it was considered an incorrect response and the experimenter recorded a minus (-). It is important to note that because we were targeting the emergence of a Naming repertoire for the participants, approximations of tacts were accepted as correct for this measure whereas approximations were not accepted as correct for echoic responses, where the structure or form of the vocalization was the behavior of interest. There was no feedback given to the participants for correct or incorrect responses during probe sessions.

Independent Variable.

An auditory matching instructional sequence was the independent variable for this study. During this procedure, two buttons, one for a target sound or word and the other for the foil, negative exemplar sound or negative exemplar word (depending on the instructional phase), were placed in front of the participants and one sample button was placed in front of the experimenter who was across the table. First, the instructor pressed her sample button and then the two comparison buttons one at a time. She then pressed the sample again. The participants were then required to press the comparison button which matched the experimenter’s sample sound or word given the experimenter’s vocal direction “Your turn.” The latency of responding was 5 seconds. Each instructional session consisted of 20 learn units and the preset criteria for acquisition of the target skill was 90% accuracy for two consecutive sessions.

Materials. The experimenters used BIGMac® buttons in order to teach the auditory matching responses. The buttons were red and were 15 centimeters in diameter. The buttons were equipped with audio recorders onto which sounds or voices were recorded. Once the buttons were in the “on” mode, pressing them lightly produced the previously recorded sound. Picture stimuli were used for the Naming and echoic probes. The pictures were approximately 10 centimeters square and were either actual photographs or drawn exemplars. Experimental Design and Procedure We employed a time-lagged multiple probe design across participant. For Student D, we conducted initial Naming probes and next implemented the Auditory Matching procedure. Once she met criterion on the sounds vs. no sounds phase, we conducted another set of Naming probes. At the same time, we conducted initial Naming probes for Student S. A full description of the procedure is presented in this section.


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Auditory matching instruction was conducted in five phases; matching environmental sounds in the presence of no sound, matching five different environmental sounds in the presence of sounds, matching five different words in the presence non-sense words, matching five different words in the presence of words, and matching five different pairs of words which had similar phonetic structures. Post-probes with sets of stimuli were conducted after the participants met criteria during instructional phases. Prior to each probe phase, instruction on matching pictures which were the target stimuli was conducted for two sessions in order to ensure that the participants had opportunity to hear the words for the pictures before selection responses with the pictures were probed. Probes were conducted in 20- trial sessions and no consequences were delivered during the probes. The sequence of the probes across target behaviors was first tacts, then pointing to pictures or selection responses and lastly echoics. Probes for untaught speaker behaviors (tacts and echoics) were conducted to determine if there was increase of correct tact responses as the participant moved toward finer discrimination of auditory stimuli.

Pre-experimental and subsequent probes. Four sets of pictures were presented in order to probe for the following responses: selection or “point to” responses, tact responses and echoic responses. Sets 1 and 2 were each composed of a picture of a mode of transportation, a type of flower, a breed of dog, and a community helper. Sets 3 and 4 were randomly chosen regardless of categories. The four sets of stimuli are shown in Table 1. Table 1: 4 Sets of Pictures Used during Probe Sessions for Listener Component Naming Set Stimuli (Multiple Exemplars of Pictures of Following Items) Set 1 A Firefighter, A Tulip, A Poodle, and A Jeep Set 2 A Painter, A Daisy, A Beagle, and A Truck Set 3 A Jar, A Pan, A bib, and A Carrot Set 4 A Bell, A Peacock, A Mouse (a part of computer), and A Camera

Pre-experimental matching instruction with Set 1. The participants received instruction on matching pictures of Set 1 which was one of four sets presented during the pre-experimental probes. The instruction was delivered in 20 learn unit sessions and the criterion for the acquisition of the target skill was 90% of correct responding for two consecutive sessions. Two comparisons, a positive and a negative exemplar, were presented on a table and the participants were required to match a given sample to one of the comparisons with the experimenter’s vocal direction, “Match ___.” During this phase, the participants had opportunities to hear words for the pictures which they matched.

Post matching probes with Set 1. After the participants met criteria during matching instruction

with the set, probes were conducted again. The target behaviors were pointing to the pictures, tacting pictures and echoing the instructors’ tact of the pictures. 20 trials were presented for each response class. The format of the probes for each behavior remained same as in pre-experimental probes. Candidates who did not show untaught pointing behavior with the set were chosen for participants for this study.

Sound vs. no sound. During this phase, the participants were required to match identical sounds in

the presence of no sound (foil). Criterion for mastery of this phase and all phases that followed was 90% across 2 consecutive sessions.

Post sound vs. no sound probes. Probes for Set 1 were conducted after the participants mastered

discriminating five different sounds from no sound. If the listener component of Naming emerged, or if the participant emitted 80% of untaught point responses, a Naming probe was conducted with a novel set to test if the participant showed untaught pointing after match to sample instruction with the new stimuli.


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Sounds vs. sounds. During this phase, the participants were required to match five different sounds in the presence of other sounds. The list of sounds used during this phase is presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Auditory Stimuli Used during Instruction on Generalized Auditory Matching Phase Exemplars Non-Exemplars Sounds vs. Non-Sounds Laugh, Siren of Fire Engine, Non-Sound Cow Mooing, Sound of A Grasshopper, A Dog Barking Five Different Sounds Laugh, Siren of Fire Engine, Cow Mooing, Sound of A Grasshopper, A Dog Barking Five Words vs. Make, Low, Pot, Time, and Cup Afe and Ipe Non-Sense Words Five Words Make, Low, Pot, Time, and Cup Five Sets of Words with Cop, Late, Make, Poppy, Soon Pop, Bait, Mate, Potty, Similar Phonetic Structures Moon

Post sounds vs. sounds probes. Probes were again conducted after the participants mastered

matching to sample for five different sounds. If the listener component of Naming emerged, or if the participant emitted 80% of untaught point responses, a Naming probe was conducted with a novel set to test if the participant showed untaught pointing after to match to sample instruction with the new stimuli.

Words vs. nonsense words. During this phase, the participants were taught to match five words in

the presence of nonsense. The words and non-sense words are shown at Table 2. Post words vs. nonsense words probe. Probes were again conducted after the participants mastered

matching five different words in the with nonsense words as foils. A probe was conducted with original sets and another probe was conducted with a novel set to test if pointing emerged with the novel stimuli.

Words vs. words. During this phase, the participants were taught to match five different words in the

presence of words. The words are shown at Table 2. Post words vs. words probe. All probes were conducted after the participants mastered matching

words with words as negative exemplars. Matching words with similar phonetic structures. The participants received instruction on matching

five words in the presence of words which had similar phonetic structures. The words are shown at Table 2.

Post matching words with similar phonetic structures probe. Probes were again conducted after the participants mastered discriminating five different pairs of words which had similar phonetic structures.

Interobserver Agreement Interobserver agreement (IOA) was assessed by having a second observer record occurrences of target behaviors simultaneously and independently. IOA was calculated by dividing the number of responses in agreement by the number of agreements plus the number of disagreements and multiplying by 100% (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 1987). For Participant D, IOA was conducted during 14 % of the instructional sessions for auditory matching and 73 % of all probe sessions for selection responses, tacts and echoics.. The mean of IOA for the training sessions was 99 % with a range from 95 % to 100 % and 99% with a range from 90 % to 100 % for the probe sessions. For Participant S, IOA was conducted


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during 34 % of the instructional sessions for auditory matching and 96% of the probe sessions for selection responses, tacts and echoics. The IOA for the training sessions was 100 % and for the probe sessions there was a mean IOA of 99% with a range from 85% to 100 %.

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Results

Participant D emitted selection, or pointing to stimuli responses, during the ‘post five sounds vs. non-sounds probe’ session. Another probe was conducted with a new set of stimuli, Set 2 to determine if she emitted the untaught pointing responses after instruction on matching with a novel set of stimuli. The participant emitted 14 correct responses out of 20 trials during the probe. During the ‘post five different sounds probe’, she emitted 19 untaught pointing to stimuli with Set 1, 17 with Set 2, and 18 with a novel set, Set 3. During the last probe session, she emitted 18 untaught pointing to stimuli with Set 1, 19 with Set 2, 16 with Set 3, and 19 with Set 4 (novel).

Participant D did not show a significant increase in echoics emitted with Set 1, Set 2, Set 3 or Set 4.

With Set 1, the participant emitted 5 echoics during the first probe session, 5 during next probe session, 7, 18, 16, and then13 during the last probe session. With Set 2, she emitted 19, 20, 18, 16, and then 20; with Set 3, she emitted 6, 6, 16, and then 15; and with Set 4, she emitted 18 echoics during the last probe session. Table 3 shows the results for Participant D.


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Table 3: Number of Tact, Pointing, and Echoic Participant D Emitted during Probe Sessions with Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, and Set 4 Phase Behavior Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 __________________________________________________________________ Pre- Post- Pre-M Post-M Pre-M Post-M Pre-M Post-M Matching Matching Baseline Tact 2 5 Pointing 5 11 Echoic 9 5 Post- Tact 5 0 4 5 Sounds vs. Pointing 18 7 14 Non-Sound Echoic 5 15 19 Post Tact 10 1 0 5 5 Sounds Pointing 19 17 5 18 Echoic 7 20 5 6 Post Tact 6 6 5 5 Words vs. Pointing 16 16 18 2 Non Senses Echoic 18 18 6 Post Tact 8 3 0 5 Words Pointing 19 19 19 Echoic 16 16 16 Post Tact 5 10 7 0 4 5 Sets of Pointing 18 19 16 12 19 Words with Echoic 13 20 15 18 18 Similar Phonetic Structure

Participant S did not show a significant increase in untaught pointing to stimuli responses until she

mastered matching five words in the presence of non-sense words. She emitted the 17 target responses out of 20 trials during the ‘post five words vs., two non-sense words probe’ session. She emitted 20 untaught pointing to stimuli with a novel set, Set 3 during the probe phase. With Set 1, the participant emitted 11 untaught selection or pointing to stimuli responses during the ‘post five sounds vs. non-sound probe’ session, 10, 17, 17, and then 18 during the last probe phase. With Set 3, she emitted 20 untaught pointing to stimuli out of 20 trials during the ‘post five words vs. non-sense words probe’ session, 16, and then 19 during the last probe session. With Set 4, she emitted 16 untaught selection or pointing to stimuli responses during the last probe phase.

Participant S did not show the emergence of untaught tacts until she mastered matching five words

in the presence of other words. She emitted 4 tacts during the ‘post five words probe’ session, and 4


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during the last probe phase. With Set 3, she emitted 3 tacts during the same probe phase, 13 during the next phase. She emitted 8 tacts with Set 4 during the same probe phase. The participant began to emit echoics during the ‘post five sounds vs. sounds probe’ session. She emitted two echoics during the ‘post five sounds vs. sounds probe session, 0, 3, and then 4 during the last probe phase. With Set 3, she emitted five echoics during the ‘post five words vs. non-sense words probe’ session, 13, and then 12 during the last probe phase. With Set 4, she emitted 10 echoics during the last probe phase. Table 4 shows the results for Participant S.

Table 4: Number of Tact, Pointing, and Echoic Participant S Emitted during Probe Sessions with Set 1, Set 3 and Set 4 Phase Behavior Set 1 Set 3 Set 4 ____________________________________________________ Pre- Post- Pre-M Post-M Pre-M Post-M

Matching Matching Baseline Tact 0 0

Pointing 3 1 Echoic 0 0

Post- Tact 2 5 Sounds vs. Pointing 11 Non-Sound Echoic 0 Post - Tact 0 5 Sounds Pointing 10 Echoic 2 Post Tact 0 0 11- 5 Words vs. Pointing 17 8 20 2 Non-Senses Echoic 0 5 10 Post- Tact 4 3 5 Words Pointing 17 16 Echoic 3 13 Post- Tact 4 13 0 8 5 Sets of Words Pointing 18 19 10 16 with Similar Echoic 4 12 7 10 Phonetic Structure


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Discussion

The purpose of the current experiment was to determine if there was a functional relation between the acquisition of the listener component of Naming and an auditory matching procedure. The experimenters also conducted probes to determine if the auditory matching procedures increased the emission of echoics and tacts. The results showed that as the participants moved through more difficult levels of the auditory matching procedure, they acquired the listener component of Naming. We controlled for maturation by using a time lagged multiple probe design and exposure to stimuli by introducing a novel set of stimuli once the participants showed emergence of selection responses. Both participants showed the emergence of listener responses to untaught stimuli for novel sets after match to sample instruction by the end of the auditory matching sequence.

Participant S did not have generalized matching non-identical pictures in her repertoires and she needed 15 sessions to teach her to match pictures of Set 1. Participant D had a generalized matching repertoire. However, she received instruction on matching pictures for two sessions for each set to ensure that she had opportunities to hear the words for the pictures.

Participant D required 55 sessions to complete auditory matching instruction. The completion of the auditory matching procedure affected her emission of echoics for the target stimuli. The participant showed 5 accurate echoics out of 20 trials during the first probe phase and by end of treatment, she emitted 12 echoics out of 20 trials to a novel set. Participant S required 32 sessions to complete auditory matching instruction and she began to emit untaught selection responses, tacts, and echoics during the ‘post five words vs. non-sense words probes.’ Additionally, Participant S demonstrated an increased rate of correct responding and increased number of short-term objectives during vocal mand and tact instruction during her classroom programming which she received daily. Figure 6 shows the weekly percentage of correct responses and the weekly number of short-term objectives she met during vocal mand and tact instructions before auditory matching instruction began and during auditory matching instruction.

Participant D emitted untaught selection responses which indicated the emergence of the listener

component of Naming after the first intervention phase, sounds vs. no sound. However, the participant failed to emit the target response with a new set, Set 2 during the post sounds vs. no sound probe session. She showed the response with another new set, Set 3 during the post sounds vs. sounds probe session, and with Set 4 during the post words vs. words with similar phonetic structures probe sessions. Perhaps the listener component of Naming occurred with Set 2 as function of repeated exposure to the stimuli, however, with Set 1, Set 3, and Set 4, she required only two sessions of exposure in order to emit the target selection responses.

Participant S emitted untaught pointing responses during the post- words vs. nonsense words probe

sessions. The participant showed the behavior with new sets, Set 3 and Set 4. For Participant D and Participant S, approximations of tacts were accepted as correct responses. For

the echoic responses, only accurate echoics were counted as correct responses because the correct echoic production was the behavior of interest. Participant S emitted five echoics with the second set (Set 3) during the probes which were conducted prior to matching instruction with the set, and eight echoics with third set (Set 4) during the pre-matching instruction probe.

Multiple exemplar experiences have been shown to result in the emergence of Naming and other

higher order operants. For children with and without disabilities, specifically designed multiple exemplar instruction has been shown to induce Naming repertoires. For typically developing children, such experiences may occur naturally in their environments. Children with age appropriate listening skills are


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likely to attend readily to multiple exemplar verbal occurrences, and thus they become verbal experiences. For the two students who participated in this study, multiple exemplar instruction was not the independent variable yet the listener component of Naming did emerge. Our data suggest that the children we studied who lacked basic listener capabilities and who then received intense instruction in auditory discrimination were then better able to attend to the natural verbal occurrences in their environments, and thus learn from them. Our data suggest that additional research in the relation between auditory matching and naming may identify this as a useful intervention. However, additional tests with other similar children are needed to test for the generality of the effect.

References

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Chavez-Brown, M. (2005). The effects of the acquisition of a generalized word match- to- sample repertoire on the echoic repertoire under mand and tact conditions. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation: Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic structures. Mounton. The Hague Fields, L., Reeve, K.F., Matneja, P., Varelas, A., Belanida, J., Ditzer, A. & Shamoun, K.

(2002). The formation of a generalized categorization repertoire: Effect of training with multiple domains, samples and comparisons. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 78, 291-313.

Feliciano, G.M. (2006). Multiple exemplar instruction and the listener half of Naming in children with limited verbal capabilities. Paper presented at the 2006 Association for Behavior Analysis Convention in Atlanta, GA.

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Greer, R. D. & Keohane, D.D. (2005). The evolution of verbal behavior in young children. Behavioral

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Greer, R.D. & Yuan, L. (2004). Kids say the darnedest things. Paper presented at the

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America’s Children. NY: Paul Brookes. Hayes, S.C. & Barnes, D. (1997). Analyzing derived stimulus relations requires more

than the concept of stimulus classes. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 68, 235-243.

Hayes, S.C., Barnes-Holmes, D. & Roche, B. (Eds.) (2001). Relational Frame Theory.

New York: Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers. Horne, P.J. & Lowe, C.F. (1996). On the origins of Naming and other symbolic behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 65, 185-241. Jackendoff, R. (2002). Foundations of Language. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Kerr, N., Meyerson, L., and Flora, J.A. (1977). The measurement of motor, visual and auditory discrimination skills. [Monograph]. Rehabilitation Psychology, 24, 95-112. Lowe, C.F., Horne, P.J., Harris, F.D.A., & Randle, V.R.L (2002). Naming and categorization in young children with vocal tact training. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 78, 271-290. Marion, C., Vause, T., Harapiak, S. Martin, G.L., Yu, C.T., & Sakko, G. (2003). The hierarchical relationship between several visual and auditory discriminations and three verbal operants among individuals with developmental disabilities. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 19, 91-105. O’Hora, D., Roche, B., Barnes-Holmes, D. & Smeets, P., (2002). Response latencies to multiple derived relations: testing two predictions of relational frame theory. The Psychological Record, 52, 51- 76. Pinker, S. (1999). Words and Rules. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Skinner, B.F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group. Speckman-Collins, J. & Greer, R.D. (2006). Multiple exemplar instruction and the emergence of generative production of suffixes as autoclitic frames. Paper submitted for publication. Vause, T. (1998). Relationship between ABLA test performance, auditory matching and communication ability. The University of Manitobo, Canada. Vause, T., Martin, G & Yu, D.C.T. (2000). ABLA test performance, auditory matching and communication ability. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 7(2), 123- 141.


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Zimmerman, I.R., Steiner, V.G. & Pond, R.E. (2002). Preschool Language Scale 4 (PLS- 4). The Psychological Corporation.

Author Contact Information:

Jeanne Marie Speckman, Ph. D. Fred. S. Keller School 1 Odell Plaza Yonkers, NY 10701 Phone (914) 965-1152 x 223 Fax (914) 965-1419 E-Mail: [email protected] Hye-Suk Lee Park, Ph. D Fred. S. Keller School 680 Oak tree Rd. Palisades, NY 10964 Phone (845) 359-8846 Fax: (845) 359-8849 E-Mail: [email protected] R. Douglas Greer Box 76 Teachers College Columbia University New York, NY 10027 Email:[email protected]

Message from the Publisher

BAO Journals will soon publish a two issue, edited volume entitled “Behavior Analysis Review

2007,” which will contain a "best of" selection of articles that were previously published in the Behavior Analyst Today.

BAO is a special interest group within the Association for Behavior Analysis International. As a

SIG, we have become actively involved in helping other ABA: SIGs in achieving their mission through collaboration.

Along this line, we are following the lead of Mark Dixon and his Behaviorists Interested in

Gambling SIG in the creation of a third journal, entitled “Analysis of Gambling Behavior.” This journal will focus on the experimental analysis of gambling behavior and behavioral interventions to reduce problems in gambling. The Analysis of Gambling Behavior (AGB) will be a peer-reviewed electronic publication that contains original general interest and discipline specific articles related to the scientific study of gambling. Articles considered appropriate for the AGB include: a) full-length research articles, b) research reports, c) clinical demonstrations, d) technical article, and e) book reviews.

In addition, BAO is proud to announce our collaboration with the Development and Behavior

Analysis SIG to bring the Behavioral Development Bulletin our group of journals. The Behavioral Development Bulletin is a ten year old journal with an excellent track record for behavior analytically oriented articles to child development. Stay tuned for the next announcement which will give notice of publication and where you can read the BDB journal.


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The Effects of Observational Training on the Acquisition of Reinforcement for Listening

Tracy Reilly Lawson & Darcy Walsh

Abstract

Experiment 1investigated the effects of observational training in a social listener reinforcement game on participants’ conversational units in non-instructional settings. Experiment 2 tested the effects of multiple exemplar instruction on the development of “empathy.” The participants who had reader/writer levels of verbal behavior were selected because they emitted a low number of speaker and listener exchanges with others and did not have empathy as measured in the study. In Experiment 1, data were collected on the number of sequelics, conversational units, “wh” questions, vocal approvals and vocal disapprovals during 5 minute probe sessions after meeting criterion on each objective of the listener reinforcement game. During intervention, the participants were required to engage in a speaker listener exchange through playing a yoked contingency game where they competed with the experimenter to teach several objectives including “I Spy”, peer tutoring, textually responding and group instruction. Data showed that the total number of verbal interactions in non-instructional settings significantly increased for both participants. In Experiment 2 multiple exemplar instruction across questions was implemented to teach the participants empathy. The participants responded to 3 questions: “What happened?” “How does the person feel?” and “What could you do to help?” The results showed a significant increase in correct responses to empathy questions. Keywords: autism, empathy, observational training, reinforcement for listening.

Many children with autism do not have a history of reinforcement for listening to others. Listening to others is a critical component of social experiences that leads to more advanced listener repertoires such as emitting behaviors characterized as empathy. Skinner (1957) proposed a theory on the function of verbal behavior based on operant research. Verbal behavior was defined by Skinner as “behavior reinforced through the mediation of others” (Skinner, 1957, p. 2). Verbal behavior is categorized based on function into mands, tacts, intraverbals, autoclitics, echoics, and textual topographies. Skinner (1957) discussed verbal behavior from the point of view of the speaker as mediated by the contingencies of the listener. The listener provides reinforcement for verbal repertoires in the form of providing access to a preferred item or generalized reinforcement. Verbal behavior is analyzed through the function of the behavior and is emitted to affect the behavior of a listener. Catania (1998) expanded on Skinner’s views and stated that, “Verbal behavior involves both listener behavior shaped by its effects on the speaker’s behavior, and speaker behavior shaped by its effects on the listener’s behavior” (Catania, 1998, p. 262)

Greer (2002) expands upon Skinner’s verbal repertoires. Greer also includes naming, the

conversational unit, the learn unit and joint stimulus control as extensions to the operants proposed by Skinner. A conversational unit is defined as “one full exchange in which the student emits both a speaker response that is reinforced by the verbal behavior of another person responding as a listener and in turn a listener response by the initial speaker” (Greer, 2002, p. 91). Conversational units are directly reinforced by the listener who responds in the role of the speaker (Greer, 1989). Each member must respond as both speaker and listener to complete the conversational unit.

Truly social behavior is measured by the presence or absence of conversational units. One emits

conversational units because of the reinforcement obtained as both a speaker and a listener (Donley &


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Greer, 1993; Lodhi & Greer, 1989). The key component of conversational units is the capacity of an individual to be reinforced by listening. If an individual is not reinforced by what another has to say, there will not be a speaker listener exchange, only a sequelic. A conversational unit occurs when someone says something to another and the speaker is reinforced by the response of the listener, and when the listener continues the interaction by obtaining a verbal response from the speaker again. The response includes the rotation of speaker and listener responding between two or more individuals. Often, the repertoire of social listening is absent in children diagnosed with autism. Experimenters need to establish teaching interactions to teach individuals the reinforcing effects of listening (Greer & Ross, in press). When the effects of listening, as the extension of the listener’s sensory experience is missing, the advancement of social repertoires is thwarted according to Greer and Ross.

Many individuals need to be taught how to effectively listen to others to obtain reinforcement and

develop higher capabilities. Few studies have tested how to teach individuals to become good listeners and express empathy. Ross (1964) investigated the effects of listening ability on reading, arithmetic, and personal and social adjustment. He administered assessments on 90 participants in grades 5 through 7 and found that those with good listener repertoires scored a higher percentage on all studies than poor listeners. Good listeners were found to be better in reading and mathematics (Ross, 1964). According to Ross (1966), participants spend approximately half of every school day engaged in activities which require them to be good listeners and school systems often assume that every participant already has the listening repertoire.

Lawson (1964) investigated the effects of listening on the speaker repertoire. He suggested that

the development of the listener repertoire had a role in the development of speaker skills. Mueller (1972) analyzed conversations between 24 pairs of children between the ages of 3 and 6. Results showed that 45% of speaker/listener exchanges involved looking at the peer, while 94% of all utterances involved attention-getting techniques to make sure that the peer was listening.

Shatz and Gelman (1973) analyzed the speech of sixteen 4 year olds and found that the

participants adjusted their speech in response to different listeners. Results showed that there was a direct correlation between word choice and length of each vocalization and the listener repertoires of the audience. These results suggest that children learn to modify their speech for an audience at a young age.

The authors propose that the listener component of a verbal exchange is a prerequisite skill of

what others have identified as empathy (Poole, 2005). Thus, we suggest empathy is an extension of reinforcement for listening. Once a participant has acquired reinforcement for the listener component of a conversational unit, they develop the capacity for empathy. Skinner (1957) described empathy as the reinforcement function for the listener as having their senses extended. He listed function of verbal behaviors as evoking strong emotional response and “making the listener pay attention” (Skinner, 1957, p. 162). In some literature, empathy is known as theory of mind (McHugh, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes & Stewart, 2006hk). This involves taking the perspective of another. Hayes, Barnes-Holmes & Roche (2001) describe perspective taking as a set of deictic relations that specify the relation between the speaker and the listener (ex I – You, Here-There, Now-Then). Listening and comprehension between a speaker and a listener, as acquired through observational training, may be the critical step that leads to the development of empathy.

Since empathy has been treated as a component of theory of mind (McHugh, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes & Stewart, 2006) and children with autism are identified as lacking a sense of empathy because they lack “theory of mind.” (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985). Children who are unable to take the perspective of another person will be unable to predict others behaviors (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985). Therefore, one essential component for the development of empathy is perspective taking. Perspective taking is defined by developmental psychology as “the ability of an individual to interpret his/hers emotional and mental states and those of others” (Gómez-Becerra, Martín, Greer, &Chávez-


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Brown, 2006, p.2). The capacity to identify what individuals know about themselves (their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors) and what they know of other individuals in the same situation is implied by taking the perspective of others (Nickerson, 1999). Therefore, perspective taking is an important component of empathy.

