Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior最新文献

The evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics (ETBD) has predicted that under concurrent random-ratio (RR) schedules, preference for the denser schedule becomes more extreme with (a) larger differences between the concurrent ratio requirements and (b) smaller absolute values of the ratio requirement for the denser alternative. In this study, we tested ETBD's predictions by evaluating human participants' choice under various concurrent RR schedules. Sixty-three undergraduate students participated and were presented with two concurrently available response options on a touchscreen monitor. The difference between the concurrently available ratio requirements was manipulated across conditions, and the absolute value of the ratio requirement for the denser alternative was manipulated across groups. As predicted by the ETBD, participants' preference for the denser alternative increased as the difference between the concurrent ratio requirements increased and groups with smaller absolute ratio requirements tended to display more extreme preference. However, a high level of heterogeneity was observed across human participants within each group that was not evident in the behavior of artificial organisms animated by the ETBD. Our findings demonstrate the importance of focusing on individual behavior and suggest directions for future research investigating choice under concurrent ratio schedules and evaluating the ETBD.

Behavioral contrast and resurgence emerge following worsening of conditions of alternative reinforcement. In this experiment, the effects of stimuli correlated with nonreinforcement during extinction were compared with respect to their effects in generating resurgence and contrast within individual pigeons. Four pigeons were exposed to a two-key concurrent schedule in which a target response arranged a variable-interval (VI) 60-s schedule and an alternative response key arranged a two-component multiple VI 60-s VI 60-s schedule. In the resurgence preparation, target responding was extinguished after training before extinguishing the alternative. In the contrast preparation, both components of the multiple schedule were associated with extinction, whereas target responding was still reinforced. In both, one of the two multiple schedule stimuli was replaced by a darkened keylight. When the key associated with the alternative component was on during extinction, there was less resurgence and the magnitude of contrast was less than when the key was dark. The results replicated earlier findings of the effects of the presence or absence of stimuli on resurgence and contrast but under conditions allowing direct comparisons within individual subjects. The results both suggest a functional similarity between behavioral phenomena labeled resurgence and contrast and invite a search for other similarities.

In research on variables that influence bidirectional naming, measurement of bidirectional naming often involves exposing children to pairs of verbal and visual stimuli, followed by testing of listener behavior and tacts. We administered a bidirectional naming assessment, modeled after an assessment procedure described in previous studies, to 12 younger adults (18 to 25 years) and 12 older adults (67 years and older). Visual patterns were paired with nonsense words, and listener behavior and tacts were tested after a 2-hr delay. The assessment classified one participant in the younger group and no participants in the older group as meeting criteria for incidental bidirectional naming and only four additional participants (all in the younger group) as meeting criteria for unidirectional naming. Although adults should theoretically be expected to demonstrate advanced bidirectional naming, the assessment procedure failed to capture this repertoire. The results suggest that below-criterion performance in bidirectional naming assessment may in some cases be an artifact of assessment, instead of suggesting a bidirectional naming repertoire has not been acquired. These findings have implications for measuring bidirectional naming and interpreting assessment outcomes.

When responding to a stimulus exerting overselective control over behavior is extinguished, control by underselected stimuli may emerge. We investigated how the degree of extinction influences control by underselected stimuli. Adult humans (N = 459) chose between rapidly presented compound S+ and S− stimuli in a simultaneous discrimination. Then, participants chose between individual compound-stimulus elements in an unreinforced testing phase. The S+ element that was chosen most often underwent revaluation, during which choice of that element was reinforced with a probability ranging from 0 (complete extinction) to 1 no extinction) in different groups. In post-revaluation retesting, choice of the overselected element was lower than in pre-revaluation testing; this decrease was greater when the overselected element had been reinforced with a lower probability during revaluation. For the underselected element, choice decreased when the overselected element was completely extinguished and increased when the overselected element was sometimes or always reinforced. This highlights the role of the contingency change in post-revaluation changes in stimulus control. Our findings are consistent with comparator theories of overselectivity and suggest that control by underselected stimuli may emerge after partial extinction of an overselected stimulus. Future studies should establish the generality of these findings with clinical populations displaying overselectivity.