Empathy is defined as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to and

vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner” by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2006). This includes being aware of one’s feelings and the awareness of feelings of others (Poole, 2005). Therefore, the authors operationally define empathy as the capability to respond to contingencies in the environment that require an individual to take the perspective of others through directly observing the behavior of others. Students with empathy have the repertoires to accurately tact another’s feelings and identifying what they can do to help. A tact is a verbal operant under nonverbal antecedent control that makes contact with the environment (Skinner, 1957). An example of a tact of another’s feelings was tacting a girl who is crying as feeling sad. Very few studies have been conducted to teach young participants empathy. An exhaustive review of the literature resulted in the finding of a handful of studies to teach medical participants/adults how to develop empathetic relationships with their patients (DasGupta & Charon, 2004; Shapiro, 2002).

Greer, Singer-Dudek, & Gautreaux (2006) have identified yoked contingencies, peer tutoring, and

peer monitoring as components of observational training procedures. Yoked contingencies are “conditions in which children must work or learn together, in order for both to receive reinforcement” (Greer & Ross, in press, p. 483). Stolfi (2005) and Davies-Lackey (2005) implemented yoked contingencies for preschool students who did not have observational learning in their repertoires and found increases in the participants’ correct responding to untaught operants. This procedure, along with peer tutoring (Greer et al, 2004) and peer monitoring (Gautreaux, 2005; Pereira-Delgado, 2005) have resulted in the acquisition of an observational learning repertoire for students who did not have one prior to intervention. Students learned through indirect contact with the contingencies and acquire new operants without direct instruction.

The purpose of this study was to teach participants the listener reinforcement component of the

speaker listener exchange measured as conversational units as a prerequisite to developing the capacity for empathy. Experiment 1 investigated the effects of these observational training procedures on teaching the social listener reinforcement component of the speaker listener exchange of verbal behavior. Experiment 2 tested the effects of multiple exemplar instruction to teach empathy as an extension of the listener reinforcement component.

Experiment 1

Method Participants. Two female elementary school students diagnosed with autism participated in this study. . Participants A and B had reader/writer and speaker levels of verbal behavior. Both participants had self-monitoring in their repertoires. The participants attended a self-contained CABAS® classroom with 8 students, 1 teacher, and 2 teaching assistants. The participants were chosen for this study because they did not have a history of reinforcement for listening to others during social exchanges measured as conversational units and the capacity for empathy. Table 1 describes the participants in the study. Participant A was 9 years old and had reader/writer levels of verbal behavior. Participant A functioned 2 years behind grade level and did not have a history of reinforcement for listening. Participant B was 8 years old and had reader/writer/self-editor levels of verbal behavior. Participant B functioned 1 year behind grade level and did not have a history of reinforcement for listening.


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Table 1. Participants Grade Level, Age, Level of Verbal Behavior, and Test Scores.

_____________________________________________________________________

Participant A Participant B

Grade Level of Peers 4th Grade 4th Grade

Age 9 8

Level of Verbal Behavior Reader/Writer Reader/Writer/Self Editor

Functioning Grade Level 2 years below grade level 1 year below grade level

Repertoires Lacked listener reinforcement component of the speaker/listener exchange

Lacked listener reinforcement component of the speaker/listener exchange

________________________________________________________________________ Setting. The study was conducted in a suburban elementary school in a self-contained classroom for children with special needs that implemented the CABAS® model (Greer, 2001). The classroom structure consisted of a student, teacher, teaching assistant ratio of 8:1:2. The classroom was equipped with preferred items that were used as reinforcers for academic and social behaviors.

The classroom was divided into two parts. One section was arranged for 1:1 instruction for all curriculum areas. It contained 3 horseshoe shaped tables with adult and children size chairs around the tables. There were also two computers, one located on a table in the back of the room, and one located on a table in the front of the classroom for the experimenter’s use. The classroom also had a teacher’s desk used by the experimenter at the front of the room. The second section of the classroom was the non-instructional settings where probes for conversational units, sequelics, “wh” questions, approvals, and disapprovals. This area was located in the back of the room to the left of the computer. This area had a variety of toys for the participants to play with including games, books, stuffed animals, and plastic toys. There was also a television next to the computer in the play area.

During baseline conditions 5-minute probe sessions were conducted in the play area. During

treatment phases, the participants participated in the study in the classroom. Both participants sat next to each other and across from the experimenter at one of the horseshoe shaped tables. The experimenter had a clipboard, data forms, and a pen to collect data. During intervention, edibles were present. Learn units continued to be presented to other students in the classroom. Long term and short term objectives were based on New York State standards (New York State Department of Education, 2001) and the CABAS Intended Curriculum for the Pre-School through Kindergarten (Greer, 2007). Instructional programs were presented in the form of learn units with continuous measurement of responses to learn units for the curriculum. (Greer, & McDonough, 1999).

Instructional Materials. There were several materials used in this study. Throughout all phases, a game board was used. The game board had two vertical paths with 10 squares with the number two written on each square was used. One path was for the experimenter and one path was for the participants. The participant’s game pieces were pictures of Simba, Snow White, and Ariel, and the experimenter’s game pieces were pictures of villains including Scar, The Evil Queen, and Ursula. During “I Spy” a mask was used to cover the target participants’ eyes and pictures of shapes and numbers were used as target stimuli. A diagram of the game board used is shown in Figure 1. During “20 Questions:


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Tact and Textual Response” five sets of four pictures and four textual responses were used. These sets are listed in Table 2 and they consisted of monuments, breeds of cats, dinosaurs, and things found in the solar system. During “Peer Tutoring with the Game Board” 10 sets of stimuli with five tacts /textual responses each were used. These sets are listed in Table 3 and they consist of science, social studies, math, and vocabulary words. During “Group Instruction with the Game Board”, five sets of four textual responses of science and social studies words are listed in Table 4. Design

Finish

2 2

2 2

2 2

2 2

2 2

2 2

2 2

2 2

2 2

2 2 Start Figure 1. Figure 1 shows the game board used during instruction.

Table 2. 20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response Sets of Stimuli ___________________________________________

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Participant

A’s Tacts & Participant B’s Textual Responses

Mount Rushmore; Buckingham Palace

Bengal Snow Leopard, Siamese

Triceratops, Stegosaurus

Coelyphysus, Pteradactyl

Interplanetary Dust, Meteoroid

Participant A’s Textual Responses & Participant

Coliseum, Arch de Triumph

Persian White, Sphinx

Brachiosaurus, Ankylosaur

Melanosaurus, Iguanadon

Meterorite, Eclipse


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B’s Tacts

Table 3 Peer Tutoring with the Game Board Sets of Stimuli ________________________________________________________________________

Participant Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 A Hemisphere,

Foreign, Technology, Longitude, Absolute

6x3, 5x4, 4x3, 3x3, 4x7

9x2, 10x2, 5x0, 3x1,

10x1

Galaxy, Milky Way, Solar

System, Blue, Supernova

Mantle, Oceanic

Crust, Lava, Crust,

Earthquake B Psychology,

Existence, Attitude,

Residence, Majestic

4x2, 4x4, 5x1, 3x2, 1x1

2x2, 8x2, 3x5, 2x1,

7x1

Water Cycle, Volcano, Plant Cell, Animal

Cell, Photosynthesis

Lake, Plains, Forrest, Desert, Estuary

Table 4 Group Instruction Sets of Stimuli. ________________________________________________________________________

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Latitude, Isle, Atmosphere,

Global, Peninsula

Industries, Dominoes, Abilities,

Ashes, Memories

Mysteries, Volcanoes, Notches,

Buffaloes, Scarves

Sheriffs, Stereos, Patios,

Flamingoes, Halves

Western, Navigate, Distant,

Tropical, Historical

________________________________________________________________________

The design implemented in this study was a multiple probe design. Pre-experimental probe sessions were conducted prior to implementation of the observational training procedure in each objective. The protocol included four objectives to teach components of observational learning. These objectives were (1) “I Spy”; (2) 20 questions: tact and textual responses; (3) peer tutoring; and (4) group instruction. Data were also collected on the dependent variable during probe sessions following each objective in the social listener game board protocol. Dependent Variables. The dependent variables were defined as the number of (1) sequelics, (2) conversational units, (3) “Wh” questions (including who, what, where, when and why), (4) vocal approvals, and (5) vocal disapprovals emitted by both participants. A sequelic was defined as a speaker/listener exchange in which one participant emitted a vocal word or sentence and the other participant emitted a vocal word or sentence related to the first. This included intraverbal responses between the participants such as Participant A: “Who is this?” Participant B: “Barney”, as well as speaker reinforcement such as Participant A: “I like blocks.” Participant B: “Me too”. A conversational unit was


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defined as a “Verbal behavior episode between two or more individuals in which both or all parties complete a three-term contingency as both speaker and listener and the reinforcer is the verbal behavior of another” (Greer, 2002, p. 341). During a conversational unit, both participants acted as both a speaker and a listener. An example of a conversational unit is Participant A: “Want to play with me?” Participant B: “yea.” Participant A: “Ok, Let’s play with blocks”. Participant B “That will be fun.”

A “Wh” question was defined as any question that began with who, what, where, when or why. A vocal approval was defined as any vocal praise or reinforcement emitted by the participant. Examples of vocal approvals included “Great job,” “Wow, you did it,” and “You’re awesome”. A vocal disapproval was defined as any vocal statement emitted by the participant that was disapproving. Examples of vocal disapprovals measured during the study included “Stop it!” and “No!”

Independent Variable. The independent variable in this study was observational training implemented in the social listener reinforcement game. The participants were presented with a game board that had two reinforcement paths, one designated for the participants and one for the experimenter. Each path was broken down into 10 spaces, with the number two written on each space. Each time the participant or experimenter moved up the path, they earned two points, and the winner earned a total of 20 points and earned the reinforcer at the end of the game board. The board was only presented to the two participants during group sessions. At the onset of each group session, the participants were presented with three heroes and were asked to select the hero they would be in the game. The experimenter selected a villain from three villains that corresponds with the chosen hero. All of the characters were taken from Disney® movies. Figure 1 shows an example of the game board used. The game board was placed on a table. The participants sat next to each other and across from the experimenter at a table. Both participants could see both the experimenter and the game board at all times. During those sessions when the participants were required not to see each other, a blindfold was used alternating between participants. Prior to each session with the game board, both participants were presented with the rules. The experimenter only accepted vocal responses by the participant who was presented with the vocal antecedent. The participants were required to ask each other one question and emit a speaker/listener exchange to emit correct responses and move one space forward on the game board. An example of the instruction is shown in Figure 2. The participant presented with the question could only ask one question one time and the participant presented with the answer was required to answer each question only once. If the participant presented with the questions emitted a correct response, both participants received reinforcement in the form of vocal praise and moved the hero they had selected up one space on the game board. If the participant who was presented with the question emitted an incorrect response, the experimenter moved the villain that she had selected up one space and cheered for her villain. Participant A Participant B Presented with an antecedent from the experimenter Required to ask Participant B for the correct response Emitted a response to the Antecedent presented to Participant A Required to observe the response emitted


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By Participant B and emit that response for reinforcement or a correction from the experimenter Participant A Participant B Presented with a Tact on an index card “Participant B, what is that?” “That’s a ______” “That’s a ______” Reinforcement or correction from experimenter. Figure 2. Figure 2 shows an example of the learn unit during game board instruction.

I Spy. The game sessions were conducted as follows. During “I Spy,” the experimenter held up a picture that Participant A could see and which Participant B did not have access (Participant B was blindfolded). The pictures contained shapes and numbers. The experimenter held a picture of a circle up to Participant B. The experimenter presented a question to Participant B about the picture. For example, the experimenter said, “What shape is this?” Participant B was then required to ask Participant A a question in order to obtain the correct response to the question. Participant B asked Participant A” What shape is it? If Participant A said “circle” and Participant B told the experimenter “circle”, the participants received verbal praise and moved their hero up one space. Participant B did not emit a correct response if she did not ask an appropriate question, did not listen to the response of Participant A, or if Participant A did not give Participant B the correct response. If Participant B did not emit a correct response to the question, the experimenter held up the picture so that both participants could see it and gave a vocal correction. Participant B was required to echo the correct response and the experimenter reminded the participants that they had to ask their friend for help in order to get the correct response. The experimenter moved up her villain one space on the game board and cheered. The criterion for the “I Spy” game was 90% correct for two consecutive sessions. 20 Questions. During “20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response” the experimenter held up a picture that both participants could see. The pictures contained the sets of stimuli listed in Table 2. For each instructional session each participant was taught two tacts and two textual responses. The experimenter held a picture of a breed of cat up to Participant A. The experimenter simultaneously held up the textual response of that cat to Participant B who had previously mastered textually responding to the printed word. Participant A was required to ask Participant B “What is it?” Participant B then told Participant A “Siamese”, and Participant A was required to repeat “Siamese” in order to emit a correct answer and move up on the game board. Participant A did not emit a correct response if she did not listen to the response of Participant B, or if Participant B did not give Participant A the correct response. If Participant A did not emit a correct response to the question, the experimenter held up the picture so that both participants could see it and gave a vocal correction. Participant A was required to echo the correct response and the experimenter reminded the participants that they had to ask their friend for help in order to get the correct response. The experimenter moved up her villain one space on the game board and cheered. Criterion during this game was 90% correct for two consecutive sessions for observational learn units. The participants were required to observe the tacts of their peer and learn the tacts through


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observational learning. When the participant emitted a correct response to a tact without asking their peer, they also moved up on the game board and received verbal praise. Peer Tutoring with the Game Board. During “Peer Tutoring with the Game Board” the two participants engaged in peer tutoring in which they taught one another 5 sets of stimuli each, alternating between tutor/tutee roles. The participant who was the tutor presented a set of five stimuli which they had previously mastered. The sets of five stimuli were presented four times during a 20 learn unit peer tutoring session. During the game each participant had a 20 learn unit session. An example of the peer tutoring was as follows: Participant A (tutor) held up a card with the printed word “majestic”. Participant B correctly responded “majestic” and Participant A reinforced the correct answer with verbal praise. The participant’s game piece moved up on the game board when the target participant (tutee) emitted a correct response. The experimenter’s game piece moved up on the game board when the target participant (tutee) emitted an incorrect response. When the target participant (tutee) met criterion set for 100% correct responses for one session for one set of stimuli, they moved on to another set of stimuli. Each participant mastered five sets of stimuli to a criterion of 100% correct responding for one session during the Peer Tutoring with the Game Board phase. Group Instruction with the Game Board. During “Group Instruction with the Game Board”, the two participants were partnered each with another participant in the classroom to form two teams. Team 1 was asked, “What word is this?” and had to discuss with their partner the answer. If Team 1 responded correctly, they moved up on the game board. If Team 1 responded incorrectly, Team 2 was given the chance to respond correctly and move up on the game board. If no one answered correctly, no one moved up on the game board. Then, the experimenter presented the next word to Team 2. Each team mastered all the sets of textual responses to a criterion of 100% correct responding for one session during Group Instruction with the game board. Data Collection – Dependent and Independent Variable. Data were collected on the dependent variable using lined paper and a pen in 5-minute intervals. The experimenter began a timer at the beginning of each interval. The participants’ speaker/listener exchanges were collected using event recording within each session. Each time Participant A emitted a vocal response, an A was recorded on the paper. Each time Participant B emitted a vocal response, a B was recorded on the paper. For example, if the participants emitted a sequelic, the data collected were AB. If the participants engaged in a conversational unit, the data collected were ABA. Data were recorded on the next line each time the topic of conversation changed. The number of “wh” questions, vocal approvals, and vocal disapprovals emitted by each participant were collected using event recording within each session. A tally mark was drawn in each column on the data sheet immediately after each was emitted. Data were collected on the independent variable by recording a (+) for correct responses and a (-) for incorrect responses during each session for each of the four games. Data were blocked into 20 learn unit sessions. During the “20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response” game data were collected on observational learn units by recording a + with a circle around it. During the “Peer Tutoring with the Game Board” phase, data were collected by recording a + for correct peer tutoring and a – for incorrect peer tutoring, and by recording a circle around the + or – (for peer tutoring) for a correct response emitted by the tutee. Incorrect responses emitted by the tutee did not have a circle around the + or – for peer tutoring. During the “Group Instruction with the Game Board” phase, data were collected by recording a + for a correct response, and a – for an incorrect response. If the opposing team had the opportunity to answer the question after the first team responded incorrectly, a + or a – with a circle around it was recorded. Interobserver Agreement. Observers for this study included the classroom experimenter, and two teaching assistants. Interobserver agreement was collected for 100% of baseline sessions. The


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experimenter and a teaching assistant independently recorded the number of sequelics, conversational units, “wh” questions, approvals, and disapprovals emitted by each participant. Interobserver agreement was 100% for sequelics, 98% for conversational units, 100% for “wh” questions, 100% for vocal approvals, and 100% for vocal approvals. During intervention, Interobserver agreement was calculated for 17 of the sessions. Overall agreement was 100%. Interobserver agreement was calculated by dividing the number of agreements by the total number of agreements and disagreements and multiplying by 100. Pre and post experimental probe procedures for 20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response, Peer Tutoring, and Group Instruction with the Game Board. During pre and post-experimental probe sessions, both pairs of participants were presented with all sets of stimuli. The experimenter held up index cards with pictures of stimuli and index cards with printed words. Pre- experimental probes showed the participants did not have the tacts or textual responses already in their repertoire. Post-experimental probes tested for the acquisition of the tacts and textual responses through the game board procedures. Tactic Procedures- Treatment Phase. The tactic used in this study was observational training implemented in the social listener reinforcement game using the game board to teach social listener reinforcement for speaker listener exchanges. Data were blocked into 20 learn unit sessions. The experimenter presented vocal antecedents to both Participant A and B in an alternating manner. The game was played until either the experimenter game piece (the villain) or the participant game piece (the hero) reached the end on the game board. The game was played four times during each session.

Results

Pre-Experimental Probe Sessions. Participant A emitted 0 “wh” questions, approvals, conversational units, and sequelics, and 4 disapprovals during the pre-experimental 5 minute probe sessions in the play area as shown in Figures 3 and Table 5. Participant B emitted 0 “wh” questions, approvals, disapprovals, conversational units, and sequelics during the pre-experimental 5 minute probe sessions in the play area as shown in Figure 3.



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Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the total number of verbal interactions, “wh” questions, sequelics, and conversational units in the play area for Participant A and B are demonstrated.


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Table 5.

Approvals and Disapprovals Emitted During Play Area Probe Sessions. _______________________________________________

Participants Approvals

Disapprovals

Participant A

Pre-probe 0 4

Post-probe 1 0 1

Post-probe 2 0 2

Post-probe 3 0 0

Post-probe 4 0 0

Participant B

Pre-probe 0 0

Post-probe 1 1 1

Post-probe 2

2 0

Post-Probe 3

0 0

Post- Probe 4

2 0

_______________________________________________ Criterion. During the implementation of the observational training listener reinforcement game for “I-Spy”, the participants met criterion, specified as 90% for two consecutive sessions, after 2 sessions. During the implementation of the observational training listener reinforcement game for “20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response,” the participants met criterion, specified for 90% for two consecutive sessions of observational learn units, for all sets of stimuli after 15 sessions (Table 6). During the implementation of the observational training listener reinforcement game for “Peer Tutoring with the Game Board,” the participants met criterion, specified for 100% for one session for all sets of stimuli after 14 sessions. During “Group Instruction with the Game Board”, the participants met criterion after 19 sessions (Table 7). Tables 6 and 7 show the pre and post probe data collected on each set, demonstrating mastery of the instructional material. Table 6. Pre and Post Instructional Probes for all Sets of Stimuli During “20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response” ________________________________________________________________________

Participant A Participant B


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________________________________________________________________________

Table 7.

Pre and Post Instructional Probes for all Sets of Stimuli During “Peer Tutoring _________

_______________________________________________________________

Participant A Participant B Set 1 Pre 0 Pre 0

Post 20 Post 20 Set 2 Pre 0 Pre 0




Post 18 Post 18

Post I Spy. During the 5 minute probe session in the play area following the implementation of the “I Spy” listener reinforcement game data show a slight increase in sequelics and a decrease in

Monuments

Pre Post Pre Post

Textual Responding

0 20 0 20

Tacts 0 20 0 20 Cats

Textual Responding

0 20 0 20

Tacts o 19 0 20 Dinosaurs #1

Textual Responding

0 15 0 12

Tacts 0 17 0 20 Dinosaurs #2

Textual Responding

0 20 0 20

Tacts 0 19 0 20 Solar System

Textual Responding

0 20 0 20

Tacts 0 20 0 20


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disapprovals for Participant 1 as shown in Figure 3 and Table 5. She emitted 1 sequelic and 1 disapproval. Data also show an increase in the number of approvals, disapprovals, and sequelics for Participant 2 as shown in Figures 3 and Table 5. She emitted 1 approval, 1 disapproval, and 4 sequelics. Post 20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response During the 5 minute probe session in the play area following the implementation of the “20 Questions: Tact and Textual Response” listener reinforcement game, the data showed a significant increase in the total number of verbal interactions in the play area for both participants as shown in Figure 3. The number of conversational units significantly increased for both participants. Participant A emitted 20 conversational units and 2 sequelics. She also emitted 0 approvals and 2 disapprovals as shown in Table 5. The number of disapprovals decreased from the first 5-minute probe. Participant B emitted 20 conversational units and 1 sequelic. She also emitted 2 approvals and 0 disapprovals. Post Peer Tutoring. During the 5 minute probe session in the play area following the implementation of the “Peer Tutoring with the Game Board” listener reinforcement game, the data showed a significant increase in the total number of verbal interactions in the play area for both participants as shown in Figure 3. Specifically, the number of conversational units has significantly increased for both participants. Participant A emitted 22 conversational units and 1 sequelic. She also emitted 0 approvals and 0 disapprovals as shown in Table 5. The number of disapprovals decreased from the first 5-minute probe. Participant B emitted 26 conversational units and 6 sequelics. She also emitted 0 approvals and 0 disapprovals. Post Group Instruction. During the 5-minute probe sessions in the play area following “Group Instruction with the Game Board”, the total number of verbal interactions increased to 41 interactions for Participant A and 36 interactions for Participant B as shown in Figure 3. Participant A emitted 24 conversational units, 12 “Wh” questions, 0 approvals, 0 disapprovals and 5 sequelics as shown in Figure 3. Participant B emitted 23 conversational units, 5 “Wh” questions, 2 approvals, 0 disapprovals, and 5 sequelics as shown in Figure 3 and Table 5.

Discussion The study resulted in an increase in the number of conversational units in the play area after the implementation of the observational training procedures in which elementary school participants were taught the listener reinforcement component in the listener speaker exchange. The participants in this study also engaged in peer tutoring and learned through the observational system of instruction during this study. This may have also helped in increasing the number of conversational units for both participants. As participants developed the reinforcement component of speaker listener exchanges, there was an increase in the number of conversational units emitted by each participant. That is, the participants used verbal behavior to interact with their peers to make contact with their environment. The authors propose that empathy is an extension of the development of listener reinforcement. The observational training procedures resulted in increases in the number of verbal interactions. However, it became necessary for the participants to acquire perspective taking to further extend their conversations. Therefore, empathy instruction was implemented to teach students appropriate emotions.

Experiment 2

Experiment 2 investigated the effects of a multiple exemplar instructional procedure on the participants’ development of empathy. Multiple exemplar instruction included teaching all repertoires


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using learn units that were rotated across responses (Greer, Stolfi, Chavez-Brown, Rivera-Valdes, 2005). The authors propose that teaching students empathy, the capability to respond to contingencies in the environment that require an individual to take the perspective of others by accurately tacting others emotions, through multiple exemplar instruction would help to develop the participants listener and perspective taking capabilities. Methods Participants and Setting. The participants and setting in Experiment 2 were the same as those in Experiment 1. Instructional Materials. During multiple exemplar instruction to teach empathy, pre and post probes were conducted on participants’ responses to 20 pictures of people in situations expressing emotions and 20 real life situations in the classroom. Examples of pictures of people expressing emotions included adults and children crying, arguing, in pain, in fear, jealousy, etc. Examples of real life situations in the classroom included situations in which their teachers and peers were sick, in pain, were scared, etc. such as a teacher coughing, a student falling, students arguing, etc. The stimuli and real life situations used during probe sessions are shown in Table 8. Five sets of four pictures of people in situations expressing emotions were used during instructional sessions. Table 8. Stimuli used during empathy instruction

Stimuli Used During Picture Probes Situations Used for Real Life Probes A boy hit by a car A woman tripping over a chair A woman wearing a neck brace A woman coughing loudly A mother and her daughter sitting together at a table and the mother is scolding the daughter who looks upset

A little boy screaming because he wants something that does not belong to him

A boy with a bandaged head A student pulling a teacher’s hair A woman putting eye drops in her eye A boy lying on a mat alone A little girl with her arms folded while her parents argue in the background

A boy vomiting on the floor

A woman with her hand on her head A student pulling on a teacher’s shirt A man lying face down floating in a pool A boy hitting a girl on the back A woman with a scrape on her leg A girl pushing a girl and a boy to get to the

table A woman who fell down a flight of stairs and was lying on the ground

A boy biting a woman causing the woman to bleed

A woman holding the side of her face A boy crying A dog with bandages covering his head and paws

A student grabbing and eating food that doesn’t belong to him

Two boys pulling on a girl’s hair A student misbehaving A girl holding her stomach A woman dropped a box of crayons that spilled

all over the floor A woman with a clothes pin stuck on her finger A woman dropping a book that lands on her

foot A man blowing his nose A woman stepping on a girl’s foot A girl sitting alone at one cafeteria table while another group of girls is whispering and looking at her from another table

Two teachers arguing about who is responsible for grading papers

An older boy squirting a younger boy with a water gun

A student angry at his teachers and screaming


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A boy with a cast on his foot A teacher getting a paper cut

A young girl in a hospital bed Two girls arguing about the next activity they want to do together

Dependent Variables. During empathy instruction, the dependent variables were participants’ responses to 3 questions: What happened? How does the person feel? What could you do to help? The participants were required to respond to each question appropriately. A correct response was recorded if the student accurately tacted the picture, emotion, and how they could help in the correct perspective. Independent Variable. During empathy instruction, multiple exemplar instruction with learn units was implemented. The questions were rotated across stimuli. The questions included the following. What happened? How does the person feel? What would you do to help? Each set of stimuli included four pictures of situations of people expressing emotions. For example, the experimenter asked the participant to tact what happened in a picture of a boat sinking, followed immediately by a question to tact how a person who fell off their bike felt. Criterion was specified as 90% correct for two consecutive sessions across each question. If a participant mastered one question before the others, the experimenter continued to present the question in a rotating format but data were not collected on the participants’ responses. Data Collection. Data were collected on participants’ responses to empathy questions to 20 pictures and 20 real life situations in the classroom. A “+” was recorded for each correct response and a “-“ was recorded for each incorrect response. Interobserver Agreement. During empathy instruction, interobserver agreement was calculated for 100% of probe sessions and for 30% of instructional sessions. Interobserver agreement was calculated in the same manner as in Experiment 1 and was 100% across all questions during probe and instructional sessions.

Design A multiple probe design across students was implemented. Pre-experimental probes were

conducted for Participants A and B to both pictures and in real life situations. Probe sessions consisted of 40 trials for each student; 20 real life probe trials and 20 picture probe trials. Multiple exemplar instruction was implemented as an instructional procedure to teach empathy. Post probes were conducted in the same manner as the pre-probe sessions after the participants met criterion on multiple exemplar instruction.

Pre and Post Experimental Probe procedures for Empathy Instruction. Data were collected on participants’ responses to 3 questions: “What happened?” “How does the person feel?” and, “What could you do help?” across 20 pictures of people in situations expressing emotions and 20 real life situations in the classroom. The experimenter held up a picture or orientated the participant’s attention to a situation in the classroom and asked the 3 questions vocally. No feedback was given during probe sessions. Tactics: Instructional Procedures. Multiple exemplar instruction was implemented to teach empathy. The questions were rotated across stimuli. The questions included the following. What happened? How does the person feel? What could you do to help? Each set of stimuli included four pictures of situations of people expressing emotions. Sixty learn unit sessions were conducted in which each participant had the opportunity to respond to each question twenty times. Data were collected in learn units (Greer, 2002). Each correct response was immediately followed by positive reinforcement. Each incorrect response was followed by a correction procedure that the participant participated in.


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Criterion was specified at 90% accuracy for two consecutive sessions for each of the three questions targeted for five sets of four pictures.

Results During “Empathy Instruction”, Participant A met criterion on all 5 sets after 15 sessions and Participant B met criterion on all 5 sets after 18 sessions. These data are shown in Figure 4. Participant A emitted 15 correct responses to, “what happened?” 14 correct responses to, “How does the person feel?” and 5 correct responses to “What could you do to help?” during the pre-probe session of pictures as shown in Figure 5. This increased to 18, 17, and 17 correct responses respectively post multiple exemplar instruction to teach empathy. Participant A emitted 12 correct responses to, “What happened?” 8 correct responses to, “How does the person feel?” and 10 correct responses to “What could you do to help?” during the pre-probe session real life classroom situations as shown in Figure 5. This increased to 20, 20, and 20 correct responses respectively during the post probe.



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Figure 4. Figure 4 shows the data collected during multiple exemplar instruction to teach empathy for Participants.



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Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the number of correct responses to 20 pictures of people in situations expressions emotions during pre and post instructional session probes for Participants A and B


449

. Figure 6. Figure 6 shows the number of correct responses to 20 real life situations during pre and post instructional session probes for Participants A and B.


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Participant B emitted 11 correct responses to, “What happened?” 14 correct responses to, “How does the person feel?” and 9 correct responses to, “What could you do to help?” during the pre-probe session of pictures as shown in Figure 6. This increased to 18, 19, and 19 correct responses respectively post multiple exemplar instruction to teach empathy. Participant B emitted 10 correct responses to, “What happened?” 13 correct responses to, “How does the person feel?” and 9 correct responses to, “What could you do to help? during the pre-probe session real life classroom situations. Figure 6 shows the increases in correct responses to 20, 19, and 15 during the post probe.

Discussion Multiple exemplar instruction was effective in teaching participants to emit empathetic responses towards others. This was demonstrated by the increase in correct responses to all questions during post probe sessions. Students became aware of situations occurring in their environment and responded appropriately to the feelings of their peers. They mastered perspective taking and took the perspective of another person in both pictures and real life situations. Participants attended to their peers more often throughout the day and friendships began to develop.

General Discussion This study investigated the effects of observational training procedures on the acquisition of reinforcement for listening. Skinner (1957) discussed the speaker’s behavior in a verbal behavior exchange as mediated by the listener. In order to engage in conversational units (Greer, 2002), it is essential for an individual to act as both a listener and a speaker. Thus, it is essential to teach students with limited verbal interactions both components of the speaker listener exchange. The observational training procedure discussed here, including a yoked contingency, peer tutoring, and observational group instruction were successful in increasing the reinforcement for participants to listen to their peers. Listening was conditioned as a reinforcer for the participants. The listening and understanding taught in Experiment 1 was a critical component of the development of empathy for the participants of this study. The authors propose that empathy is an extension of the listener reinforcement component of the speaker listener exchange. The effects of teaching the participants empathy were shown in the classroom in which the experiments were conducted. There were five students in the classroom diagnosed with autism, one student diagnosed with Mental Retardation, one student diagnosed with Emotional Disabilities and Selective Mutism, and one student diagnosed with speech/language delays. The participants in the study had several opportunities in the classroom to directly observe the behavior of others and to take the perspective of their peers and emit an appropriate empathetic response to the contingencies in the environment. A limitation to this study was the small number of participants. Only two participants were selected for this study. Further research is needed in the area of the social reinforcement component of the listener/speaker exchange and how to teach empathy. This study should be replicated with more participants with and without diagnosed disabilities.

References Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A.M., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind”? Cognition, 21, 37 - 46 Catania, A.D. (1998). Learning (fourth ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.


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DasGupta, S., Charon, R. (2004) Personal Illness Narratives: Using Reflective Writing to Teach Empathy. Academic Medicine, 9, 351-356. Davies-Lackey, A. (2005). Yoked peer contingencies and the acquisition of observational learning repertoires. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University Teachers College. Donley, C.R., & Greer, R.D. (1993). Setting events controlling social verbal exchanges between students with developmental delays. Journal of Behavioral Education, 3, 387-401. Gautreaux, G.G. (2005). The effects of monitoring training on the acquisition of an observational learning repertoire under peer tutoring conditions, generalization and collateral effects. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University. Gómez-Becerra, I.,Martín, M. J., Greer, R. D., & Chávez-Brown, M. (2006). Perspective taking in children with autism. Unpublished manuscript, Universidad de Almería (Spain). Greer, R.D. (2002). Designing Teaching Strategies: An Applied Behavior Analysis Systems Approach. San Diego, California: Academic Press. Greer, R.D., Keohane, D., Meincke, K. Gautreaux, G., Pereira, J., Chavez-Brown, M., & Yuan, L., (2004). Key components of effective tutoring. In J. Moran & R. Malott, (Eds.), Evidence-Based Educational Practices. New York: Elsevier/Academic Press. Greer, R.D., & Ross, D.E. (in press). Verbal behavior analysis: inducing and expanding new verbal

capabilities in children with language delays. Unpublished manuscript, Experimenters College, Columbia University.

Greer, R.D, Singer-Dudek, J., & Gautreaux, G. (2006). Observational learning. International Journal of Psychology, 41, 486 – 499 Hayes, S.C., Barnes-Holmes, D. & Roche, B. (Eds.) (2001). Relational Frame Theory: A Post-Skinnerian Account of Human Language and Cognition. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Lodhi, S. & Greer, R.D. (1989). The speaker as listener. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 51, 353-359. McHugh, L., Barnes-Holmes, Y., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2004). Perspective taking as Relational responding: a developmental profile. The Psychological Record, 54, p. 115 – 144 McHugh, L. Barnes-Holmes, Y., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Stewart, I. (2006). Understanding false belief as generalized operant behavior. They Psychological Record, 56, 341 - 364 Merriam-Webster Online Collegiate Dictionary (2006). http://www.m-w.com. Retrieved on May


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6, 2006. Mueller, E. (1972). The maintenance of verbal exchanges between young children. Child Development, 43, 930-938. Nickerson, R.S. (1999). How we know and sometimes misjudge – what others know imputing one's own

knowledge to others. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 737 – 759. Pereira-Delgado, J. (2005). Effects of teaching peer-monitoring on the acquisition of observational

learning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University Teachers College. Poole, C. (2005). How empathy develops: “Why is she crying?” Scholastic Early Childhood Today, 20,

21-22 Ross, R. (1964). A look at listeners. The Elementary School Journal, 7, 369-372. Ross, R. (1966). Teaching the listener: old mistakes and a fresh beginning. The Elementary School Journal, 66, 239-244 Shapiro, J. (2002). How do physicians teach empathy in the primary care setting? Academic Medicine, 77, 323-328 Shatz, M. & Gelman, R. (1973). The development of communication skills: Modifications in the speech

of young children as a function of the listener. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 38, 1-38.

Skinner, B.F. (1957). Verbal Behavior. Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group Stolfi, L. (2005). The induction of observational learning repertoires in preschool children with developmental disabilities as a function of peer-yoked contingencies. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University Teachers College.

Authors’ Notes

First and foremost, the authors would like to thank R. Douglas Greer for his support and mentorship. We thank Kimberly Lake, Joan Broto, and Meghan Nienstedt for their help with the data collection. The authors would also like to thank Richard Reilly for his invaluable help. Author Contact Information: Tracy Reilly Lawson Email: [email protected] Darcy Walsh 16263 Crown Arbor Way Fort Myers, FL 33908 Phone: 508-496-3769 Email: [email protected]

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The Effects of a Peer-Yoked Contingency on Observational Learning and the Collateral Emergence of Naming

Mindy Bunya Rothstein & Grant Gerard Gautreaux

Abstract

We tested the effects of a Peer-Yoked Contingency on students’ acquisition of observational learning repertoires and collateral effects on naming. Three male middle school participants, diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disabilities, were selected for this study. The three participants did not have naming repertoires, and two of the three participants did not have observational learning repertoires prior to the study. A delayed multiple probe design across participants was used to determine whether naming and observational learning would emerge as a function of a peer-yoked contingency involving training in observational learning. Naming was tested following each session of observational learning instruction. Results demonstrated that naming emerged as a function of the peer-yoked contingency and correct responses to observed learn units increased during probe sessions.

Humans learn from other human beings via observation. Learning as a function of observation occurs in many different types of situations and is a significant part of human learning. Humans can learn social behavior, cultural behavior, and academic behavior by observing another (Gautreaux, 2005). Catania (2007) defined observational learning as “learning based on observing the behaviors of another organism.” More specifically, observational learning occurs when an observer observes the direct contingencies received by another and subsequently emits the target behavior observed (Davies-Lackey, 2004; Gautreaux, 2005; Pereira-Delgado, 2005; Greer & Ross, 2007; Greer, Singer, & Gautreaux, 2006; Stolfi, 2005; Yuan, 2005). In other words, one learns new operants from observing others without receiving direct contact with the reinforcement or corrections. Greer et al. (2006) suggested that there are five different types of learning or changes in performance that can be learned via observation: (a) a behavior that is already in one’s repertoire, or a performance task can be emitted as a function of observation, (b) a new operant can be learned by observation, (c) higher order operants can be learned by observation, (d) reinforcers can be conditioned by means of observing another, and (e) a complete observational learning repertoire can be acquired via observation.

Greer et al. (2006) distinguished between the maintenance of performance behaviors, or behaviors already in one’s repertoire, and the learning new behaviors, not previously found in one’s repertoire, as a function of observation. Much of the prior literature in the effects of observation were devoted to performance rather than learning; hence we address only those studies devoted to learning of new operants as a function of observation or observation as the dependent variable. For example, Brody, Lahey, & Combs (1978) compared modeling of adjectives to describe pictures to no modeling. In each of the control (no modeling) and experimental groups (modeling) there was no direct reinforcement delivered following the emission of target responses. The authors found, that the modeling group’s correct responses increased while the no modeling group’s responses were consistent with baseline responses.

The acquisition of new operants as a function of children with disabilities observing typically

developing peers has been demonstrated in some studies. In such studies the typically developing peer was considered a “model” for the target participants. Egel, Richman, and Koegel (1981) demonstrated the


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emission of new types of discrimination after participants diagnosed with autism observed a typically developing peer. Goldstein and Mousetis (1989) found that participants with language delays emitted new social behavior that they observed typically developing peers emit. Similarly, Schoen and Ogden (1995) demonstrated the acquisition of new sight words in at risk students after observing typically developing peers learn these sight words. Rehfeldt, Latimore, and Stromer (2003) found that by teaching their participants, who were diagnosed with developmental disabilities, one set of stimuli in the same stimulus class as the target stimuli to be observed, could after observing their typically developing peers learn the second set of stimuli, emit the correct responses. By teaching the participants one set of stimuli, the experience functioned to equate the instructional histories of both the participants and their peers.

In order to learn new operants by observing, one must possess an observational learning

repertoire. An observational learning repertoire is significant because there are inadequate numbers of learn units in most classrooms for students to learn from direct contact with the contingencies of instruction (Greer et al., 2006). Some have reported that observational learning repertoires may be evoked, when it is missing, in three ways, including using peer tutoring, monitoring, and the use of peer-yoked contingencies. More recently, these three procedures have been combined to provide extensive classroom instruction using observational learning. These instructional procedures are described as an observational system of instruction and the procedures are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The Observational System of Instruction


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Peer tutoring is a research based instructional tactic that has one of the strongest records of

effectiveness in the literature. Mohan (1971) tested the effects of peer tutoring on responses of both the tutors and tutees. Results indicated that correct responses and approvals increased for most participants. Similarly, Harris and Sherman (1973) tested the effects of peer-tutoring on student correct responses to math problems. They found, that correct responses increased for all participants as a result of the peer tutoring. Greer and Polirstok (1982) found strong benefits for tutors as well as tutees. This study was replicated in 1986 (Polirstok & Greer). In a series of five experiments devoted to identifying the effective component of tutoring, Greer, Keohane, Meincke, Gautreaux, Pereira, Chavez-Brown, and Yuan (2004) showed it was the presence of learn units rather than whether a peer or tutor taught, and that the use of learn units was the strongest predictor for learning for either the tutee or tutor. They also found that the tutors’ acquired observational learning repertoires as a function of delivering learn units. This led to subsequent research which identified components of tutoring that involved monitoring and yoked contingencies were the likely sources for the emergence observational learning repertoires (Gautreaux, 2005; Greer & Keohane, 2004).

Individuals with developmental disabilities and students who have fewer language interactions in

their homes than their same age peers prior to schooling were found to have received fewer numbers of language interactions than their same age peers by the time they reached school age (Hart & Risley, 1980). In fact, these economically disenfranchised children may also fail to acquire observational learning as Gautreaux (2005) found. Conceivably, students who lack observational learning repertoires may have difficulties in traditionally designed classrooms. In such cases, monitoring has been used as a tactic to induce observational learning repertoires. Recent studies have identified some procedures that have occasioned observational learning in children with disabilities (Pereira-Delgado, 2005; Yuan, 2005) who were missing that repertoire and in middle school aged students (Gautreaux, 2005). Specifically, these experimenters found that providing various forms monitoring training resulted in the target students acquiring an observational learning repertoire.

Another successful tactic that has induced observational learning repertoires involves a peer-

yoked contingency. This arrangement, which combines monitoring one’s peers responses while yoking the peer’s correct responses to observed learn units to reinforcement for both the observing and the observed students led to the emergence of observational learning. That is, the target student monitored a peer receiving direct learn units in order to receive points and/or move up on a game board. If the target student emitted an incorrect response, the teacher moved up the game board while the target student stayed at the same location on the game board. This procedure provided motivation for the target student to attend to his/her peer’s responses and subsequently advance the students’ team. This peer-yoked contingency allowed for the acquisition of new operants by observing others (Greer & Ross, 2007).

Stolfi (2005) tested the effects of the peer-yoked contingency on students with disabilities who

did not have observational learning in their repertoire. Stolfi used a game board with two action figures, each with a corresponding path to the winning space that displayed pictures of preferred items. She used “The Incredible Hulk” as her action figure and her participants’ action figure was chosen from a selection of “Spiderman”, “Batman”, and “Superman”. The game board was a large picture of a building with two parallel paths, one for the experimenter and one for the participants. In order for the participants to move up on the game board as a team, the target participant needed to emit a correct response for an observed learn unit (a learn unit taught as a direct learn unit to his/her peer earlier in the session). This was the “yoked” component of the experiment. If the participant emitted an incorrect response for an observed learn unit, the experimenter moved up on the game board, while the participant team stayed in the same position on the board. The object of the game was for the participants to emit correct responses to the observed learn units and move to the top of the game board. Similar results were shown with other


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elementary age students who possessed a variety of disabling conditions by Davies-Lackey (2005). In both of these experiments, when students were provided intervention involving a yoked contingency, observational learning was acquired and students who could not learn by observation prior to the intervention learned new operants after the intervention.

The most related study that tested the effects of any component of the observational system of

instruction on observational learning with students like those in the present study was done by Gautreaux (2005). In this experiment, the author tested the component effects of monitoring training on the acquisition of observational learning repertoires with middle school students. Gautreaux reported that intensive monitoring training led to both observational learning and other collateral behaviors. Here, we extended that research with additional students.

In our efforts to investigate the effects of a peer-yoked contingency’s effects on observational

learning repertoires, we considered the possibility that the capacity for naming might also emerge from observational learning interventions. Naming as defined by Horne and Lowe (1996) is “a higher order bidirectional behavioral relation” which includes both listener and speaker behavior. The individual who possesses naming can respond to novel stimuli in a myriad of ways beyond those accounted for by direct instruction. It is considered a “behavioral cusp” which marks the time when the expansion of the child’s repertoire is likely to expand exponentially, and when the deliberate instruction of the child becomes pragmatically different than before (Greer & Ross, 2007; Rosales-Ruiz and Baer, 1996). Naming is a verbal capability where novel vocabulary is exponentially acquired without direct instruction experiences. It is present when an individual acquires both speaker and listener responses from observing another tact stimuli in the environment. Therefore, in addition to testing the effects of a peer-yoked contingency on observational learning repertoires, we considered whether a peer-yoked contingency package would induce naming for individuals who were previously missing a naming repertoire.

Method

Participants

Three male adolescents participated in this study. All participants were diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disabilities and were members of a middle school classroom for sixth to eighth graders with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Participants 1, 2, and 3 were selected as target students for this study because they were among the few in the school who did not have naming for academic responses prior to the study. All participants did have observational learning repertoires for social behavior; that is, they could emit performance behavior as a function of observation; however, two of the students could not learn academic repertoires from observation. Participants 1 and 3 did not emit observational learning for academic responding. Table 1 shows the participants’ standardized achievement test scores (Terra Nova, 1996) and The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV, 2003) or Stanford Binet IQ (2003) scores.


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Table 1.

Target Participants’ Standardized Test Scores

Parti-

cipant

Chrono-

logical

Age (at

time of

test)

Type of

Intelligence

Test

Full

Scale

Score

Type of

Standard-

ized Test

Reading

*

Language

*

Math

*

Total

Score

*

1 12 WISC-IV 111 Terra

Nova

4.9 4.7 7.2 6.2

2 12 Stanford-

Binet

101 Terra

Nova

1.9 1.4 2.8 2.0

3 13 Stanford-

Binet

79 Terra

Nova

4.9 2.4 3.3 3.4

Note. *=Grade Equivalent Score.

Table 2.

Sample Sequence of Instruction and Stimuli Used During Peer-Yoked Contingency

LU Participant

#

Direct/

observed

Stimulus LU Participant

#

Direct/

observed

Stimulus

1 1 Direct Richard Nixon 1 2 Direct Cabaca

2 3 Direct Woodrow

Wilson

2 3 Direct Washboard


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3 1 Direct Zachary Taylor 3 2 Direct Marimba

4 1 Observed Woodrow

Wilson

4 2 Observed Washboard

5 3 Direct F.D. Roosevelt 5 3 Direct Slapstick

6 3 Observed Richard Nixon 6 3 Observed Cabaca

7 3 Direct Grover

Cleveland

7 3 Direct Conga

8 3 Direct Lyndon B.

Johnson

8 3 Direct Timpani

9 1 Observed F.D. Roosevelt 9 2 Observed Slapstick

10 1 Observed Grover

Cleveland

10 2 Observed Conga

11 1 Direct Warren

Harding

11 2 Direct Water

Drum

12 1 Direct James

Buchanan

12 2 Direct Ratchet

13 3 Direct Ulysses S.

Grant

13 3 Direct Castanets

14 1 Direct Gerald Ford 14 2 Direct Cabaca

1 4 Direct Juniper

2 2 Direct Cycad

3 4 Direct Willow


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4 4 Observed Cycad

5 2 Direct Cedar

6 2 Observed Juniper

7 2 Direct Lily

8 2 Direct Spruce

9 4 Observed Cedar

10 4 Observed Lily

11 4 Direct Cypress

12 4 Direct Hydrangea

13 2 Direct Maple

14 4 Direct Magnolia

Participant 1 was a 13-year-old male with functional listener-speaker and reader-writer/emergent

self-editor levels of verbal behavior. Participant 1’s current instructional programs included: math fluency, Saxon 87 math (1997), self-monitoring his own behavior (Greer, 2002), textual responding across academic subjects, and New York state Grade 7 science and social studies curriculum (New York State Education Department, 2007). During baseline conditions, Participant 1 had no evidence of naming or observational learning repertoires for academic responses.

Participant 2 was a 13-year-old male with listener-speaker and early reader–writer levels of

verbal behavior. Participant 2’s instructional programs included: math fluency, Saxon 54 math (Hake & Saxon, 2001), self-monitoring his own behavior, textual responding across academic subjects, and New York state Grade 7 science and social studies curriculum (New York State Education Department). Participant 2 did not have a naming repertoire for academic responses. However, observational learning repertoire was not determined prior to the study.

Participant 3 was a 13-year-old male His levels of verbal behavior were in a similar range as

participant 1. Participant 3’s instructional programs at the time of the study included: math fluency, Saxon 54 math (Hake & Saxon, 2001), self-monitoring his own behavior (Greer, 2002), textual responding across academic subjects, and New York state grade 7 science and social studies curriculum (New York State Education Department). During baseline conditions, Participant 3 did not show evidence of naming or observational learning repertoires for academic responses.


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Setting The study took place in a publicly middle school for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The classroom used a Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS) model for grades 6 – 8 in a classroom with an 9:1:2, nine students: one teacher: and two teacher assistants ratio at the time of baseline measures. The school was located in a suburb of a large metropolitan area. Data were collected during instructional sessions in the classroom where instructional programs were conducted throughout the day. The study was conducted in both group sessions and individual 1:1 tutorial sessions by the teacher and teaching assistants throughout the day and across academic subjects. During 1:1 sessions, the students sat at their individual rectangular desks while their teacher sat beside them to instruct them in various subjects. The peer-yoked contingency sessions were conducted in classroom, the school library, or in a small multipurpose center. The students earned points for correct responses and appropriate behavior. Points were exchanged twice during the course of the day for a variety of backup reinforcers. Materials Materials used for this study included pictures of target items as tacts. The pictures were glued onto 3 X 5 index cards, a child-sized basketball hoop which hung over a door post, a small basketball, a small magnetic white board with two columns of 7 spaces for the students and the teacher, a small audiocassette recorder, an audiocassette, a pen, and a data sheet for recording the data. Definition of Behaviors – Independent Variables Correct and Incorrect Responses (Pure Tact) to an Observed Learn Unit A correct response to an observed learn unit was defined as emitting the target response to an antecedent which was run as a learn unit to a student other than the target student. For example, a correct response to tacting a president learn unit – Woodrow Wilson, occurred when presented with a picture of the president, the student emitted “Woodrow Wilson” as a vocal verbal response. Any response other than the target response was considered an incorrect response. Responses not emitted within a 5-second intraresponse period were recorded as incorrect. Definition of Behaviors – Dependent Variable Correct and Incorrect Responses to Novel Stimuli

Following each session of the peer-yoked contingency, all participants were tested for the presence of naming. This was done by having the students’ match 3 Greek and 3 Japanese characters while hearing the experimenter say the tact for the stimuli. Once they mastered the matching responses by learn unit instruction, they were assessed on the listener and speaker components of naming using probes with no feedback. That is the students were probed for the listener responses where they were asked to point to the tacted stimulus when the target and a non-target stimulus was displayed. Subsequently they were asked to emit the pure and intraverbal tact/textual response for the stimuli as a test of the speaker repertoire.

A correct response to novel stimuli was defined as emitting a match, point, tact, or intraverbal

response that corresponded with the vocal verbal antecedent (or nonverbal antecedent for pure tacts) for naming probes. The responses were considered correct only if they matched the Greek or Japanese letter stimuli.

Data Collection Data were collected as responses to learn units across all phases. A correct response was recorded as a plus (+) and an incorrect response was recorded as a minus (-).