Conceptual learning is discrimination between new examples and nonexamples and generalization to new examples. Conceptual learning can be demonstrated after practice with differential reinforcement of the correct response and is influenced by procedural variables during practice. However, less research has been done identifying an ideal structure for instruction (rules), which is likely a typical teaching format for learners with more advanced verbal repertoires. We developed a laboratory analog of conceptual instruction to evaluate conceptual learning following instruction made up of a rule describing the key features of the concept and examples and nonexamples that were carefully selected to demonstrate these rules. We also evaluated the efficacy of this instruction when it preceded or followed practice with feedback about accuracy but no rule presentation. All participants completed instruction and practice. The specific instructional sequence was completed before practice during Experiment 1 and after practice during Experiment 2. This instructional sequence reliably and rapidly resulted in concept learning regardless of whether it was completed before or after practice. Practice alone never produced conceptual learning within the duration of the session and was not necessary to produce conceptual learning. Instructors should evaluate the efficacy of this instructional sequence to teach concepts.

Instrumental behavior is typically organized into bouts, with distinct behavioral processes seemingly governing within-bout response rate, bout-initiation rate, and bout length. This organization, however, may instead arise simply from the spatial proximity of the organism to the operandum at the end of each response. Two experiments used rats to test the organization of spatially extended instrumental responses into bouts and the sensitivity of bout parameters to critical manipulations. In Experiment 1, rats consecutively pressed two levers located on either side of an operant chamber, reinforced on a tandem variable-time (VT) 150-s fixed-ratio (FR) 1 schedule (Phase 1). The FR requirement was then increased (Phase 2) before food restriction was reduced (Phase 3). In Experiment 2, reinforcement was contingent on pressing a single lever or alternating between two levers in alternating multiple-schedule components. Lever pressing was then extinguished in both components. Regardless of topography, responses were organized in bouts (Experiments 1 and 2). Higher FR requirements increased bout length (Experiment 1), and the response-alternation requirement reduced within-bout response rate (Experiment 2). Both manipulations, along with reduced deprivation and extinction, reduced bout-initiation rates. These results rule out the possibility that bouts of responses emerge from the spatial proximity of terminating and initiating operants.

A search for language in nonhuman animals has intrigued psychologists and ethologists, offering insights into the evolution of human linguistic abilities. Recent findings in both ethology and behavior analysis/animal cognition highlight exciting developments. In behavior analysis, Peter J. Urcuioli (1952–2022) successfully demonstrated the phenomenon of stimulus equivalence in pigeons and proposed a theory (2008) that underlies pigeons' performance. In ethology, Suzuki and colleagues discovered that Japanese tits use two-word compositional syntax, one of the first demonstrations in animals other than humans. This article compares these two research areas to highlight their similarities and suggests future directions for studying the evolution of language and cognition in both human and nonhuman species. Written in honor of Dr. Urcuioli, this article recognizes his contributions to behavior analysis, psychology, and ethology, advancing understanding of animal cognition and its broader implications for humanity.

Children often learn the names of objects incidentally—that is without direct instruction or programmed reinforcement—simply by observing others label novel objects. A number of contextual cues have been deemed important in the development of naming such as orientation toward stimuli, pointing, linguistic prompts (e.g., “This is…”), and contiguous presentations of stimuli and sounds. Despite their significance, there has been almost no systematic investigation of these cues in behavior analysis. The current study preliminarily examines how contextual cues—such as an experimenter's eye gaze, pointing, and use of paralinguistic cues—affect naming responses. In Experiment 1, three typically developing children were administered naming tests with and without these cues using a reversal design. All participants showed improved performance with cues relative to without cues. Experiment 2 extended this by testing three autistic children with all cues, a partial set of cues, or no cues, using a reversal design. Results replicated Experiment 1, also demonstrating that partial cues were effective in facilitating naming. Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 1 with three additional autistic participants during which test trials remained consistent across conditions in a reversal design. Further research on the contextual cues presented during naming experiences is warranted.

Renewal is a form of treatment relapse that occurs due to a change in context but in the absence of a change in contingencies. Recent prevalence data suggest that renewal may commonly occur in clinical settings, threatening the durability of treatments for decreasing problem behavior. Unfortunately, instances of renewal may also coincide with treatment integrity errors of commission in which the treatment implementer accidentally reinforces the problem behavior. Unplanned reinforcer deliveries for the problem behavior following successful treatment may result in a different form of relapse called response-dependent reinstatement. Little is known about the combined effects of renewal and response-dependent reinstatement. The current study compared the effects of renewal alone with the combined effects of renewal plus response-dependent reinstatement in two experiments. We conducted Experiment 1 in a basic laboratory with rats and Experiment 2 in a translational format with college students who engaged with a task on a touchscreen tablet device. Overall, our results suggest that relapse was worse during combined tests for renewal plus response-dependent reinstatement relative to renewal alone. We discuss the implications of our findings with respect to the treatment of problem behavior.