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Interobserver Agreement Interobserver agreement was calculated for the peer-yoked contingency sessions by tape recording each session. An independent observer was provided with a data sheet with the target responses for each learn unit written on it. The observer listened to the tape following each session and recorded behaviors on the data sheet. Scores were then compared between the observer and experimenter to determine point-to-point agreement. Total agreements were then divided by the total number of opportunities for agreement to calculate interobserver agreement.

Interobserver agreement (IOA) was calculated using 2 independent observers for the naming probes. IOA was calculated for 16% of Participant 1’s naming probes with 100% agreement, 25% of Participant 2’s naming probes with 100% agreement, and 25% of Participant 3’s naming probes with 100% agreement.

Interobserver agreement was calculated for 20% of Participant 1’s direct learn units and 16% of

Participant 1’s observed learn units. Interobserver agreement for Participant 1’s direct learn units yielded a mean of 100% agreement and 90% agreement for Participant 1’s observed learn units. 50% of Participant 2’s direct learn units were measured for agreement and 25% of Participant 2’s observed learn units were measured for agreement. Interobserver agreement for Participant 2’s direct learn units yielded a mean of 95% agreement and 95% agreement for Participant 2’s observed learn units. Interobserver agreement was calculated for 80% of Participant 3’s direct learn units and 80% of Participant 3’s observed learn units. Interobserver agreement for Participant 3’s direct learn units yielded a mean of 100% agreement and 100% agreement for Participant 3’s observed learn units.

Independent Variable/Tactic: Observational System of Instruction

The intervention implemented during the treatment phase was a peer-yoked contingency. The peer-yoked contingency used during this study was derived from Greer and Ross’s (2007) Observational System of Instruction protocol and adapted for middle school students. The peer-yoked contingency was used as an element of the larger structure of the Observational System of Instruction (OSI) and designed to test its effects on observational learning and naming repertoires. The peer-yoked contingency consisted of direct and observed learn units presented to participants. Two different sets of 5 stimuli were selected for both participants that were not in their repertoire prior to the study. Sets of stimuli included: types of trees, presidents, and musical instruments. One set of 5 stimuli was taught to Participant 1 while Participant 3 observed. Participant 3 was presented a direct learn unit prior to an observed learn unit. The sequence of instruction for all participants is shown table 1. Direct and observed learn units were presented until each participant emitted 20 direct learn units and 20 observed learn units. During the course of this instruction, a game board was designed incorporating a peer-yoked contingency where one row of seven spaces was set for the teacher and one row of seven spaces was set for the students. During the last phase of the peer-yoked contingency for Participants 2 and 3 a game board with twenty spaces was used instead of the seven spaces. The object of the game was for the students to win to take a shot on a mini basketball hoop. The game’s contingency required the observing student, regardless of the direct student’s responses, to emit a correct response in order for the student team to move up on the game board. If the observing student did not emit a correct response the teacher moved up on the game board. Upon the completion of seven spaces on the student side of the game board, each student on the student team was given the opportunity to take a shot on the basketball hoop. Student team members earned 15 points per completed shot on the basketball hoop.

When the individual reached criterion levels of responding on both direct and observed learn

units (90% accuracy across one session), each participant was probed with a new set of stimuli for the presence of observational learning. Observational learning was considered in the target participants’ repertoires if they emitted 80% correct responses during probe conditions. This procedure deviated from the original protocol as described by Greer and Ross (2007) due to the students’ level of verbal behavior


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in this study. Despite the lack of feedback during probe sessions, the participants learned the target responses from the probe sessions. Therefore, the original stimuli were not presented as they may have been learned by a single exposure. Rather, new target stimuli were selected for a post probe to determine the presence of observational learning. To explain, new stimuli were selected for each probe to insure that the participants had actually acquired the capability without prior learning of the stimuli from previous exposures. Criteria set for the presence of naming was 90% accuracy during probe conditions.

Design This experimental design illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 was a delayed multiple-probe design across participants to test for the acquisition of naming and observational learning repertoires as a function of the intervention. The independent variable was the peer-yoked contingency and the dependent variables were the naming repertoires and correct responses to observed learn units.


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Figure 2. A delayed multiple probe design across participants testing naming for Participants 1, 2, and 3.


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Figure 3. A delayed multiple probe design across participants testing observational learning for Participants 1, 2, and 3.


465


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Figure 4. Correct responses during peer-yoked contingency sessions for Participants 1, 2 and 3.

Results

As compared with baseline naming probes, Participant 1’s correct responses to unconsequated naming probes increased as follows: pointing increased by 1 correct response, 1 correct response, 1 correct response, 1 correct response, and 1 correct response (5 cumulative correct responses) for each respective phase; tacting increased by 1 correct response, 3 correct responses, 3 correct responses, 2 correct responses, and 3 correct responses (12 cumulative correct responses) for each respective phase; and the intraverbal responses increased by 0 correct responses, 4 correct responses, 4 correct responses, 4 correct responses, and 4 correct responses (16 cumulative correct responses). Similarly, as compared with baseline probes Participant 2’s correct responses increased by the fourth phase as such: pointing increased by 0 correct responses, tacting increased by 3 correct responses, 3 correct responses (6 cumulative correct responses) and the intraverbal responses increased by 2 correct responses. Moreover, Participant 3’s responses increased from baseline as follows: pointing remained the same, except for phase 3 where it decreased by 1 correct response; tacting increased by 0 correct responses, 2 correct responses, and 6 correct responses for each respective phase; and the intraverbal responses increased by 0 correct responses, 1 correct response, and 5 correct responses. Though participant 1 did not acquire observational learning, his correct responses to observed learn units increased by 5, or 50% from baseline. Participant 2’s baseline was not measured, though following the peer-yoked contingency he emitted 14 correct responses to observed learn units. Participant 3 emitted an increase in 7 responses from the baseline probe of 10 correct responses to observed learn units.

Discussion

A functional relationship between the peer-yoked contingency as a component of the observational system of instruction and naming was demonstrated for all participants. Moreover, for Participant 3 a functional relationship was shown between a peer-yoked contingency and the acquisition


467

of observational learning. Even though Participant 1 did not yet meet our 80% criterion that we consider as evidence of the observational learning repertoire, his responses to observed learn units increased from baseline conditions. In instructional settings, this typically results in additional yoked contingency interventions until the student meets the criterion for having an observational learning repertoire. The lack of naming repertoire in children as old as these is curious. As demonstrated by Gillic (2005), naming emerges between the ages 2 and 3. Thus, why was it missing for these students? We suspect that their lack of naming is tied to the act that these were students who were probably very much like the low SES students identified in Hart and Risley (1980). Hart and Risley found that children who have fewer language interactions are likely to have smaller vocabularies than their peers with regular language interactions. Over time, the discrepancies in vocabularies between these two populations grow. The participants of our study emitted less vocabulary than their typical peers. Moreover, it is not unlikely that not only were they lacking in tact experiences but they also missed the necessary experiences for acquiring naming, as it needs to occur in academic settings. We also suspect that there are different types of naming involving different types of stimuli. That is naming for 3-dimensional stimuli may be different than naming for 2-dimensional stimuli to name just two of many different possibilities (Greer & Ross, 2007). There are several limitations to our study. An obvious limitation was that Participant 2 was not tested systematically for the presence of observational learning prior to the study, although it was apparent that he did not meet the observational learning criteria of 80% correct responses. However, during the first session of the peer-yoked contingency his observed responses were low, his pre-experimental data were not available. Therefore, his responses during the post-intervention do not have comparison data. While our hunch is that Participant 2 acquired observational learning from the peer-yoked contingency, this assumption cannot be supported because of the lack of pre-experimental probes for the observational repertoire. He did, however acquire naming from the OSI package. Clearly, more research is needed. However, the observational learning effects have been documented in three prior experiments, so we believe these findings are solid. Additional research is needed to test for the generality of the naming findings. The development of protocols that expand or induce either observational learning or naming may prove critical to the advancement of a more effective science of instruction.

References

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Catania, C. A. (2007). Learning. (Interim 4th Ed.). New York: Sloan Publishing. Davies-Lackey, A. J. (2005). Yoked peer contingences and the acquisition of observational learning repertoires in young children with autism. (Doctoral Dissertation, 2005, Columbia University). Abstract from: UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations [on-line]. Dissertations Abstracts Item: AAT 3159730. Egel, A. L., Richman, G. S., & Koegel, R. L. (1981). Normal peer models and autistic children’s

learning. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 14, 3-12. Gautreaux, G. (2005). The effects of monitoring on the acquisition of observational learning by middle-school students. (Doctoral Dissertation, 2005, Columbia University). Abstract


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from: UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations [on-line]. Dissertations Abstracts Item: AAT 3174795. Gillic. L. (2005). Development of naming in two-year-old children. (Doctoral Dissertation,

Columbia University, 2005). Abstract from: UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations [online]. Dissertations Abstract Item: AAT 3188740.

Goldstein, H., & Mousetis, L. (1989). Generalized language learning by children with severe

mental retardation: Effects of peers’ expressive modeling. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 245-259.

Greer, R. D. (2002). Designing teaching strategies. An applied behavior analysis systems

approach. San Diego, CA. Academic Press. Greer, R. D., & Keohane, D. (2004). A real science and technology of teaching. In J. Moran & R. Malott,

(Eds.), Evidence-Based Educational Practices. New York: Elsevier/Academic Press. Greer, R. D., Keohane, D. D., Meincke, K., Gautreaux, G., Pereira, J. A., Chavez-Brown, M., &

Yuan, L. (2004). Key components of effective tutoring, In J. Moran & R. Malott, (Eds.). Evidence-Based Educational Practices. New York: Elsevier/Academic Press.

Greer, R. D., & Polirstok, S. R. (1982). Collateral gains and short-term maintenance in reading

and on-task responses by inner-city adolescents as a function of their use of social reinforcement while tutoring. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 15, 123-139.

Greer, R. D., & Ross, D. E. (2007). Verbal behavior analysis: inducing and expanding new verbal capabilities in children with language delays. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Greer, R. D., & Singer, J. (2007). A new type of observational learning. Manuscript submitted for

publication. Teachers College, Columbia University. Greer, R. D., Singer, J., & Gautreaux, G. (2006). Observational learning. International

Journal of Psychology. Hake, J., & Saxon, J. (1997). Saxon Math 87: An Incremental Development. (2nd ed.). Norman,

OK. Saxon Publishers, Inc. Hake, J., & Saxon, J. (2001). Saxon Math 54: An Incremental Development. (2nd ed.). Norman,

OK. Saxon Publishers, Inc. Harris, V. W., & Sherman, J. A. (1973). Effects of peer tutoring and consequences on the math

performance of elementary classroom students. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 587-597.

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Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 407–432. Horne, P. J., & Lowe, C. F. (1996). The origins of naming and other symbolic behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 65, 185-241. Mohan, M. (1971). Peer tutoring as a technique for teaching the unmotivated. Child Study


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Journal, 1, 217-225. New York State Education Department (2007). Core curriculum. Retrieved January 29, 2007,

from: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/cores.htm#3ela Pereira-Delgado, J. A. (2005). Effects of teaching peer monitoring on the acquisition of observational learning. (Doctoral Dissertation, 2005, Columbia University). Abstract from: UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations [on-line]. Dissertations Abstracts Item: AAT 3174775. Polirstok, S. R., & Greer, R. D. (1977). Remediation of mutually aversive interactions between a

problem student and four teachers by training the student in reinforcement techniques. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 707-716.

Polirstok, S. R., & Greer, R. D. (1986). A replication of collateral effects and a component

analysis of a successful tutoring package for inner-city children. Educational Treatment of Children, 9, 101-121.

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classes of reading skills by individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 24, 333-358.

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& E. Ribes (Eds.), New directions in behavior development (pp. 155-180). Reno, NV: Context Press.

Roid, G. H.(2003). Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, (5th ed.). Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing. Schoen, S. F., & Ogden, S. (1995). Impact of time delay, observational learning and attention

cueing upon word recognition during integrated small-group instruction. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25, 509-519.

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Author Contact Information: Mindy Bunya Rothstein


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C/O R. Douglas Greer Teachers College 525 West 120th Street, Box 76 New York, NY 10027 Phone:(212) 678-3282 Email: [email protected] Grant Gerard Gautreaux [email protected] The Chicago School of Professional Psychology 325 N. Wells Street Room 433 Chicago, IL 60610 Phone: (312) 410-8978 Email: [email protected]








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The Effects of Implementing a Classwide Peer Tutoring Model on Social Approvals and Disapprovals Emitted During Unstructured

Free Time

Tracy Reilly Lawson & Gabrielle Trapenberg

Abstract This study tested a classwide peer tutoring model using rule-governed responding to teach tutors to accurately present learn units during social studies instruction using a multiple baseline across participants with pre and post intervention probes. Three students, aged 8 to 10, in a self-contained 3rd/4th grade CABAS® classroom participated in this study to test the effects of peer tutoring on the social interactions of the students during unstructured free time and accurate implementation of learn units during tutoring. The results showed an increase in social approvals and accurate learn unit presentations and a decrease in social disapprovals after the introduction of rule-governed peer tutoring. Additionally, the results showed a classwide (and individual participant) increase in social approvals and a decrease in social disapprovals during unstructured free time. Keywords: Classwide peer tutoring, Learn units, Teacher Performance Rate and Accuracy (TPRA).

Classwide peer tutoring is an instructional tactic where peers function as each others teachers to

teach academic and social behaviors. Each student in a tutor-tutee pair gets an opportunity to function as tutor and tutee. Peer tutoring is easy to implement and “permits the efficient application of the teacher’s and peer tutor’s skills in the process of individualizing instruction and managing students’ classroom behavior” (Kohler & Greenwood, 1990, p.307). Classwide peer tutoring uses peer-mediated contingencies and teacher feedback to increase opportunities to respond by allowing peers to teach each other (Delquadri, Greenwood, Whorton, Carta & Hall, 1986).

Tutors are trained to accurately present learn units. Learn units are the foundation of learning and

are the initial tactic for most teaching. The learn unit consists of interlocking three-term contingencies between teacher and student (Greer, 2002). During peer tutoring learn units consist of at least two three-term contingencies for the tutor and one potential three-term contingency for the tutee. The student’s potential three-term contingency consists of an antecedent, a behavior and a consequence. The tutor is taught to appropriately present antecedents, record correct and incorrect responses and deliver appropriate consequences. These consequences involve delivering verbal approvals for tutees correct responses and participating in a correction for tutees incorrect responses. No disapprovals are given for incorrect responses, because “disapprovals function as attention for undesirable behavior and interfere with the development of positive classroom practices” (Singer-Dudek & Keohane, in press).

One method to teach tutors accurate peer tutoring is using rule-governed responding. Rule-

governed behavior is behavior that is controlled by verbal rather than nonverbal contingencies (Greer, 2002). A term that expands on Skinner’s (1957) rule-governed behavior is verbal mediation. “Verbal behavior that governs or guides nonverbal behavior in lieu of the natural contingencies is an incidence of behavior under the control of verbal mediation…Individuals performing a series of operations under verbal mediation can perform those operations without having ever experienced the direct contingencies” (Greer, 2002, p.353). Studies have shown that rule governed responding increases correct responding (Marsico, 1998; Singer, 2000; Taylor & O’Reilly, 1997). Marsico (1998) implemented rule governed responding with


472

6 students by giving them scripts that contained the steps to correctly solve long division and multiplication problems. The results showed an increase in the amount of time the student spent working independently without seeking help or stopping for all 6 students. The rates of correct responses also increased across all participants during the intervention phase.

To insure accuracy of rule-governed responding, an observer records the tutor’s behavior using the

Teacher Performance Rate and Accuracy (TPRA) data sheet (Ingham & Greer, 1992). The TPRA is used to collect data on the accuracy of learn unit presentations by the teacher. It is a way to evaluate teacher behavior, whether evaluating an actual teacher or a tutor in a peer tutoring pair. Research shows that the TPRA increases teacher effectiveness and as a result increases the student or tutee’s rate of correct responding (Ingham & Greer, 1992).

Prior research reported that peer tutoring is an effective method to increase the academic

achievement of both the tutee and tutor [Greer & Polirstok, 1982; Greenwood, Dinwiddle, Terry, Wade, Stanley, Thibadeau, & Delquadri, 1984; Scruggs, Mastropieri & Richter, 1985; Delquadri et al., 1986; Dineen, Clark & Risley, 1977; Greer, et al. 2004]. In a series of experiments, Greer (2004) identified the key components of effective tutoring as high levels of engaged academic time, an increase in opportunities to respond and most importantly the presence of the learn unit (p.296). All of these components are also present during accurate peer tutoring, thus making peer tutoring a highly effective method of instruction. Most importantly the presence of the learn unit during peer tutoring can result in the acquisition of new materials by the tutee, tutor and, if present, an observer.

Greer and Polirstok (1982) also identified that “teaching (students) to use social reinforcement

techniques for tutees on-task behavior might have the potential for developing new social behaviors for tutors” (p.123-124). Their study explored the effects of peer tutoring in a remedial reading program for adolescents. In their study, they collected data for the reading responses of tutees, tutor on-task behavior, tutor reading scores and tutor-to-tutee social reinforcement for low achieving students in 7th thru 9th grade. During intervention, tutors were given tokens for contingent approvals during peer tutoring sessions. In addition to increases in on-task behaviors and reading scores for both the tutor and the tutee, there was a significant increase in the number of social approvals emitted. The data showed that training tutors and delivering positive reinforcement to tutors results in an increase in the use of social approvals by the tutors (Greer & Polirstok, 1982). In a replication of this study, Polirstok and Greer (1986) found significant increases in the number of social approvals and decreases in the number of disapprovals emitted for four 9th grade low achieving students when tokens were implemented with peer tutoring.

These social interactions were identified by Greer and Polirstok (1982) as collateral behaviors of

peer tutoring. Collateral behaviors are behaviors that are topographically different from the target behavior. The target behavior in the case of peer tutoring is increasing the tutees correct responding. Both the increase in tutor’s academic achievement and the increase in social approvals by tutors are collateral behaviors of peer tutoring.

Kohler and Greenwood (1990), who implemented classwide peer tutoring with 3rd and 4th graders,

found that peer tutoring procedures, compared to teacher-mediated instruction, “increased the opportunities for appropriate social interactions among peers” (p.307). Similarly, Blake, Wang, Cartledge and Gardner (2000) identified an increase in social approvals as a result of peer-directed instruction as opposed to teacher-directed instruction. Scruggs, Mastropieri and Richter (1985) reported that during peer tutoring, positive interactions between tutor and tutee increased, while negative social interactions between tutor and tutee decreased. Kamps, Barbetta, Leonard and Delquadri (1994) also identified an increase in social interactions during unstructured free time.


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This study implemented a classwide peer tutoring model during the social studies period in a self-contained 3rd/4th grade CABAS® classroom to test the effects of peer tutoring on the social interactions of the students during unstructured free time.

Method Participants

The classroom consisted of 8 third and fourth grade students. Three students participated in this study. Participant A was an 8-year-old female with reader/writer repertoires. Participant B was an 8-year-old male reader-writer and Participant C was an 8-year-old female reader-writer. These three participants were chosen because they had emitted high rates of disapprovals and/or low rates of approvals during baseline. Table 1 displays information about the participants. All 8 students in the classroom participated in Classwide Peer Tutoring. The other students were 8 to 10 years old and all students had a diagnosis of a learning or developmental disability. Table 1 Information about Participants A, B and C ______________________________________________________________________________ Participant A Participant B Participant C

Age/Gender 9-year-old female 8-year-old male 8-year-old female

Level of Verbal Behavior Listener/Speaker Reader/Writer Reader/Writer

Capabilities Listener Capabilities Self-Monitoring

Listener Capabilities Self-Monitoring Full Naming

Listener Capabilities Self-Monitoring Full Naming

Grade 4th grade 3rd grade 4th grade

Functioning Grade Level Kindergarten/ 1st grade

3rd grade 3rd grade Reading 1st grade Math

Test Scores: Full Scale IQ

Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale: 60

Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scales of Intelligence: 83

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: 65

_______________________________________________________________________

The classroom teacher and two teaching assistants functioned as observers during unstructured free time, implemented rule-governed responding to teach the tutors how to peer tutor during social studies and also conducted Teacher Performance Rate/Accuracy Observations (TPRAs) (Ingham & Greer, 1992) of the tutors during all phases of peer tutoring.

Setting

The setting was a self-contained CABAS® classroom in a public elementary school just outside a large metropolitan area. The classroom was carpeted and divided into a main instructional area, a specials area with a long table and a variety of 3-5 student sized blue metal chairs, a play area, a small computer area and an area for 2 teacher desks and 3 teacher chairs. The instructional area had a blackboard with 8 student desks each with its own student sized metal chairs set up in 3 rows (3 desks in the first 2 rows and 2 desks in the last row). The play area was carpeted with a bookshelf with books, a doll house, a tool play set, a box with crystals, a box with animals and other miscellaneous small toys like trains and trucks.


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The materials used during peer tutoring were sets of 5 index cards with social studies questions about Geography and the state of New York. Each index card had a question on one side and the answer on the other side. The questions were based on the New York State 3rd and 4th grade Social Studies Standards. Each student had their own chair at all times during peer tutoring and an observer sat on either a teachers chair or a student chair close enough to the tutoring pair to be able to observe and record the tutor and tutees behavior using a TPRA (and reinforce or correct the tutor when appropriate). The tutor was given a written checklist that described to them how to collect data on the tutee’s behavior (correct or incorrect response), as well as their own behavior (presenting an accurate antecedent and appropriately reinforcing or correcting the tutee’s response). Figure 1 shows an example of the rule governed checklist used to teach accurate peer tutoring.

Did I hold up the coin quietly? OR Did I ask the question nicely?

Did my friend get it right or wrong?

If they got it right, did I say good job? If they got it wrong, did I tell them the answer and they tell me the answer back?

Figure 1.Figure 1 shows the rule governed checklist used during the intervention phase to teach the tutors accurate peer tutoring.


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During unstructured free time, students were required to stay in the free-time area and observers recorded the students behaviors from either a teacher chair or a student chair placed close enough to the play area to be able to observe all students, while at the same time enough avoiding interference with the students’ free time activities.

Dependent and Independent Variables

The independent variable was the implementation of peer tutoring as a tactic to teach social studies. The experimenters taught peer tutoring through the implementation of rule-governed responding (i.e., a written checklist). The experimenter provided verbal instructions and the rules at the start of each session. The students were given the peer tutoring rules, and the experimenters faded out the rules systematically so the participants independently functioned as a peer tutors (Figure 2). The experimenters sat with the peer tutoring dyad and provided immediate feedback to the tutor for correct and incorrect implementation of learn units. Criterion was set at 90% correct responding for 2 consecutive sessions.

Peer Tutoring Rules

1. Hold up the card so that your friend can see the question and you can see the answer. 2. Read the question to your friend and listen to their response. 3. Write down a “+” if they get it right.

Write down a “-“if they get it wrong. 4. If your friend got it right, say good job, great, nice work, etc.

If your friend got it wrong, tell them the correct answer and wait for them to repeat it.

Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the peer tutoring rules.

The dependent variables were social approvals and social disapprovals during peer tutoring sessions

and unstructured free time. A social approval was defined as a positive vocalization and reinforcement directed to the tutee during peer tutoring sessions and a positive vocalization directed to peers during unstructured free time. Vocalizations during unstructured free time included statements like, ‘yes, sure,’ ‘thanks!’ and ‘you can play with this one.’ A social disapproval was defined as a negative vocalization during peer tutoring and during unstructured free time. Examples include ‘No!’ ‘You’re wrong,’ ‘Hey, I’m playing with that,’ ‘He can play, but you can’t.’

Data Collection Procedure

Data were collected for the daily responses of tutees, learn unit presentation of tutors, tutors’ approvals and disapprovals of tutees during tutoring sessions, and approvals and disapprovals during free-play time. Daily responses of tutees were recorded by the tutors on their data sheets and by observers on TPRA forms as the tutee pairs peer tutored each other. The tutors recorded a plus (+) for a correct response and a minus (-) for each incorrect response. Learn unit presentation of tutors and tutors approvals and disapprovals were also recorded on TPRA forms while the pairs peer tutored each other. An accurate learn unit presentation was recorded with a check for accurate presentation of the antecedent. Accurate recording of the response was recorded with a plus (+) for a correct tutee response or a minus (-) for an incorrect tutee response. The appropriate consequence was recorded as an R if reinforcement was appropriate and a C if a correction was given and the tutee participated in the correction procedure. Any incorrect steps were identified by circling the check, +/- or R/C.


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During unstructured free time data were collected on the frequency of approvals and disapprovals during 10-minute sessions. Each observer collected data for each individual student on approval/disapprovals data sheet. At the end of each 10-minute session the total number of approvals and disapprovals was calculated. Pre-probe data were collected before the onset of peer tutoring and post-probe data were collected once all students in the classroom had met criterion on peer tutoring.

Experimental Design

The study used a multiple baseline design across participants during peer tutoring and a pre-probe/post-probe design for approvals and disapprovals during unstructured free time. During the pre-probe sessions, data were taken on the number of approvals and disapprovals for each participant and classwide during unstructured free time. The intervention phase was rule governed responding to teach accurate peer tutoring which was implemented using a multiple baseline design across participants. Then during the post-probe data were once again collected on the number of approvals and disapprovals for each participant and classwide during unstructured free time.

Procedure Pre-probe data were collected on the number of social approvals and disapprovals during 10-minute free play sessions. The students were all in the play area and the observers sat within 5 feet of the students. The students interacted independently with one another and had limited or no interaction with the teachers during this time. If a student left the designated free time area, they were redirected by the teacher, but no other feedback was given.

During peer tutoring, phase 1 for all participants was the baseline phase. During baseline, participants were split into tutor-tutee pairs with the social studies materials. The experimenters gave the tutor-tutee pairs instructions to teach each other, but did not provide any additional feedback. Data were collected by observers on accurate learn unit presentations and the number of approvals and disapprovals emitted by participants.

The second phase shows the introduction of rule-governed peer tutoring measured in 60 learn unit

blocks. An experimenter sat with the peer tutoring dyad. The experimenter provided the tutor with rules at the start of each session. The experimenter gave the tutor the written checklist (Figure 1) and reviewed the self-monitoring checklist with the tutor. Observers reinforced tutors for appropriate behavior and provided the tutor with immediate feedback. During each learn unit presentation for the tutee, the experimenter recorded the tutors learn units for accurate peer tutoring. Each presentation consisted of 3 learn units for the tutor: one for accurate presentation of the antecedent, one for accurately recording the tutee’s response and one for accurately providing consequences for the tutee’s response. Data were also collected on the tutees responses and the number of approvals and disapprovals emitted by the participants.

In phase 3, the rules and checklist were removed and data were collected in 20 learn unit blocks

instead of 60 learn unit blocks. Each learn unit presentation for the tutee was one learn unit presentation for the tutor. Therefore, the size of the response for the tutor increased after meeting criterion with the rules. Criterion was set at 90% accurate peer tutoring for 2 consecutive sessions. Decisions were made according to the CABAS® Decision Protocol (Greer, 2001) and instructional tactics were implemented for two of the participants to teach them to mastery. After the students met criterion as tutors on independent accurate peer tutoring, the post-probes for collateral effects was conducted in the same manner as pre-probe sessions.

Interobserver Agreement

Data were collected independently by the teacher and teaching assistants in the classroom. Interobserver agreement was calculated by dividing the number of agreements by the number of agreements and disagreement and multiplying by 100%. Play area pre-probe interobserver agreement data were taken for 100% of sessions with a mean interobserver agreement of 81% and a range of 50%-94%. During peer


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tutoring, the observer TPRA functioned as observer agreement with tutor’s data. During the play area post-probe interobserver agreement was taken for 40% of the sessions with a mean of 95% and range 94%-96%.

Results

Figure 3 shows the results of implementing rule-governed responding to teach accurate peer

tutoring during social studies for the three participants during social studies. Both participant A and B have an extra phase. Participant A’s phase 3 indicates a change in the form used by the tutor. Participant B’s phase 4 indicates the introduction of prompt fading as the rules were re-introduced and faded out after 5 correct LU presentations.

Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the peer tutoring data for Participants A, B and C when functioning as the tutor in a tutor-tutee pair.

During peer tutoring sessions, participant A had a mean number of 6 accurately presented learn units, a mean number of 7 approvals and a mean number of 1.3 disapprovals during baseline. The mean


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number of disapprovals decreased to a final mean of 0, the number of approvals and accurate learn unit presentations increased to a final average of 18 each. For participant B, the mean number of accurately presented learn units during baseline was 0.8, the mean number of approvals was 8.2 and the mean number of disapprovals was 1. Disapprovals for participant B also decreased to a mean of 0, mean number of accurately presented learn units and mean number of approvals increased to 19.5. Participant C’s mean number of accurate learn unit presentations during baseline was 4.8, mean number of approvals was 6.8 and mean disapprovals were 2.8. Participant C’s disapprovals also decreased to a mean of 0, accurate learn unit presentation increased to a mean of 19 and approvals increased to a mean of 20. These data are displayed in Figure 3.

Figure 4 shows the approval and disapproval data that were collected during the pre- and post-

probes. Participant A had a mean number of approvals of 0.8 with a range of 0-2 and a mean number of disapprovals of 0.33 with a range of 0-3. Participant B had a mean number of approvals of 0.5 with a range of 0-1. Mean disapprovals for Participant B were 1.5 with a range of 0-5. Participant C’s mean number of approvals was 1 with a range of 0-4 and disapprovals were 0.5 with a range of 0-2.

Figure 4.Figure 4 shows the unstructured free time social approval and disapprovals data for Participants A, B and C.

After the participants mastered peer tutoring, the mean number of disapprovals dropped and the mean number of approvals increased for all participants. Participant A had a mean number of approvals of 3 with a range of 1-4 and a mean number of disapprovals of 0. Participant B had a mean number of approvals


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of 1.8 with a range of 0-4. Mean disapprovals for Participant B were 0.6 with a range of 0-1. Participant C’s mean number of approvals was 1.2 with a range of 0-2 and disapprovals were 0.2 with a range of 0-1.

Classwide social approval and disapproval data also showed an overall increase in approvals and

decrease in disapprovals (Figure 5). The mean number of approvals during the pre-probe was 4.8 and the mean number of disapprovals was 6.8. The post-probe showed the mean number of approvals at 14 and the mean number of disapprovals at 5.8.

Classwide

0

5

10

15

20

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Session

ApprovalsDisapprovals

Pre-Intervention Post-Intervention

Figure 5.Figure 5 shows the class wide social approvals and disapprovals data taken during unstructured free time.

Discussion

The results show that peer tutoring was an effective tactic to increase the number of social approvals delivered by peers during both instructional and unstructured free time settings. The authors propose that this may be due to teaching the students appropriate ways to gain peer attention. The tutors (and the tutees) learn to use social approvals as opposed to inappropriate behavior to obtain attention from their peers during unstructured free time. Additionally, the positive reinforcement provided to the tutees by the tutors may serve to condition the tutors as reinforcers. As a result the tutees may seek out the tutors’ attention in settings other than the teaching session, thus resulting in higher levels of positive interactions during unstructured free time.

One limitation in this study is the variability in the data. The number of approvals emitted during

peer tutoring sessions varied from 5 to 20 per session. During peer tutoring it is natural for the data to fluctuate. If the tutee is getting more answers incorrect than correct you would not expect the number of approvals to be high, because that would indicate that the tutor was reinforcing inappropriate responding. Although the data are variable from session to session, the means show results that are significant.

The data show variability in data from session to session in the play area, another limitation to this study. Some of this variability is due to the varying materials available in the play area. If a student decided to read a book for all or most of the 10-minute session, it was understandable that the data collected


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were lower than on days when none of the children was reading. A future study might include collecting data on the activities the students participated in.

Another limitation to this study was the low percentage for interobserver agreement during free

play sessions. The experimenters collected data on the number of approvals and disapprovals for all students in the class. The low percentage of agreement may have been due to the experimenters’ subjectivity in the definition of an approval or disapproval. In addition, with all students in the play area, it was difficult at times to hear what each student was saying above the other chatter. In addition, it was difficult for the experimenters to collect data on several students simultaneously. Future studies should control for these limitations.

Data on the number of social approvals and disapprovals emitted were only collected for 3

participants. Future studies should replicate these methods with more students with similar repertoires in order to test for the generality of findings.

These limitations aside however, the data showed a significant relationship between peer tutoring

and an increase in social approvals and a decrease in social disapprovals both during peer tutoring and during unstructured free time.

As described by Greer & Polirstok, the “data showed that tutoring without training did not result in

increases in dependent variables, nor were tutors naturally using approval” (Greer & Polirstok, 1982, p.130). In addition to showing that the participants were not naturally approving, it can be said that the students are naturally more disapproving.

After intervention and during the post-probe however the data showed an increase in social

approvals and accurate learn unit presentations and a decrease in social disapprovals during peer tutoring. Additionally, data showed the effects of peer tutoring on the collateral behaviors of peer tutoring. In this study the collateral behaviors were defined as social approvals and disapprovals during unstructured free play time. Data showed a classwide (and individual participant) increase in social approvals and a decrease in social disapprovals.

The observers noted that before peer tutoring was introduced students mostly played independently,

rarely interacting with their peers. During the post-probe sessions, however, students were all playing in pairs or small groups. A future study should focus on the effects of peer tutoring on increasing social interactions as a collateral behavior. While this study defined social approvals and disapprovals as vocalizations, it would be interesting to study the effects on social interactions including the number of sequelics and conversational units (Greer, 2002).

Observers also noted an increase in social approvals in other areas, i.e. in small group instructional

sessions. All observers noted an increase in encouragement and reinforcement provided by peers when it was another student’s turn to respond. Future studies should focus on the generalization of social approvals and reinforcement to other academic settings as a result of the introduction of peer tutoring.

References

Albers, A. & Greer, R.D. (1991). Is the three-term contingency trail a predictor of effective instruction? Journal of Behavioral Education, 1, 337-354

Blake, C., Wang, W., Cartledge, G. & Gardner, R. (2000). Middle school students with serious emotional

disturbances serve as social skills trainers and reinforcers for peers with SED. Behavioral Disorders, 25 (4), 280-298


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Delquadri, J., Greenwood, C.R., Whorton, D., Carta, J.J. & Hall, R.V. (1986). Classwide peer tutoring. Exceptional Children, 52, 535-542

Dineen, J.P., Clark, H.B. & Risley, T.R. (1977). Peer tutoring among elementary students: educational

benefits to the tutor. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 231-238 Greenwood, C.R., Dinwiddle, G., Terry, B., Wade, L., Stanley, S.O., Thibadeau, S. & Delquadri, J.C.

(1984). Teacher- versus peer-mediated instruction: An ecobehavioral analysis of achievement outcomes. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 17, 521-538.

Greer, R.D. (1991). The teacher as strategic scientist: A solution to our educational crisis? Behavior and

Social Issues, 1, 25-41 Greer, R.D. (2001). CABAS ® decision tree protocol for measurement of

instructional decisions. Unpublished manuscript. Columbia University, New York. Greer, R.D. (2002). Designing teaching strategies: An applied behavior analysis systems approach. New

York: Academic Press. Greer, R. D., Keohane, D., Meincke, K., Gautreaux, G., Chavez-Brown, M., Pereira, J., & Yuan, L. (2004).

Key components of effective tutoring. In J. Moran & R. Malott, (Eds.), Evidence-Based Educational Practices. New York: Elsevier/Academic Press.

Greer, R.D. & McDonough, S.H. (1999). Is the learn unit a fundamental measure of pedagogy? The

Behavior Analyst, 22, 5-16 Greer, R.D. & Polirstok, S.R. (1982). Collateral gains and short-term maintenance in reading and on-task

responses by inner-city adolescents as a function of their use of social reinforcement while tutoring. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 15, 123-139

Ingham, P. & Greer, R.D. (1992). Changes in student and teacher responses in observed and generalized

settings as a function of supervisor observations. Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 25, 153-164

Kamps, D.M., Barbetta, P.M., Leonard, B.R. and Delquadri, J. (1994). Classwide peer tutoring: An

integration strategy to improve reading skills and promote peer interactions among students with autism and general education peers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 49-61

Kohler, F.W. & Greenwood, C.R. (1990). Effects of collateral peer supportive behaviors within the

classwide peer tutoring program. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 307-322 Lancioni, G.E. (1982). Normal children as tutors to teach social responses to withdrawn mentally retarded

schoolmates: Training, maintenance and generalization. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 15, 17-40 (2004)

Marsico, M.J. (1998). Textual stimulus control of independent math performance and generalization of reading. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, New York Moran, D.J. & Malott. (2004). Evidence-based educational methods. San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press


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Scruggs, T.E., Mastropieri, M.A. & Richter, L. (August 1985). Peer tutoring with behaviorally disordered students: Social and academic benefits. Behavioral Disorders, 283-294

Singer, J.L. (2000). A comparison of rate, contingency-shaped, and verbally governed responding to component skills and the effects on the mastery and maintenance of composite mathematical operations. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, New York Singer-Dudek, J. & Keohane, D.D. (2006). First draft of chapter 2 in teaching as applied behavior analysis.

Teaching as Applied Behavior Analysis. (Unpublished first draft) Skinner (1957). Verbal Behavior. Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group. Taylor, I., & O’Reilly, M.E. (1997). Toward a functional analysis of private verbal self- regulation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30, 43-58 Author Contact Information: Tracy Reilly Lawson 226 Holt Drive Apt D2 Pearl River, NY 10965 Phone: 917-754-1658 Email: [email protected] Gabrielle Trapenberg Phone: 561-926-0461 Email: [email protected]

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The Effects of Writer Immersion and the

Responses of a Peer Reader on Teaching the Function of Writing with Middle School Students

Yasmin J. Helou, Jasmine Lai & Victoria L. Sterkin

Abstract

We tested the effects of writer immersion and the responses emitted by a peer reader across four male

middle school participants diagnosed with behavioral disorders. The participants were chosen for this study due to their high structural errors and inability to write functionally in order to affect the behavior of a reader. Writer immersion and the observing responses of a peer reader were used to increase both accurate structural and functional components of written responses to a probe picture and selected tasks. The dependent measures were the percentage of accurate structural components written during the pre- and post-experimental probes, the number of components drawn by the reader during the pre- and post-experimental probes, the percentage of accurate structural components written during the writer immersion phase and the number of components completed by the reader during the writer immersion phase. Results showed that the writer immersion procedure and the effect of the peer reader’s responses to the participant’s writing functioned to increase accuracy in the both structure and function of writing across all four participants. Keywords: writer immersion, technical writing, functional writing, peer reader, self-editing.

Writing is a crucial skill for children to acquire. While there is much emphasis on the form of writing, little emphasis has been placed on the teaching of the function of writing and its impact on a potential reader. In fact, many national standards focus on overarching goals in which children are required to speak and write from a variety of perspectives and across numerous tasks, but the effect that the child’s writing has on the reader is seldom addressed. Just as a speaker utilizes vocal language to affect the listener, a writer writes in order to affect the reader. The writing repertoire of the child needs to be able to be clear enough to direct the behavior of the reader so that the reader will accurately perform the tasks required of him (Greer, 2002). According to Catania (1998), from a verbal behavior analysis or the functionalist perspective, units of speech are identified according to their function for the speaker or writer. Verbal behavior has consequences and these consequences affect subsequent verbal behavior. In other words, verbal behavior is characterized by the effect one person has on another person including effects on the listener and speaker, as well as the effects of the writer on the reader (Greer & Ross, 2007).

According to Greer and Ross (2007) in order to teach effective and functional writing, the curriculum

must focus on instructing the writer on how to influence the actions of the reader. This type of technical writing is based on the outcomes of the writer’s instructions to the reader. For example, the writer may produce written instructions for assembling a bicycle or baking a cheesecake. The descriptions that are provided to the reader are the stimulus control for the reader to act upon the instructions.

The curriculum for functional writing must focus on creating an establishing operation and relevant

contingencies within the environment by assigning tasks that allow the writer to observe the effect that his writing has on a reader. Vargas (1978) arranged conditions in which the participants were assigned a writing task in which they how provide directions on how to complete a certain task. The participant had the reader complete the task based on the written information provided, and if the reader could not complete the task based on the directions, the writer immediately edited the directions so that the reader


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could complete the task accurately. Therefore, the reader’s behavior affected the writer’s behavior by prompting the editing and the writer’s behavior affected the reader’s behavior through the directions provided for the task completion.

Verbal behavior training programs incorporate establishing operations in which the child’s

environment is manipulated to co-create naturally occurring motivational conditions in order to increase the frequency of verbal responses (Michael, 1988, 1993). Several experiments have identified establishing operation tactics that have been effective in producing the motivational contexts necessary to teach listener and speaker verbal capabilities (Greer & Keohane, 2005; Greer & Ross, 2007).

Listener immersion is an establishing operation that teaches the child to come under the auditory

control of vowel-consonant combination to induce the consonant vowel control necessary for basic listener literacy (Greer, Chavez-Brown, Nirgudkar, Stolfi, & Rivera-Valdes, 2005). Listener immersion requires that all instruction be devoted to the child being taught to respond to vowel-consonant combinations until the child can respond consistently and solely to the vowel-consonant sound of instructions that are delivered. Greer, Chavez-Brown et al. reported the significant acceleration of rates of learning by eight pre-school children diagnosed with developmental disabilities as a function of listener immersion.

In addition to listener immersion, speaker immersion is often used to create conditions of deprivation

or need so that the child learns to emit vocal verbal behavior in order to manipulate his environment. Ross, Nuzzolo, Stolfi, and Natarelli (2006) tested the effects of speaker immersion across four pre-school participants classified as having communication delays. The speaker immersion tactic uses multiple establishing operations to increase speaker behavior for individuals with limited mand and tact repertoires (Greer, 2002). Results of this study showed that speaker immersion resulted in increased mands, tacts, and autoclitics for all the participants.

Another establishing operation tactic from verbal behavior analysis (Greer & Ross, 2007) that was

used in this study is writer immersion. Writer immersion is a procedure that includes setting aside a period of time in which all communication is done through written responses (Greer, 2002). Writer immersion creates the condition of the “need to write” so that the child must communicate solely through the medium of written communication. During a specified period of time, the child is provided with a writing utensil and paper and instructed to complete assignments, ask questions and request reinforcers through writing. Teachers conduct learn units in writing for structure and function and students respond until they affect the teacher’s behavior.

Madho (1997) tested the effects of the responses of a reader on the effectiveness of a written

description provide by the participant. Participants were required to edit their writing of a description of an object or task. Prior to the use of writer immersion, the participants were unable to provide the reader with accurate descriptions of the task to be performed or objects to be identified. After the impletion of the writer immersion procedure, the participants’ writing significantly improved so that the reader could identify the object or complete the described task. Jadlowski (2000) tested the effects of self-editing and revising of written work on the behaviors of four developmentally disabled students. This study showed that when a target student acts as the peer editor, the student editor’s writing improves significantly more than that of the student who received the corrections. Visalli-Gold (2005) studied the writing repertoires of emotionally disabled middle school students. Peer confederates were provided learn units on their writing while the participants observed the peer confederate receive the learn units and corrections for their writing. Results showed that both observing peers and those who received direct instruction on their writing, increased their writing accuracy for technical writing. According to Greer (2002), in order for the writer to acquire the self-editing repertoire, it is the teacher correction, or edits, that teaches the student to learn to respond to verbal antecedents so that the behavior of the reader is affected. In order for a student to achieve success using writer immersion, it is critical that the student is required to rewrite or recycle the essay until the


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desired effect is achieved. (Greer, 2002). Reilly-Lawson and Greer (2006) found writer immersion procedure to be a successful tactic for

teaching the function of writing with middle school students with academic delays. They investigated the effects of the students’ writing on responses emitted by readers who were naïve to the conditions and objectives of the experiments under writing immersion conditions. They conducted two experiments in the study.

In the first experiment, during baseline, the experimenter gave participants a picture with a number of components (colors, shapes, letters, words located at different areas on the paper) and written instructions to write a paragraph describing the picture. After the target students finished their writing, the written response was given to a naïve reader. The reader drew a picture based only on the student’s written instructions. The target students did not see the effects of their writing on the reader’s drawings and received no feedback on their writing. In the second phase, experimenter editing was given to both the writer and the reader. The experiment gave the students a picture and written antecedent as in the baseline condition. The reader then read the target student’s written responses and drew a picture based on the student’s written instruction. The experimenter then provided learn units (Greer & McDonough, 1999) for the structural components of the writing in written form. The function of the writing was also discussed in vocal form. The paper was returned to the student and the student had to rewrite the essay with the corrections for each structural and functional component until the student met the criterion at 100% accuracy in structural components for the essay. In the third phase, writer immersion was implemented. In addition, the experimenter also gave the students a picture and written directions to describe the picture as in the baseline phase. The written instructions were then given to a naïve reader and the reader drew a picture based on the written instructions provided only. Learn units were given in written form for the structural components of the essay and the picture drawn by the naïve reader was also given to the writer. The writer saw the effects of their writing and the feedback given by the experimenter, and then rewrote the essay until criterion was met. The results showed increases in the numbers of sentences written and the percent of accurate structural components after the experimenter editing was completed. However, the number of correct components drawn by the reader did not increase until after the writer immersion procedure was implemented. In other words, the use of learn units alone was not effective on teaching middle school students the function of writing. In the second experiment, all of the components were the same as the first experiment except that the writer immersion procedure and the students viewing the effects of their writing on the reader were used as the independent variable. After the writer immersion condition, the students edited their own writing after viewing drawings done by a reader. The students kept editing their essay until their writing met criterion of 100% accuracy on both structural and function components prior to experimenter editing. The results again showed a significant increase in both functional and structural accurate components of writing of the students. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of writer immersion with a peer yoked contingency and the function of the writer observing a peer reader on the teaching of the functional and structural components of writing with four middle school students. Pre- and post-experimental probes consisted of a picture given to the participants to describe with no peer feedback or teacher edits. During the treatment phase, four “how-to” tasks were given to each participant in which the participants had to write instructions for each task in order for a reader to complete the tasks. The tasks were the following: 1) how to make a peanut butter sandwich, 2) egg hunt I, 3) egg hunt II, and 4) how to make a snowman.


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Method

Participants Four middle school students participated in this study. All participants were selected from an 8th grade classroom in which all instruction employed a behavior analytic approach. Participant 1 was a 13-year old male diagnosed with a behavioral disorder. He functioned at a reader/writer level of verbal behavior. He was assessed to have a full IQ score of 59 with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)-III. He was also assessed using the Terra Nova Reading and Math (2005) scoring a grade equivalent of 2.0 in both areas. Participant 2 was a 14-year old male diagnosed with a behavioral disorder and also functioned at a reader/writer level of verbal behavior. Participant 2 was assessed with WISC-IV with a full scale IQ score of 70. He functioned at 3.9 grade level equivalent as assessed through Woodcock Johnson-III Acheivement Test. Participant 3 was a 13-year old male diagnosed with emotional disabilities. His WISC-IV full scale IQ score was a 52 when last tested in 2005. His 2005 Terra Nova reading grade equivalent score was a 1.1 and 0.8 in math. Participant 4 was a 15-year old male also diagnosed with an emotional disability. His WISC-IV full scale IQ score was a 72 when last tested in 2006. Table 1. Description of Participants Participant Age Level of Verbal Capability Full Scale IQ

Participant 1 13 reader/writer WISC-IV 82 Participant 2 14 reader/writer WISC-III 83 Participant 3 13 reader/writer WISC-III 70

Participant 4 15 reader/writer WISC-IV 52

According to Greer and Keohane (2005) verbal repertoires can be placed into categories or stages which provide behavioral functions in order for instructors to develop a verbal behavior based curricula. In turn, these categories help provide a functional approach to change state and national standards into teachable higher order operants necessary for a child to increase learner independence. All of the participants in this study were at the reader/writer levels of verbal behavior. More specifically, all participants had full naming across 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional objects, textually responding at a rate of 100 words per minute, print transcription, say-do correspondence, print transcription, reading governs responding, listening to story read by others as conditioned reinforcer, respond to own textual responding as listener and joint stimulus control across saying and writing. The participants were chosen for this study due to their inability to write functionally as well as a high number of structural errors in their writing. Setting All participants attended a special education classroom that employed a behavior analytic approach to teaching in a public middle school in a metropolitan area (Greer, 2002). The classroom contained one head teacher, two teaching assistants and seven students. All pre- and post probe sessions of the study were conducted at the back of the classroom at a rectangular-shaped table (4ft X 2.5ft). Writer immersion sessions took place while each participant was seated at an individual rectangular student desk which was arranged in rows facing the front of the classroom. All students in the classroom were diagnosed with emotional/behavioral disabilities. All instruction was presented in the form of learn units (Greer &


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McDonough, 1999). During the pre- and post-probe and the writer immersion sessions, the participants were either seated at the back of the classroom or at their own desks. Design

A delayed multiple probe across participants design was used in this study. Each participant was probed following the baseline and the writer immersion treatment conditions (Horner & Baer, 1978). The sequence of the experiment was: 1) pre-experimental probe on Picture A in which no feedback or consequation was given for participants, 2) writer immersion, peer yoked contingency and teacher editing for the following writing sessions of: how to make a peanut butter sandwich, Egg Hunt I, Egg Hunt II, and how to make a snowman 3) post-experimental probe on Picture A in which no feedback or consequation was given for participants. Dependent Variables: Structural and Functional Writing Measures The dependent measures in this study were the number of accurate structural components written during the pre- and post-experimental probes, the number of components drawn by the reader during the pre- and post-experimental probes, the percentage of accurate structural components written during the writer immersion phase and the number of components completed by the reader during the writer immersion phase. Across all the conditions of the study, the target behaviors were the structural components (i.e., spelling, grammar, punctuation) and functional components of the participants’ writing. The function of the participants’ writing was measured by the effects the writing had on a peer reader (i.e., the reader accurately completes the drawings per the writer’s instructions).

In the pre- and post- probe sessions, each participant was given the same picture (Picture A) to describe in writing. The picture included colored shapes, lines, and a number. Each picture or session consisted of 20-components for the reader to draw based on the writer’s instructions. Students were to include detailed descriptions of 20 steps for drawing the picture during probe sessions. The participants had to describe each of the specific components of the drawing: 1) the two shapes, 2) the colors of the shape, 3) if the shapes were shaded in or not 3) the position of the shapes on the page, 4) the number, 5) the color of the number, 6) the line, 7) the color of the line, 9) the position of the line on the page. After the participant finished the probe session, the written responses were given to a peer reader. The peer reader then tried to accomplish the task according to the participant’s written instruction. The number of components the peer reader followed correctly was measured as the number of accurate functional components of the participant’s writing. A participant’s writing description was determined to be functional if the peer reader could replicate Picture A with 100% accuracy based on the written description provided.

During the writer immersion treatment phase, each participant was provided with four tasks to write

instructions for: 1) how to make a peanut butter sandwich, 2) Egg hunt I, 3) Egg hunt II, and 4) how to make a snowman. The participants had to describe each “how-to” for each task in written form. Each task consisted of 20 components.

The first task included all the steps needed in order to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The

participants were to include the followings steps in their written descriptions: 1) materials needed for making the sandwich which included two knives, a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly and a plate, (each material is counted separately for a total of 5 steps), 2)open the peanut butter jar, 3) open the jelly jar, 4) open the bread package 5) take out two slices of bread, 5) place the two slices of bread next to each other on the plate, 6) take one knife, place it in the peanut butter jar and scoop out some peanut butter 7) spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread 8) take the other knife, place in it the jelly jar and scoop out some jelly, 9) take the jelly and spread it on the other piece of bread 10) take the two pieces of bread and lie one


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on top of the other so that the jelly and peanut butter face each other 11) close the lid of the peanut butter jar 12) close the lid of the jelly jar 13) close the bread 14)put all the materials back in the proper locations 15) it is now time to eat your sandwich.

The second and third writing tasks were comprised of an “Egg Hunt” in which the experimenter and

the participant walked to two different locations outside of the classroom setting, one location for ‘Egg Hunt I” and another location for “Egg Hunt II”. Once at the specified location, the experimenter and participant hid a plastic egg that contained primary reinforcers in the form of candy and coins. This location was unknown to the peer reader. The purpose of the writing task was for the participant to provide the peer reader written directions from the classroom to the egg’s hidden location. Each of the written direction tasks included 20 components.

The final writing task was, “How to make a snowman,” in which each participant made his own

snowman prior to writing the instructions for the task. Each participant was provided with the following materials prior to making his snowman: 1) a pre-cut form of three white circles and two long thin rectangles made out of construction paper that represented the body and arms of the snowman, 2) numerous pairs of shapes for eyes which included pink triangles, blue squares, purple circles, red ovals, and green diamonds, 3) singular shapes for a nose which included an orange square, a blue square, green diamonds, a purple circle, a brown oval, and a red triangle, 4) different colored hats consisting of hats with and without fringes, pom-poms, and bells 5) various colors of mittens for the ends of each arm, and 6) different types of mouths that included smiles with missing teeth, smiles with sharp teeth, closed lipped smiles and frowns. After the participant created his snowman, he wrote instructions to the peer on how to replicate his snowman by providing the peer reader with the shape and color to choose and the position in which to glue the shape on the pre-cut form, so that when a peer reader followed the written instructions, he would produce the same snowman as the one created by the participant. Each snowman creation consisted of 20 components based upon each individual participant’s creation.

In addition to function of the writing and the number of correct components written by the participant, data were also collected on the structural components of the participant’s writing. Structural measures included the percent of accurate structural components (grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure) throughout the essay. These measures were converted to percentage by dividing the numbers of correct responses to spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure divided by the total numbers of opportunities to respond within each essay and multiplied by 100%. Independent Variables: Writer Immersion Package

The independent variables for this study was a package that included: 1) writer immersion, 2) the yoked contingency of the peer reader and 3) teacher editing of structural components.

During the pre- and post-experimental probes, the experimenter provided the participant Picture A in

which he had to write a paragraph describing the picture during a typical instructional session. A peer reader then read the participant’s written instructions independently and drew a picture based only on the participant’s written responses. The participant did not see the effects of his writing on the peer reader’s drawing. Therefore, no feedback or consequation for structure or function was provided to the participant during the pre- and post- experimental probes. Data were collected and measured based on the number of accurate components of the drawing was counted and percentage of correct structural components was calculated.

During all treatment phases, the writer immersion procedure was implemented, in which all communication between the participants, peers and experimenters was done through written responses for a specified period of time each day (Greer, 2002). The participant was provided with a written antecedent


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to write a paragraph describing the steps for a specified task. In addition, the participant was provided with paper and a pencil.

After completion of each of the written tasks, a peer reader from the same classroom sat next to the participant and read the participant’s writing aloud while the participant observed the peer reader implement each of the written directions provided. While the participant sat silently beside the peer, he was able to view the effects of his writing on the reader. This peer yoked contingency provided the participant with direct feedback on the effectiveness of his written directions. If the peer reader was able to complete the task with 100% accuracy, the participant met the criterion for the functional writing components. If not, the participant rewrote the instructions until the peer reader could complete each task successfully.

In addition, the experimenter provided learn units to the participant in written form for the structural

components of the essay. After the peer reader read the participant’s written instructions in order to complete the task, the experimenter edited the writing for the structural components. The experimenter then returned the written directions to the participant, and the participant has to rewrite directions while making all the corrections provided by the experimenter. Criterion for the implementation of the treatment was set at 100% accuracy for functional components and 90% accuracy for structural components after editing. Data Collection During the probes, the numbers of the components drawn by the peer reader served as the measure of the effectiveness of the participant’s writing on the reader. Structural accuracy was measured by counting the number of correct spelling, the number of correct punctuation, and the number of correct structural components and grammar for each essay. No feedback was given during the probes. During the treatment phase, the number of the steps the reader accomplished in a task served as the measure of the effectiveness of the participant’s writing on the peer reader. The same measurement procedure was used for the structural components as during the probes. During the treatment sessions, the experimenter provided and collected data on responses to learn units for the structural components of participant’s writing. Interscorer Agreement

Interscorer agreement (ISA) was obtained by comparing the experimenter and an independent reader measure of all aspects of four participants’ writing during 63% of the treatment phase sessions and during 100% of the pre-and post-experimental probes. Point-to-point interscorer agreement was calculated by dividing the number of agreements by the number of agreements and disagreements and multiplying by 100. The lead experimenter and one other experimenter scored each participant’s writing assignment with total correct words out of total incorrect and correct words, grammar, and punctuation, and sentence structure to obtain the ISA for the structural component of writing. The ISA measurement was conducted during 65% of the treatment phase and 100% during the pre/post experimental probes with a mean interscorer agreement of 100% for the structural component of writing during both the treatment and probes sessions for Participant 1. For Participant 2, the ISA measurement was conducted during 63% of the treatment phase and 100% during the probe sessions with a mean ISA of 98% and 100% for the structural component of writing during the treatment session and the probe session respectively. The mean ISA measurements for the functional component of the writing for Participant 1 and 2 were both 100% across the treatment phase and the probe sessions. For Participant 3, the ISA measurement was conducted for 84% of the treatment phases and 100% for the probes sessions with a mean interscorer agreement of 92% for structural and 100% for functional. For Participant 4, the ISA measurement was conducted for 95% of the sessions during the treatment phase and 100% of the probe sessions. The mean interscorer agreement for structural components was 97% and 100% for functional components.


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Results

Figure 1 shows the number of components of the drawing the participant described accurately measured by the components drawn by the peer reader during pre- and post-experimental probes. During the pre-experimental probe, the peer reader for Participant 1 drew 5 of the 20 components of the drawing correctly. After writer immersion and the peer yoked contingency, the number of correct components drew by the peer reader increased to 20 out of the 20 components. For Participant 2, during the pre-experimental probe, the peer reader drew 6 of the 20 components of the drawing correctly. After writer immersion and the peer yoked contingency, the number of correct components drawn by the peer reader increased to 19 out of the 20 components. The peer reader for Participant 3 drew 6 of the 20 components of the drawing correctly during the pre-experimental probe and the number of components drawn correctly after treatment increased to 18 out of 20 correct components. During the pre-experimental probe, the peer reader for Participant 4 drew 14 of the 20 components of the drawing correctly. After treatment, the number of correct components drew by the peer reader increased to 18 out of 20 components.



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Figure 1. Figure 1 shows the number of accurate functional components emitted during the pre- and post- experimental probes


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Figure 2 shows the percentage of accurate structural components written during pre- and post- experimental probes. Participant 1 emitted 42% accurate structural components during the pre-probe and after writer immersion and teacher editing, the percentage of structural accuracy increased to 83% during the post-probe session. Participant 2 emitted 61% accurate structural components during the pre-probe and after writer immersion and teacher editing, the percentage of structural accuracy increased to 82%. Participant 3 emitted 61% accurate structural components during the pre-probe and after writer immersion and teacher editing, the percentage of accurate structural components increased to 93% during the post-probe. Participant 4 emitted 67% accurate structural components during the pre-probe and the percentage of accurate structural components increased to 93% during the post probe.

Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the percentage of accurate structural components emitted during the pre-and post- experimental probes


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Figure 3 shows the numbers of components of the drawing the student described accurately measured by the components drawn by the peer reader during the treatment phase. For Participant 1, during the first phase of the treatment “How to make a peanut butter sandwich,” he required 4 sessions to meet criterion set at 100% accuracy and the number of components completed by the reader ranged from 1 to 20 out of 20 components with a mean of 10.75 components completed. During the second phase of writer immersion “The egg hunt I,” Participant 1 met criterion in 2 sessions and the number of components completed by the reader increased to 20 from 7. The reader during the third phase of the treatment “The egg hunt II” completed all 20 components in the first session for Participant 1. Lastly, during the phase of “How to make a snowman”, the number of components completed by the reader increased to 20 from 15. Participant 1 reached criterion in this phase in 2 sessions. For Participant 2, during the first phase of the treatment “How to make a peanut butter sandwich,” he required 3 sessions to meet the 100% accuracy criterion and the number of components completed by the reader ranged from 1 to 20 out of 20 components with a mean of 8.3 components completed. During the second phase of writer immersion “The egg hunt I,” Participant 2 met criterion in 2 sessions and the number of components completed by the reader increased to 20 from 3. The reader during the third phase of the treatment “The egg hunt II” completed all 20 components in the first session for Participant 2. Lastly, during the phase of “How to make a snowman,” the number of components completed by the reader increased to 20 from 18. Participant 2 reached criterion in this phase in 2 sessions.



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Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the percentage of accurate structural components emitted during the treatment phase.


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For Participant 3, during the first phase of the treatment “How to make a peanut butter sandwich,” he required 4 sessions to meet the 100% accuracy criterion and the number of components completed by the reader ranged from 7 to 20 out of 20 components with a mean of 13 components completed. During the second phase of writer immersion “The egg hunt I,” Participant 3 met criterion in 1 session with a score of 20 out of 20 components completed. In the third phase “The egg hunt II,” Participant 3 required 2 sessions to meet criterion with a score of 19 and 20 respectively. Lastly, during the phase of “How to make a snowman,” the number of components completed by the reader was again 20 out of 20 steps. For Participant 4, during the first phase of the treatment “How to make a peanut butter sandwich,” he required 2 sessions to meet the 100% accuracy criterion and the number of components completed by the reader was 6 in the first session and 20 in the second session. During the second and the third phase of writer immersion “The egg hunt I and II,” Participant 4 met criterion in 1 session with a score 20 out of 20 steps completed by the reader. Lastly, during the phase of “How to make a snowman,” the number of components completed by the reader increased to 20 from 17. Participant 4 reached criterion in this phase in 2 sessions.

Figure 4 shows the percentage of accurate structural components emitted by each participant during writer immersion. The mean percentage of accurate structural components for Participant 1 in the first phase “How to make a peanut butter sandwich” was 49.25% with a range of 16% to 93% in 4 sessions. The mean percentage of accurate structural components in the second phase “The egg hunt I” was 65% with a score of 35% and 95% in two sessions. The mean percentage of accurate structural components in the third phase “The egg hunt II” was 80% with a score of 80% and 90% in two sessions. The mean percentage of accurate structural components in the “How to make a snowman” was 80% with a score of 64% and 95% in two sessions for Participant 1. For Participant 2, the mean percentage of accurate structural components in the first phase “How to make a peanut butter sandwich” was 76% with a range of 58% to 90% in 3 sessions. The mean percentage of accurate structural components in the second phase “The egg hunt I” was 86% with a score of 77% to 95% in two sessions. The mean percentage of accurate structural components in the third phase “The egg hunt II” was 91% with a score of 84% to 98% in two sessions. Lastly, the mean percentage of accurate structural components during “How to make a snowman” was 91% with a score of 86% to 96% in two sessions.



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Figure 4. Figure 4 shows the number of accurate components completed by the reader during the treatment phase.


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For Participant 3, the mean percentage of accurate structural components in the first phase “how to make a peanut butter sandwich” was 85% with a range of 77% to 91% in 3 sessions. The percentage of accurate structural components in the second phase “The egg hunt I” was 93%. In the third phase, Participant 3 scored 81% in the first session and scored 92% in the second session. The mean percentage of accurate structural components during “How to make a snowman” was 79% with a score of 65% and 92% in two sessions. Participant 4 had a 80% mean percentage of accurate structural components in the first phase with a range of 61% to 98% in three sessions. The percentage of accurate structural components in the second phase was 90% in the first session, which was the criterion. In the third phase, the participant increased from 80% accuracy in the first session to 96% in the second session. In the fourth phase, the participant scored 88% in the first session and increased to 96% in the second session.

Discussion

The data showed a significant increase in the percent of accurate structural components written and the number of components drawn by the peer reader during the post-experimental probe sessions across all four participants. As a result of writer immersion, the participants’ viewing the effects of their writing on the peer reader’s behaviors and the experimenter edits and recycles, a treatment package was created which effectively changed the writer behavior of four participants that did not have functional or technical writing in their repertoires during pre-experimental probes. In addition, there was a significant difference in the structural components of writing after the implementation of writer immersion. The results indicated that writer immersion is an effective tactic to teach these participants to write functionally. In addition, it also improved their accuracy in the use of the structural components of writing. For all participants, as they wrote to affect the behavior of the reader, the number of accurate technical components increased. Moreover, the number of sentences increased significantly for all the participants.

It is also noteworthy that as the participants moved through the four treatment phases, the number of accurate components completed by the peer reader and the percentage of accurate structural components in the first session of each phase increased incrementally as compared to the data in the first session of each preceding phase. This suggested that each phase of the treatment procedure strengthened the participants’ ability to write functionally as well as increase their structural accuracy.

In addition, the participant’s ability to view the peer reading the writing aloud and implementing each

of the steps was very highly effective in having the participant change his writing behavior to result in a more effective revision. In the Reilly-Lawson & Greer (2006) study, a naïve reader followed the directions of the writing while in a separate location. The participants only saw the final effect of their writing by seeing the completed accurate or inaccurate implementation of their written description. Throughout the course of the treatment package in this study, the participants viewed every step of implementation and observed the immediate effects of their writing on the readers’ responses. It is important to note this difference between the two studies, and how immediately viewing the writing effects may be either a more effective procedure or part of a sequence of procedures.

Overall, the combination of the establishing operation of writer immersion, the implementation of the

peer reader while the participant viewed the immediate effects of the writing, and experimenter edits for recycles led the participants in this study to acquire the significant skills of functional and technical writing within the higher order verbal capability of writer status. Without the means to effectively write, children are at a significant disadvantage when they enter the work force. Written communication is a necessary skill that needs to be mastered at an early age so that it can be developed and strengthened to include aesthetic writing, critical analysis and many other forms of writing that result in the writer affecting the behavior of the reader.


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References Catania, A. C. (1998). Learning (4th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Greer, R. D, & Keohane, D. D. (2005). The evolution of verbal behavior in children. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 1, 31-47. Greer, R. D. (2002). Designing teaching strategies: An applied behavior analysis systems approach. New York, NY: Academic Press. Greer, R. D., Chavez-Brown, M. Nirgudkar, A. S., Stolfi, L., & Rivera-Valdes, C. (2005). Acquisition of fluent listener responses and the educational advancement of young children with autism and severe language delays. European Journal ofBehavior Analysis, 6, 125-144. Greer, R. D. & Keohane, D. D. (2005). The evolution of verbal behavior in children. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 1(1), 31-47.Greer, R. D. & McDonough, S. H. (1999). Is the learn unit a fundamental measure of pedagogy? The Behavior Analyst, 22, 5-16.Greer, R. D. & Ross, D. E. (2007). Verbal Behavior Analysis: Inducing and Expanding New Verbal Capabilities in Children with Language Delays. New York, NY: Allyn and Bacon. Horner, R. D., & Baer, D. M. (1978). Multiple probe technique: A variation on the multiple baseline. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11,189-196. Jadlowski, S.M. (2000). The effects of a teacher editor, peer editing, and serving as a peer editor on elementary students’ self-editing behavior. (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 9970212. Madho, V. (1997). The effects of the responses of a reader on the writing effectiveness of children with

developmental disorders. (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 1997). Dissertation Abstracts International, 9809740.

Michael, J. (1988). Establishing operations and the mand. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 6, 3-9. Michael, J. (1993). Establishing operations. The Behavior Analyst, 16, 191-206. Reilly-Lawson, T., & Greer, R. D. (2006). Teaching the function of writing to middle school students with academic delays. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention, 3, 151-172. Ross, D.E., Nuzzolo, R., Stolfi, L., & Natarelli S. (2006). Effects of speaker immersion on the spontaneous speaker behavior of preschool children with communication delays, Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention, 3, 135-150. Vargas, J. S. (1978). A behavioral approach to teaching composition. The Behavior Analyst, 1, 16-24. Visalli-Gold, D. A. (2005). The effects of students’ observation of teacher presented learn units on the writing of observing students. (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 3174915.

Authors Note

Address correspondence and requests for reprints to the first author at [email protected].

All of the training data for the 3-D and 2-D instruction are available from the first author. We would


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like to acknowledge our teacher and mentor, Dr. R. Douglas Greer, for his consistent guidance, patience and commitment to us and all his students.

Author Contact Information: Yasmin J. Helou BOX 76 Teachers College Columbia University New York, NY 10027 Phone: 914-374-2646 Email: [email protected]

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500

Improving Treatment Outcome for Oppositional

Defiant Disorder in Young Children

Elizabeth P. MacKenzie

Abstract

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is relatively common among 3-8 year-old children and its presence puts children at risk for more serious and stable behavior problems. Behavioral ParentTraining (BPT) as the most empirical support as a treatment for children with ODD as well as for children with clinically significant conduct problems. The purpose of this paper is to review research on research on modifications to the BPT treatment model that have improved its efficacy as well as its use by a use by a wider range of families. Keywords: Behavioral Parent Training; Treatment Outcome; Oppositional Defiant Disorder; early childhood; school-aged children; Behavioral Treatments.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is characterized by a pattern of noncompliant, argumentative, angry, hostile and defiant behavior, which have persisted for at least six months. These difficulties cause impairments in social relationships with both adults and peers (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Angry and hostile behavior commonly take both verbally and physically aggressive forms, although the presence of significantly elevated levels of physical aggression is not required for the diagnosis (Loeber, Burke, Lahey, Winters, & Zerba, 2000). The average age of onset for ODD is age 6 years and most children receive the diagnosis prior to adolescence (Hinshaw & Anderson, 1996). The evidence on gender differences in ODD prevalence is somewhat mixed. A review of the literature suggests equivalent rates of ODD in boys and girls prior to age six and equivalent or slightly higher prevalence among males during middle childhood (Loeber et al., 2000).

Two debated issues in the child psychopathology arena are: (a) whether ODD is a developmental

precursor to Conduct Disorder and (b) whether conceptualization of ODD as a categorical diagnosis, rather than a pattern of behavioral and emotional adjustment is appropriate. The first issue is beyond the scope of the present article and interested readers are encouraged to read other work such as that by Loeber and colleagues (2000). The taxonomic issue regarding the appropriate conceptualization of ODD is pertinent to this article because effective treatments for ODD are often employed with young children with clinically significant “conduct problems” or “behavior problems”, as assessed with questionnaires with continuous, rather than categorical scaling (e.g., Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000; Eyberg & Pincus, 1999), as well as with behavior observations, rather than with diagnostic interview techniques. The behaviors that comprise ODD are present in most children during development; unlike many other categorical diagnoses. The critical variable is that children with ODD differ from others in the intensity, frequency, and duration of these behaviors. These behaviors are significantly greater than would be expected developmentally. Thus, for the purpose of this article, treatment research that uses either dimensional or categorical assessment in defining a clinical sample is included.


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Behavioral Parent Training (BPT)

BPT is a family-based intervention strategy and it is a scientifically validated treatment for Oppositional Defiant Disorder in 3-8 year-old children (Chambless et al., 1998). There are many effective BPT programs (e.g., Eyberg & Boggs, 1998; Forehand & McMahon, 1981; Patterson, Reid, Jones, & Conger, 1975; Webster-Stratton et al., 2001b). Programs differ somewhat in format (e.g., group vs. individually administered), treatment setting (e.g., clinic vs. community), and instructional techniques (e.g. differential emphasis on coaching, modeling, role play, and didactic techniques). BPT programs are also referred to using alternative terms such as “parent management training” (e.g., Kazdin, 1997), “behavioral family therapy” (McMahon & Forehand, 2003), “parent training” (see McMahon & Forehand, 1984), and “parent-child interaction therapy” (Eyberg & Boggs, 1998). Despite these differences, all programs aim to improve child functioning, through changing parenting, in accordance to principles of operant conditioning and social learning theory. Specifically, parents are taught to (a) increase target positive child behaviors with positive reinforcers such as social praise, positive verbal attention, affection, and tangible rewards and (b) respond to serious misbehavior with effective, non-coercive punishment techniques, usually time-out. Furthermore, parents are taught monitoring skills so that they can correctly distinguish between positive and negative behaviors, respond quickly and appropriately to them, and accurately assess changes in child behavioral functioning over time with techniques such as daily behavioral data collection and graphing.

Over 30 years of evidence supports BPT as a preventive intervention for ODD (e.g., Chambless et al.,

1998; Serketich & Dumas, 1996). Despite the availability of BPT, the high incidence of externalizing behavior problems, and the increased risk for more serious and persistent psychopathology for young children with behavior disorders (Campbell, 1995; Loeber et al., 2000), BPT, is underused and when it is implemented, it is not consistently effective for all (Kazdin & Wassell, 1998).

In the sections that follow, strategies to improve BPT outcome, as well as, recent innovations are

reviewed. The advances described in this paper have developed in tandem with other related research areas, which are beyond the scope of this article such as the use of multi-modal, multiple setting, multi-level models used in prevention science (e.g., Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2004; Feil, Severson, & Walker, 2002; J. Reid, Eddy, Fetrow, & Stoolmiller, 1999; Sanders, Markie-Dadds, Tully, & Bor, 2000).

Improving BPT Outcome

A number of strategies have been employed for improving treatment outcome in BPT. Some of the strategies, such as making treatment more intensive by adding individual child and/or teacher-focused treatment components to BPT, have been directly evaluated within comparative treatment outcome designs (Nock, 2005; Webster-Stratton, 1990; Webster-Stratton, Kolpacoff, & Hollinsworth, 1988). Other strategies, such as adding booster sessions, have been incorporated into treatment protocols based on extant research on factors related to treatment success as well as on behavioral theory (see Eyberg & Boggs, 1998; Fleischman, Horne, & Arthur, 1983, for example programs).

Target Age for Intervention

Some studies suggest that preschool-aged children respond better to treatment (Dishion & Patterson, 1992) than do older children, while others find no differential efficacy within the 3-8 year-old age range (McMahon & Forehand, 2003). There is more common agreement, however, that treatment success is more difficult to attain during middle childhood and adolescence than in the 3-8 year-old age range. Further, developmental psychopathology research suggests that children with early significant conduct problems or ODD are at increased risk for more serious problems later in development (Campbell, 1995; Hinshaw & Anderson, 1996). For example, preschool problem behavior was strongest longitudinal


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predictor of delinquent behavior at age 11 (White, Moffit, Earls, Robins, & Silva, 1990). Thus, intervention in the preschool and early elementary years is critical. Generalization Strategies

Temporal generalization. Many BPT programs recommend the use of less frequent sessions (i.e., fading), once families have acquired the basic parenting skills and need additional time to practice and become more independent in their application of BPT strategies. Similarly, booster sessions are recommended (Chronis, Chacko, Fabiano, Wymbs, & Perlham, 2004; Eyberg, Edwards, Boggs, & Foote, 1998). Booster sessions take place after the family has completed the main parenting sessions and has met treatment goals. The purpose of booster sessions is to prevent the deterioration of treatment gains, which may occur because parents have not maintained changes in parenting behaviors or because parents need additional assistance in applying parenting techniques to new child behaviors.

Setting generalization. Although there is evidence that BPT treatment effects generalize from the

clinic to home setting, they do not appear to generalize from home to school (Wells, 1995). One simple and commonly used strategy to promote generalization to school is the use of school-home notes (Kelley, 1990), which are also referred to as daily report cards (O'Leary, Pelham, Rosenbaum, & Price, 1976) in the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder literature. School-home notes involve defining a few target behaviors with the teacher, both positive behaviors to increase (e.g., on-task behavior) and negative behaviors to decrease (e.g., hitting other children); the teacher monitors the target behaviors and records them on the note. The note is sent home, on a daily basis so that parents can influence school behavior through the provision of appropriate consequences (e.g., give a sticker for targeted positive behavior or remove a privilege for targeted misbehavior).

Webster-Stratton and colleagues (2004) developed a teacher-training module and tested its impact on

BPT outcome within six condition controlled comparative treatment outcome study in families of 4-8 year-old children with ODD. The addition of the teacher-training component to the BPT program was associated with reduced classroom behavior problems, whereas BPT-alone did not.

Additional Treatment Components

Another approach to increasing the efficacy of BPT has been through the addition of treatment modules to the basic BPT model.

Child-focused components. Webster-Stratton and colleagues enhanced BPT treatment outcome with

the addition of an individual child focused social problem-solving module for 4-8 year-old children with clinically significant conduct problems. Although both treatment groups showed significant improvements at 6-month follow-up as compared to children in the control group, children who had participated in the child-focused module as well as the BPT module showed the most significant improvements (Webster-Stratton & Hammond, 1997).

Parent-focused components. Some programs have components added for the parent to address

individual parent factors that may hamper or facilitate skilled use of BPT techniques. For example, a number of programs include a module designed to teach parent self-control techniques, such as self-monitoring, self-positive reinforcement, and emotion management (Fleischman et al., 1983). There is evidence that the incorporation of self-control techniques enhances BPT effects in contrast to families who receive BPT without the self-control component (Wells, Griest, & Forehand, 1980). Similarly, Kazdin and Whitley (2003) added a parent problem-solving module to their BPT model to reduce parenting stress. The families of 6-14 year-olds, who completed the problem-solving module in addition to BPT, showed improved parent and child behavior outcomes and reported fewer barriers to treatment participation than did parents who had only completed the BPT program.


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Self-Directed Treatment Formats Responding to research that suggests that home-based and self-directed mental health program

service delivery increases participation (Snell-Johns, Mendez, & Smith, 2004), some researchers have developed home-based on self-directed BPT formats. For example, the Incredible Years Parent Program (Webster-Stratton et al., 2001a) is a 10- to 12-session program designed to reduce behavior problems and promote social competence in 3- to 8-year-old children. Videotaped parent-child interactions are combined with therapist-led discussion. The program was tested as a self-administered program in two small controlled comparative treatment outcome studies (Webster-Stratton, 1990; Webster-Stratton et al., 1988). Results suggested that significant treatment effects for the self-directed group, though effects were not as strong as for comparative conditions, which included face-to-face therapist contact. The second study (Webster-Stratton, 1990) added two hours of therapist consultation and this enhanced the effects on child behavior for the largely self-directed program.

Therapeutic Process

Resistance is often defined as client behavior that is in opposition to either the therapist or to the treatment goals set by the therapist or the treatment protocol (Bischoff & Tracey, 1995). Behavioral models of resistance, such as the OSLC model (see Cautilli, Riley-Tillman, Alexrod, & Hineline, 2005, for a review) also emphasize the contributions of therapist behaviors and therapist-parent interactions to the frequency and resolution of client resistance.

High resistance at the beginning of treatment has been associated with increased frequency of early

drop-out and shorter treatment duration (Patterson & Chamberlain, 1994). Particular patterns of resistance displayed over the course of BPT have also been found to relate to outcome. Successful treatment was predicted by a “struggle-and-work-through” pattern, a curvilinear growth process characterized by an increase in resistance that peaked at the midpoint of treatment, then decreased over the second half of treatment (Chamberlain, Patterson, Reid, Kavanaugh, & Forgatch, 1984; Stoolmiller, Duncan, Bank, & Patterson, 1993). Stoolmiller and colleagues (1993) also found that poor treatment outcome was predicted by chronically high or accelerating patterns of resistance and chronically low levels of resistance. Further, patterns of resistance that do not follow the “struggle-and-work-through” were predicted by inept discipline strategies, mothers’ antisocial behavior, and mothers’ depressed mood at the beginning of therapy.

The research above suggests that resistance may play an adaptive or maladaptive functions during

particular stages of treatment. The patterns of resistance that appear most concerning are those that one would expect in a highly conflictual (i.e., chronically high or accelerating levels of resistance) or a disengaged (chronically low resistance) parent-therapist relationships. Strategies to increase parent participation and motivation have been developed to improve the course of treatment by reducing treatment drop out and fostering a more productive therapist-parent working relationship.

Researchers at the Oregon Social Learning Center have added a “Family Check-up” component to

their BPT programs. The Family Check-up uses motivational interviewing, a collaborative assessment and goal-setting strategy, which was originally developed for use with adults who abuse alcohol (Miller & Rolnick, 2002). Parents are given a list of common behavior problems for their child’s state of development. Other problems such as parent stress are included on the list. The therapist presents the parents with a menu of treatment options based on the problems identified during assessment. Then the parent and therapist work together to develop a treatment plan. As compared to the control group families, the use of the Family Check-Up was linked to longitudinal reductions in child disruptive behaviors and increases in maternal involvement in families with at-risk toddler sons (Shaw, Dishion, Supplee, Gardner, & Arnds, 2006). Future work with the Family Check Up will be valuable in determining its usefulness with families with young children who have Oppositional Defiant Disorder.


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Nock & Kazdin (2005) added a brief (5-45 minute) long intervention to their BPT program used with clinical families of 2-12 year-old children with significant aggression, oppositionality, and other antisocial behaviors. The brief intervention was designed to increase parent motivation and participation in treatment. Parents randomly assigned to receive this additional intervention component were significantly more motivated, attended more sessions, and adhered to the treatment protocol with more fidelity, than did parents who did not receive this component.

Recent Directions

A more recent focus in BPT research has been to increase the acceptability of and access to BPT for

ethnic and racial minority families, who are less likely to have access to mental health services or to use them when they have access to them (Surgeon General, 2000). Published research has been conducted with universal or high-risk samples rather than clinical samples. Consequently, although these are exciting advances in the field, additional work is needed to assess their efficacy with children with clinically significant conduct problems and/or formally diagnosed ODD.

Factors related to service use include the location of the treatment setting, cost, childcare and

transportation needs, and flexibility of program scheduling (Snell-Johns et al., 2004). Cultural differences in language and communication have also been identified as factors that decrease service utilization (Surgeon General, 2000).

Strategies to Decrease Barriers

Recruitment strategies. A community-based recruitment approach for racial/ethnic minority populations has been linked to increased program participation. Specific strategies include contacting key community members to assist with recruitment and to identify intact social networks as primary recruitment targets (Harachi, Catalano, & Hawkins, 1997; Murray et al., 2004). Reid and her colleagues describe implementation of these strategies (M. J. Reid, Webster-Stratton, & Beauchaine, 2001). This particular study combined samples from two Head Start studies; this program successfully engaged and retained two ethnically diverse research samples and the findings from the study were positive. Results indicated that the program was generally effective and that there were very few differences in treatment response across groups.

Reduce cultural differences in language and communication. It is argued that qualitative methods

appear particularly well-suited for the identification of culturally-based language and communication differences (Bernal & Scharrón-Del-Río, 2001), and the use of parent focus groups has been specifically recommended as a way to identify appropriate adaptations to BPT (Forehand & Kotchick, 1996) to be later tested using quantitative research methods (Bernal & Scharrón-Del-Río, 2001). In respect to BPT techniques, it is possible that the way techniques and their application are described, lowers the acceptability. For example, the need to assess the cultural appropriateness of the use of parent-child special one-to-one interactions in BPT (e.g., child-directed play) has been questioned (Roosa, Dumka, Gonzales, & Knight, 2002). Gross and her colleagues (2004) used parent input to modify the way in which the application of encouragement and child-directed interaction were taught in her BPT program designed for use with African American parents of 2-5 year-old children. Practicing the same positive reinforcement skills (e.g., praise, verbal description) within daily activities was more acceptable to parents than was using child-directed play.

On the advice of the parent focus groups, Gross and her colleagues also used naturalistic videos of

African American parents effectively using the techniques, instead of verbal descriptions of techniques or videos with professional actors. The resulting program has been evaluated within a controlled comparative treatment outcome trial with ethnic/racial minority low-income families with 2-5 year-old


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children. Families who completed the culturally adapted BPT program showed improvements in parenting skills as well as child behavior as compared to the families in the control group (Gross et al., 2003).

Modifying Service delivery. As noted earlier, making the effort to reduce logistical barriers to

participation by providing home-based and self-directed programs is also supported in the literature (Snell-Johns et al., 2004). However, recent evidence suggests that self-directed programs may not only be useful increasing the general reach of BPT, but in serving hard-to-reach-populations such as ethnic/racial minority families and families with other socio-demographic factors associated with lower treatment participation, engagement, and less favorable treatment outcome such as parental depression, single parent status, and low SES (see Haggerty, MacKenzie, Skinner, Harachi, & Catalano, 2006, for a review).

In one of the very few studies of its kind, socio-demographic predictors of program participation were

compared across two program delivery formats for families with adolescent children, a home-based self-directed format, and a group format implemented in community settings (Haggerty, MacKenzie, Skinner, Harachi, & Catalano, 2006). Being African American (one half of the sample was African American and the other half was European American) and having lower per capita income predicted lower program participation in the group format. This finding replicates those in other studies of parenting program participation. However, these factors were not related to program participation in the home-based self-directed program, where initiation was higher overall. Furthermore, subsequent analyses have demonstrated that although both program formats were beneficial to African American and European American youth, a Race X Format interaction was revealed that showed that the sub-sample with the best treatment response were the African American youth who had completed the home-based video program (Haggerty, Skinner, MacKenzie, Harachi, & Catalano, under review).

Another effort to serve hard-to-reach populations has been led by Sanders and his colleagues in

Australia. The self-administered component of the Positive Parenting Program (Sanders, Turner, & Markie-Dadds, 2002) has been evaluated in 305 families with 3 year-old children, with demographic risk factors associated with attrition and less favorable treatment outcome such as maternal depression, marital conflict, low SES, and single parent headed household (Sanders, Markie-Dadds, Tully, & Bor, 2000). The self-administered format of PPP was combined with telephone consultation and was compared with a wait-list control group and 2 clinic-based treatment formats, both of which involved face-to-face contact with a therapist. At posttest, parents who completed the self-administered program reported higher perceived parenting competence and less child behavior problems than did parents in the wait-list control group. Although there were no significant between group differences in child behavior problems at immediate follow-up, the children whose parents completed the self-administered program showed a significant within-group reduction in observed behavior problems from immediate post-test to one-year follow-up.

More work is needed to address whether home-based service delivery reduces participation barriers,

and possibly improves treatment efficacy, for parents of younger children with clinically significant conduct problems.

Summary

Young children with clinically significant behavior problems and/or ODD are at-risk for the

development of more serious and stable problems. Furthermore, in addition to placing children at risk for the future, ODD impacts children’s current functioning as well as serve as a significant stressor to parents, teachers, siblings, and peers. Fortunately, BPT is an extremely well researched treatment and is consistently judged to be the best treatment for ODD.


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Nearly 40 years of published research on manualized BPT programs reveals that little has changed in respect to the fundamental structure of BPT. One set of changes has focused on supplementing the basic BPT model with components designed to strengthen the model by making effects more durable or to address other areas of functioning such as reducing parenting stress or increasing child social cognitive skills. Another set of changes has focused on making the delivery of the program more practical for families such as the use of self-directed programs. Recent research has focused on making programs more appealing, relevant, and accessible to ethnic/racial minority families who are less likely to have access to quality services and are less likely to use traditional programs, even when they have access. In sum, much progress has been made in the treatment of ODD for young children and the field continues to work to improve the overall efficacy of treatments as well as the ability to reach more children and families.

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Behavioral Parent-Training Approaches for the Treatment of Bedtime Noncompliance in Young Children

Camilo Ortiz & Lauren McCormick

Abstract

Bedtime noncompliance is one of the most common and treatable types of child sleep problems. Children who are noncompliant at bedtime are more likely to exhibit daytime somnolescence, which may in turn lead children to exhibit daytime misbehavior, impaired social functioning and poorer school achievement. In addition, these bedtime problems can have a number of negative consequences for members of the child’s family, including parental sleep deprivation and depression. Behavioral parent-training approaches are considered the treatments of choice for bedtime noncompliance in young children. In this paper, we describe the evidence supporting a number of such approaches. We highlight several gaps in the treatment literature and we make recommendations for future research. Keywords: Bedtime Noncompliance, Parent Training, Sleep Problems

Bedtime noncompliance in preschool and elementary-school school aged children is typically

characterized by stalling, whining, or tantruming when bedtime approaches. Almost all children will exhibit these behaviors at some point in their young lives. Most parents have the skills to handle milder forms of bedtime noncompliance. However, when the intensity, duration, or frequency of these behaviors leads to disruptions in a family’s functioning, mental health professionals can offer substantial help. These bedtime behaviors are best classified diagnostically as Behavioral Insomnia of Childhood, Limit-setting Type (2005 revision of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders; American Academy of Sleep Medicine). In this paper we will use the less awkward term “bedtime noncompliance” to describe this set of behaviors. Although some of the studies we will mention include infants, we will focus primarily on preschool and school aged children. For an excellent review of the entire class of sleep problems in children, including parasomnias, fears, and nightmare disorders see Sadeh (2005).

There is evidence that bedtime noncompliance is one of the most common childhood behavior

problems. While many surveys of sleep problems in children lump sleep problems together, a few studies have examined prevalence rates of bedtime noncompliance. Estimates vary widely, but most studies suggest that 5-10% of school-aged children display significant bedtime noncompliance (e.g. Blader, Koplewics, Abikoff, & Foley, 1997, Mindell, 1993). Sleep problems as a class account for almost 10% of presenting concerns in child and adolescent outpatient mental health centers (Meisbov, Schroeder, & Wesson, 1993). There is no doubt that many other families experience these problems and do not seek professional help.

Research on Effects of Sleep Problems

There is an increasing amount of clinical observation and research demonstrating that sleep problems, including bedtime noncompliance, can lead to insufficient sleep in children, which can, if chronic, lead to emotional, physical, behavioral, and cognitive problems (Dahl, 1996; Gais, Philal, Wagner, & Born, 2000; Kuhn, Mayfield & Kuhn, 1999; Lavigne, et al., 1999; Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006; Owens, 2004; Sadeh, Gruber, & Raviv, 2002). While not all children who are noncompliant with bedtime are sleep deprived, having nightly battles with parents (which often include delaying bedtime and moving from one bed to another in the middle of the night) leads many children to experience compromised sleep quality and reduced total sleep time. Mood problems associated with daytime sleepiness in children include exacerbation of negative mood,


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compromised mood regulation, and a decrease in positive affect (Dahl, 1996; Kuhn, Mayfield & Kuhn, 1999; Owens, 2004). Chronic sleep problems may also have deleterious effects on the cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic systems (Mindell et al., 2006; Owens, 2004). Behavioral correlates of decreased night sleep include hyperactivity, aggressiveness, oppositionality or noncompliant behavior, and poor impulse control (Lavigne, et al., 1999; Mindell et al., 2006; Owens, Opipari, Nobile, & Spirito, 1998). Learning, cognitive flexibility, memory consolidation, and abstract thinking have been shown to be sensitive to sleep deprivation as well (Mindell, et al., 2006; Owens, 2004; Sadeh, Gruber & Raviv, 2002).

Given that early social interactions within the family and at school have long-range consequences for

emotional and behavioral development (Granic & Patterson, 2006; Shaw, Owens, Giovannelli & Winslow, 2001), compromises of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive abilities caused by chronic sleep problems may have long-range consequences as well. Many children react to sleep disturbance with poorer concentration in the classroom, irritability, mood swings (Kuhn, Mayfield, & Kuhn, 1999), impaired social functioning and lower school achievement (Mindell, 1993). Daytime sleepiness can also result in paradoxical hyperactivity (Kuhn, Mayfield, & Kuhn, 1999), which, in combination with poor impulse control in the classroom, may lead to a child being misdiagnosed as hyperactive (Bergman, 1976). Perhaps most disturbing, childhood sleep problems have been identified as a precursor and possible indicator of future problems, including anxiety, depression, and substance abuse disorders (Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006).

While a large number of research studies clearly demonstrate that sleep problems have serious and pervasive effects on the child experiencing a sleep problem, a growing body of research suggests that the effects on other family members can be at least as serious. (Adams & Rickert, 1989; Chavin & Tinson, 1980; Fisher, Feekery, Rowe-Murray, 2002; Hiscock & Wake, 2002; Kataria Swanson, & Trevathan, 1987; Leeson, Barbour, Romaniuk, & Warr, 1994; Kerr & Jowett, 1994; Mindell & Durand, 1993; Richman, 1981; Scott & Richards, 1990; Zuckerman, Stevenson, & Bailey, 1987). For example, a child’s chronic sleep problems can lead mothers to suffer from sleep deprivation (Fisher, Feekery, & Rowe-Murray, 2002). Research has also shown a link between child sleep problems and increased marital distress, maternal anxiety (Hiscock & Wake, 2002; Kerr & Jowett, 1994; Richman, 1981) maternal depression (Fisher, Feekery, & Rowe-Murray, 2002; Hiscock & Wake, 2002; Leeson, Barbour, Romaniuk, & Warr, 1994; Lozoff, Wolf, & Davis, 1985), and maternal ambivalence (Lozoff, Wolf, & Davis, 1985). To make matters worse, parent and child bedtime struggles may place children at higher risk for abuse (Bax, 1980). In one study, eight percent of parents reported that struggles with their child over sleep had led them to engage in abuse (Chavin & Tinson, 1980). While the effects of bedtime noncompliance on siblings has been largely ignored in the literature, it would not be surprising to find that children who share a bedroom may also be affected by a sibling’s noncompliance at bedtime.

Treatments for Bedtime Noncompliance

While the etiology of bedtime noncompliance in young children involves a complex interplay of a child’s temperament, her neurodevelopmental stage, the family’s expectations for behavior at bedtime, cultural practices (e.g. Liu, Liu. Owens, & Kaplan, 2005), and environmental factors, such as the number of people sleeping in the same room, most researchers believe that parenting practices play the largest role. The theoretical basis for most behavioral treatment approaches rests on the idea that children who exhibit bedtime noncompliance have been “trained” to do so by the behavior of their parents or caregivers.1 If the behavioral contingencies that these children experience can be altered, it is expected that their noncompliant behaviors will cease, or at least significantly decline in intensity and frequency. Behavioral parent-training approaches are extremely effective and are considered first line treatments for 1 Some researchers, such as Galbraith, Hewitt, and Pritchard (1993), question this perspective. Their treatment, which is similar to positive routines, focuses less on altering the amount of attention parents give for noncompliance and night waking and instead encourages parents to help induce sleep in their children. Their approach works from the premise that children may have difficulty going to sleep and staying asleep due to disorders of arousal.


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bedtime noncompliance (Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006). A recent analysis of 52 peer-reviewed studies with over 2,500 participants, examining behavioral interventions for bedtime noncompliance and night wakings found that 94% (49 of 52) of the studies produced clinically significant improvements in bedtime behavior, while the other three studies produced mixed results (Mindell, et al., 2006). These behavioral approaches all attempt to reduce noncompliance by altering two aspects of the sleep milieu. They attempt to create an environment that in and of itself will be more conducive to a child going to sleep willingly at a time that is desirable to her parents. These approaches also teach parents specific skills to use, when despite the proper sleep environment, a child’s is uncooperative about going to bed. These approaches are also all focused on stimulus control. In other words, they involve helping parents to alter contingencies in the child’s environment to increase the likelihood of a smooth and peaceful bedtime.

Even though these approaches do not attempt to alter a child’s cognitions, many of them can be

viewed as cognitive-behavioral because it is often necessary to alter parents’ expectations of their children as well as cognitions about the effects of these interventions on their children. Many parents (and even some mental health professionals) view some of these behavioral approaches as harsh and potentially psychologically harmful to children. In fact, some of these treatments (e.g. graduated extinction and positive routines) were created, in part, to reduce the distress parents experienced from administering behavioral approaches. It should be noted that no evidence of such iatrogenic effects resulting from behavioral approaches to bedtime noncompliance has ever been published. A review of 13 studies that examined secondary effects of behavioral treatments for sleep problems found that not one reported negative effects (Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006). In fact, a growing body of research suggests that these treatments have rather impressive and pervasively positive secondary effects on the functioning of the child and other family members, such as improvement in children’s daytime behavior (France & Hudson, 1990; Pritchard & Appleton, 1988), increased child happiness, (Pritchard & Appleton, 1988), and increases in the number of positive parent-child interactions (Adams & Rickert, 1989; Reid et al. 1999). In addition, a number of studies have reported that other family members have experienced improvements on a range of variables. These include improvements in marital satisfaction (Adams & Rickert, 1989; Durand & Mindell, 1990; Mindell & Durand, 1993), parents’ sleep, parental anxiety, parental self-efficacy (France & Hudson, 1990), parenting stress (Reid et al., 1999), and maternal depression (Durand & Mindell, 1990; Hiscock & Wake, 2002; Pritchard & Appleton, 1988; Wade, Ortiz, & Gorman, 2007).

Before we describe the literature on each type of behavioral parent-training approach to bedtime noncompliance, it is important to address the use of medication for these problems, given the fact that it is not uncommon for children with sleep problems to be prescribed medication (Stores, 2003). Most studies that have examined medication for sleep problems in children have combined bedtime noncompliance with pediatric insomnia that persists despite proper sleep hygiene practices. The literature suggests that pharmacological treatment is, at best, a temporary aid in reducing sleep disruptions. Antihistamines (Besana, Fiocchi, De Bartolomeis, Magno, & Donati, 1984; France, Blampied, & Wilkinson, 1991), benzodiazepines (Glick, Schulman, & Turecki, 1971; Kuhn & Weidinger, 2000), chloral hydrate (Biban, Baraldi, Pettenazzo, Filippone, & Zacchello, 1993; Kuhn & Weidinger, 2000; Steinberg, 1993), and melatonin (Camfield, Gordon, Dooley, & Camfield, 1996; Cassone & Natesan, 1997; Jan, Espezel, Freeman, & Fast, 1998; Sheldon, 1998) have all been studied, with mixed results. Problems with pharmacological interventions include unwanted side effects, lack of regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and little or no maintenance of gains once the medication is discontinued. The National Sleep Foundation, in collaboration with Best Practice Project Management, Inc, held a conference on the pharmacological management of insomnia in children and adolescents in 2004 and unanimously agreed that studies of the safety and efficacy of pharmacologic treatment of insomnia in children and adolescents are needed. They further stated that “This population is frequently prescribed pharmacotherapy lacking evidence for efficacy or safety” (p. 1229; Mindell et al, 2006). While


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medications may be helpful for some causes of childhood insomnia, given what we know about the etiology of bedtime noncompliance in particular, there is not a strong rationale for the use of medication for this group of children.

While this review will present data on a number of behavioral treatments for bedtime noncompliance as if they were distinct, in practice, these treatments are often combined. One of the weaknesses apparent in the research literature on this topic is that very few studies examine isolated treatment components; it is, therefore, difficult to make a firm determination of which treatment components are responsible for the impressive levels of improvement that these studies report. However, we believe that it remains instructive to examine the research literature, as it reveals some promising approaches to this challenging and all too common problem.

Extinction

Unmodified extinction, or “systematic ignoring,” involves having the parents place the child in bed, say goodnight, and not attend to her until the next morning (e.g. Chadez & Nurius, 1987; France & Hudson; 1990; Rapoff, Christophersen, & Rapoff, 1982; Rickert & Johnson, 1988; Sanders, Bor, & Dadds, 1984). It is typical for children to protest and cry for an extended period of time when this treatment is first instituted. Some children may protest for several hours on the first night (extinction bursting), although on subsequent nights it is typical for this period to decrease significantly. Some versions of this treatment (e.g. Wade, Ortiz, and Gorman, 2007) specifically prepare parents for extinction bursting, so that it does not come as a surprise. If done correctly, most children go to bed with little protest after about three nights (France, Henderson, & Hudson, 1996).

In practice, this approach almost always involves other treatment components in addition to

ignoring, such as establishing a designated bedtime and regular bedtime routine. Furthermore, parents are typically given instructions on what to do when a child refuses to go to their room or leaves their room before they have fallen asleep. For example, Reid, Walter, and O’Leary (1999) instituted a door closing technique, in which the child’s door is initially left open, but then closed for several minutes if the child leaves the room without permission.

According to a recent review, the efficacy of unmodified extinction has been examined in 23

studies. Twenty one studies have reported the treatment to be effective (Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006). One of the main advantages of unmodified extinction is that it often produces rapid results (France, Henderson, & Hudson, 1996). The procedure is also quite easy to understand. However, the drawbacks of this treatment are considerable. Foremost among them is that parents often find the child’s crying so aversive that they are unwilling to tolerate it (Rickert & Johnson, 1988). This issue is particularly important because if parents do not consistently ignore their child’s noncompliant behavior, they may cause the noncompliance to increase by inadvertently reinforcing the child on an intermittent schedule. In other words, attending to a child who has been ignored teaches the child to cry harder and longer in order to get parental attention. Another important issue with extinction, particularly for apartment dwellers, is concern over the reaction of neighbors to an extended period of crying by the child.

Graduated extinction can be an alternative behavioral approach for parents who find unmodified

extinction too aversive to administer consistently. Graduated extinction involves progressively reducing parental attention to bedtime noncompliance by having parents ignore noncompliant behavior, as in unmodified extinction. However, parents are instructed to make short checks on their children at increasing intervals of time. Typically, on the first night of treatment, parents briefly check in on their child after five minutes and then leave the room. If the child continues to cry and complain, parents wait ten and then fifteen minutes before they make additional checks. This continues until the child falls asleep. On the next night, parents make their first check after 10 minutes and subsequent checks after


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fifteen and twenty minutes, and so on. A variety of techniques fall under the heading of graduated extinction (Adams & Rickert, 1989; Durand & Mindell, 1990; Ferber, 1985; Kuhn & Weidinger, 2000; Mindell, 2005; Pritchard & Appleton, 1988; Reid, Walter, & O’Leary, 1999; Rolider & Van Houten, 1984; Sadeh, 1994); they all have in common the goal of systematically reducing parental attention, allowing the child’s bedtime noncompliance to gradually extinguish while promoting independent sleep onset. Fourteen studies have examined the efficacy of graduated extinction and all have found it to be effective (Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006).

Another approach that attempts to soften the effects of unmodified extinction on both parent and

child is the “bedtime pass” (Friman, et al., 1999; Moore, Friman, Fruzzetti, & MacAleese, 2006). In this treatment, children either make or are given a “pass” by their parents that allows them to leave their room one time per night, for a short period of time. Children can use this pass to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, get a hug, or any other appropriate and short activity. Even when combined with unmodified extinction, this treatment was found to be highly acceptable by parents (Friman, et al., 1999), suggesting that extinction approaches may be useful to many parents, if a little ingenuity is used to make them less aversive. While the mechanism responsible for the bedtime pass’s high consumer satisfaction is unclear, it is possible that giving children some power and responsibility during their bedtimes reduces feelings of helplessness associated with having a new (and very different) bedtime routine thrust onto them.

Positive routines

Positive routines, which is essentially a chaining and fading procedure for reducing bedtime noncompliance and teaching children appropriate bedtime behavior was developed, in part, to address some of the problems associated with extinction (Adams & Rickert, 1989; Milan, Mitchell, Berger, & Pierson, 1981). As described by Milan et al. (1981), positive routines entails creating a routine of several self-help and pleasurable activities that the child has not historically resisted, with the completion of each task being the cue for the next. The parent is instructed to reinforce the child after each task in the chain, while ignoring tantruming, and to praise the child upon waking. At the beginning of the treatment, parents are told to wait until the child appears sleepy before implementing the routine, which pairs each part of the routine with the sensation of sleepiness. Over time, the bedtime is gradually faded backward to the bedtime the parents desire. While this treatment does entail some ignoring, as shaping is part of the procedure, positive routines is designed primarily to replace tantruming with more desirable, low-stimulation and cooperative behaviors that are more likely to be naturally reinforced.

While far fewer research studies have examined the efficacy of positive routines than that of extinction,

results are promising. For example, Milan, Mitchell, Berger, & Pierson (1981) tested positive routines, individually instructing three parents of children who each demonstrated severe opposition to bedtime settling and engaged in in-bed resistance. The authors reported immediate success, with routines becoming established almost immediately with all three participants, with greatly reduced bedtime struggles and in-bed resistance. A similar technique was employed by Galbraith, Hewitt, and Pritchard (1993) in their study of forty-five infants and school-age children between the ages of 5 and 72 months attending a sleep clinic. Parents were advised to induce sleep in children by calm and predictable routines before bedtime. Handling of night wakings was not emphasized, but instructions were given to handle these episodes calmly. Negative parental attitudes toward the child, motivation, parental sleep deprivation, and “other stresses” were also addressed. The authors reported a 70 percent success rate, with 62 percent of participants remaining improved at follow-up. In one of the few treatment comparison studies to be conducted to date, Adams and Rickert (1989) compared positive routines to graduated extinction with 36 toddlers and preschool age children. The treatments were found to be equally effective, but the positive routines group showed a faster decline of bedtime struggles than did the graduated extinction and control groups. Also, parents who used positive routines showed significantly improved marital satisfaction after their child’s sleep problems were treated, which many of the parents attributed to lowered family stress.


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In comparison to extinction-based treatments, positive routines avoid the extinction burst that causes many parents to stop treatment. In addition, this treatment does not require parents to leave a child alone in a bedroom, which can be a problem if the child shares a room with a sibling or parent or if a parent finds leaving a crying child to be unacceptable. For children who have high anxiety or who have suffered trauma, this may be a more appropriate treatment, as it solves bedtime struggles with parental presence. The encouragement of daily living skills is also an advantage, as it helps develop independence in the long-run.

Disadvantages of positive routines are that this approach can be disrupted by any event that breaks the

routine, such as a family trip, caregiver absence, or family illness. For families that are disorganized or multi-stressed, helping parents find ways to increase regularity of bedtimes and sleeping arrangements may require some problem-solving. Also, parents may find the temporary change in bedtime to a later hour and increased time required at night with their child undesirable. Finally, as with other multicomponent treatments, it is unclear what the “active ingredient” is that accounts for the success reported with positive routines. This issue is important with positive routines, as this treatment involves at least four treatment components (faded bedtime, bedtime routine, positive reinforcement, and some planned ignoring). As Mindell et al. (2006) note, standardized bedtime routine and positive reinforcement have been included in multiple treatment packages, but never studied alone. Nonetheless, none of these components appear to be harmful, and may encourage good sleeping skills for life.

Fading/response cost Another less well studied technique is the use of a faded bedtime with a response cost protocol (Ashbaugh & Peck, 1998; Piazza & Fisher, 1989; 1991a, 1991b; Piazza, Fisher & Moser, 1991; Piazza, Fisher, & Sherer, 1997). The purpose of this technique is to manipulate sleep-wake cycles to encourage longer durations of age-appropriate, nighttime sleep. The child’s bedtime is initially moved to a later hour (when rapid sleep onset is likely), then is faded back to the desired bedtime over the course of a few days. If the child does not fall asleep within a certain amount of time (e.g. 15 minutes), the bedtime is changed to a later time the next night. Caregivers are instructed not to allow a child to go to bed prior to the scheduled bedtime or to sleep past the scheduled wake time. If the child wakes up during the night, she is allowed to get up and is prompted to go back to bed at intervals. The theory supporting the use of fading is that interoceptive cues of sleepiness are caused by sleep deprivation after a later bedtime is initiated. These cues lead the child to want to go to sleep. As the bedtime is changed gradually, the child is likely to respond to the earlier bedtime as she did to the later bedtime (Piazza & Fisher, 1991a). In addition, a response cost can be added to the protocol in which parents take the child out of bed for one hour if latency to sleep onset is longer than a predetermined amount of time (e.g. 15 minutes) The child is given access to all of the toys and attention that she had before she went to sleep but is not allowed to go to sleep until the end of the hour. The response cost of taking the child out of bed is thought to be aversive to the child, as sleep pressure increases. Thus the child is negatively reinforced for staying in bed with her eyes closed. Two biological factors may aid the fading and response cost procedure. First, sleep pressure increases as the bedtime gets later, making rapid sleep onset very likely. Second, having a set bedtime and wake time may help the child’s circadian rhythms become more regular and synchronized with the desired schedule (Piazza & Fisher, 1991b). Using fading without response cost, Piazza and Fisher (1991a) successfully treated two children who had not been helped by other treatments. Use of the faded bedtime protocol resulted in increases in appropriate (nighttime) sleep for both children and decreased inappropriate (daytime) sleep in the one child who had problems with inappropriate sleep before treatment. With the addition of a response cost component, Piazza and Fisher (1991b) used a faded bedtime strategy with four profoundly mentally retarded children with severe behavior problems. This strategy was quickly successful, resulting in increased amounts of appropriate sleep (nighttime sleep) for all four children, decreased amounts of inappropriate sleep (daytime sleep that was inappropriate for the child’s age) in two children, and


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decreases in night wakings in three children. Piazza and Fischer (1991b) reported that parents in this study reported a “high degree of satisfaction with treatment outcome.” Ashbaugh and Peck (1998) replicated this study with a non-disabled two-year-old girl using an ABAB design, leading to improvements in the child’s multiple sleep problems. Extending the literature further, Piazza, Fisher, and Moser (1991) tested this treatment with a four-year-old girl and two eight-year-old girls who suffer from Rett Syndrome, one characteristic of which is markedly dysfunctional sleep. All three girls demonstrated increased appropriate sleep (nighttime sleep) decreased inappropriate sleep (daytime sleep inappropriate for the age of the child) and reduced problematic behaviors associated with sleep. Advantages of this treatment are that the concepts are fairly easy to understand and implement and that struggles between child and parent may be decreased due to the fact that the child is likely to be sleepy when bedtime is enforced. In addition, it does not require a child to stay in bed if he or she is not tired enough to fall asleep quickly. It should be noted, however, that if a response cost component is utilized, this strategy requires parents to stay awake with their children in the middle of the night during the treatment phase, which some parents might not find acceptable. For parents who think it unkind to the child to force him or her to stay awake when tired, the response cost portion of this technique would be problematic. In addition, this treatment does not encourage self-help skills and does not offer strategies for handling tantrum episodes if they do occur.

Other Approaches A few other approaches to reducing bedtime noncompliance have been examined. There is not enough evidence to make a firm determination of their usefulness, but they provide insight into the strategies that researchers are examining. One of these approaches, parental presence, was examined by Sadeh (1994) who had parents sleep in the child’s room for about a week from bedtime to morning with minimal interactions. The theory behind this technique is that separation anxiety is a central cause of many children’s sleep problems and that if children receive the assurance that their parent is in the same room for the entire night, they will be more likely to soothe themselves to sleep and stay asleep. This treatment was found to be as effective as graduated extinction (Sadeh, 1994). This approach is distinct from the common practice, sometimes called “reactive cosleeping,” where a parent responds to a child’s insistence on not sleeping alone by sleeping in the same room with the child (sometimes for years!) because this approach limits the parental presence to one week. It also limits the interaction between parent and child, so that a child’s noncompliance is not reinforced by parental attention. Burke, Kuhn, and Peterson (2004) examined the efficacy of a “social story” in combination with a tangible rewards program with four children ages 2 to 7, whose parents reported disruptive behavior at bedtime. Parents were asked to read their child a storybook about two children who overcome problems at bedtime and learn how to go to bed successfully. Parents were instructed to put small tangible rewards under the pillow of the child contingent on a smooth bedtime, so that upon waking, children would be reinforced for her efforts. All four children experienced large declines in noncompliance at bedtime and results improved slightly at follow-up. Critical Issues for Research

In summary, the data suggest that behavioral parent-training approaches to bedtime noncompliance in preschool and school-age children are highly effective for the vast majority of children who receive treatment. The data do not indicate that one treatment is superior to another (Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006). While these results might suggest that research has answered all the important questions with respect to treating bedtime noncompliance in young children, such a conclusion would be premature. Several critical issues and deficiencies with these treatments remain. It is likely that the largest barrier to the successful implementation of these approaches remains parental resistance to


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them. Researchers have made progress in dealing with this problem by developing an impressive array of alternatives to unmodified extinction. Given that many parents whose children are noncompliant at bedtime do not seek professional help, it seems important that these efforts at improving consumer acceptability continue.

Another potential weakness with these treatments involves the generalizability of extant research

to ethnic minority families. To date, only four studies validating behavioral interventions for children’s bedtime problems mention any participation by ethnic minority participants (Adams & Rickert, 1989; Burke, Kuhn, & Peterson, 2004; Milan, Mitchell, Berger, & Pierson, 1981; Wade, Ortiz, & Gorman, 2007). The results from these four studies do not allow for firm conclusions about the efficacy of behavioral sleep treatments for ethnic minority families. This deficiency in the research is particularly important given emerging research demonstrating important differences in sleep practices across ethnic groups. For example, Crosby, LeBourgeois, and Harsh (2005) studied racial differences in napping and nocturnal sleep in 2- and 8-year-old African American and White children in southern Mississippi (n = 1043). Beginning at age 3, African American children were more likely to nap than were White children. African American children were also more likely to have fewer hours of sleep during weekdays through the age of 8 and to demonstrate an increase in sleep duration on weekends; total sleep duration between groups was found to be almost identical. Crosby, et al. (2005) suggested several possible explanations for the differences in sleep habits between the groups, including differences in “caretaker awareness and/or acceptance of children’s daytime sleep propensity” (p. 231). It is important to pay attention to findings such as these because cultural differences in acceptability of daytime sleep could impact the efficacy of treatments that seek to increase nighttime sleep in children.

A related issue is that of cosleeping. Cross sectional studies of urban samples have found

cosleeping rates to be significantly higher among African American and Hispanic families than in White families (Lozoff, Askew, & Wolf, 1996; Mandansky & Eldebrock, 1990; Schachter, Fuchs, Bijur, & Stone, 1989) Cross cultural studies reveal that cosleeping is a common practice that comes in many forms throughout the world (Jenni & O’Connor, 2005); in many cosleeping cultures, letting a child sleep alone at an early age is considered bad parenting. That intentional cosleeping may be a common practice among African American and Hispanic families in the United States has significant implications for treatment of a child’s sleep-related disorder. Extinction procedures, for example, which require a parent to let a child cry in a room alone might not be considered acceptable by a cosleeping family.

The issue of cross-cultural generalizability has been discussed a great deal in the parent training

for behavior problems literature. The traditional parent-training model is largely based on the practices of White, middle-class families (Forehand & Kotchick, 1996). The same could be said for behavioral treatments of bedtime noncompliance. Coard, Wallace, Stevenson, and Brotman (2004) found a high prevalence of culture-specific parenting practices within African American families and suggest that changes to parent-training interventions may be necessary to “fit the ecological niches, needs, and values of families of color” (p. 290). Forehand and Kotchick (1996) suggest that parenting programs that lack an awareness of the values of the particular culture(s) of its members may be unsuccessful.

Another weakness in the literature is that behavioral sleep treatments have not been validated

with low-income families. To our knowledge, Wade, Ortiz, and Gorman (2007) is the only research study that specifically targeted low-income families with a treatment for bedtime noncompliance. This study examined graduated extinction with five low-income families. While the treatment was quite successful with respect to noncompliance as well as other measures of family functioning, it is difficult to make generalizations from one small study to low-income families in general. It is essential not to exclude this population because parents in this group, who likely experience more life stressors than middle-class families, might have more difficulty complying with the treatment procedures and require additional support (Reid et al., 1999). In addition, low SES has been shown to be a predictor of worse outcomes in


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parent training interventions for behavior problems (e.g., Dumas & Wahler, 1983; Holden, Lavigne, & Cameron, 1990), so it is possible that the same results might be found with behavioral sleep interventions.

Another question that remains unanswered concerns the issue of group versus individual

treatment. To our knowledge, only four sleep studies have used a group treatment approach (Balfour, 1988; Carpenter, 1990; Szyndler & Bell, 1992; Wade, Ortiz, & Gorman, 2007). While improvements in sleep problems were noted in all four of these studies, no study has ever directly compared individual and group sleep treatments. Research has evaluated the relative effectiveness of individual and group parent training for general oppositional behavior in children, typically finding group training to be at least as successful as individual training (Brightman, Baker, Clark, & Ambrose, 1982; Pevsner, 1982). Examining whether group treatment of children’s bedtime behavior difficulties is effective could be advantageous for a number reasons. First, given how common bedtime noncompliance is in children, a treatment that can target large numbers of clients simultaneously would be valuable from a public health perspective. Cunningham, Bremner, and Boyle (1995) reported that a group parent-training program was more than six times as cost effective as individual parent-training programs. Second, there is some evidence that immigrant families and those speaking English as a second language are more likely to enroll in group community-based parent-training programs than in individual clinic-based programs (Cunningham et al., 1995). This population is often underserved by mental health professionals. Third, group treatment is likely to provide more social support to parents than individual treatment. This component would seem to be important for highly-stressed, low-income families (Dumas, 1984; Dumas & Wahler, 1983). In three of the four studies evaluating a group treatment approach for young children’s sleep difficulties, mothers’ qualitative reports indicated that they felt that meeting other parents with similar problems was one of the most useful aspects of the treatment (Balfour, 1988; Carpenter, 1990; Wade, Ortiz, & Gorman, 2007).

In summary, the treatment of bedtime noncompliance in young children by behavioral parent-

training interventions is a resounding research success. The literature clearly documents that extinction based approaches are efficacious. Positive routines appears to be a promising alternative to extinction. However, there remain two important tasks at hand for researchers in order to make these treatments a clinical success. The first is to continue to address parental reluctance to use these approaches. Previous work in this area has led to the development of some interesting and promising alternatives. However, we know that many parents continue to endure frustrating and disruptive nightly rituals of getting their children to bed because they do not find the current menu of approaches acceptable. No matter how well a treatment works, it really is not a good treatment if a large percentage of people who need it, refuse to use it. The second task for researchers is to test these treatments with a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse subject pool, so that we can understand whether these treatments need to be significantly tailored for different populations. If researchers can make significant headway on both of these issues, many more families will receive science-based approaches to bedtime noncompliance and far fewer families will suffer with this frustrating, yet treatable problem.

References

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Author Note

Dr. Camilo Ortiz is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Long Island University/C. W. Post Campus. He also has an appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. His research interests include the treatment of bedtime noncompliance and examining the mechanisms of change in behavioral parent-training interventions for externalizing problems. During the preparation of this manuscript, Dr. Ortiz was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health Career Development Research Award (1 K01 MH067099-01A1).

Author Contact Information Dr. Camilo Ortiz, Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, 720 Northern Blvd, Brookville, NY 11548-1300 e-mail: [email protected]

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A Review of Mary Lynch Barbera & Tracy Rasmussen’s

The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to teach children with autism and related disorders

Mary Jane Weiss

This is an informative and important addition to the books that exist for parents of

children with autism spectrum disorders. While the interest in Verbal Behavior programming for learners with autism has mushroomed over the past few years, there is a paucity of books outlining how to implement the approach, and this book addresses that need. Furthermore, it is a very easy-to-read and parent-friendly book . Families will find the specific “how-to” approach to be extremely useful.

Ms. Barbera clarifies for readers that VB is part of Applied Behavior Analysis. There is

widespread consumer confusion on this relationship, and this clarification is a service to the parent community. The book offers a number of excellent concrete suggestions, and provides rationales and background information substantiating those recommendations.

Understanding ABA and a VB approach This book serves to educate family members exceptionally well on several of the most important concepts and foundational ideas of ABA. Ms. Barbera does an outstanding job of explaining why the ABC’s (Antecedents-Behaviors-Consequences) of behavior are so important to understand. She is especially good at explaining the importance of determining the function of challenging behaviors. This will help parents as they try to unravel the seeming mysteries of their children’s behaviors. She also clearly outlines how treatments must match the functions of behaviors, and how appropriate replacement skills must be taught to address the same function. Reinforcement is also well explained. Parents will appreciate the author’s concrete suggestions, which are thorough. For example, she suggests increasing the ratio of reinforcing to corrective statements made to a child with autism. Specifically, she encourages families to aim for a ratio of 8:1 (reinforcing to corrective statements); this is exactly the kind of concrete and specific recommendation that families can use. She also gives excellent suggestions about identifying potential reinforcers, which is a constant struggle for many families. The author’s discussion of Verbal Behavior and its utility as a classification system for teaching language is well thought out and clearly written. There is a very easy-to-follow approach and explanation of verbal and non-verbal operants. She also does an excellent job of orienting the reader to speaker behavior, listener behavior, and other important core skills critical for learners with autism. The chapter on manding is full of excellent “how-to” suggestions for families seeking to increase requesting behaviors. In particular, the clear emphasis on pairing is superbly outlined and explained. Step by step suggestions for mand training via sign are offered. There are excellent suggestions on integrating manding into the curriculum, both in the form of integration into work sessions and as separate manding sessions. In the context of integrating manding into work sessions, she highlights the importance of the gradual increase in demands. Other major contributions in this section include suggestions on how to take data on prompted and


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independent mands, recommendations for data collection within sessions and throughout the day, and thoughts on how manding skills can be continually deepened, expanded, and improved.

Other areas that are very useful include her discussions of errorless teaching and her recommendations for building independence in self-care skills. In errorless teaching, she clearly helps parents to understand the importance of teaching skills well and of preventing errors. In the self-help area, she outlines successful well-known strategies that may assist in achieving success in this area. She also highlights the importance of developmental readiness and of attempting to effect change first through positive reinforcement based procedures alone.

In general, the book is an excellent source of information on Applied Behavior Analysis

and on Verbal Behavior. It serves to clear up some major sources of consumer confusion, most notably about VB’s embeddedness within ABA. There are countless helpful and well-grounded suggestions for parents who are interested in using this approach with their children.

Cautions It is important in considering this book to also look to potential misunderstandings. While the author does an excellent job of describing and attempting to prevent the further fueling of divisiveness in the field, it is still possible that consumers could be confused on a few points. While it is the case, for all of the reasons cited, that VB programming is an excellent means of building skills and that a VB approach (or other naturalistic ABA methods of teaching) is superior to DTI (Discrete Trial Instruction) for increasing spontaneity and initiation, it is important (for us as clinicians) to also underscore the role and utility of DTI.

As is well-known to ABA practitioners, discrete trial instruction (DTI) uses repetition and sequenced instruction to build a variety of skills in students with autism (Lovaas, 1981; Lovaas, Koegel, Simmons, & Long, 1973; Smith, 1993). It has been effective in teaching a wide variety of core skills in a structured, formalized context. Elements of effective use include errorless learning procedures (e.g., Etzel & LeBlanc, 1979; Lancioni & Smeets, 1986; Terrace, 1963; Touchette & Howard, 1984) and task variation and interspersal (e.g., Dunlap, 1984; Mace, Hock, Lalli, West, Belfiore, Pinter, & Brown, 1988; Winterling, Dunlap, & O’Neill, 1987; Zarcone, Iwata, Hughes, & Vollmer, 1993). It is important as clinicians that we continue to utilize effective methods of instruction to build skills, and to report accurately to consumers about the evidence and utility of instructional approaches.

It is true that naturalistic ABA instruction, such as Incidental teaching, will lead to more

generalization (than DTI). Skills taught more naturalistically clearly generalize much more readily and with far less effort than those taught through discrete trials (e.g., Hart & Risley, 1982; Fenske, Krantz, & McClannahan, 2001; McGee, Krantz, & McClannahan, 1985). It is also true that naturalistic approaches (Such as Incidental Teaching or mand training) are generally better suited to increasing initiation and spontaneity (e.g., Fenske, Krantz & McClannahan, 2001; Sundberg & Partington, 1998.). DTI and naturalistic ABA instruction target different deficits, and may be best suited to teaching different skills.

At times, consumers fail to appreciate the need for the integration of the approaches of

DTI and naturalistic methods, and may fail to understand how a comprehensive ABA program may best meet the needs of learners. It is possible that readers may fail to understand how important DTI still is in teaching skills, and may fail to understand which skills are best taught through which instructional approaches.


528

In a similar vein, it is important for clinicians to also underscore the potential relevance and utility of PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System). While Ms. Barbera clearly has a preference for sign (as do many of the best known VB clinicians), data on the comparative efficacy of sign and PECS approaches is limited. A rejection of PECS is simply not warranted from a scientist/practitioner perspective. PECS is based on Skinner’s VB classification system, and relies heavily on it in teaching the functions of language (Frost & Bondy, 2002; Bondy, Tincani, & Frost, 2005). Furthermore, many children are currently communicating efficiently and effectively and independently with PECS, and should continue to build communicative ability within that system. As clinicians, it behooves us to be as individualized and data-based as possible in decisions about things as central as communication modality.

One shortcoming of the book is in the description of the origins of VB theory. The

author fails to describe how it is an extension of both the philosophy of radical behaviorism and of basic laboratory science. Students of the field may be frustrated with the incomplete description of the theoretical origins of the approach. Similarly, students of the field may be disappointed by the incomplete treatment of the research within VB. The book does not purport to explain the existing literature within VB. However, the lack of attention to fully explicating the research in VB leads to an incomplete rendering of the approach.

Furthermore, within ABA as a field, we need to be careful about creating and adopting

new terminology which is not conceptually systematic. While it is clear what the author means when she discussed doing “cold probes” or when she describes “ITT (intensive therapy teaching)”, it is important to distinguish those terms from ABA core definitions and concepts, to help students of the discipline and consumers to think and communicate more clearly about the field of study. There are several examples of terms (such as those given above) that are not part of the basic science, are not used in descriptions of VB research, and are not utilized in common clinical applications/uses of VB in programming for students with autism.

Finally, Ms. Barbera’s enthusiasm for the field and personal experience as a consumer of

services are two of the variables that make this book so compelling and so on-target. Nevertheless, there are times when it makes for potential misunderstanding. For example, when she talks about seeing vocal progress in Dr. Carbone’s videos (which are compelling, impressive, and moving), her enthusiasm could lead some parents to misunderstand the likely outcomes. While 14 year olds do occasionally become vocal communicators, more often they do not. We have to be responsible in presenting the range of outcomes to consumers. Also, while the stories of what worked for her son are interesting and excellently placed throughout the book, we should also remember that those remain strategies that worked for one individual child, and which should not be broadly applied to the population at large.

Messages for parents

The messages for parents in the final chapter are especially compelling. It is here that one can really see the benefit of her experience on both sides of the parent-professional partnership. Her advice to focus not on recovery, but on maximizing a child’s potential is wise indeed. The ambiguity of the early years of autism is perhaps the greatest stressor for families, and the narrow focus on recovery may obscure the importance of celebrating all of the successes a child achieves. There are not enough discussions in the professional realm about the negative effects of the focus on recovery, and her articulation of these points is very much needed. While hope is essential in helping families to mobilize and to obtain the best quality services, we must also be sensitive to the ways in which black and white thinking harms families and clouds our view of each child’s progress. Her message to avoid the high vs. low functioning trap is also on-


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target. Each child’s skills and deficits need to be evaluated in detail, and a comprehensive assessment will inevitably identify both areas of great strength and areas in need of attention. Identifying children in global evaluative terms such as high or low functioning does not focus the treatment team on what needs to be done, and may prevent the team from identifying the most salient needs and successes.

Ms. Barbera advises parents to be ready to advocate and to learn all they can. These are

good pieces of advice, as they will lead to parents being effective and fully participating members of their child’s educational team. She also advises parents to take care of themselves. For many families, this particular piece of advice will fall on deaf ears, at least for the first year or two of intervention. But the message is an important one. As she says, for most families this is a marathon, not a sprint. Families need to store their energy, shore up their reserves, and plan for a longer haul. These words are so much more powerful for having been spoken by someone who has been there.

One of her pearls of wisdom to parents in this section is to make just one change at a time

in a child’s treatment program. This is very practical and intelligent advice. It is true that many families will stumble across and try a number of different strategies to help alleviate their child’s symptoms. While we can debate the scientific merit of any or all of these approaches, the fact is that the majority of families will pursue one or more of them. Given that reality, her advice is excellent, as it will help to ensure that data can be evaluated to assess the impact of such approaches in an objective manner. In this way, families can make sound decisions about the merits of a given approach, based on objective data about how it helped (or failed to help) their child.

Finally, she talks of making lemonade out of the lemons life has offered. This seems to

represent the ultimate coping model for parents. Individuals who not only rise to their challenges, but who also find meaning and joy in them, are those who fair better in the long run. They acknowledge their lives as forever altered, but recognize that some of those alterations are precious and positive.

Summary This book is an important one. Parents will be delighted with its easy and practical approach. It fills a void that currently exists for families trying to figure out how to do a VB approach. Furthermore, it explains a great deal about how ABA approaches behavior and teaching. The sections on rapport building, the importance of motivation, errorless teaching, and reinforcement are well-written, accurate, and perfectly suited to the needs of parents and professionals new to this approach. Her words of advice to families are spoken from the heart and are very wise.

Professionals and students of ABA will find this book less useful (than families will) as a resource, as it provides little information on the theoretical foundations of VB or on the existing research on using a VB approach with individuals with autism. However, they will find it to be a useful reference for families seeking concrete, how-to information on working with their children.

Families may be confused as they grapple with the complexity of the field and the

specifics of the approach. Clinicians should be available to help families in understanding the most important elements of the approach, in individualizing the program for any given child, and for ensuring that misconceptions do not impede the development of a maximally effective program.


530

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